Before I Forget - 3

My favourite things! So I can really get on with it and write about other stuff that's eating my brain from the inside out. This post is peppered with food references, but I think that's more me than the country.

5. Peanut Butter. I know I know.This isn't Malawian or even particularly unique. But it's related to my visit, because I survived the first part of my trip on peanut butter and crackers. It was December, I was new to the place and always hungry. Not sure how much weight I put on because of the stupid peanut butter, but I was so enamoured at finding it in a Malawian super market, that I (almost) didn't mind.

4. Flashlight: I landed up in Africa without one of the fancy disco flashlights or the trusted head lamp, but was grateful for my phone light, which was strong and never died out on me. Stopped me from running for the woods on many dark nights without electricity when I couldn't see a thing and imagined some creepy thing crawling up my legs!

3. Chitenze (or some other spelling): 2 metre cloth with traditional African prints and perfect to make a dress, pants or even just use as a beach towel. The beautiful African hand printed cloth brought much fun and colour to our market trips.  

2. Beans. Eat it with Nsima, eat it with rice, it's still going to taste the same. Vegetarian, light on the stomach and wonderfully consistent in taste, it was like healthy comfort food - a concept that didn't exist before beans! It tastes even better when eaten with Nali, which brings me to... ONE!

1. Garlic Nali! Yes, it tastes better than mild or hot nali. It can be mixed with beans, rice, chicken, eggs or absolutely any other food! And yes it tastes good only in Malawi. I tried putting some on my eggs when at home in India, and it just didn't... work. But I guess it happens with food sometimes. It's like how Indian food tastes good only in India. Try having butter chicken or dal-roti in Switzerland, and it will make you want to throw up (sorry butter chicken!)

Before I Forget - 2

November to February. My favourite places in Malawi. Restaurants, bars, tourist towns - you've got them all in Top Five, Edition 2!!  

5. Harry's Bar :- the latest pub frequented by the expat community, people bitched about the badly stocked bar, the small menu, the slow service, but always went back. I think one of the big reasons was how flexible and homey Harry's is. You can hold quiz night, organize a party, get a guitar and drums and entertain the crowd with minimum fuss or even set up a temporary store with minimum fuss. The old couches, the long wooden bar and mismatched furniture, only add to the charm!


4. Bombay Palace:- makes the list for being the restaurant we went to the most number of times. Authentic Punjabi food and a central location combined to make the restaurant very popular in our circle. Miles ahead of its competitor, Country Lodge, this was one place where I could eat Dal Roti Chicken in peace.


3. Zomba Plateau: 4 hours from Lilongwe, this is not an obvious flat plateau but nevertheless a beautiful, green and lush mountain that finally makes Malawi less tame and more Africa-esque. It is surrounded by quirky temperate forests (yes, in the middle of a hot, south of the tropics country!) with a river flowing down the mountain. We didn't trek but you could!

2. Anna Khofi or Some-Such-Name/ Four Seasons :- the best (and perhaps only) Deli in town. They served brilliant sandwiches, salads and cake. Eating a late lunch at the Deli and staying on for Jazz at Four Seasons, where you could lounge on the grass and listen to music, had become a pleasant and comforting Sunday routine.

1. Cape Mac, Lake Malawi:- blue, pristine and dotted with small green islands, Lake Malawi at Cape Mac is pretty as a picture. While going there with 30 other people and Gecko's (backpacker's inn and the biggest party in town) contributed to the fun and frenzied weekend, I can still imagine spending many quiet days by the beach with nothing to do but read, float in the water and soak up the sun.   

Before I Forget - 1

I put on Graduation Goggles in my last 24 hours in Malawi. I know the Malawi experience was intense and full of contradictions but in those last 24 hours I couldn't imagine why I was leaving the country because my brain only recalled the best moments of my time there. But now I'm back and Malawi already seems like a part of the distant world out there. So I figured I should make the traditional Top 5 list of the fun-nest people, places anddd.... things (?) seen in Malawi, before I forget!

So here is my Top 5 list of People. Not only the trippiest people with the most bizarre stories but also the ones who most affected me, make this list.

5. Greg. Scottish, tall, lanky, 42, absolutely yummie and affectionately called the Silver Fox. Currently working in the juvie prisons in Lilongwe, his life story is one of the most exciting I've ever heard. He grew up in the Middle East and decided early on that his life was going to be about travelling and seeing the world. Among his many jobs are bar-tending in Australia and being an extra in the Matrix films. He is the only man I have *ever* met who on meeting me for the first time hugged me, took my bags, held open the car door and made me gush like a little girl.


4. CarolAnn. Worked as legal counsellor defending juvenile delinquents in the Lilongwe prison. She had the most gruesome stories to tell over dinner and she left 2 weeks before I did to go start work in Afghanistan. Most ballsy and fearless person I know.    


3. Muthi. Malawian, educated in Paris and the USA is now back in Malawi to help her Mum and keep her farm functional. One of the most beautiful women I've met, I was in awe of her       when I first met her. She's a bag-full of contradictions with the never-say-no Malawian culture and the no-nonsense-American style continuously warring. So when you invite her for a dinner party she'll always say "yes, I'll be there!" even if she's actually in another city but will tell you about her fantasies about Bill Clinton when you get her drunk. One of my closest friends in Malawi, I don't think I would have survived without her :-)

2. Les makes the number 2 spot with her outrageous sexuality, her crazy adventurous streak and her very good judgement of her friend's needs. Having dated many Indian boys, she was the one person who understood my Indian jokes, my rambling about Indian food and culture and why exactly my parents called me every other day :D  

1. Blondey. Tall. Gorgeous. Canadian. She left her cushy job in New York to come live in different countries in Africa for the last 1 year. She's impatient, hyperactive and doesn't believe in layers. What you see if what you get with her. She took charge of my social calendar in Malawi and we were a couple for almost everyone who knew us in Malawi. And through all the parties, the Malawi-Gin-n-Tonic, the trips and the bitching, she became my best friend in Malawi.

African Safari

My fascination for animals is of the common variety. It's not deep or layered with strange titbits of knowledge about different species and how they behave. But just like others, I feel a thrill run down my spine when I spot an animal in the wild. The thrill of seeing something that is not entirely under your control and is glorious and free. Ironically, because of us humans, the rest of the animal world is never really free. But be that as it may, I went in search of that thrill last weekend to the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.

Zambia shares a lot more than a border with Malawi - similar climate, language, geography, food, clothing and even currency names. However, being blessed with a larger territory for an equivalent population and copper mines, Zambia is now coming up last in the list of middle income countries. This unprecedented income allows it to save it's forests and wildlife and exploit them for tourism. The income difference beteen the two countries shows starkly as the forests and wildlife increase dramatically once you cross the border. We saw this difference between Malawi and Zambia first hand as we flew over the border  in our little 5-seater plane captained by a gorgeous 24 year old South Africa pilot. 

The South Luangwa National Park flanked by mountains on one side and the South Luangwa river on the other, is a quintessential African park. The river is brown, muddy and infested with crocodile and hippos. The African bush, though green due to the rainy season, is still sparse and dominated by knee length grass, eaten by most vegetarian animals - elephants, impala, puku, zebra. The animals are a refresher course on the animals starring in The Lion King, from the "ugly but lovely" warthog (Pumba!) to the striking chilly bird (Zazu) 

The National Park weekend involved alternating between riding in huge open jeeps to explore the park and relaxing in the chalets in the camp. The chalets were oh-so-luxurious with one wall taken out to afford us a view of the river and eco-friendly with extensive use of local materials, preservation of flora (there was a tree right in my bathroom!) and no wastage of resources. I imagine the camp was more suited to honeymooners, couples and families with older children but since we were on a luxury holiday, having flown in from Lilongwe and spent 700 dollars on the weekend, I wasn't complaining.

On our many game drives during the three day holiday we saw some fun animal rituals. While most animals spent their day grazing and pooping and being boring, we did see a herd of impalas fighting over the female impala who was in season. However, more exciting was a unique Hippo ritual when a lonely Hippo who was lounging alone in the smallest possible pool he found, retreated when he saw us but still in a final Bond-like move sprayed his shit all over the pool using his tail! Yes, he was wallowing in his own shit and the smell successfully managed to drive us away. 

After three days of game drives and exploring, we had seen many birds (best of all being the magnificent Fish Eagle), many animals, but were still missing a view of the elusive cats. We heard the Lions roaring many times in the day, but the swampy terrain prevented even our giant four wheel drives from going to that part of the forest. But on our final evening, just as we were about to park the jeeps, we saw a Leopard, creeping through the grass, hunting! It was smaller than I had imagined. Sleeker and much more elegant than all the pictures can capture. Our excited whispering and camera flashes, however, alerted the Impala and the Leopard missed its dinner. The elegant Leopard shrugged ( almost saying, meh chance miss), gave us a bad look for ruining its dinner and elegantly strolled into the dark forest! 

So ended my first African safari. Luxurious, beautiful, decadent and a bit too intrusive for the animals. 

Finding comfort in beans and rice

Beans and rice is the (fake) national food of Malawi. The culture in most African countries involves one national dish that the junta eats day in and day out, literally, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nsima and beef  with Nali (hot sauce that comes in mild, hot and garlic flavours) is the (real) national food of Malawi - but since I don't eat beef, I have co-opted the vegetarian option as being my daily food.

There is something comforting about eating beans and rice with Garlic nali. I had this for lunch after a particularly gruelling morning of making phone calls to NGOs asking them why they couldn't send in required information within the deadline. There are some parts of this job that make me want to pull my hair out - and I have a feeling that the next four weeks are going to be terribly frustrating.

There is something comforting about eating beans and rice for dinner after a prolonged and bewildering conversation that makes me question parts of my life and makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. I know I have actively hurt others in my life and yet I am always surprised when someone else hurts me - so silly to feel that way.  

I know I will find my way at my maddeningly slow pace. I just hope I get my beans and rice wherever I go :)

Noke Noke Noking on Heaven's Door

Malawians love music. They make their own music, listen to Mozambique-an music (which happens to be ah-mazing!) or any African music they can get their hands on. The gospel culture and general joblessness means that small local bands form across the city and make their living playing live at restaurants - doing African music and covers of old and popular English songs.
As I sit working in my room tonight, the local band is regaling the captive audience at the bar with crowd favourites. And as the band does covers Noke Noke Noking on Heaven's Door (rhyming with Poke Poke); I can't help but think that they do a much better job than most of the cover bands in the English speaking world. They have a guitar and a drum and 4 men with stunning voices perfect for songs like Hey Jude :-)

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I know I've been gone only three weeks, but today I'm missing Bombay. Maybe it's because the rains remind me of my city or because I miss the frantic activity and shit-tonne of people on one small island.    

"I need you you you (you you you)"

Getting back on the horse, I decided to do the first of my last-month-in-Malawi visits last weekend. I travelled to Malawi's big urban attraction, Blantyre and a small hill station called Zomba. Blantyre is the Bombay of Malawi - the country's commercial hub, urban, densely populated and with nice restaurants and places to hang out. But that's where the similarity ends. Surrounded by rolling hills and a few tall mountains, Blantyre in the rainy season is lush green, cool and pretty.

Our motivations for driving to Blantyre were less than noble as we were the designated groupies for a 6 member expat covers band that started playing the on circuit a couple of months ago. The Llongways are a quirky band playing the guitar, piano, drums, trumpet, flute and violin and a beautiful Italian voice to lead. It was entertaining to listen to them play a funny mix of the Blues Brothers, Chuck Berry, Bryan Adams and Patti Smith - honestly, one of the most fun times in Malawi. The follow-up to the concert was, of course, a forgettable evening of random club hopping with Indian men hitting on us and a Malawian pickpocket giving me the death-glare because I saved a firengi from his roving hands (What is it with me and thieves?!!!). 

We got over the night-out debacle quickly and drove to Zomba Plateau on Sunday morning. Zomba is a beautiful hill station an hour from Blantyre. Here I got a glimpse of the beauty of the African forest. It was a small hill station, by no means making an appearance on the 1000-things-to-do-in-Africa-List, but the sights still took my breath away. Although we passed up on any hiking/ trekking opportunities, standing on top of the plateau we could see mountains at the horizon and lush green plains covering the distance between. Relaxing at the Zomba Sunbird Hotel was also not a hardship :)  

As I was standing on the Sunbird deck staring out at the vast expanse of mountains, I realized this is what African tourism should be all about. Not cities, not nightclubs, not gory history. Only pure and unrivalled natural beauty stretching as far as the eye can see.

     

Aftershocks

Today's CNN article mentioned that after the Tohoku earthquake hit Japan last year, nearly 700 aftershocks were felt in various parts of Japan for months after. Obviously, this became the inspiration for the title of this post on what has been bugging me for a bit today- aftershocks of my little incident.  

Of course, I've spent a lot of time telling people what happened and at some level, people's shock and sympathy made me feel better. However, incidents like the one that happened in the last two days are common for people (especially expats) in Malawi. People get mugged, their homes get robbed and they are generally attacked for being the moneyed, elite class of people who can afford to spend the poor-man’s-monthly-salary on one good dinner in town. My Malawian friends have also noticed an increase in robberies and mugging in the last few months and most predict that this will only get worse as the Malawian economy goes to the dogs.

Personally, I can’t seem to reconcile my (by some standards) minor incident with my rather extreme reactions one day after. Tonight as I went out for dinner with friends and hung out later at the Shack (yes, Wednesday is Shack Night!) – I was conscious that I was suspicious of every Malawian in the house. At one point, a Malawian guy crept up behind my friend to surprise her and I spontaneously yelled thinking that some unknown guy was creeping up on her. Turns out that he was her friend which led to acute embarrassment but didn't reduce my fear. Maybe the fact that I was stone-cold-sober exacerbated my reaction. I forced myself to go onto the dance floor where both expats and Malawians were dancing, but still scooted away every time a Malawian came in the vicinity.

My mind tells me that such reactions are extreme and unnecessary. But I can’t help feeling that every other guy on the street is watching me and wants to snatch my purse. At our girl’s dinner tonight we were discussing how we end up feeling guilty because African women get treated terribly on a daily basis and manage to lead normal lives despite being physically and mentally abused. And here one “little” incident is enough to shake us up and make us suspicious of everyone around us.

But I guess we live in different worlds. I can’t feel guilty for being lucky enough to have a safer world. My reality is that getting attacked is not on my watch-out-for-list. I have not been taught how to deal with situations where I feel insecure all the time – day and night. And I’m not going to feel guilty for having had that privilege. 

The day I (actually) got mugged

January 24th, 6:00 am
I forced myself to wake up at 5:30 am this morning to go for a jog. My friend Lesley was doing a very good job of dragging me out every morning by messaging/ knocking at my door/ being generally persistent about exercise. This morning I got out of bed, ran in and out of the bathroom, grabbed my ipod, tugged my shoes on and was out of the room in exactly 5 minutes.
I stretched, breathing in the cleaning morning air and felt like this was going to be a good day! As Lesley and I started walking, I recounted last evening's incident to her and she was pretty shocked. We also admitted that it may have been a little stupid to be walking around at 7 pm in Old Town.

We had  run about 500 metres when our 2 minute timer went off and we started walking. I saw two men approaching us on the road. I had a moment where I thought they looked sketchy, but there were many other people around so I ignored the feeling and continued walking. The next thing I know, these two men  grabbed us, snatched my iPod out of my hand and ran away. We struggled, yelled for help and tried to fight back, but obviously they were stronger than us. There were people on the road (including some guards) who watched the incident and did not help us. A Malawian lady passed us by and apologized, but at that moment all I wanted to do was abuse her so I stared straight ahead. We then realized that another friend was jogging alone in a different loop, so we jumped into a taxi and picked her up. That was the end of our morning jogging expedition.

For this to happen so close to last night's incident points to a few things. First, that people are watching us and know that we are long term guests at this hotel. Second, that the situation in the Old Town area has deteriorated more than I had initially thought. The tension is no longer confined to women wearing trousers or vendors being kicked off the side-walks. It has become a larger problem where walking on the street in some areas is unsafe even in broad daylight.

Sure I'm pissed about losing my old iPod with all the music collected over the years. But I'm more shaken up by the violence of the incidents. The grabbing, snatching of purses, yelling and pushing created a panic that I wasn't prepared for. I've been robbed before, in the train and in public places in India. The difference was that those thieves had class. They found cunning ways of getting my purse and my phone without me realizing. Today's incident made me respect the genius of pick-pockets, who are just after my money and not after me. Then, I was sad about losing my things, but not scared or worried about safety. After today, I'm going to worry about my safety in Malawi. And not go out jogging. Shit.

       

The day I (almost) got mugged

January 23rd, Monday, 7 pm

It was late evening and we had decided to go for dinner to Noble China, a local joint located a couple of blocks away from the hotel. It was twilight as we started walking the approximately 1 km distance and unthinkingly switched on our torches as we went down a street without street lights, loudly chatting in English about the day’s work. It was a street off the main road, with mainly residential buildings and large trees flanking both sides of the street.

Unconsciously, my friend Lyndsey and I had flanked our newest companion, who was visiting Lilongwe for a few days. About 200 metres from the gate of the restaurant I felt someone running towards us and turned my torchlight on our thief just as he went for Lyndsey’s bag.

What followed was a blur of the thief jumping for Lyndsey’s bag, me jumping for the guy and yelling loudly and Lyndsey falling to the ground holding on to her bag. After a brief scuffle the guy ran off with neither of us trying to go after him. We pushed ourselves up and walked quickly to the restaurant, all the time looking behind us. Obviously, we took a taxi on the way back.   

A few things struck me as we discussed the incident over dinner: 

1. The experience of being mugged is quite scary even if it’s not violent. Neither of us quite remembers what happened in that 30 second blur of activity, except for Lyndsey falling to the ground and me screaming. On my part, I remember feeling like I was stuck in a slow motion film while the thief was racing through with his moves. I couldn’t get to him fast enough while he tried to steal our bags. 

2. Typically, as the economic situation in a country deteriorates, the security on the streets deteriorates proportionally, with muggings slowly becoming more frequent and violent. Malawi is clearly on that path. Till last year you couldn’t walk on the street for fear of animals, but now I think I’m not walking down the street in the evenings for fear of being robbed.

3. From what I understand, similar security annoyances in other African countries don’t go away as the economic situation improves. For example, in some countries, even though the economy is stronger, getting mugged on the streets and getting your house cleaned up by thieves is so common that people have started factoring it in their regular budgets.

4. Later, our friend told us that she had noticed the guy as we left our hotel and that she should’ve followed her gut instinct and called him out earlier. It is a very weird experience when someone is following you or intently looking at every move you make – like someone is trying to pre-empt every move you make. I think I'm going to be a lot more alert and allow my gut to actually sense such people around me.  

Of course, we had our dinner and chatted happily about other things after this, but I think the bitter aftertaste is still there and my rating on the Malawi-is-a-shithole scale just took a huge hit. 

Welcome back party!

17 January, 2012. The news.
Disturbance in Old Town, Lilongwe reported where shopkeepers attached women, ripping off their trousers and skirts. Randomness continued for about 2 hours in the morning before the police cracked down on shop-keepers "protesting" the relocation of the local flea market to a larger, authorized plot of land.

Some are saying the vendors were actually just pissed about the lack of fuel. Bah.

Dress code for the month is now the chitenje. With all the religious and saintly symbols on every skirt.


Welcome back to Malawi :) 

One Two Ka Four - 4

Getting buggered at work with 2 days to get out of here. I need sleep. Or coffee and chocolate. Lots of it!

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 Living in Malawi is like being inside of a economics text book. The IMF left the country yesterday, rumors of currency devaluation sent prices soaring - stuff like bread, sugar and essential commodities. Petrol went up from 380 Kwacha to 480 Kwacha - not that it made much of a difference, because there was no petrol to buy. I think inflation in the last 2 months can be pegged at 80-100%.
People are placing bets on how bad the Kwacha is going to get. A friend of mine is betting at 2000 Kwacha to a dollar (from the current 165 Kwacha to a dollar) by next March. Whee!

How Peculiar - 5

It's ironic that my last weekend in Malawi was the best yet - with me drinking water the whole night, having dinner and intimate conversation with a very good friend, followed by bizarre but hilarious conversation at Harry's till 2:30 AM with the unlikeliest of people. I learned more about my friends telling stories and laughing with them in that one night than I have in all the days of 'partying'. I'm glad it happened :)

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With three days for take-off, work is threatening to kill me. I know I've gone through worse but the stress of dealing with the government (OMG! How can they not realize I'm leaving! :P ) is getting to me. In my head I know that the government has better things to do than listen to my requests so I can help them to finish their own projects, but I just wish for the next three days we could move closer to an ideal world.

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Going back home means dal-roti, family, tv, friends, fuel, cars, power, internet and so many other guilty pleasures. But it is also going back into the uncertainty that dominated my life before I got here. As I was saying to a friend today, if my life allowed me to know what I was doing for more than 2 months at a time, I'd probably be shocked enough to faint. I'd rather be uncertain at home than uncertain elsewhere. I guess.

Sawa Sawa - 9

I made my first foray out of the expat bubble in Malawi on Sunday when I decided to go to the old town market in Lilongwe. I took the minibus (50 Kwacha - finally something affordable in Malawi!) and walked to the main market - a sprawling covered market with narrow streets, little light and treasures waiting to be discovered.

The real Lilongwe where people live, transact business and sleep was dirty, smelly and full of frantic (legal and illegal) activity. The streets of the market were dark and narrow, with houses rising on both sides and puddles on the ground from the recent rain. With the market selling everything from vegetables, chicken to music CDs, clothes and cosmetics - walking through the streets was like walking through the Crystal Maze. I found my way in easily enough but then spent 30 minutes finding my way out and getting lost. Had it not been for Malawi and people guiding me along with a smile and a friendly question, I'm sure I would have freaked out!

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Back in the bubble, we had the first of many Christmas parties at my hotel - complete with people wearing ugly sweaters (mine had green shiny Christmas trees on it!), Santa and reindeer hats, exchange of gifts under 1000 Kwacha, shortbread cookies and tonnes of chocolate!

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I'm not entirely sure what Sawa Sawa means (there's a debate between "open your heart" and "open your vagina"), but I know that the song has all the makings of a hit - a sexy beat, catchy chorus and lyrics that have attracted much controversy. The song plays in the taxi, on radio, at live shows, in clubs every night.. I can't get it out of my head!
So check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbUBSeNrV3c

Shack Night - 15

I'd never though I'd say this, but people in Malawi party way too much.

The tiny expat community has built a high-school-like culture where everyone is part of a gang (the cool gang, the pseudo gang, the desperate-geek-boys-gang) and there are places that everyone hangs out on any day of the week. So it is Thirsty Thursdays at Buchanans, Harry's on Friday.. so on and so forth.
I happen to have my first night out in town on a Wednesday, which in Malawi translated to: Shack Night!

The Shack is a unique party destination for many reasons. For one, it doesn't show up on the Lonely Planet which means that the crowd consists of expats living in Malawi, some locals and regulars who head over to The Shack every Wednesday. Apart from the nice relaxed "shack-like" atmosphere and a place to run into 80% of the young crowd in Malawi, the pub also hosts the Volleyball league every Wednesday. This highly competitive league involves three tiers, rowdy matches and some very hot European boys playing Volleyball :)
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Staying out till the wee hours of morning, didn't prevent wealthy Malawians from "celebrating" World AIDS Day on December 1st. The same crowd showed up to events recognizing World AIDS Day and made use of the subsidized cash bar. The most interesting part of these events was running into three fourths of the Indian community who, after showing appropriate shock and surprise at my sudden arrival in Malawi, inquired after my health, invited me over for some much needed dal-roti and then (on-the-sly) told me that they would give me a better rate if I wanted to exchange dollars in the black market. :D
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As Friday evening approaches and my friends decide whether to go Carol Singing at the Four Seasons or Harry's for a few drinks, I can't help but think ... people in Malawi party way too much!

“Serious, wicked business!” – 17

I’m sitting in the dimly lit, cozy lounge of Kiboko Hotel in Area – 3 in Lilongwe listening to bartender singing along to cheesy songs by Malawian singers (example in the title!). Lilongwe is a sleepy little town that is slowly waking up due to the government moving there with bag, baggage and Parliament. Not particularly organized or well planned, the city is still divided into “Areas” that seem to follow a (somewhat) chronological order through out the city.

Area 3 is the Colaba of Lilongwe. It is right next to the Old Town market and houses the city’s 3 grocery stores, 5 restaurants and 3 banks. As locations go, I’ve just moved to the hippest and most expensive part of town. It is so hip that I walked into a grocery store and could buy my favorite comfort food – peanut butter! – for a very very expensive 700 MK.

Malawi is also clearly plagued with the problem of inflation. I may understand imported peanut butter costing 250 rupees but paying 2000 rupees for an adopter plug and 350 rupees for a meal of curry and rice in Africa seems cripplingly expensive. With the tobacco companies leaving, the tea industry dying out and the lack of any natural resources to exploit, Malawi’s situation is indeed dire.

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This week has been full of personal dramas that were blissfully absent for the past so many months. While some of my people managed to destroy relationships due to sheer immaturity and very very bad judgment; I managed to humiliate myself by assuming that friendships wouldn’t change in the course of a few months if I put enough effort into them. For all the advice about letting go at the right time, I’m always depressed by my inability to cut and run when I see that the other person doesn’t care and I’m going to get hurt if I stay. It’s a skill I need to develop – immediately.

For all the sad drama, I know that even if I die alone, I will have lived in the hippest address in Malawi. Now I bet not many people can make that claim :)

Stranded on the Wrong Beach - Malawi Weekend

Having had a stressful and hectic introduction to Malawi last week, I decided to take up the offer of going to see Lake Malawi with my fellow volunteer and her friends this weekend. Though I was skeptical, my friend insisted that the Lake was so big that there were bays and beaches all along it which had become very popular expat tourist spots. What I didn’t know, was that going with a bunch of white people on a beach trip in Africa is a concept that comes with its own complications, high points and contradictions.

The best parts of the weekend…

1. Actually finding a beach along the lake, complete with sands, rocks and waves. The dark blue water and the small islands jutting out were untouched and breathtaking.
2. Peace Corp volunteers! No matter what country I visit, Peace Corp volunteers are a breed of their own. They are interesting people to talk to with very deep insights into the country they stay in and are willing to play drinking games, anytime of the night or day!  
3. Hitch-hiking our way back to Lilongwe with a bunch of Indian-origin-Malawian guys who were oh-so-helpful. I don't think they imagined their Sunday evening drive to be with 5 noisy giggly girls squished in the back-seat of a Toyota 
4. Riding bike taxis and being waved at and whistled at by all the villagers. With a caravan of 5 bike taxis carrying firengis, the circus had come to town, clearly!
5. Meeting the brash, amusing and very cute South African couple. Married for 20 years, with 5 boys and still so in love with each other so as to make fun of each other the whole time!

The not-so-good parts of the weekend…

1. Trying very hard to mingle with a bunch of North American girls and failing. Feeling sensitive and isolated is the worst thing you can do to yourself in your first week in any new country
2. Making ISD calls to try and rid myself of the isolation, and calling the wrong person to help
3. Not knowing how to swim and therefore not being able to paddle boat deep into the lake
4. Not being liberal enough to go skinny dipping in Malawi
5. The inflation in Malawi! My weekly allowance all but vanished in 2 days. And I didn’t even drink enough to throw up in the bushes!