Yesterday was a great day.
I took a personal day. Each month I am allotted one day to use for personal purposes and I decided yesterday would be it for October.
I got up around the same time as usual: 6:15. It is amazing how quickly one’s body adjusts to a new sleeping schedule. I can barely sleep past 7:30 now even if I try really hard.
Left the house around 8 for a nice walk to City Centre, about 25 minutes from my house. First stop was the British Council. Word on the street was that they have a library that lends DVDs – obviously the most exciting news I have heard so far in Lilongwe. Sadly, it was explained to me that they no longer offer that service.
Next, on to the WUSC office (World University Service of Canada). I looked at some of the travel books there for southern Africa and used the internet for a bit. Saw Joyce, my WUSC contact – we talked about upcoming plans for a cultural orientation for Canadian volunteers. It will hopefully be taking place in November. We will go to a resort by the lake for a week and try to learn Chichewa.,….. ‘try’ being the operative word.
After that I went on to the Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary. On Saturday night I met a guy named Steve from the UK. He has been here for five months volunteering with the Sanctuary and offered to take me on a tour of the place. There are actually two sanctuaries in Lilongwe. The old and the new. The old one treated their animals horribly. Housed them in small cages and didn’t clean their areas properly. The new Sanctuary (the one I went to) took over all of the animals as well as bringing in new ones. I saw numerous varieties of monkey, a really large spotted hyena (they are huge!) and a leopard. However, I actually head more of the leopard than I saw. We didn’t get too close to the fence and I could only barely make out his spots from afar. The Sanctuary is beautifully done and feels very natural. They are working to rehabilitate all of the animals and will release most of them back to the wild when they are ready. There was actually a group of 19 Vervet monkeys that were sent over from a sanctuary in Israel which are on their way to being released. Small world.
The highlight of the tour by far was Bump (read with an English accent). Bump is a five-week old baby vervet monkey that was found by one of the Sanctuary’s trustees at the side of the road a few weeks ago. There is a significant problem with the animal/pet trade in Malawi and part of the sanctuary’s mission is to work against it. Bump is a victim of that industry as his mother was left for dead and he escaped from capture. Bump is being cared for right now in the woman’s home and then will move in with the Israeli monkeys when he is old enough to feed himself. I carried him around for an hour – by far the cutest thing I have ever seen. A mix between an adorable baby (his hands are just like humans, and he has incredible facial expressions) and an old man – his face is all wrinkled!!!
I can now confidently add baby monkeys to my list of baby loves.
Then (no the day is not over) – I headed to Old Town. Had lunch (which was not cooked, so I instead looked at my lunch instead of ate it). Then went to the Old Town Market. Most neighbourhoods have their own small markets with the basics, but this is the mecca of Lilongwe markets. It covers many blocks, has the widest selection of produce, as well as the Chitengi alley. I am not sure if I have explained ‘chitengi’ yet: Chitengi are the colourful fabrics that women wrap around their heads and waists, as well as have them sewn into amazing outfits. 2 metres sells for 300 Kwacha ($2.15). They can be used for numerous purposes: my favourite uses are The Towel (as I did not pack any), The House Dress, and The Bag (I have been sewing them into fun shoulder sacks). So I bought a bunch more fabrics and actually had one sewn into a skirt by one of the tailors sitting nearby. It cost 1000 kwacha to make the skirt (including lining and zipper) – about $7. I am not sure if I am crazy about it, but is all part of the experiment.
Afterwards, I went to the produce section and got an assortment of beans, mangoes, papayas, watermelon (it is watermelon season!!!!!) and other random things – some of which I am not exactly sure what they are as there is no translation for them. I will just do what I am always told: slice it, boil it, fry some tomatoes, and add it to the vegetable – that is how all Malawian food is made J
Then I caught the correct minibus home (another amazing accomplishment when faced with about 75 to choose from) and made it home before dark.
An excellent day. Too bad I can’t do it more often.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Going to the Movies.
Last weekend was the European Union Film Festival. In it’s third year, the European Union sponsors a film tour through Malawi featuring African and European films.
I went both Saturday and Sunday. Saw two great movies: one Finnish, the other French. And one bad movie: Malawian. Very low-budget about mountain witchcraft.
The most amusing part was the movie watching culture. Every time there was any physical or sexual contact between actors, the whole room would begin hooting and shouting. My friend and I were trying to decide whether these movies were extremely risqué by Malawian standards, or this was how they respond to sex in general. Either way, very funny.
The highlight by far was after the Malawian mountain movie. One of the ushers was leading a quick discussion on the movie and asked to confirm that everyone in the audience was Malawian. After a few seconds, he looked around and said “aside from our two commerades in the middle here (indicating to Julie and I – the only white people in the room), we are all Malawian, Yes?” The whole room burst out laughing and cheering. Very funny. I don’t think I will ever get over the hyper-awareness of my skin colour that comes with living in this part of Africa.
I went both Saturday and Sunday. Saw two great movies: one Finnish, the other French. And one bad movie: Malawian. Very low-budget about mountain witchcraft.
The most amusing part was the movie watching culture. Every time there was any physical or sexual contact between actors, the whole room would begin hooting and shouting. My friend and I were trying to decide whether these movies were extremely risqué by Malawian standards, or this was how they respond to sex in general. Either way, very funny.
The highlight by far was after the Malawian mountain movie. One of the ushers was leading a quick discussion on the movie and asked to confirm that everyone in the audience was Malawian. After a few seconds, he looked around and said “aside from our two commerades in the middle here (indicating to Julie and I – the only white people in the room), we are all Malawian, Yes?” The whole room burst out laughing and cheering. Very funny. I don’t think I will ever get over the hyper-awareness of my skin colour that comes with living in this part of Africa.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Questions.
A good friend sent me an email asking a lot of excellent questions that she had after reading the blog. I thought that others might have similar questions, and decided to post my answers.If you learn anything from the answers thank her.
1. Is an ex-pat a non-local person?
Yes, an ex-pat is a non-Malawian. It largely refers to non-black people, although there are white Malawians. It is the community of people who are here from other countries and kind of stick together.
2 What type of food do you eat in Malawi (when you are feeling up to eating)?
They eat pretty bland food. NSIMA is one of the main components. It is a thick porridge that gets serves in a patty form. You roll chunks of nsima into a ball in your hand and then dip it in the meat or vegetable side-dishes. Actually pretty good and eating with your hands is fun!
I eat Malawian food only when I am out. Otherwise, I buy most of my food at the western grocery store and eat a lot of pasta with vegetables from the market (tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, beans).
3. What language do the people in Malawi speak?
There are many dialects. The main language in the region I live in (central region) is called Chichewa. I am going to try to learn some so that I can communicate more effectively at work……
4. Do you feel like so far what you have learned about Africa in school and the way Africa is portrayed in movies and stuff is very representative of what it's actually like there?
Yes and no is the short answer. And the only experience I have is in this one country. There is a lot of poverty. And it is visible in a way that I am not used to in North America. Woman do carry buckets on their heads and the market will randomly break out into song. People do ask me to take them home to live with me or send them to Canada. There is corruption in the government and it filters down to all levels of life. Girls are indeed disadvantaged in many ways. These are things I learnt in school – that have turned out to be fairly accurate. The way that white people’s experiences in Africa are often depicted in movies also feels fairly accurate. I get a lot of attention every where I go for being white. Am often offered a seat at the front of functions and my walk to and from work is filled with cries of “azungu, azungu, how are you??!!!” by little children (translation is “white girl, white girl, how are you?”). I was told by one of the intern organizers here that one of the reasons many Malawians don’t like foreigners to take pictures is because they don’t want these images going back to the West as the only representation of life in Africa. Everyone wants to take pictures of the huts, goats running around, and little naked children – because it is foreign to our lives in the west. So I think that those are the images that are most presented in movies and the media about Africa, and are the majority of the pictures that I am taking as well. The pictures that I don’t take as much of or show on Facebook are the things that are similar to North America. Like the Italian restaurant I go to eat, the bank, my house, ….things like that. So I think that it is a mixed answer. Many of the images presented in movies about Africa are correct. But there are many other sides to Malawi……I will try to take more pictures of that J
5. Do people living in more rural areas only go to the market or do they go to the grocery store too?
That depends on whether there is a grocery store. Some of the smaller cities (which may look like villages to our standards) do have small outlets of grocery chains. Most only have markets. Filled with basic Malawian foodstuffs (rice, maize flour, tomatoes, beans, mangoes).
Any more questions?
1. Is an ex-pat a non-local person?
Yes, an ex-pat is a non-Malawian. It largely refers to non-black people, although there are white Malawians. It is the community of people who are here from other countries and kind of stick together.
2 What type of food do you eat in Malawi (when you are feeling up to eating)?
They eat pretty bland food. NSIMA is one of the main components. It is a thick porridge that gets serves in a patty form. You roll chunks of nsima into a ball in your hand and then dip it in the meat or vegetable side-dishes. Actually pretty good and eating with your hands is fun!
I eat Malawian food only when I am out. Otherwise, I buy most of my food at the western grocery store and eat a lot of pasta with vegetables from the market (tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, beans).
3. What language do the people in Malawi speak?
There are many dialects. The main language in the region I live in (central region) is called Chichewa. I am going to try to learn some so that I can communicate more effectively at work……
4. Do you feel like so far what you have learned about Africa in school and the way Africa is portrayed in movies and stuff is very representative of what it's actually like there?
Yes and no is the short answer. And the only experience I have is in this one country. There is a lot of poverty. And it is visible in a way that I am not used to in North America. Woman do carry buckets on their heads and the market will randomly break out into song. People do ask me to take them home to live with me or send them to Canada. There is corruption in the government and it filters down to all levels of life. Girls are indeed disadvantaged in many ways. These are things I learnt in school – that have turned out to be fairly accurate. The way that white people’s experiences in Africa are often depicted in movies also feels fairly accurate. I get a lot of attention every where I go for being white. Am often offered a seat at the front of functions and my walk to and from work is filled with cries of “azungu, azungu, how are you??!!!” by little children (translation is “white girl, white girl, how are you?”). I was told by one of the intern organizers here that one of the reasons many Malawians don’t like foreigners to take pictures is because they don’t want these images going back to the West as the only representation of life in Africa. Everyone wants to take pictures of the huts, goats running around, and little naked children – because it is foreign to our lives in the west. So I think that those are the images that are most presented in movies and the media about Africa, and are the majority of the pictures that I am taking as well. The pictures that I don’t take as much of or show on Facebook are the things that are similar to North America. Like the Italian restaurant I go to eat, the bank, my house, ….things like that. So I think that it is a mixed answer. Many of the images presented in movies about Africa are correct. But there are many other sides to Malawi……I will try to take more pictures of that J
5. Do people living in more rural areas only go to the market or do they go to the grocery store too?
That depends on whether there is a grocery store. Some of the smaller cities (which may look like villages to our standards) do have small outlets of grocery chains. Most only have markets. Filled with basic Malawian foodstuffs (rice, maize flour, tomatoes, beans, mangoes).
Any more questions?
Friday, October 19, 2007
What I Am Supposed To Be Doing All Day
Surprisingly, the job has turned out to be almost exactly what I applied for, which from what I have heard, is quite rare in development internships.
My job title is the Community Safety and Violence Prevention Officer. The job can be broken down into three main parts:
The first (which I am currently working on) is conducting a ‘community audit’ of the districts that CAYO works in. CAYO stands for the Counseling for Adolescents and Youth Organization, the organization I work for.
A community audit is a fancy development term for conducting research to determine the demographics of a community, and the issues that are facing it.
The question being answered is what makes young women vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. As well as focusing specifically on how violence impacts the sub-populations of sex-workers, teen mothers, and widows.
Right now I am designing questionnaires and discussion guides, and I hope by next week to be going out into the communities to gather information. I will be using three mechanisms to gather the information: focus groups, individual interviews, and discussions with key informants from the communities (like chiefs or teachers). Slightly overwhelming organizationally, but very interesting.
The main obstacles right now are language (I will need a translator), and identifying the participants. The current process is that CAYO approaches the chiefs and they identify the sex-workers and teen mothers for me to talk to. But I am concerned that then includes the chief’s own bias in the selection process. But I am not sure how to avoid that while still following the proper protocols…….
After the research is gathered it will be compiled into one report. Ideally I will be able to see the dominant trends in gender-based violence in these areas.
Part 2: Plan programs that address the issues.
Part 3: Implement the programs.
That is the game plan.
My job title is the Community Safety and Violence Prevention Officer. The job can be broken down into three main parts:
The first (which I am currently working on) is conducting a ‘community audit’ of the districts that CAYO works in. CAYO stands for the Counseling for Adolescents and Youth Organization, the organization I work for.
A community audit is a fancy development term for conducting research to determine the demographics of a community, and the issues that are facing it.
The question being answered is what makes young women vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. As well as focusing specifically on how violence impacts the sub-populations of sex-workers, teen mothers, and widows.
Right now I am designing questionnaires and discussion guides, and I hope by next week to be going out into the communities to gather information. I will be using three mechanisms to gather the information: focus groups, individual interviews, and discussions with key informants from the communities (like chiefs or teachers). Slightly overwhelming organizationally, but very interesting.
The main obstacles right now are language (I will need a translator), and identifying the participants. The current process is that CAYO approaches the chiefs and they identify the sex-workers and teen mothers for me to talk to. But I am concerned that then includes the chief’s own bias in the selection process. But I am not sure how to avoid that while still following the proper protocols…….
After the research is gathered it will be compiled into one report. Ideally I will be able to see the dominant trends in gender-based violence in these areas.
Part 2: Plan programs that address the issues.
Part 3: Implement the programs.
That is the game plan.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
So Close, Yet So Far Away
Last night I had my first social engagement in Malawi. Needless to say, I was excited. I was going to meet a friend of a friend of a friend (pretty common way to meet people half-way around the world) at a local ex-pat bar. The place is called The Shack and supposed to be a lot of fun, beach volleyball and beer in abundance.
I spent the day tracking down a private taxi driver for a decent price. Got someone highly recommended. Booked him to pick me up at 7:30.
Went home, had dinner, organized myself.
At 7:30 I went to wait by the gate, eager to meet Joseph who will hopefully become my regular driver.
Just as I was waiting at the gate – the entire neighbourhood suddenly went dark. And I mean pitch dark. My landlord came out to inform me that the whole country was out and not to expect anything for a while.
I ran back to the house to get my headlamp (which has proven to be the single most useful thing I brought) and went back to the gate; still determined to follow through with my break for social freedom.
Just as I saw Joseph pulling up, I got a call from the people that I was going to meet that the whole bar was out of electricity and everyone was heading home. I reluctantly told Joseph that I would not be needing his services anymore, and went back in to the house.
As I was changing, I exclaimed to Jenika how unfortunate it was that the energy went out, but at least I was making progress. At that exact moment, a mere five minutes after my plans were cancelled, the lights went back on!
Apparently the whole country got itself together much quicker than my landlord expected.
Ahh well, AWA.
Hopefully next time I can make it past the gate – now that would be an accomplishment!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Temptation of Greed
I have been trying to figure out whether I am wealthy or not. While sitting in Canada, my monthly stipend from CIDA seemed like a meager sum. Now sitting in Malawi, this money will clearly go very far, but I am just not sure how far…….
1 Canadian dollar exchanges for about 140 Malawian Kwacha. To give you a sense of how much basic things cost:
one public taxi ride to work = 70 kwacha
one heap of green beans at the market = 50 kwacha
5 tomatoes at the market = 50 kwacha
2 L bottled water = 108 kwacha
1.5 weeks worth of electricity = 500 kwacha
Things at the grocery stores are more expensive, but I think with balancing the two sources I will be able to keep my food budget reasonable.
I have been noticing that many of my fellow foreigners take on a new attitude to money once they have gotten used to the Kwacha and what it can buy. At the market, there is a lot of negotiating to get fruits and vegetables as cheaply as possible. Now perhaps it is just my personal dislike of bargaining, but come on – it is already less than 50 cents! Things that we would be paying more for without question should suddenly be available dirt-cheap.
Then in my pursuit of finding a private taxi for hire I have encountered the same attitude. To hire a taxi to drive me after 6 pm costs about 800 kwacha a direction. My companions were astounded at this price, and may not be willing to pay it. Now, compared to a lot of other things in Malawi, this does indeed sound very expensive. But when converted, it is about $6.30 – comparable to a cheap cab ride in downtown Toronto or Montreal.
So my question is, at what point are we foreigners simply playing the economic game of the developing countries in which we live, and at what point are we becoming greedy?
My thinking tends towards being wary of the ‘greed trap’. I think it is nice to enjoy the cheap cost of basic foodstuffs and a bus ride to work. However, I do not think I am in a position to complain about a $6.30 cab ride after dark. Sure it would be nice if it were really cheap, but it is not more than I would be paying back at home – so what’s the problem?
1 Canadian dollar exchanges for about 140 Malawian Kwacha. To give you a sense of how much basic things cost:
one public taxi ride to work = 70 kwacha
one heap of green beans at the market = 50 kwacha
5 tomatoes at the market = 50 kwacha
2 L bottled water = 108 kwacha
1.5 weeks worth of electricity = 500 kwacha
Things at the grocery stores are more expensive, but I think with balancing the two sources I will be able to keep my food budget reasonable.
I have been noticing that many of my fellow foreigners take on a new attitude to money once they have gotten used to the Kwacha and what it can buy. At the market, there is a lot of negotiating to get fruits and vegetables as cheaply as possible. Now perhaps it is just my personal dislike of bargaining, but come on – it is already less than 50 cents! Things that we would be paying more for without question should suddenly be available dirt-cheap.
Then in my pursuit of finding a private taxi for hire I have encountered the same attitude. To hire a taxi to drive me after 6 pm costs about 800 kwacha a direction. My companions were astounded at this price, and may not be willing to pay it. Now, compared to a lot of other things in Malawi, this does indeed sound very expensive. But when converted, it is about $6.30 – comparable to a cheap cab ride in downtown Toronto or Montreal.
So my question is, at what point are we foreigners simply playing the economic game of the developing countries in which we live, and at what point are we becoming greedy?
My thinking tends towards being wary of the ‘greed trap’. I think it is nice to enjoy the cheap cost of basic foodstuffs and a bus ride to work. However, I do not think I am in a position to complain about a $6.30 cab ride after dark. Sure it would be nice if it were really cheap, but it is not more than I would be paying back at home – so what’s the problem?
Introduction of the Concept
The director of the organization that sent me here introduced a very interesting concept to me while he was passing through Malawi last week. He said that after almost twenty years of living and working in Africa this phrase had stayed him through many frustrating times.
AWA – Africa Wins Again.
The concept implies the frustration felt when despite all of your efforts, things still do not work as you feel they should. And it is completely beyond your control. Today I had my first AWA moment.
I have been trying to upload pictures of my first week for as long as I have been here. I am not sure why this feels so urgent, but this morning I decided those pictures are going up, if it is the last thing I do. I brought my laptop in to set it up at work. I spent an hour and a half with a co-worker trying to get the computer settings to accept the new IP address, allowing me to connect to the local network. For whatever reason, my computer is having none of it. So my housemate, who also works with me, kindly offered her USB key to move the pictures off my computer and upload them from another computer. However, the second computer of choice proved useless as it was set to prevent uploads and things like that. Then, in another act of kindness, my housemate gave me her own computer to use, seeing my growing frustration. I sat down, all excited to finally upload and add captions to these photos. Opened Facebook – at which point, the computer screen went blank and stopped working. Computer overheated.
Africa Wins Again.
Stay tunes for the photos. They will eventually appear.
AWA – Africa Wins Again.
The concept implies the frustration felt when despite all of your efforts, things still do not work as you feel they should. And it is completely beyond your control. Today I had my first AWA moment.
I have been trying to upload pictures of my first week for as long as I have been here. I am not sure why this feels so urgent, but this morning I decided those pictures are going up, if it is the last thing I do. I brought my laptop in to set it up at work. I spent an hour and a half with a co-worker trying to get the computer settings to accept the new IP address, allowing me to connect to the local network. For whatever reason, my computer is having none of it. So my housemate, who also works with me, kindly offered her USB key to move the pictures off my computer and upload them from another computer. However, the second computer of choice proved useless as it was set to prevent uploads and things like that. Then, in another act of kindness, my housemate gave me her own computer to use, seeing my growing frustration. I sat down, all excited to finally upload and add captions to these photos. Opened Facebook – at which point, the computer screen went blank and stopped working. Computer overheated.
Africa Wins Again.
Stay tunes for the photos. They will eventually appear.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
First dat of FUN
Something a little more upbeat:
Today I am having my first adventure in Lilongwe on my own!
I got up. Took my first minibus on my own. Had no problems. Went to the market in Old Town. A real market. Vendors yelling "hey Madame" at every turn. I wanted to take some pictures for you, but it offends some people so I am avoiding for the time being.
I bought three chitenjis - which are traditional wraps that women here use as skirts, dresses, baby carriers, head-wraps. The fabrics are incredible and lively! 2 meters costs 300 kwacha which is less than 3 dollars. (1 dollar=140 kwacha). Then I got sone tuperware. Then I got some woven baskets to hold my clothes in.
And then I walked here to the internet cafe.
Now I am going to go to the supermarket and then take a minibus home.
It is amazing how when one is in a new environment where every aspect of daily life has changed - how incredible it feels to take one independent step toward making this place feel more comfortable.
And I am even having some fun. Not bad for day 8.
Today I am having my first adventure in Lilongwe on my own!
I got up. Took my first minibus on my own. Had no problems. Went to the market in Old Town. A real market. Vendors yelling "hey Madame" at every turn. I wanted to take some pictures for you, but it offends some people so I am avoiding for the time being.
I bought three chitenjis - which are traditional wraps that women here use as skirts, dresses, baby carriers, head-wraps. The fabrics are incredible and lively! 2 meters costs 300 kwacha which is less than 3 dollars. (1 dollar=140 kwacha). Then I got sone tuperware. Then I got some woven baskets to hold my clothes in.
And then I walked here to the internet cafe.
Now I am going to go to the supermarket and then take a minibus home.
It is amazing how when one is in a new environment where every aspect of daily life has changed - how incredible it feels to take one independent step toward making this place feel more comfortable.
And I am even having some fun. Not bad for day 8.
Random things that make life different here
Here are lists of things that make life different in Malawi:
PAY-AS-YOU-GO
Everything is pay-as-you-go. For my cell phone - you just buy credit from the gas stations in whatever dollar amount you want and then log it into the phone.
Electricity credit is also purchased the same way.
Some internet is also offered pay-as-you-go.
A very upfront way of doing things.
TRANSPORTATION
I have been feeling extremely frustration by how difficult it is to get around here. Lilongwe is very spread out so a car is ideal. However, the average lowly CIDA intern does not have the necessay capital floating around to buy a car ($4000-6000) so is instead reliant on 'public' transit. There are a few options. Mini-buses are privately owned 16-seater vans that cram up to 25 people in it and run on regular routes. You jsut sort of stand on the side of road, try and catch one's eye and run to get in. There are also taxis - which I think are more accurately described as metal boxes on wheels. There are known places to stand for taxis and they also just pull over and you get in. Otherwise, you can walk. All of this is actually pretty sufficient during the day.
The problem is once it gets dark. Because Malawi is so close to the equator, there is no evening. The sun begins to set around 5:15 and then is dark quickly after. A stark change from my summer in the Arctic. Once it is dusk, no one is walking around outside. I leave work at 4 to make sure that I can get home by dark. So having a social life outside of work is going to be a bit of a challenge. It was suggested to me that short of buying my own car, my best bet for getting around in the evenings was to find an ex-pat boyfriend..........
In short, I long for the TTC.
PAY-AS-YOU-GO
Everything is pay-as-you-go. For my cell phone - you just buy credit from the gas stations in whatever dollar amount you want and then log it into the phone.
Electricity credit is also purchased the same way.
Some internet is also offered pay-as-you-go.
A very upfront way of doing things.
TRANSPORTATION
I have been feeling extremely frustration by how difficult it is to get around here. Lilongwe is very spread out so a car is ideal. However, the average lowly CIDA intern does not have the necessay capital floating around to buy a car ($4000-6000) so is instead reliant on 'public' transit. There are a few options. Mini-buses are privately owned 16-seater vans that cram up to 25 people in it and run on regular routes. You jsut sort of stand on the side of road, try and catch one's eye and run to get in. There are also taxis - which I think are more accurately described as metal boxes on wheels. There are known places to stand for taxis and they also just pull over and you get in. Otherwise, you can walk. All of this is actually pretty sufficient during the day.
The problem is once it gets dark. Because Malawi is so close to the equator, there is no evening. The sun begins to set around 5:15 and then is dark quickly after. A stark change from my summer in the Arctic. Once it is dusk, no one is walking around outside. I leave work at 4 to make sure that I can get home by dark. So having a social life outside of work is going to be a bit of a challenge. It was suggested to me that short of buying my own car, my best bet for getting around in the evenings was to find an ex-pat boyfriend..........
In short, I long for the TTC.
My Body Is Rejecting Africa!
I have reached the conclusion that my body is rejecting Africa. I came down with my first virus on Wednesday. It was a really weird experience, and kind of scary as I am a pretty healthy person otherwise. I was boiling but shivering at the same time. I was wearing three layers in 30 degree weather - while still shivering. I tried to go to work the next day but had to come home and sleep.
The heat has been really hard to deal with. I realized that since I was in Nunavut this summer, my body has not felt heat since last summer in Ontario. Now being hit daily with 30 degrees and an intense sun has been alot to adjust to. I feel like I am melting all the time. My aunt got me this thing called 'the Cobber' which is a gel-filled neck scarf which stays cold for up to three days at a time. It helps to cool down my body, but I try to keep it hidden under my shirt as it is one of those things that makes Malawians look at me with that 'crazy Canadian woman' look.
I also feel nauseaus all the time, making eating highly unappealing.
Sorry to complain, but I ain't feeling so good.
The heat has been really hard to deal with. I realized that since I was in Nunavut this summer, my body has not felt heat since last summer in Ontario. Now being hit daily with 30 degrees and an intense sun has been alot to adjust to. I feel like I am melting all the time. My aunt got me this thing called 'the Cobber' which is a gel-filled neck scarf which stays cold for up to three days at a time. It helps to cool down my body, but I try to keep it hidden under my shirt as it is one of those things that makes Malawians look at me with that 'crazy Canadian woman' look.
I also feel nauseaus all the time, making eating highly unappealing.
Sorry to complain, but I ain't feeling so good.
So I survived the first week
It has now been one full week that I have been living in Lilongwe. In that time, I have realized that I know very little about the world, that I have taken alot of things for granted (like the TTC or Metro), and that Africa is really really hot!
I moved into my house last Monday. It is a small square building, right behind the landlord's house, inside a large wall. My room is nice, and pretty big. Neither the toilet or the shower have lights in them, so I have been relying heavily on my headlamp to illuminate both processes.
I live in Area 14 of Lilongwe, which is kind of out of the way: but so is everything else, so it is hard to tell. I take either a bike, taxi, or my feat to get to work. And the whole process takes around an hour.
There is not much to update yet on the job front. This week has been orientation so there has not been a large focus on m y specific project yet. On Thursday and Friday the director and some of the board members of CAP AIDS (the organization that sent me here) came through Lilongwe on a tour of all their African projects. It was really nice to see some people from home and we had a chance to go out into the field to some of the rural communities. And I got a great meal out of it - not bad!
Overall, I am feeling ok. I have no idea yet whether I will like it here. I am still at the "take it one day at a time" stage. In fact, the best piece of advice I got was from my friend Kathryn who told me to "be gentle with myself". I have been following that and focusing on staying positive, getting sleep, and trying to make myself eat. She also told me to have fun - I will start working on that next week.
I have alot of things to comment on after a week here - so I will post them as topics and then you can read what interests you.
Stay tuned as well for some pictures- hopefully by Tuesday at the latest!!
I moved into my house last Monday. It is a small square building, right behind the landlord's house, inside a large wall. My room is nice, and pretty big. Neither the toilet or the shower have lights in them, so I have been relying heavily on my headlamp to illuminate both processes.
I live in Area 14 of Lilongwe, which is kind of out of the way: but so is everything else, so it is hard to tell. I take either a bike, taxi, or my feat to get to work. And the whole process takes around an hour.
There is not much to update yet on the job front. This week has been orientation so there has not been a large focus on m y specific project yet. On Thursday and Friday the director and some of the board members of CAP AIDS (the organization that sent me here) came through Lilongwe on a tour of all their African projects. It was really nice to see some people from home and we had a chance to go out into the field to some of the rural communities. And I got a great meal out of it - not bad!
Overall, I am feeling ok. I have no idea yet whether I will like it here. I am still at the "take it one day at a time" stage. In fact, the best piece of advice I got was from my friend Kathryn who told me to "be gentle with myself". I have been following that and focusing on staying positive, getting sleep, and trying to make myself eat. She also told me to have fun - I will start working on that next week.
I have alot of things to comment on after a week here - so I will post them as topics and then you can read what interests you.
Stay tuned as well for some pictures- hopefully by Tuesday at the latest!!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Alive!
I actually made it all in one piece, with all of my bagage, and most of my sanity. I am sitting in the CAYO office - which will be my place of work. Getting oriented and using the opportunity for email. There is too much to write right now - too many thoughts and I am trying to fend off any homesickness - so a more detailed update will have to wait.
All I will say right now is that it is SO different - oh man, is it different.
I hope to write more soon later in the weekend if I can get to a computer :)
All I will say right now is that it is SO different - oh man, is it different.
I hope to write more soon later in the weekend if I can get to a computer :)
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