Adventures, Adventures!

Adventure, adventure!

So I just got back to Lilongwe after a week long adventure to northern Malawi to visit friends, see a new part of the country, live a different way of life, and spend some relaxing time at the lake (Lake Malawi). And boy, it was just what I needed to feel a little bit more refreshed and ready to start work again. (Although it also showed me a different way of life- one that I could get used to pretty easily...)

The adventure begun by fighting our way through a mob of people to secure a place on the bus up north. I am not exactly sure why there were so many people- I think part of it is the fuel situation, which is still really bad in Malawi, and part of it probably had to do with the fact that we were traveling the day after new years, so some of it must have been holiday traffic. We were told that it would be crowded and we had to get there early to get a seat (otherwise we would have to stand for the 9 hour bus ride...) but I was NOT prepared for the mob that was waiting for us. Luckily I have experience in situations like that- thank you concerts :-) - and I know how to throw some 'bows and push my weight around to hold my ground.... even though at one point I did end up on the bottom of a pile of people... BUT all was good and we were able to get on the bus- with a seat! and without injury.

Our adventure continued when we traveled from Mzuzu, where we met our friends, back to their house in Lunjika- a small little village two hours off the tarmac road. I know I wrote before about riding on the back of a truck, and how it was a bit of a dream come true for me.... well I now have a new respect for anyone having to ride on the back- or side, like I did on the way there- of a truck. We just happened to be sharing the back of this truck with I would say 60 or so other people... personal space is not an issue in Malawi, or Africa for that matter... It amazes me how many people... and bags of onions... and maze... and live chickens... you can fit in one truck. And the beauty of it all, no one complains. I know that it was a new experience for me, so I wasn't used to the elbows in my face and people sitting on my lap... or back... but looking around I saw that no one else was worried about the amount of people there. No one else was complaining that it was too crowded or they were uncomfortable. It opened up my eyes a little and showed me what so many people go through daily just to live life. It showed me how relative comfort is... it showed me a new and different way of loving people... of being selfless. “Of course you can hop on and sit on my lap... you need to get to where we are going too...” I do realize that I don't speak Tambuka, so I don't really know if people were complaining or not, but from what I was observing, not too many people were... which really opened up my eyes to the comforts of my life and what I complain about.

Our friends- Michele and Ryan- volunteer with the peace corps. They live in a little village called Lunjika, and as I already said, its two hours off the tarmac down a dirt road into a valley nestled between mountains. And trees. There were so many trees! It was absolutely beautiful there. I had been told that it was pretty up there, and I knew that the north had more trees than the central and southern regions of Malawi, but I was not expecting the beauty that I saw there. It was amazing. If I could run around that area every day, I would be a very happy person.

I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous about going and staying out in a village. I was challenged by the idea, and that made me really want to experience it, but I was not sure I would actually be comfortable having to do all of the things that encompass village life. There were so many things that would be new to me. No electricity, no running water, having to cook on a fire, having to go to the bathroom in a long drop, having to drink water from a bore hole... it all made me a little uncomfortable thinking about. I surprised myself, though, and ended up loving it! I love the simpleness of everything. I know that it is different for me coming into it for a couple of days compared to someone who lives a life like that day in and day out, but it I definitely appreciated the change of pace and simpleness of it all. I turned my phone off and didn't let myself be run by a clock. For three days I didn't know what time it really was, I just went with the flow. It was amazing to slow down and really enjoy life for what it was.

Staying in a village also gave me a new appreciation for the time schedule of Africa and the non westernized world. I learned very quickly last year that when people mean 8am, a lot of times they really mean somewhere between 9am and tomorrow... we have a saying/ joke here that is “8am American or mzungu time...” when we want people to show up exactly at the time specified. However, when you have to cook your meals over a fire and it takes forever for the wood to start to burn because it is wet, yea, you are going to be a little late. I realized that it wasn't necessarily that people don't care about your time, and that they are trying to be late just because, it is more that there is a never ending mass of things to do when you live in a village, and sometimes it takes longer than anticipated to get those things done. It amazes me that I have lived here for a year and a half now, but my eyes are still being opened to new things each and every day.

Adventures are fun, but now it is back to life in Lilongwe. I am interested and excited to see what these next few months of living here have to bring. If this year is anything like last year, these months to come will fly by. Weekends start to be packed full with swimming and other things going on. I also hope to get more involved with the Chisomo Idea and other things around Lilongwe. I am not entirely sure when I will be coming home yet, but I am sure it will come before I know it!