Blogs from Blantyre, Southern, Malawi, Africa - page 4

I don’t know what it is with my bathroom but it is like a Zoo! Well actually I do know what it is - the drain from the bath goes directly outside my bathroom window and directly into the drain it is clearly at sufficiently a shallow angle to allow any and all animals smaller than drain size to come in as well water to go out. On a more or less daily basis I have any number of bugs coming in. Of course you will know that spiders are my least favourite; but fortunately Steph is completely unphased by them. I am so over cockroaches I just leave them there and they find their way out again. Little bugs are fine but the small scorpions worry me a bit. Most days I have a ... read more

On Chichewa Tuesdays, for 700 Kwacha each (a little less than £3) Dick comes to the house and gives us a one hour lesson in Chichewa; the language of the Chewa tribe of Malawi. English is taught in secondary schools and therefore all educated people speak it well, but those in the villages and others who have left school following their primary years, communicate in their local language. This is predominantly Chichewa across the country, but many speak another language such as Timbouka particularly in the north. Last Tuesday my colleagues were stranded at the hospital waiting for transport and so I had a lesson alone. Repeated text messages updating me on their progress made me think they would arrive imminently and so Dick and I got to chatting. One of the first questions a Malawian ... read more

It’s 5:30 in the morning. I seem to be waking up with the dawn every day. Although it means I’m tired later on; I love this time of day. The morning light is different again, it is cool and there is often a gentle breeze and sometimes quite a strong one. The birds start signing and in the distance children are playing as the area around us slowly wakes to the day; cockerels crow and there is a certain peace and quiet before the rest of the house wakes up. The house has been provided by the Zomba Mental Hospital; and as the pictures show it was pretty Spartan when we first moved in and we have had to spend more than we expected to buy the basics. A psychiatrist working at the university college medical ... read more

Hi all. I have arrived in Blantyre, Malawi as of Sunday. It was a little hard to get information as I was on the road, so I was pleased to hear about the Cubs clinching the division and not as pleased to hear about the banking crisis in the states. Too bad I'm not still at Rush or I could have contributed some meal tickets toward the $700 billion bailout. It certainly feels strange to be so disconnected with the goings-on, especially with the debates coming up Friday, my favorite part of election years. Anyhoo, my travels are over for the time being and it definitely feels nice to settle into a place for a while. Blantyre is a small city, but relatively clean and with some nice amenities. I think I will like the program ... read more

Every interaction or conversation begins with the statutory greetings; which have quickly become referred to as mulu bwangying amongst ourselves. • Moni Achemwele / Amayi / Abambo (hello sister, mother, brother) • Mulu Bwanji? • Ndili Bueno, kaya inu? • Ndili Bueno, Zikomo Often that is the interaction in its entirety; people in the street call out to you as you pass Moni achemwale, mulu bwanje…..yesterday a man I passed on the street waved as many people do (there are relatively few white people here and we stand out like beacons and have some kind of strange celebrity status) and shouted his customary greeting and when I replied he broke into a huge grin and got up walked from where he’d been relaxing with his daughters and shook my hand went through the whole process and ... read more