Arriving in Malawi
It was a long journey out to Malawi. I first had a one-week orientation with SIM Canada in Toronto, and then flew from there to London to Johannesberg, South Africa to Blantyre, Malawi. In all I was in the air for 20 hours and on lay-over for 14 hours. I arrived at noon on Oct. 20th with all my luggage (which is a rarity I’m told) and thankfully it was clouded over, and so a little cooler. The rainy season has not yet started, and things will cool off a bit when that comes, but for right now it can get to high 30s with humidity on the rise. It is rather uncomfortable often, especially sitting in a crammed minibus and waiting for it to fill all the way up (but more on the minibus experience another time), or during any of the scheduled or unscheduled power outages when the fans don’t work. But all-in-all I am adapting a little and sweating more.
Chileka International Airport
First Impressions
The first thing I observed about Malawi as my plane was coming to a landing at Chileka International Airport was that the ground is very red. It is the end of the dry season and the clay earth is very striking. I had the distinct feeling, I’m not in Canada anymore. This feeling was confirmed again and again as the time went on. The trip into the city was perhaps the most striking as we drove through what looked like slums, but were simply townships. Everybody seemed to be outside – children, adults, men, women – and there was so much activity. The houses and shops were very small and typically very makeshift. Poverty is so rampant, and its amazing, saddening, and humbling to see how little people live with. I’m sure the reality of the poverty will hit me a lot more as the time goes on.
Another very obvious sign of not being in Canada anymore is the fact that I’m surrounded by black people. Vancouver is very multi-cultural, true, and if I was living in Asia, I probably wouldn’t bat an eye, but I really am not used to seeing many African faces. Plus, I stick out a whole lot. I am, first of all, a fair bit taller than the average Malawian, but much more, my skin colour will never let me blend in. I have but to walk off of the EBCoM (Evangelical Bible College of Malawi) campus and I’m given special treatment, approached by people (sometimes for money, sometimes just to talk), and continually greeted by the shouts of children, “Azungu [foreigner], how are you?” I, of course, entertain them and respond, “Very well, thank-you and how are you” to which I typically get giggles and then the next child saying, “Azungu, how are you?” and on and on. A lot of people here generally seem to expect a thumbs-up from a white guy. I don’t know who started that, but sometimes I help perpetuate it.
The SIM Team and my Transition
I have been very well treated by the SIM Malawi people and they are making the transition very smooth. It is a great mix of people here in Blantyre with people from Germany, the UK, America, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, and now me from Canada. For the first few days I was staying in the new SIM guesthouse (which is super nice and a good option if anyone wants to come visit me J) until I got together all I needed to get started at my place at EBCoM. For almost the whole first week I had most of my meals taken care of as well, being hosted by each of the missionaries here. Another aspect of the smooth transition is the fact that I do not have to jump directly into teaching. I will start teaching in January, and for that semester it will only be one course before getting into the full swing in the semester starting in April. There are several reasons for this – not just to help me out with a stepping stool since I’ve never taught or put together a course. These first few months are designated for language learning and cultural orientation. I will be teaching in English, but the idea is that I won’t be an effective teacher unless I understand where the students are coming from and whom they are in turn going to be ministering to. Language is a vital entry into understanding how a culture thinks, and so language study will be helpful on more fronts than just helping me get around town better. Furthermore, showing a genuine effort at learning Chichewa is a huge thing in Malawian eyes, and it will be and already has been an important component of building relationships with the students. Plus, Malawi is a relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented culture, and so my time is actually more valued in building friendships than diving right into teaching. So far I have seen a lot of how surprised and appreciative they are of my trying to learn how to say things in Chichewa as well as the fact that I eat Nsima (more on that below). I have a private tutor, Paul, whom I’m meeting with for Chichewa lessons, and starting Nov. 22nd I’m taking a two-week intensive Chichewa course.
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| Paul, my private tutor for Chichewa lessons |
Part of the cultural study/orientation includes my going on Monday up to central Malawi just outside of Salima to live in a village for a week with a pastor. This will be quite an intense experience (i.e. no electricity, indoor plumming, etc.), but it will really help give me a sense of how most of the country lives, and the kind of contexts that most of the graduates from EBCoM will be going to. It will help me know how to better equip the students. There are also some other trips in the planning for visiting other areas of Malawi and also seeing what SIM is doing in different areas. Besides all the cultural and language study, once I find out what course I’ll be teaching in January, I’m sure preparations will also take a good chunk of my time.
Getting Set Up
After the few days staying at the SIM guesthouse, I moved to my new home on the EBCoM campus. It’s not only new to me; it’s actually new – never lived in. As such, though, it came only with a fridge, a stove/oven, a wooden chair, built-in closets/shelves and desk, and a bed. The rest was/is for me to supply, so I have been slowly picking up things to make it livable and home. The trick is, while some things – like locally grown food – are really cheap, anything imported is really expensive, and it is painful to, for example, pay close to $100 for an AVS surge protector and a powerbar or $10 for a small, plastic cutting board. When those prices are in Malawian Kwacha (the Malawian currency, which is roughly $1=MK150), one gets slightly overwhelmed. To make the shopping experience even more interesting, almost no place accepts payment in plastic, only cash. Furthermore, in order to prevent further devaluing of the currency, Malawi will not print higher bills, which leaves the highest denomination, MK500 – the equivalent of $3 or 4. Now, thankfully I didn’t have to do it, but just think about buying something like a car with only $5 bills! Deep pockets and cargo pants come in really handy here. I still haven’t purchased a couch and easy-chairs, which will be very helpful for when students and other visitors drop in. Anyway, getting set up has helped me to see why SIM’s expense estimates are placed as high as they are. While I complain, though, the reality is that I can still pay the price whereas the vast majority of the country can’t. Only a small minority would actually be able to afford a car and face the problem of paying for it in MK500 bills. The rest walk or take a minibus.
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| My building at EBCoM. I am in the last three windows on the top right |
Life at EBCoM
One humorous thing about my home at EBCoM is the new building I’m in is actually the girls dorm. I have a separate suite within it, but it’s an odd set up, and I don’t have a private entrance or anything. At the first chapel that I was at, when I was introduced and the principal said that I was living in the new building, everyone started chuckling. In addition to dwelling among women, I’m also getting used to dwelling continually among ants. There are loads of other bugs too (like cockroaches, mosquitos, and spiders – not sure if some of them have been poisonous or not), but there are ants simply everywhere – and this even before I brought in any food. I think I’m winning the battle against them, but they just keep coming and choose to die all over my floor so that a couple days after sweeping there are literally hundreds strewn about again.
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| A small glimpse of the ants, now deceased with the help of the aptly named insect spray, Doom |
I’ve been getting quite well involved with the life of the college despite not starting to teach until January. A couple of weeks ago there was a Sports and Fellowship afternoon in which the students played against the staff. The women played net ball (it is similar to basketball), and the men played football (soccer). The staff lost pretty decidedly in both, but good fun was had by all .
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| Staff in the red, students in the blue |
Another thing that I’ve been doing for getting involved (and will continue to do throughout my time here) is having lunch every day with the students. Now, I will need to explain a little bit about the food here. The staple food is called nsima and it is corn flour and water mixed to a consistency a little thicker than porridge. To eat it, one takes some nsima in the right hand (and it’s hot!) and works it around in the one hand to form it tightly together and then picks up some of the relish (ndiwo) with it. The relish can be made of any number of things including beans, spinach, chicken, goat, fish, egg, etc. Anyway, nsima is quite bland, very filling, and most Azungus tend not to like it. The Malawians, however, love it and eat it every meal (though breakfast is an adapted recipe to make it more like porridge. Something different like sweet potatos can also be had instead for breakfast). Malawians don’t feel like they’ve actually had a meal until they have their nsima. I actually reasonably like nsima, which the Malawians are surprised and happy to see. The way that the food works at the college for the students is that the college supplies a couple of cooks, but the students organize and purchase the food together themselves. Because finances is a real factor, they make it as cheap as possible and alternate between three relishes – beans, spinach (with an egg), and dried fish. Admittedly, they are not the best tasting relishes, but they satisfy. For lunch on Wednesday they splurge and have rice (with beans) instead of nsima. For a week’s worth of food though, each student pays only MK1,100 (a little over $7)! Since I’m only having lunches with them (2 meals of nsima would be pushing it right now for me, so I make my own breakfasts and dinners), I pay MK500 per week. Besides the actual eating part, having lunches with the students has been great. I’m actually the only staff person who has any meals with them right now, and they really like having me there. It’s been fantastic getting to know them, though really challenging remembering all their non-western names. I think these lunches will also be super helpful for my language learning as I’m hearing Chichewa all the time and they are eager to teach me new words.
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| Nsima and dried fish. Many Malawians eat the whole fish - bones, head, fins. I'm not there yet with the bones |
Things I’ve Done that I Oughtn’t Have
Life in Africa is quite different from Canada, and there are certain rules to follow for the sake of health and safety. I have not exactly been the most diligent in all of these, and the following is a little list of no-no’s that I’ve done:
a) sleep without a mosquito net
b) drink the water unfiltered (I was a guest at a pastor’s house and didn’t want to offend him)
c) eat fresh vegetables not soaked in potassium permanganate (I didn’t actually get the stuff until a couple weeks ago)
d) wash and then air dry my clothes and wear them within 3 days without ironing them (to understand why this is a no-no I must explain the curiosity of the Mango Fly. This fly lands on wet clothes and lays eggs, especially in the seams. If the clothes are worn without having been ironed or before having been completely dry for 3 days, the hatched mango worms will burrow into a person’s skin [I’ve heard it’s painful]. Anyway, to get rid of them one suffocates them with Vaseline and when they poke out, one pinches them out the rest of the way. Thankfully, I didn’t get any mango worms from my gamble).
e) walk home after dark (there is actual considerable danger at night of stray dogs, more snakes and insects, and being mugged)
f) ride in a vehicle without a seatbelt (this will, actually, be a daily risk I take with riding the minibuses, which do not have seatbelts except for the driver)
g) have windows open that don’t have a screen over them (I don’t have screens and it gets very hot, even at night)
h) talk to strangers (JOKING – this is certainly not a guideline, and the Malawians are so friendly and eager to talk to an Azungu [foreigner]. Talking with the locals is encouraged and is good fun)
Praise the Lord that I’m still in full health!
Random
If you thought Canadians were bad with being politely apologetic (e.g. saying “sorry” when someone bumps into you), Malawians will say “sorry” if they are walking with you and you trip, slip, or drop something – as if they bore any responsibility for my clumsiness.
That wraps up this first post. There is tons more to say, but I need to leave some stuff for later. I plan to post at least once a month at the start, so check back or subscribe. If you have any questions about life in Malawi, feel free to ask them by commenting here or by e-mail, and I’ll try to write about it. The first batch of photos can be seen here at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033072&id=180500047&l=30ec42c336. Just a quick note about photos. You will have to be patient with me as far as seeing a huge number of photos. Malawi is a culture that is not nearly as warm to photographs. It is very rude to just be snapping pictures of people you don’t know or only know a little bit. Permission is pretty much always required. Plus as far as buildings and stuff one needs to be careful because it is actually illegal to take pictures of government buildings, bridges, etc.
Wow, congratulations if you’ve gotten through the whole thing! I’ll try to keep them shorter but frequent.
Greg
