Hello everyone!
So I have arrived in Blantyre and am currently sitting in an internet cafe taking a break and writing you an email. Our plane landed in Lilongwe on Friday and we spent about 2 days doing some in-country training, which involved many long talks punctuated by jet lag dozing. We were brought to a resort type place, run by a British couple, not quite what I was thinking... but it was a good chance for us to take a rest after our 36 hours of travel. I've had 2 market experiences so far, one in Lilongwe and one in Blantyre today. Let me just say, I am definitely glad to be in Blantyre. Markets are fantastic, so many people selling so many different things. Bananas, guava, onions, tangerines, apples, ground nuts (peanuts), and a whole lot more. There is also a lot of used clothing being sold in the markets (some still with their value village tag). I bought a sweet very retro collared shirt today that will definitely fly well in Canada. I also realized that I needed a pair of dress shoes for the office, so I picked up a nice pair of used black leather loafers (pretty snazzy). The currency in Malawi is Kwatchas, and is about 140 Kwatcha to 1 Canadian dollar. When you go to the bank and take out 20,000 Kwatcha, you are given it in 500 bills, 40 bills is crazy.
Yesterday was my first day at the office of the Malawi Fresh Water Project (MFWP). I was introduced to two members of the office, and to the woman I will be living with. The house I will be staying in for the time being is right next to my office. It is a fairly nice house with running water and electricity and I will have my own room. It is a lovely home, and it is nice that I will have somewhere to live right away, but I am going to try and move to a home in a village close by. I would really like to live in more of a community with a family who have children.
My first day of work involved a 6 hour car ride to and from Mount Mulanje to visit a village that MFWP will be working with to install a new borehole. The long drive was worth the absolutely gorgeous scenery. The main crop in that area is tea, and there is A LOT of it. You see hundreds of women with woven baskets on their backs out in the tea fields picking the tea leaves. Coupled with the rolling hills and wonderful mountains in the background, it was quite the drive. Not many cars or trucks go up into this area, so the drive was a little bumpy. We stopped at one village to ask for directions and about 50 kids came running out and started climbing all over our truck. Once we arrived at the village where the borehole will be installed, we had another 50 kids and older women greet us. I'm going to have to get used to several children just starring at me. To these children, I may have been the first white person that they have ever seen.
We are currently living in the “Family Lodge” right inside Blantyre. For 1000 Kwatcha a night it is pretty nice with comfy beds, etc...People are so happy when you can speak even a little Chichewa, and going out for the last couple days has made me realize how important it is going to be for me to speak even the basic Chichewa.
People in Malawi are fantastic, helpful, and full of smiles. You can ask almost anyone where something is and they will either give you a long descriptive answers, or actually take you to the location. There was one man who took us about 30 minutes to the location we were going.
The food is... pretty greasy. They cook with a lot of oil and salt, which is a bit hard on the stomach at first. A big hit in the markets is to have sliced potatoes cooked in hot oil (the Malawian version of the french fry). Main meals are relishes eaten with Nsima (made with maize and water- and pretty heavy on it's own).
I'd love to hear any questions, comments, or updates from Canada! Internet connection is pretty slow here, and I don't know how often I will be at an internet cafe, so I'm not promising any quick responses, but they will come eventually.
I will be describing more of what my work does once I get into it more.
Miss you all,
Erica.
So I have arrived in Blantyre and am currently sitting in an internet cafe taking a break and writing you an email. Our plane landed in Lilongwe on Friday and we spent about 2 days doing some in-country training, which involved many long talks punctuated by jet lag dozing. We were brought to a resort type place, run by a British couple, not quite what I was thinking... but it was a good chance for us to take a rest after our 36 hours of travel. I've had 2 market experiences so far, one in Lilongwe and one in Blantyre today. Let me just say, I am definitely glad to be in Blantyre. Markets are fantastic, so many people selling so many different things. Bananas, guava, onions, tangerines, apples, ground nuts (peanuts), and a whole lot more. There is also a lot of used clothing being sold in the markets (some still with their value village tag). I bought a sweet very retro collared shirt today that will definitely fly well in Canada. I also realized that I needed a pair of dress shoes for the office, so I picked up a nice pair of used black leather loafers (pretty snazzy). The currency in Malawi is Kwatchas, and is about 140 Kwatcha to 1 Canadian dollar. When you go to the bank and take out 20,000 Kwatcha, you are given it in 500 bills, 40 bills is crazy.
Yesterday was my first day at the office of the Malawi Fresh Water Project (MFWP). I was introduced to two members of the office, and to the woman I will be living with. The house I will be staying in for the time being is right next to my office. It is a fairly nice house with running water and electricity and I will have my own room. It is a lovely home, and it is nice that I will have somewhere to live right away, but I am going to try and move to a home in a village close by. I would really like to live in more of a community with a family who have children.
My first day of work involved a 6 hour car ride to and from Mount Mulanje to visit a village that MFWP will be working with to install a new borehole. The long drive was worth the absolutely gorgeous scenery. The main crop in that area is tea, and there is A LOT of it. You see hundreds of women with woven baskets on their backs out in the tea fields picking the tea leaves. Coupled with the rolling hills and wonderful mountains in the background, it was quite the drive. Not many cars or trucks go up into this area, so the drive was a little bumpy. We stopped at one village to ask for directions and about 50 kids came running out and started climbing all over our truck. Once we arrived at the village where the borehole will be installed, we had another 50 kids and older women greet us. I'm going to have to get used to several children just starring at me. To these children, I may have been the first white person that they have ever seen.
We are currently living in the “Family Lodge” right inside Blantyre. For 1000 Kwatcha a night it is pretty nice with comfy beds, etc...People are so happy when you can speak even a little Chichewa, and going out for the last couple days has made me realize how important it is going to be for me to speak even the basic Chichewa.
People in Malawi are fantastic, helpful, and full of smiles. You can ask almost anyone where something is and they will either give you a long descriptive answers, or actually take you to the location. There was one man who took us about 30 minutes to the location we were going.
The food is... pretty greasy. They cook with a lot of oil and salt, which is a bit hard on the stomach at first. A big hit in the markets is to have sliced potatoes cooked in hot oil (the Malawian version of the french fry). Main meals are relishes eaten with Nsima (made with maize and water- and pretty heavy on it's own).
I'd love to hear any questions, comments, or updates from Canada! Internet connection is pretty slow here, and I don't know how often I will be at an internet cafe, so I'm not promising any quick responses, but they will come eventually.
I will be describing more of what my work does once I get into it more.
Miss you all,
Erica.
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