One week

 

July 5, 2009

 

We have already been living here in Malawi for 1 week.  The first few days were so full and we had so many new experiences in each day that it seemed like we had been here for a very long time.  Now, after a week, we feel like we are settling in and things are getting easier.  We know how to get food by navigating the grocery stores, the vegetable market in Mangochi and the metro.  We have even been to the “convenience store” at the end of our road here (about a mile from our house) to get eggs.  (While there entailed collecting an entourage of about 30 or 40 children.)  We couldn’t believe it, but they walked all the way down there and all the way back, dropping off at their homes.  They didn’t seem to be the least bit bored by us. 

 

Mark knows how to take care of the car which means putting in nearly as much oil as petrol (and oil is very expensive here) and he does a great job of driving on the left side of the road.  I can’t remember the last time he used the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal.  We know the names of all the azungu (white people) around us and are starting to sort of the Malawian’s names.  One reason it is so hard at the school is that the kids wear uniforms, so they are all dressed alike and they all have the same hairstyle, both boys and girls.  So until you get to know their smiles and their mannerisms, it is hard to tell everyone apart. 

 

We have learned how to get hot water out of the shower.  This is a huge breakthrough as it has been cool here.  The people here consider it COLD, especially the azungu, but it is not much different than an Alaskan summer.  It is supposed to be the dry season, but it has been cloudy and windy most days since we arrived.  We’re hoping that it warms up soon.  We would like to have some summer before we have to come back to Alaska. 

 

We have tried nsima which is a semi-solid cornmeal concoction, the main staple of the Malawi culture.  By itself, it is kind of like the homemade playdough that Annie made just before we left home except it is more bland.  But they serve it with beans and mustard greens at the school and it is really good when you eat it that way, similar to eating corn tortillas, but softer and there’s a lot more of it.  We paid 80 kwacha each for a plate FULL of food.  That’s 50 cents. 

 

There is always the assumption that things are cheaper in third world countries, and some things are VERY cheap like tomatoes (they’re everywhere), tangerines (they are green instead of orange), cabbage (70 cents for a 5 pound head and we eat it every day), Coke (30 cents a bottle) and beer (70 cents a bottle and it’s pretty good).  Things that are more expensive that at home are butter, the oil for the car, cheese is shockingly expensive, fish is harder to come by out of the lake and we paid over $10 for 6 smallish fish.  Eggs are about $2.50 a dozen. 

 

We celebrated Independence Day with fellow Americans yesterday.  Jess and Jesse came over with their small grill.  We made hamburgers and Jesse made homemade buns.  After dark, we went over to the resort where they had Malawian dancers.  They were dressed in very strange costumes and masks so you couldn’t see their movements or their bodies clearly.  It was just OK.  It didn’t even compare to the wonderful experience of music and dancing that we had at church today.  I’ll write more about that tomorrow.  For now, it’s time for tea, book reading and bedtime.