Home Sweet Home

This is my house! Okay… technically it is IPA’s project house, but since I am the only permanent resident, it’s basically my house. It’s big –kitchen, living room, dining area, four bedrooms and two baths, plus a garage for the car. Yes! I have a car. Again, same story – it’s the project car, but for all intents and purposes, it’s mine. A red Rav4 sporting a nice burn mark down its right side (that’s another story). I must say, I was very lucky that I came into a situation with set living quarters and transportation. The other project associates in the organization were not as lucky and they had to search and purchase their own. Thus, I am very grateful to my research supervisor for doing all of this for me before I arrived!

Above: The yard. Below: Garage view.

View of the mountains from my front porch!

The only thing lacking is that the house is not furnished. I made a massive ShopRite (like Target) run to get kitchen supplies, shower curtains, and plastic chairs. Over the next few months I will be scouting out, getting price estimates and ordering bed frames, a desk, chairs, dining table, floor mats, and kitchen counters. Also, I am on the lookout for some decorative things to brighten up the place. The process is a bit daunting (and potentially expensive) but I’m having fun seeing the place grow little by little.

You might not be able to tell from the pictures, but the house is surrounded by an 8 ft. brick wall. The house also came with a hired 24-hour guard. Besides watching the house while I’m out, he opens and closes the gate when I come and go, maintains the yard and garden, and runs little errands that we may have. Pretty much every big house in Malawi has the walls and guards as well, a feature that makes me uneasy for more than one reason. It is a constant reminder of my lack of safety (although, I like to think it is mostly about privacy) but also is a barrier to being part of the neighborhood. Many of my neighbors live much closer together in unprotected houses, and I am definitely alienating myself by living in a walled and secluded house.

I am happy to say that my house is only a five minute walk to the market. Thankfully, this walk gives me the opportunity to see the neighborhood and greet my neighbors. Beside the market, there is also a café/bar, post office, stationary shop, hospital, and gas station.

In closing, come visit me! I have more than enough rooms and Mulanje is beautiful.

Morning Commute

Nothing like a romp through the woods with a sweeping view of tea fields and mountain peaks to start your work day.

Malawi: Month One

May 6^th, 2012

It is Day 37 in Malawi. Time seems to just have flown by, without a blog post in sight. It’s time to remedy this.

I could start explaining in chronological order all the work and travel I’ve been doing but that seems very daunting and probably somewhat uninteresting. Instead I think I am going to just list some short thoughts, on the items that have highlighted my first month in country. Perhaps I’ll elaborate on some of these thoughts in later posts. Perhaps not.

Of course, to begin, the President, Bingu wa Mutharika, died the first week I was here and the vice president (from a separate political party) took office. I was nestled in the southern corner of the country on a tea estate while this all happened. Without internet or radio, I wouldn’t have known much had changed. There was little public mourning or cheering, mostly anticipation and quiet hope for a better future.

Second, fuel crisis. Man, I will never take an operating gas station for granted again. For the last couple years, the country has had a very low supply of gasoline. If a gas station (filling station they call it) has fuel or even anticipates having fuel soon, a line of cars will quickly assemble in front of the pumps. 2am people will be sitting in their cars at the pumps just for a tank of gas. If you cannot wait for the filling station (towns will go weeks without a drop), then you search for fuel on the black market: essentially, people storing cans of fuel in their house, business, etc. In the height of our field work, we paid 1000 kwacha for 1 liter of fuel (equivalent to around $20 per gallon). You can imagine then what fuel shortage does to the rest of the economy. Public transportation is expensive and in short supply. Business owners (and researchers like us) blow our budgets keeping our cars running. It consumes and dictates your business, your livelihood, your life.  

Below: In line for fuel - only wait an hour and a half this time. Second photo: The line extends down the road from the filling station.

Third, nsima. It’s Malawi’s staple food. It’s ground maize, mixed with water and heated up. It comes out with the consistency of mashed potatoes, hardening as it cools off. It basically tastes like nothing, so it goes with pretty much everything. You use your hand to scoop up a piece of nsima, dip it in the other dish you’re eating (meat, vegetables, eggs, beans, etc.), scoop and eat. I quite like nsima but other newcomers to it are less thrilled.

Fourth, the extreme level of poverty. I forget the exact statistics but something like 95% of Malawians do not have access to electricity in their homes. Most live from farming a plot of land and selling the products, which leads to unsteady incomes (money coming in two or three times a year), creating what is called the hungry season (before harvest) where many go without enough food, skipping one or two meals each day.

Okay, that’s it for now. More thoughts to come later. And pictures, definitely some pictures, too.