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.