Picture vast and sprawling.. greenery, forests, mountains covered in mist, waterfalls cascading off mountainsides, baboons, looking down over the lake, virgin untouched land.
Think paradise.
Now think 26 people crammed into an 18 person seater minibus for 8 hours. Think peering out of the window from a tiny gap underneath someone's deodrantless arm pit, lack of any personal space whatsoever, and your spine unaligned for hours.
Yeah. Traveling in Malawi sucks.
Or rather, modes of transportation in Malawi suck. Scouts honor, I will never ever complain about a packed greyhound bus or airplane again.. Even with crying babies, turbulence or traffic jams. Especially when I had two grown men sitting on my lap simultaneously during this trip. There were also chickens. Sometimes there are goats or pigs.
You just have to laugh. (Because if you don't, you might cry.) At least my bus didn't break down and no one else's bodily fluids touched me.
Turns out my expectations and standards have lowered significantly since moving here.
Malawian food without diarrhea? Great meal!
Minibus ride without getting peed on? Success!
Only 2 new unexplained bug bites today? Hell yeah!
Only one mysterious creature making noise in my room/ crawling on my mosquito net at night?
I most likely won't get bitten and die!! Woo!
Okay, I'm exaggerating, but only slightly. I've known a few too many volunteers who've been peed on, on a bus and I'm still relatively new here..
What was I even talking about? Oh the north. It's incredibly beautiful. Really, words can't do it justice.
On my way to Karonga, (one of the northern most districts of Malawi, baaaasically Tanzania) I had nervous excitement growing in the pit of my stomach; I was feeling giddy and loopy, disoriented and so happy, all at the same time. It was just so damn beautiful. The feeling, was exactly the same as when I've fallen in love--aka I feel like a complete and total loon. But, I can't deny, its nice. Everything was right in the world..
Most importantly, I was on a real, bonafide adventure. It my first taste of freedom and independence since coming to Malawi.
Cha-wemi my friends.
In Karonga, I don't quite live on health center grounds, in a rural village, or on a main road, but those descriptors are all close enough that you could picture any of those scenarios and you'd basically be right. My house is wonderful. 2 bedrooms, a porch, a living room with some furniture, a store room "kitchen"..and outdoor kitchini, bafa, and chim! While I don't have electricity, my house is wired for it and I have a tap in my yard, so I won't have to walk and carry water on my head, score!
The best part? It's a ten minute walk to the most beautiful place in Malawi, the lake. It is nothing short of breathtakingincredibleoverwheingbeautythatjustwontquit. It's awesome.
Seriously, there just aren't words to describe how lucky I am or how beautiful the surrounding areas are.
Anywhoo...
Mzuzu is my closest biggest city, and so far I loooove it. Also all the volunteers in the north are incredible, welcoming, and (Chitipa volunteers are some of my favorite people!)
So, I've been procrastinating on this post forever because there is so much to say about that experience, my Sitemate, my house, the village, the landlady, the people, my access to resources, my feeling and emotions, and tons of other things.. But mostly because I've been processing what happened on the way back to homestay.
The long and short of it was a wake up call about: where I am living, gender issues, poverty issues, the upcoming election, the support I can expect to receive from Peace Corps, the way the Malawian government operates, what being a white woman is going to look like in Malawi, and how to deal with major intimidation tactics on my own. I don't want to get into specifics, but basically I and a few other volunteers were detained by Malawian immigration, threatened to be arrested-and were held for hours in hopes we'd pay off the officers. Why? We didn't have the visa and passport page proving that we were here legally for 2 years. Why didn't we have it? It stays in the Peace Corps safe in Lilongwe. Why?..great question.
It was a very scary experience and left me aware.
So much more to come! I've started a few posts and am slowly adding to them over time!
Coming up soon:
Malawi pros and cons
What an awesome care package looks like
The most stressful week ever
And soon, my new life in Karonga!
I know, I know.. You're waiting with breath that is baited.
I love you all.
OH! My new address:
Chilumba rural hospital
Attn: Amy Burke peace corps
PO box 131
Chilumba, Karonga
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