Muli Bwangi? (How are you?)

Ndili Bwino. Kikomo. Kaya enu? (I am fine. Thank-you. And you?)

Ndili Bwino. Zikomo. (I am fine. Thank-you.)

Zikomo. Zikomo. (Thank-you. Thank-you.)

Having been in Lilongwe, Malawi for one week, I have had this “conversation” many, many times. My Chichewa (“language of the Chewa people”) is rather limited so it generally results in eruptions of laughter from Malawians, particularly when they continue speaking in Chewa and I start to fumble for words, even English ones.

Chabwino. (It’s good)

I should also mention that my translations may not be exact. Zikomo. (Sorry.)

My best intentions to write on this blog faithfully did not last long. This is mostly the result of technical difficulties. Internet connections are hard to come by and sketchy at best. High-speed internet is only one of the luxuries I now realize I took for granted.

Chabwino.

Perhaps some background information on Malawi would be useful…

Formerly known as Nyasaland, Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, bordered to the northwest by Zambia, to the northeast by Tanzania and to the east, south, and west by Mozambique.

Formerly a British colony (since 1891), Malawi gained independence in 1964 and became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda who, six years later, declared himself president-for-life. Interesting aside, according to the omniscient wikipedia…

“While in office, and using his control of the country, Banda constructed a business empire that eventually produced one-third of the counry’s GDP and employed 10% of the wage-earning workforce.”

In 1993 Banda agreed to a referendum resulting in a multi-party democracy and in 1994 Banda and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) lost the election to Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front (UDF), who remained in power until the current president, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, was elected in 2004. The interesting bit about that is that Mutharika was elected as the successor to Muluzi but, to Muluzi’s chagrin, soon thereafter left the UDF, citing corruption, to form the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). And the really interesting bit is that there will be an election on May 19th. Currently Muluzi is contesting the constitutional stipulation that a president cannot run again after having served as president for two consecutive five-year terms (which he has). There are rumblings that his reason for running is simply to stick it to his successor turned adversary.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7506916.stm

In other news, here are some highlights from my first week in Malawi:

  • Sleeping in a tent our first night in Malawi that was raided by ants in the middle of the night; as a result we moved to a room and had a blue-headed lizard (not the latin name) take a chunk out of a banana and then poop on our beds.
  • While attempting to navigate the market in Lilongwe to buy a chitenge (a multifunctional piece of cloth worn as a skirt or dress, used as a baby sling or for any other number of things) we realized it is not uncommon for every person you meet to ask for your phone number so they can “flash” you….at any time of day. This involves them calling you and hanging up after the first ring with the expectation that you will call them back. Flashing can often happen multiple times!
  • Being the unwitting center of attention as children seem to multiply exponentially in the presence of an “azungu,” or foreigner, as we so clearly are.
  • Brushing up on my rusty motorbike driving skills as said children laugh hysterically when any of us have difficulty starting the bike. They did however move out of the way quite hastily whenever we were remotely close to them.
  • Attending a traditional Nyao ceremony in a village, which we believe is named “Chinkuti 2.” We were given a spot in the front row, surrounded by a crush of people, to witness a funeral dance performed by masked dancers to the sound of drums tuned by heating the skin in the fire. The dancers represent spirits and the dance is performed to placate them. Unexpectedly one of the spirits asked me to marry them. I declined.
  • Cooking nsima (a staple made from maize flour which serves as an edible piece of cutlery) in a small village with a crowd of onlookers who seemed to be assessing our technique…which was poor!
  • On my first day at TSP, visiting the peri-urban areas involved in the project I will be working on, and being asked to make a speech to the local sanitation committee during a dance performance. People gathered after our truck was transformed into a traveling loudspeaker filled with children in the back and more children running behind. I think the azungu in the back helped as well.
  • Other random highlights include strange flying insects that emerge from the ground in the evening, what appeared to be a walking (not hopping) toad, geckos on the walls, beautiful vegetation in Lilongwe the names of which I have no idea, and last but definitely not least being exposed to a rabid puppy creating a logistical challenge of acquiring vaccinations for our whole group. Conveniently our team was seeking a monikor and has since been named “Team Rabies.”

After writing this post I feel I have barely scratched the surface. However, I will leave it for now.

Tionana. (See you later.)

~Alynne