Flight to Dubai

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Ok here is the text I wrote in Nairobi while waiting for my flight, as promised... please excuse the typos... as I think I mention in the text I took Gravol and was totally passing out...

November 22

Well well… A month has already gone by. It has gone by fast yet I have absorbed so much that I feel like I was in Malawi for longer.

I am traveling alone because I am spending some days in Dubai. Melanie and Chris are heading to Montreal tomorrow morning, and Richard, well, I think he’s leaving on Thursday. I don’t think I would have been able to do this on my own when I left Canada. But I think I have grown a little since then. I managed to get myself from via minibus from Mangochi, which is on the lake shore, back to Blantyre where I picked up my big luggage, amused myself at the hotel until the 17h15 coach bus to Lilongwe (I had missed the 12:30 one unfortunately), managed to stay calm even though our bus had major brake problems three-quarters of the way, checked into my room which I had reserved myself, finished packing, slept, went to the gym, had a nice breakfast, went for a quick swim and very quick sun-tanning, dealt with the problem that the shuttle transfer I had reserved from the hotel to the airport just the night before had been forgotten, checked out, and made it to Nairobi! (well the very last part is more thanks to the pilot hehe). I’m amazed!

I was actually quite lucky on this flight. It was free seating and the lady who sat next to me had been in the news because she flew to Malawi to feed approximately 1000 people. For those who might not know this, Malawi is going through a famine. Actually it goes through a famine almost every year, but this year is particularly bad. There has been little or no rain, so little or no maize, the staple food of the people here. So this lady, who is a professor at the University of Edinburgh, was telling me about what she saw in Malawi (she spent quite a few years doing anthropological work there so she feels particularly close to the people and knows quite well some of the people in the village) and I explained in general terms what problems businesses were facing.

There is so much to be done, and this of course in every developing country. But it really isn’t until you go yourself that you understand the extent of the problems, and the frustration that they entail. You need to meet the people, speak with people, feel the vibes to really capture what is happening. In all honesty I think the best way to help out is probably to do what this woman has done: raise enough money to go yourself and help out. That or the international organizations need more funding and more resources, and better people managing. Wait; Or maybe funds need to be channeled to individuals that actually will go in the field.

Sorry for the ranting, it’s just a little depressing to leave a country after spending a month listening to people’s problems (and trust me, these are big problems) then leave really dissatisfied because I can do nothing for the moment. I really think that I will continue this consulting business for a while, visit some more countries, absorb more colors, sounds, and sights, go back to school, and do some real field work. And maybe teach. And maybe do some interesting consulting contracts. But let me stress the need to go into the field, and if ever I do start living in an illusion I hope I will be reminded of this.

Ok so it sucks to be stuck at the airport alone. I’m sitting in the crowded transit lounge and I need to plan and organize a trip to the bathroom! Hahaha Yes… if I go I will lose my table… and I will have to find a seat…. Is it worth it? Maybe I will wait a little bit. I hope there is soap in the restrooms here… I have Purel but that only disinfects…. Eww that’s one thing that particularly disgusts me: not having clean toilet facilities. Well that will cut my trips to certain rural areas short! So much for my previous spiel… But rural does not mean dirty, just a little more rustic. Wow, I just spent five minutes thinking about this. Still three more hours to think about such things…

I am very drowsy at the moment because I popped two Gravol pills before the first flight and tried to down this mini pouch of Malawi Gin without feeling like an alcoholic… Didn’t work. As soon as that woman sat next to me I felt embarrassed. So I kinda threw the little pouch in my puke bag. My breath probably still smelled like alcohol. Geez way to leave a good impression. Oh well. It was a nice short flight. I thought we had to stop in Lusako (the capital of Zambia). Wooooah I still feel those Gravols though. So I will have a drink next flight. And sleep until Dubai. Hopefully. I’m so excited!!! I want to just close my eyes and then open them and be there!

I will admit that I am a little nervous too about going. And that is all I will disclose of my private life.

I bought perfume at the duty-free shop in Lilongwe. I lived one month without perfume, because I was living in fear of the enemy here, those buzzing mean bloodsucking creatures called mosquitos. It was strange to smell like nothing (or kind of bad hehe) as I love good perfumes. Even more so than make-up, another thing I sort of left on hold while in Malawi. Yeah I was “Out in Africa” baby! I’m sooooo bringing these things next time I go by the way… and 1 pair of jeans. Anyway I bought this perfume I love and was meaning to buy, By by Dolce & Gabana , although now I’m a bit worried that it has been on the shelf for a little while… The only thing that is worse than a cheap perfume is any perfume gone bad! Wow, where have my concerns about development and poverty gone!?

Ok so now only 2h45 minutes until check-in! Ah que je m’amuse… NOT. Ok as soon as this room empties a bit I am heading for the restrooms and I will get a seat on a padded bench because my butt is suffering on these hard wooded chairs. I think I did lose a bit of fat while I was away, so it’s back on the bones. It’s funny how bored I am right now but also how I do not feel like striking up a conversation with a stranger. I have been talking to a lot of strangers for the past month and I can’t wait to sit a talk with a close friend or family. One gets sick of the whole introduction talk about who one is, where one is from, what one thinks about such and such, and where one has been. It is all very superficial. And anything superficial is, at least in my opinion, exhausting. I am craving the little yet personal little talk you have with the ones closest to you. It’s comforting and soothing.

Ok so I guess everyone has decided to fly to Dubai as well… And I’m on page three. And I would like to sleep. Isn’t that one of the worst feelings… that craving of sleep that you cannot have. It kills. I can’t even text message from here. There’s no reception. There was a group of elderly Canadians or Americans playing cards who seemed very friendly, but as I mentioned earlier I am to exhausted to talk to them. Oh! Voice on the intercom calling people to board their flights… GO PEOPLE GO! Ok I’m such a loser. I should thing twice before posting this or sending it to anyone, if I do at all. Oh my god! I just realized that the time is different here and that I have an hour less to wait! NICE!!!

That just made my day!! Ok I think I’m gonna walk around a bit… before flying again!!

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