Of Painting and Picking Fruit

July 30^th, 2013

Another week has flown by here in Lifuwu.  Last week we started some new projects around the house and went on an adventure looking for fruit to pick.  On the weekend we went to the Safari Beach Lodge for dinner and drinks, then we went to church on Sunday, and I gave another sermon.

Kim and a few other volunteers have begun painting murals in the rooms of the guest house here.  One of the volunteers, Mara, is an art student in Ireland, so she has drawn different Africa-themed pictures, and then they paint them.  One room is the “Safari Room”, with different animals on the walls.  Another is “Snorkeling in the Lake”, which will have an underwater theme, and the third room is “In the Village”.  The rooms are looking so much more cheerful and fun!  Here are a couple pictures of Kim and Mara working on the Safari Room.

 

On Friday after construction, we went on a trek through the countryside looking for bwemba, which in English is called tamarind.  We had Elia, a boy from the villiage, as our guide.  A lot of children tagged along, which was really fun.  We found one tree, but the monkeys had already eaten most of the fruit, so Elia showed us another place to find them, and there were so many fruits!  I started picking the low-hanging fruit, but some of the children took it upon themselves to climb the tree and pull fruits off from much higher.  It looked quite dangerous, but they didn’t seem to care at all.  Here is a picture of me picking the fruit and one of the boys in the tree.

 

The fruit itself is a brown pod, and inside is a seed surrounded by pulp.  Here is what it looks like.

 

Tamarind is a sour fruit used to make soft drinks in Latin America, but it is also used in different Malaysian curries.  In order to make the drinks and curry, you have to boil the tamarind in a little water and strain out the seeds.

 

Eventually, you are left with a syrup or paste, which can then be used in drinks and curries.  To replicate the Latin American drink, I put a little bit of the syrup in a glass, then filled it with Sprite.  They were very tasty!

 

On Sunday, we went back to church, and I gave another sermon.  The theme was “the Aim of Christ”, and it was based on the gospel John, when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.  I think the sermon went quite well.  I discussed the importance of spreading love by serving others in humility.  One member of the church, Brian, spoke to the congregation about my message.  He talked about how the adults in Lifuwu don’t spend much time with the children (I think adults here think that playing with children is not serious work, so they don’t feel a need to do it), and he encouraged the congregation to follow the example of the volunteers.  I felt a bit awkward receiving such praise, but then again it shows that our work here is appreciated.    

 

A Weekend in Lifuwu

July 23rd, 2013

This weekend Kim and I stayed in Lifuwu for the first time.  After all the excitement of safaris and mountain climbing, we thought it would be a good idea to see what the villagers do on the weekends.  On Saturday morning, we worked on a farm that belongs to a family that we have grown somewhat close to here in Lifuwu, where they grow maize, cassava, and pumpkins.  Kim, Zohair, and I helped them till the earth with hoes.  It truly is backbreaking labour.  There were no men in sight—for Malawians, farming is the work of women and children.  It seems that everything here is “woman’s work”, since many of the men just sit around during the day.  Here are a few shots of us doing work. 

 

As it turned out, Kim was not very good at using a hoe.  It’s a good thing she is not from sub-Saharan Africa!  Zohair and I were a bit better, but the children were just as good, if not better.  It truly was a humbling experience to do the work.  I kept thinking about my grandfather farming in Roseau, Minnesota, and how much easier these people’s lives would be if they had a combine and a tractor.  With modern machinery and proper irrigation, life would be so much better for these people.

On Sunday, we worshiped at the local Anglican with the same family that we farmed with.  It was so nice to worship in a humble house of God.  Somehow it seemed much more fitting, given Christ’s emphasis on people living in poverty.  The women sat on the left side of the church, and the men sat on the right.  There were no pews, straw mats on the concrete floor.  Here is what the church looked like.

 

Before the service, the pastor immediately (and warmly) welcomed us to his church.  He asked me if I would read the gospel reading—in English—so, I agreed.  Then he asked me to give the sermon as well!  The readings were Joshua 1: 1-9, Ephesians 6:11-20, and John 17: 6-19.  I quickly read all three passages and thought of something to say.  Then, I delivered the sermon, which the pastor translated into Chichewa.  The people really loved my sermon!  They liked it so much that they asked me to give the sermon next week as well.  It was a really unexpected day at church.  I cannot believe how welcoming and trusting Malawians are toward people they hardly know.  They didn’t know me from, well, Adam, but they asked me to become a central part of their worship service—very weird!  Anyway, I will be back next Sunday to reprise my role.  We’ll see how it goes.  At least I have the readings in advance this time: Job 42: 1-6, Philippians 2: 1-13, and John 13: 1-15.

The service was quite different from our American church services.  Almost the entire service was conducted in song—the liturgy (obviously), but also the Lord’s Prayer, the Nicene Creed, everything.  Also, they had a very good choir led by the pastor’s cousin.  All the singing was a cappella, and it was very joyful—just what one would expect in an African church.

In the afternoon, we went to Salima to buy wood to make the chicken coop for Brutus and Maximus, our pet chickens.  Here they are playing around the house.

 

This week the plan is to finish their house so that they wont be sleeping in a basket in the guesthouse anymore.  They are already quite precocious and should be fine outside, although it can get a bit cold here at night.  We also worry about the dogs here, but if they have a house, everything should be okay.

Otherwise, things here have been going fine, as usual.  It’s hard to believe we have been here over a month.  Kim and I really have come to love Lifuwu and don’t relish coming back to Baltimore. 

Our Odyssea to Renew our Visas in Lilongwe

July 19^th, 2013 

On Tuesday we spent the day and night in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital.  The city is quite small and not much to look at, but we had to go there because our visas were only good for 30 days.  After our safari, we took the bus to Lilongwe, which took around five hours and was very uncomfortable.  The woman next to me had a bucket full of baby chicks, and someone two rows up had a duck in a box with an open top.  Every time the bus picked up a new passenger—flap, flap QUACK!!! The duck would escape, so the man had to grab it by the legs and plop it back into the box.

The first thing we did after arriving in Lilongwe was to find accommodation.  We stayed at the Kiboko Town Hotel right downtown.  It was a nice place, and it was very close to the immigration office.  Here is a shot of the (un)impressive Lilongwe skyline.

After check-in, we walked to the immigration office, and the fun really began.  Outside the office there was a mob of people being held at bay by one guard.  This was the line for Malawians to get their passports.

 

There was, however, a side entrance for visas, which fortunately had no line.  Once we got inside, the immigration officer began to process our paperwork, then he said that we had to go to the other office where the massive crowd was to pay 5000 kwacha (15 dollars) for our visa extension.  Not to worry, though; since we were azungus (white people or foreigners), we could simply push our way through the throng of Malawians and the guard would let us in the immigration office.

Once we got inside, there was another disorganized mass of 100 Malawians in a queue.  Once again, we waded through the sea of Malawians (much to the chagrin of many of them, who would tsk at us for cutting in line).  Then, we paid our 5000 kwacha, received a receipt in triplicate, then stood in another line to hand in one of the three receipts for some reason that I am not quite sure of.  Once the first receipt was dutifully remitted, we moved back to the original immigration office and gave the officer the second receipt.  We kept the third receipt, were given our passports with visa extensions, and were on our merry way.

The whole process was simultaneously chaotic and hyper-bureaucratic, which is always a winning combination.  We felt really bad cutting in line, but this was what we were told to do by the officer.  I’m not quite sure why we could just pay in the first office, but—this is Africa, after all.  Like always here in Malawi, things might not be done efficiently, punctually, or logically, but they do get done in due time.

The rest of our stay was quite nice.  We went to a nice meal at an Italian bistro, then watched television back at the hotel.  We watched Top Chef: South Africa, which was kind of amusing.  The next day we went back to Lifuwu by bus.  All in all, it was a memorable experience. 

After seeing the woman with the baby chicks on the bus, we were inspired to get some chicks of our own as pets here at the Friendly Gecko residence.  Today we bought two from a local family—Brutus and Maximus—they are so cute, and now they even have their own Facebook page!  We bought them for 1500 kwacha (5 dollars), and the woman from whom we purchased the chicks was so happy.  As it turns out, that was 10 times what they were worth!  We knew that this was too much, but we wanted to help the family out anyway.  Here’s a picture of the chicks—they have been providing us with quite a bit of entertainment.  This weekend Zohair and I will build a chicken coop, so stay tuned.

 

 

Three Days on Safari at Liwonde National Park

July 19^th, 2013

Last Weekend Kim and I went to Liwonde National Park in the south of Malawi and had a wonderful 3-day safari.  We stayed at the Bushman’s Baobabs Lodge in Liwonde Park, which is run by an old salt named Darryn, who is one of only 5000 native-born, white Malawians.  The lodge is surrounded by a grove of Baobab trees; for those who don't know what a Baobab is, I suggest you read Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince.  He has a wonderful description of them.  This is a shot of a Baobab tree at sunset--absolutely beautiful!

 

The lodge offers a selection of four different safaris: a canoe trip, a driving safari, a driving and walking safari, and a boat trip up the Shire River.  We ended up doing all four trips among other things.

On Saturday, after a long five-hour bus ride from Salima to Liwonde, we arrived just before sunset, which was a great time to take a canoe ride through the wetlands.  We saw quite a few hippos, water bucks, impalas, and birds.  The ride was very soothing—there was absolutely no sound other than the pole dipping into the water and the occasional grunt of hippos.  At one point Kim even started falling asleep because of the gentle rocking in the canoe.   

When we got back to the camp, we enjoyed a lovely three-course meal: samosas, fish and cauliflower in cream sauce, and apple crumble with English cream.  It was such a nice, luxurious break from our dinners in Lifuwu, where all we can get in the market is tomatoes, onions, eggs, rice and nsima.  Then, we went to bed after such a long day.

On Sunday, we got up at 5:00 in the morning for our sunrise driving safari, which took us about 12 kilometers into the park.  We saw many impala, water bucks, bush bucks, and a few elephants. 

 

 One of the more astonishing parts of the safari was this gigantic baobab tree that was 4000 years old. 

 

 We got back at around 10:00 and had a full English breakfast: eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, beans and tomatoes with onions.  After this light breakfast, we sat on a sunset deck, which resembled a deer stand, where we could watch the wildlife in comfort.  After sunset, Darryn lit a fire, and we watched the stars.   

 

He pointed out the constellations, including the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper (which was upside down!!!).  He also told us stories about his life in southern Africa.  He joined the Rhodesian army at 15, ran a fishing business in Dar es Salaam, and even raised Hyenas and Cheetahs as pets.  I’m not sure how much of his stories were true, but the guy was very entertaining nonetheless.  We ate dinner under the stars, and it was even better than the night before: vegetable soup with homemade garlic bread as a starter, then roast chicken with new potatoes, peas, carrots, and cauliflower, and for dessert banana fritters.

Monday was our last full day in the park, and we started off with a driving and walking safari.  We saw more elephants while driving, but the walking safari was not as productive. For some reason, I think that the wildlife is more afraid of people on foot than in Land Rovers.  We spent another day relaxing on the sunset deck watching warthogs, monkeys, and impala.   

 

Then in the afternoon we took a sunset cruise up the Shire River, which was amazing.  We saw so much wildlife, including hippos (which unfortunately are very difficult to photograph), elephants (even closer than before), 

 

crocodiles,

 

and countless different kinds of birds.  

 

 We even saw something quite unusual and certainly dangerous: fishermen were hauling in nets from the bank of the river, but when they pulled them in, there was a 2-meter long crocodile caught in them! The fisherman just flipped it out of the net and kept hauling in the fish.  It just shows you how even daily tasks here in Africa can be life-threatening situations.   

 

For dinner we had pumpkin soup, followed by beef in red wine sauce, and apple pancakes.

On Tuesday we left Liwonde.  We had such a wonderful time at the park, and the safaris were so much more affordable than what we would have paid in Zambia or Tanzania. I cannot recommend Bushman’s Baobabs more highly!  If you ever find yourself in Malawi, be sure to stay there for a few days—you won’t be disappointed!

Graduation Day at Kazembe Primary School

July 18th, 2013

On Friday, July 12th, Kazembe Primary School had its graduation ceremony.  It was quite an affair.  They pulled a bunch of desks out of the classrooms in a semi-circle under a big tree.  All of the teachers, volunteers, and important people from the village were sitting in the desks facing the entire student body.  For each standard (grade), they read off the names and point totals of the students who passed their examinations.  This was quite a time-consuming affair, but what I couldn’t get over was how public the event was.  Even those students who scored poorly had their grades advertised to the entire village.  Those who did not pass had to sit patiently and hope that their name would be called.  Roughly 50% of the students in a given standard will pass, which seems quite low.  Sometimes I wish we could do the same thing in the United States!  At least here students earn the outcomes that they get, rather than slacking off all year and scraping by with minimal effort.

 

The graduation ceremony was truly a community event, and parents would frequently hand out money to their children if their name were called.  There was a lot of jubilant howling, singing, and dancing.  Here’s a picture of Standard 7 receiving their scores.  Keenean, Zohair and I are lifting the school valedictorian, Jonathan.

Many of the students who have been coming to Kids Corner and English Corner were the high scorers on their exams, which was very encouraging to see.  Our coordinator, Francesca, told us that when she arrived the students had little or no English—when asked: “what is your name?” they would respond with: “yes.”  Now they can hold fairly good English conversation, and some students scored quite high on their English test.  At least Help2Kids has demonstrated a marked positive influence in these kids’ education.  This is extremely important not only because English is the international language and the language of opportunity, but because from Standard 5 through Standard 8, all examinations are in English, not Chichewa.  If students cannot read and understand English, in all likelihood they will not pass Math, Agriculture, or any of their other classes.
 

Here is a picture of the progress that we have made on the construction of the new school block.  It is pretty impressive how fast this building is getting built.

Fun in the Sun at Cape Maclear

July 8^th, 2013

This weekend Kim and I went on a trip to Cape Maclear, which is a tourist town on the southern shore of Lake Malawi.  We went there with nine other volunteers here in Lifuwu.  It was a lot of fun! First, we chartered our own motola (truck), so that we were not packed like sardines for nine hours on the way to our destination.  The trip only took three hours, but it was VERY uncomfortable—there were eleven of us sitting in the bed of a pickup truck.  The trip normally takes nine hours by motola, but since we chartered one, it was a non-stop trip.

 

As it turns out, Saturday was Freedom Day in Malawi, the day when Malawians celebrate their independence from Great Britain, so all of the hotels and hostels on the beach were booked.  We eventually found something that could only be described as a motel, African style.  The conditions were quite spartan, but it was better than sleeping on the beach with all the mosquitoes. In short order we were relaxing at the beach enjoying beautiful Lake Malawi.   

I can’t say that it was very difficult to sit on the beach all day drinking beer, but we did make time for a nice dinner of pizza at one of the resorts.  Then the fun began: first, we walked along the beach until we found a group of locals playing bongos around a fire at the beach.  So we sat and tried to sing in Chichewa (with the help of a few beers) and enjoyed the breathtaking night sky.

 

Then, it started getting late, so we walked back to our accommodation.  On the way, we ran into a throng of drunk Malawians who were standing outside of a bar/club, which was definitely a local hangout.  

 

I tried this beverage (if you can call it that) called Chibuku, which is labeled “International Beer”.  I have had dozens, if nor hundreds of different beers in all of my travels, and I have never even heard of it.  It came in a milk carton, and the slogan said “Taste the Goodness”. Alas, there was no goodness.  In fact, as Keenan put it, it tasted like battery acid, grass, and sour milk.  Unfortunately, the aftertaste even more disgusting, and it lasted the rest of the night and into the morning.  After a mouthful, I gave the rest of my Chibuku to a man in front of the bar, and he seemed grateful to have it—though not as grateful as I was not to have to drink it!  That ended the festivities for the evening.

 

On Sunday we chartered a boat to take us to an island off the coast, which was part of an aquatic national park—one of the only freshwater parks in all of Africa.  We went snorkeling and saw hundreds of brightly coloured Cichlid fish.  Some were neon blue, others were bright yellow.  It was amazing.   

 

Then, after a few hours, the boat driver prepared a braai (barbeque), and roasted some local fish over an open flame.  It was very simple, but definitely delicious.  

 

When we got back to town, we watched the sun set.  It was quite picturesque.  Malawi truly is a beautiful country.

After the sun went down we went to another resort for dinner, but we got there just in time to watch Andy Murray win the Wimbledon final.  There seemed to be a lot of Brits in the bar, and they were excited to see him win.  Once the excitement died down, we dined at “Froggies”, a French restaurant.  The food was very good, even by Western standards, and the desserts were even better.  After all the excitement, we went back to our hostel exhausted.

On Monday we came back to Lifuwu with our chartered motola, and arrived home in the afternoon.  All in all, it was another great weekend in Malawi.  This trip keeps getting better and better!  Here's a sign that was on the island where we snorkeled.  I found it amusing, and I hope that you do too.

 

Construction Begins at Kazembe Primary School

July 3rd, 2013

Starting on Monday, we began our work building a new school block at Kazembe Primary School.  Kim and I volunteered for construction duty, and it is quite challenging.  First, the builders measured out the outline of the project using sticks and string—they really did not use a measuring tape all that much, which was a little strange.  Then, they drew lines in the sand telling us where to dig for the foundation.  

 

It was quite hard work, since the ground was mostly sand.  Every so often, a wind would pick up and blow sand in your mouth if you had your mouth open.  Also, at times the sand would slide down the sides back into your trench if you weren’t careful how you shoveled.

 

After a while, we got to a part that was full of roots from the nearby trees, so young boys carrying frighteningly sharp machetes would hack at the roots until the were cut through and could be removed.  By the end of the day, thanks to the help of some hired hands, we had the trench completely finished, and then the bricklayers started at their work.

 

In the afternoon, some men pulled up in a flatbed truck and delivered 100 50-kilogram bags of cement, which then had to be removed from the truck and stacked in a school room.  It is really amazing to see how much weight Africans can carry on their heads.  I was inspired to give it a shot, and it is quite a lot easier than carrying the bags in your hands!

Yesterday, we were relegated to water/brick carriers.  When we got to the building site at 8:00, as directed, we found out that the bricklayers had been waiting since 6:00 to get started, but since they had no water, they could not make the mortar.  It struck me as odd that they would not get the water themselves to get started right away rather than wait around, but evidently hauling water is woman’s work.  Well, woman’s and white men’s work, anyway.  After a minor labor dispute, working began promptly at 9:30.  

Our job now is basically to pump and haul water to the men to make mortar and lay the bricks.  We also haul bricks.  I cannot get over how willing little children are to do work that even we adults find burdensome.  The girls haul water much faster and more efficiently than we can!

 

At any rate, the building is coming along nicely, and we estimate that it should take about a month to complete.  I hope it is finished before we leave Malawi!