Africa At Last

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I stepped off the plane in Lilongwe, Malawi, and was almost instantly overcome by the realization that I finally made it to Africa. It was pretty much as I imagined – colorful flowers, miles of flat land rolling into the distant mountains…
Going through immigration and customs was pretty easy. I think only one of the four of us had luggage searched, but even that wasn’t too bad.
Richard, one of the drivers from MHRRC (where Megan and Mindy intern), met us at the airport. As we drove back, we were confronted by all sorts of stereotypes. Women carrying a basket of food or water on their heads with a baby tied to their back, vendors selling goods along the side of the road, and a tremendous variety of plants gracing the roadside.
At the first roundabout, Richard told us we were now in the city. This met us with surprise, as there was nothing but cars, minibuses (the ubiquitous mode of public transportation), and billboards. To say Lilongwe’s spread out is an understatement. It looks like a US/UK suburb. “City center” is a collection of government buildings, hotels, and gas/petrol stations, and Old Town seems to consist of one curved road with side streets. Aside from the open flea market section, it looks like a really long strip mall. Overall, I’d say it’s most similar to Pittsburgh, if the ‘burgh didn’t have a downtown (and was flat). Or a smaller version of Blackpool if none of the buildings were higher than 3 stories. Less than 1 mile later and you’re back to the suburb look.

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