I'm finally back--in Malawi, and online...

So, after about 2 or 3 comments and e-mails wondering what had happened to me, I realized that my faithful blog readership of 3-5 has sadly dropped to 2-3 :-( Oh, well, I suppose that's to be expected after the spotty postings over the holiday break, which, I'm sorry to announce, should continue now that I'm back on Malawi soil. Yes, as it turns out, I've actually been back in the Domasi/Zomba area since Tuesday, Jan. 8 (after a 48-plus hour journey back, including an 8-hour layover in Detroit, a 14-hour layover in Amsterdam, an overnight stay in Lilongwe, followed by a 4-hour drive from Lilongwe to Domasi on Tuesday).

However, I soon discovered after my arrival that Domasi College still has no internet service. Those truly faithful may remember my comment in one of my last postings in 2007 that there was no internet service during my last few days in Domasi prior to leaving for the U.S. As it turns out, the service was out due to the fact that the contract with the internet service provider had ended in early December. Apparently, payment for that contract was subsidized by a Japanese aid organization known as JICA for a limited period of time until it was time for contract renewal. That time has now come, and according to my sources at the college, due to end-of-year budget deliberations, as well as a desire to change internet service providers, it's likely to be at least a good month until the service will be restored.

Those who know me well know that this is like cutting my throat. The internet is my lifeline here. I do not know how I will survive. Luckily, while drowning in the sea of no-internet-desperation, I was thrown a lifeline yesterday, as I was told by a colleague that Chancellor College was open, and I would be able to log on there. Of course, I have an office at Chanco, so I finally came here yesterday to catch up on e-mail and the blog. Of course, since it'd been a week since I'd seen my e-mail, it took me a while to get through that, leaving the blog entry for today.

Of course, as you may have figured out by now, this means that my promise of daily postings will be postponed until further notice. (Sorry Heather, no more free gin for you! You've had enough! ;-) I'll do my best to post at least once a week, maybe more when time allows, but I cannot be certain, as the service at Chanco can also be quite spotty, and it's a good 30-minute drive to get here (unlike the 5-minute walk to my office at Domasi).

One thing that I can say is that I now feel much better that I can get online. Anyone reading this who has ever lived overseas, especially since the beginning of the information age, knows what I'm talking about. There are days of isolation and loneliness that are difficult to describe. Anyone who has lived overseas on their own has experienced this. If you say you have not, you did not go overseas alone, or you are a liar. It can be very difficult at times, and for me, the internet is my savior. I can catch up on the news back home (which can either help or hurt my mood, depending...), chat with my friends for free and in real time, read and respond to e-mails, and write in my blog. It's really what keeps me sane in those lonely moments. So, I must say, I'm incredibly thankful to the 'techies' and engineers who brought us this wonderful connection to the universe. How I lived without it during my 1st and 2nd lone foreign country living experiences in England and Mexico is now a complete mystery to me. Perhaps I was just stronger then. Well, certainly much younger, and I had roommates. In Mexico, I didn't even have a phone... used to run to the payphone once a week as I recall. Wow.

As for news, the first item is very sad, I'm afraid. I called Deliwe the day before leaving the U.S., and one of the first things she said was, "I have to tell you about Willie." Immediately, I knew something terrible had happened. As it turns out, our little kitty was attacked by one of the neighborhood dogs about a week before I came back. Unfortunately, Deliwe couldn't get to him in time before some major damage had been done to his stomach. She even tried to get him to a vet twice, but the office wasn't open. After a couple of days, little Willie died. I'm still very very sad. Deliwe felt really badly about what happened, so spent the next week looking for another suitable kitty about the same size and age as Willie. She looked in several villages in the area and found a nice female kitten. We haven't named her yet. We just call her 'kitty' (me in English, Deliwe in Chichewa). I suppose we could have another contest to name her, but right now, 'kitty' is o.k. while we mourn the loss of Willie.

The ironic thing in all this is that the dog that attacked Willie was Buster. Anyone out there who's been reading this blog long enough knows that Buster was the dog who was literally dying when I arrived in Domasi. He was emaciated, skin and bones, wormy, and had fleas. I helped one of the Mzungus he follows around campus to give him worm and flea medication back then, and have been feeding him religiously ever since. Essentially, I helped nurse that dog back to health. And this is how he repays my kindness. Yes, I know he's just a dog. But he came into the house (they rarely try to come in) and took the cat from my kitchen. Those two dogs I've been feeding were literally 'hunting' my kitty. Needless to say, we no longer feed them, and have banned them from our property. I've noticed for the past few days that they haven't been coming around. Is it possible that they got the message? Hmmm...

So, partially because of the Willie incident, my return to Malawi has been bittersweet. Anyone out there who has lived overseas (or even in a city away from their home) knows this feeling as well. It's always more difficult to return after a visit home. Apart from the bone-chilling weather in the northeastern U.S., it was very hard to leave my friends and family there, and return to a place where I'm essentially alone much of the time during school breaks. If it weren't for Deliwe, the new kitty, and the internet, I'm not sure if I'd have made it through this past week, really. I know it may sound like a downer, but that's really how it is. I'm somehow addicted to overseas living, but the isolation factor is very real, especially during the initial adjustment, and now during the re-adjustment. I know it will get better, though, in due time.

For me, this time before classes begin is always the most difficult, as I have a lot of free time to fill. The positive side of this is that I'll have enough time to plan my course at Domasi College which begins Jan. 21. It was initially set to begin Jan. 14, but the schedule was pushed back (or is it up? I always confuse those 2 expressions) a week due to some new year's budgetary issues. I guess this is also a common issue here in Malawi, as organizations have to figure their new budgets at the beginning of the year. The actual school year begins next Mon., Jan. 14, but my course is for 1st years who go through orientation, so it will start a week later. (Incidentally, due to the lecturers' strike at Chanco last semester, classes there will not begin until February or March.)

So, this past week was spent mostly with trips into Zomba to buy food and other necessities for the house. I even had the steel belt in one of my tires replaced, which was a task I had put off for awhile. I know, exciting stuff.

I do have a funny 'cop story' to tell, though. On Thursday, I was driving through the chaotic market/shopping area of Zomba (someday I'll take a picture or video on the cool camcorder my sister Heather got me for Christmas to show you just how chaotic it is), and I mistakenly drove the wrong way down one of the streets. Crap. I knew almost right away, as it is the 2nd time I've made this mistake. A couple of nice pedestrians pointed out my mistake, so I immediately tried to turn the car around, accidentally turning down another one-way street the wrong way in order to do so. By then, a couple of traffic cops walked up to my car. Then, I started having flashbacks of the 'triangle plate incident' as I like to call it. Remember that? If not, check past postings (about 2 months ago, I think). It's a good story. I even think the two cops (a woman and a man) might've been the same ones who stopped me that day.

Here's the conversation that ensued:

Man Cop: Madame, you are going the wrong way on a one-way street.

Me: Yes, I know. I'm trying to turn around.

Man Cop: This is also a one-way.

Me: Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I just need to turn around.

Man Cop: You are in violation. We'll have to take you to the station.

Me: Really? But it was just a mistake. I didn't know.

Woman Cop: Please let us in. (BTW, they don't have patrol cars here, so you actually have to give the cops a ride to the station. Something tells me this would never work in the States.)

Both cops get into the back seat as Deliwe and I give each other the "oh, crap!" look.

Woman Cop: Didn't you know this is a one-way street?

Me: No, I didn't know. Is there a sign?

Woman Cop: Yes, there's a sign at the junction.

Me: Where? I didn't see it.

Woman Cop: It's that yellow line painted on the road. It means 'Do not Enter' (referring to a bold yellow line painted across the road at the intersection)

Me: Oh, I never even noticed that line. Is that what it means?

Woman Cop: Yes. Maybe you should get a driver, if you don't know the traffic laws in Malawi.

Me: Well, I've been driving for a couple of months, and this is my first violation. I just didn't know, I'm sorry.

Woman Cop: When did you start driving?

Me: Last September

Woman Cop: in 2007?

Me: Yes

Woman Cop: I see.

Me: It was really a mistake. I just forgot. (OOPS! NEVER should've said that)

Woman Cop: I thought you said you didn't know.

Me: Yes, I didn't know. I don't live in Zomba.

Woman Cop: Where do you live?

Me: In Domasi.

Woman Cop: That's Zomba. (Note: Domasi is considered part of Zomba, as Zomba is the closest commercial center in the region, so all area villages are considered to be 'part of Zomba')

Me: No it's not. It's 30 miles from Zomba!

Woman Cop: So, you never drive in Zomba?

Me: Well, not every day. I don't really know Zomba very well (as we all know, this is a bit of a lie...)

At this point, we come to the major intersection to the main highway through Zomba. I turned left accidentally, on the road heading out of town towards Blantyre. This helped my case, as you'll see.

Woman Cop: Where are you going? We need to go to the station.

Me: Where is it?

Woman Cop: It's the other way. Don't you know?

Me: No. As I said, I don't know Zomba very well. Sorry!

As I turn the car around in a parking area, the two cops have a discussion in Chichewa. After I turn around and head back into town in the correct direction, this is what she says:

Woman Cop: As it turns out, we've decided to let you go this time, since you don't seem to know Zomba well.

Me: (so excited I missed the turn back to the chaotic market area) Really? Thanks!

Woman Cop: But please be careful. Next time, we won't forgive you. (This is one reason I think she was the same cop... at the end of the 'triangle plate incident,' she said something very similar: "Next time, I'll take you to court," I believe were her exact words.)

Me: Thanks! Really, I'm sorry. It was an honest mistake. I'll be more careful.

Woman Cop: OK, goodbye.

After they left the car, Deliwe told me that when they were speaking Chichewa, they were commenting on the fact that Mzungus 'really know how to argue and explain their case...' I think they also commented on how lost I really seemed to be driving around Zomba... however, as we now know, that was just 'dumb luck'... literally.

So, that's the latest story, which I was happy to relay to Melvin the taxi driver over a couple of beers last night, to celebrate the fact that his traffic court case was dropped just before I left for the U.S. That was the case in which I helped testify in early December, mentioned in an earlier post. We talked a lot about the traffic police situation, especially the inherent corruption in the system. Though no one has ever asked me for a bribe, I imagine had I offered one in either case, all charges likely would've disappeared. He also made a good point about the large number of traffic police in such a small town, all gathered in specific areas. This is quite a curious thing.

With that, I'll leave my loyal readers. Ya, I'm back... Get ready for less frequent, but much longer posts until further notice! Tiwonana!