http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Malawi , Central , Lilongwe en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 06:45:27 +0000 Sat, 18 May 2013 06:45:27 +0000 Once Mum had left Malawi we spent a couple of days in Lilongwe working hard. We cleaned the whole house sweeping mopping washing bedding killing insects wiping shelves cleaning dishes. I also cooked some very yummy dinners including polenta and beans and vegetable curry and rice. Then we washed a whole heap of clothes hoping they wouldn39t get rained on. And after all this we were ve http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-770841.html After a year I39m back in MalawiAnd I39m very happy to be here.It has been wonderful to catch up with everyone here in Malawi after not seeing them for a year. And it feels nice to be back in this environment where there is so much going on so much to see listen to people to talk to...Mum and I arrived in Zambia two weeks ago now and stayed in Lusaka for our first couple of days. We s http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-764581.html Friday 21st Sunday 23rdWe drive through Salima a prosperous looking town on the west side of Lake Malawi to Cool Runnings a site opening onto the sand in Monkey Bay. We39re right on the beach by the lake which looks like a sea stretching to the horizon with gentle waves lapping on the sand. To the left is the fishing village where the men mend their nets to the right women do their washi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-747525.html We took turns to help the cooks Sinai and Kinessa two women from the local village with the lunchtime meal for all the workers. I was ok at chopping onions and tomatoes and then went with one of the women to the borehole 500 yards away. We waited our turn and pumped the lever up and down to fill the large bucket then Kinessa helped put it on my head. I had a small scarf to twist into a circle http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-747405.html 8th September to 29th SeptemberIt is my first Aid Camp International trip and it won39t be my last. This is Aid Camp39s first time in Malawi too and they are working with the Landirani Trust a local Non Governmental Organisation supporting orphans to build a Community Building Chidren39s Centre CBCC about 30 km from Lilongwe.The Centre has been built using a newly recognised method http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-747103.html The day I decided to leave Cape MacLear for Lilongwe was a Sunday which is never a good day for travel in Africa. It was made even worse by the fact that Joyce Banda the country39s new female president was visiting Monkey Bay. Despite getting up early myself and Dmitri from Belgium had missed what was supposedly the only pick up going to Monkey Bay to Cape MacLear that day. After a while of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-746866.html Lilongwe Malawi 15 August We arrived at the Mabuya Camp at 5.00pm which was well appointed with pool too cold today bar WiFi plenty of showers and toilets and shade trees. The camp was 5 minutes out of Lilongwe city CBD. In the city we went to the ATM which ate Toms card. Fortunately the bank was opened so we could retrieve it. We stocked up on snacks and drinks. We went to 4 shops http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-743076.html 727ltStartFragmentgtSorry its taken me so long to write this next entry. Weve had frequent all day power outages which can make things a little difficult around here These past 3 weeks have definitely had their fair share of highs and lows with time moving fast and yes even slow. Ive had some kind of cold symptoms for about two of them but really I think its all the red cla http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-737430.html Following the Game Walk we hired a taxi to take us to the Malawi border. The taxi driver was an off duty police officer. Civil servants are generally not paid a living wage. Most survive by charging bribes for the smallest of tasks. Others moonlight. As a bonus the police officer was a good driver. The first hour of travel was on unpaved road and was rough on the small car. The final leg was http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-735349.html 72 75Alex and I officially started our first week of work with Fletcher at Malawi Economic Justice Network MEJN. Fletcher himself is a well known international development research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute ODI in the U.K. and has worked all over the world. He is also native to Malawi and good friendsneighbors with our host mother Sally which is convenient for rides i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-730693.html 626Salome was kind enough to drop us off into Old Town. We pass by villagers who many have walked 2 hours just to work in the fields for the day. Alex points out a nearby prison named Maula which happens to be the largest one in the country. Prisoners a hundred at a time are kept in small houses and sleep on the floor side by side living out their days.Malawi has a consistent smell of burnin http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-728210.html 624Well ladies and gents....I39m back in action Off to the great motherland...Africa my dream. Of course by now we know that my adventures always start off with a bang right No they didn39t lose my ticket to the Philippines and I don39t have to worry about the only ferry to cross the Celtic Sea being out of service for the season. THIS time the fun began at flight checkin where I w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-727730.html In Africa you need to be a little flexible to go from A to B....and to reach Congo DRC...you need to be even more flexible...and not to worry when it comes to air travel. Not many planes fly to and from Congo but each year at least one of them or more simply don39t make it. If you are anxious about flying...this is not for you period I was supposed to fly BangkokAddis AbabaLubumbashi... http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-693290.html Cheap Tickets to Lilongwe Malawi Thecapital of Malawi Lilongwe is divided in two the Old Town and the New Town.In Lilongwe39s Old Town you will get a chance to see the vivid Africanmarkets and small Asian shops as well as variety hotels interesting cafes andrestaurants to choose from. In New Town which is only 20 years old andis the youngest part of Lilongwe you will see the modern bu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-691920.html After an amazing 4 months my time in Malawi has come to an end. It was incredibly sad to have to say goodbye to Malawi and all the animals at the centre and the wonderful friends I39ve made but I promised them that I39ll be back as soon as I can. Living in Malawi was such an incredible experience and I39ve learnt so much about so many things. I can39t even begin to tell you all the t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-670691.html I know you39ve all been waiting for this so here it is update number 3 on my amazing life in AfricaLife here has been incredibly busy especially in the past month. There have been a lot of ups and downs but in general I love life here so much that the downs have been manageable.There39s a lot to say about the past couple of months it39s difficult to know where to start because I ju http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-660088.html This place is amazing After 5 weeks of being here in Malawi I39m still really loving it. I39m learning more and more about African life and everything is always so fascinating even if it39s really frustrating at the same time.Things generally happen pretty slowly here which can be frustrating if you really need to get stuff done but I find that I39ve adapted pretty well to Afri http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-653134.html Hello from MalawiMuli bwanji This is where you answer Ndili bwino kaya inu.This phrase was my first in Chichewa the national language of Malawi and definitely the most important phrase to know. It means How are you I39m fine and you. That39s the standard greeting here so it39s been very useful.After 3 weeks of living in Malawi I have to say I39m really happ http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-638441.html What is the best gift that you would be willing to give Would you give the shirt off your back if someone needed clothing Christians certainly ought to be the folks in this world who willingly assist others as we have opportunity and such generosity ought to be extended toward all men Galatians 610. But let39s challenge our thinking. In ascending order we ask Would I give away http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-637532.html Back in 2006 the six Jensens spent the month of May in Malawi. We had been duly warned that Africa might get into your blood. We had been considering a move to a foreign mission field for quite some time and the time spent with Ed and Lina Crookshank helped propel our decision to work in East Africa. Doors seemed to open smoothly for us to move to Tanzania in April of 2007. Again in 2009 Ed http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Malawi/Central/Lilongwe/blog-636699.html