We've got only two days left in Zomba. It is amazing how quickly two weeks turn into two days. We have spend the two last weeks wrapping up our stay here. Doing everything we haven't done before (which include too many visits to the taylor) and saying goodbye to all the people we have met. In addition we have been working hard to get all the information to our projects, we have visited "The Tallular Man" (he's got the most amazing hair!) and several schools, both new and old. We went to Malosa where our friend Steve (who was a part of last years project) teaches, and we got to observe a evening class with very energetic youths giving us full applause just for showing up. We have been playing volleyball with the priests, looked at stars in a very international environment, had farwell dinners and seen the longest three in the world(!) at Chilma.
Initially we came here to go to Chancellor College, and as luck has it, it opened again last week (after the strike). We finally got a taste of Malawian college life, and even though it was just for one week, I think we all were happy to attend some classes. Unfortunately, it was only the first years that started and not really the subjects we wanted (except from African pre- colonial history), but still, it is an experience.
Otherwise, we have met a young man eager to get education, and yesterday we visited his home in the outskirts of Zomba. After his parents died in a car accident, he and his siblings have been struggeling to make ends meet and they now live with their grandmother. James has been accepted to a college but has not been able to enrole because of lack of fundings. We have decided to help him with his school fees, and in return he has made a promise to us to work hard to get a good education. He told us that he wants to get a paid job so that he can help others who experience the same hardships as him. Education in Malawi is hard to attain. You need to work very hard to be accepted to secondary school and many are not able to pay the small amount (in Norwegian eyes) requiered in school fees. It is even harder to get higher education and a paid job. The sad fact is, that it does not matter how bright you are if you don't have any money.
The next few days will be spend enclosing our projects, chating with our friends and packing our things. In addition we have been invited to a large farm owned by the first "real" white Malawian we have met, and I think it will be quite exciting to see that aspect of malawi as well. Today we have dinner plans with Kristin, a Norwegian FK participant working at the Statistics office and on Tuesday afternoon there will be a formal farwell party at Chanco. Afterwards we will (hopefully) eat dinner with the priest students and the staff at Leonard Kamungu Theological College, were we live, followed by a visit to the choir practice in the chapel.
And that's it, I guess. I will miss waking up to choir song, the early mornings when the life of the city is rising with the sunlight, I will miss shopping fresh vegetables at the farmers marked, strangers greeting me in the street, finding a rooster in my kitchen, the beautiful fabrics and African smells. And of course the adventures and special people, my friends and amongolongolola, the jokes and the laughters. It is good to have something to miss.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Adventures in Mozambique
Our Mozambiquean adventure was a hard-to-get experience. On the day of our departure we still had no idea of how to get to our destination, which we only 12 hours before had decided would be Quelimane by the coast of Central Mozambique.
Lesson no 1: The tourism industry in Mozambique is not very reliable.
Getting over the border was easy, but time consuming. The next part was a bit more tricky. The only means of transportation to get into the nearest city, was bicycle taxi's (another appropriate name could have been "Desperate Conn Men on Wheels"). Not really comfortable (which we later realized was some kind of slogan for Moz. transport), and already sick of quarreling, we finally reached Milange and an agreement which was, - not satisfying, but one both parties could live with.
Lesson no 2: Money does not equal good service...
We got to the bus station only to realize that all the public transportation had left for the day. Surrounded by drunkards and criminals (we were later informed that the same men worked a scam driving tourists into a trap, stealing all their belongings and leaving them in the bush), we carefully examined our options to continue our trip, -which really was not many! Fortunately we eventually found to trustworthy individuals who was recommended by the guards at the place, and half an hour later we hit the road in a rusten minibus: 2 drivers, 4 girls, a lot of luggage and 3 hens wandering around, pecking our feet. The road was nothing but potholes for 7 hours (mostly mud roads) and its amazing how fast it is possible to go on without hitting a single pedestrian.
Lesson no 3: Roads in Mozambique are terrible and the drivers even worse!
What we first noticed about Mozambique (other than potholes and quarreling speed addicts) was the number of children with "inflated bellies" (due to under nutrition), the second was the number of ruins along the road. Even though the civil war ended in 1992, the signs of it was clearly visible from the road. The reconstruction did not start before year 2000, and I suspect that the southern part, with the capital Maputo, is prioritized. Nevertheless, I do believe that Mozambique is a beautiful country, and in some years, when it might have gotten rid of more of its scars, I'll go back.
We got to Quelimane late in the evening and after looking at several hotels (just to discover that they all were fully booked) we settled for a very nice and cosey place near the town center (but a bit over our price range..). We only spend one day in the city, looking around and enjoying urbanity (way above our home town in Malawi). We even got a glance of the old Portuguese cathedral, before we headed for Zalala Beach. It was a tourist heaven in the making, - which basically means the facilities was not exactly finished when we got there. On the plus side there was A LOT of space on the wide sandy beach and very few sellers to bother us. On the other hand there were no shops at all and only two local, extremely slow-going restaurants, which provided the only food we had access to and had the great variety of 3 courses all together. We were lucky enough to rent the only housing available (except tents) through a contact of the bank of Mozambique, and it was clean, cheap, nice and safe. We even enjoyed cable-TV, which is quite a luxury after three months without any TV at all.
Lesson no 4: Everything can be carried on a bicycle; there is room for at least 3 goats at the back of your bike.
Going home again turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than we planned for. On Sunday morning we had arranged to be picked up at 7 am. That did not happen. Actually, we waited for 7 hours to get out of Quelimane, and finally we gave up due to (what we were told was) a fuel shortage in the city (In Zomba shortage of salt is quite common, I don't think the shops have had it the last month). Frustrated by the various lies told by our driver in order to keep us as costumers, we decided to go for a nice hotel and hope for better luck the next day.
Lesson no 5: This is Africa, 5 minutes can easily turn into 7 hours. - Patience is more than a virtue...
The following day we were able to continue our long journey home (without the hens (I don't know what happened to them..) but a duzin dusty men in the back of the lorry of our new car). The driver was going even faster in this car, and Hanna was determinately praying in the back seat, while I was trying to defy my fear in the front. Fortunately everything went well, with only minor setbacks like the clutch breaking down, and we were relieved to get home to Zomba safe and sound the same night. The mood suddenly changed.
Lesson no 6: Malawi really is "the Warm Heart of Africa":)
(Eventuelt: "Borte bra, men hjemme best!")
Lesson no 1: The tourism industry in Mozambique is not very reliable.
Getting over the border was easy, but time consuming. The next part was a bit more tricky. The only means of transportation to get into the nearest city, was bicycle taxi's (another appropriate name could have been "Desperate Conn Men on Wheels"). Not really comfortable (which we later realized was some kind of slogan for Moz. transport), and already sick of quarreling, we finally reached Milange and an agreement which was, - not satisfying, but one both parties could live with.
Lesson no 2: Money does not equal good service...
We got to the bus station only to realize that all the public transportation had left for the day. Surrounded by drunkards and criminals (we were later informed that the same men worked a scam driving tourists into a trap, stealing all their belongings and leaving them in the bush), we carefully examined our options to continue our trip, -which really was not many! Fortunately we eventually found to trustworthy individuals who was recommended by the guards at the place, and half an hour later we hit the road in a rusten minibus: 2 drivers, 4 girls, a lot of luggage and 3 hens wandering around, pecking our feet. The road was nothing but potholes for 7 hours (mostly mud roads) and its amazing how fast it is possible to go on without hitting a single pedestrian.
Lesson no 3: Roads in Mozambique are terrible and the drivers even worse!
What we first noticed about Mozambique (other than potholes and quarreling speed addicts) was the number of children with "inflated bellies" (due to under nutrition), the second was the number of ruins along the road. Even though the civil war ended in 1992, the signs of it was clearly visible from the road. The reconstruction did not start before year 2000, and I suspect that the southern part, with the capital Maputo, is prioritized. Nevertheless, I do believe that Mozambique is a beautiful country, and in some years, when it might have gotten rid of more of its scars, I'll go back.
We got to Quelimane late in the evening and after looking at several hotels (just to discover that they all were fully booked) we settled for a very nice and cosey place near the town center (but a bit over our price range..). We only spend one day in the city, looking around and enjoying urbanity (way above our home town in Malawi). We even got a glance of the old Portuguese cathedral, before we headed for Zalala Beach. It was a tourist heaven in the making, - which basically means the facilities was not exactly finished when we got there. On the plus side there was A LOT of space on the wide sandy beach and very few sellers to bother us. On the other hand there were no shops at all and only two local, extremely slow-going restaurants, which provided the only food we had access to and had the great variety of 3 courses all together. We were lucky enough to rent the only housing available (except tents) through a contact of the bank of Mozambique, and it was clean, cheap, nice and safe. We even enjoyed cable-TV, which is quite a luxury after three months without any TV at all.
Lesson no 4: Everything can be carried on a bicycle; there is room for at least 3 goats at the back of your bike.
Going home again turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than we planned for. On Sunday morning we had arranged to be picked up at 7 am. That did not happen. Actually, we waited for 7 hours to get out of Quelimane, and finally we gave up due to (what we were told was) a fuel shortage in the city (In Zomba shortage of salt is quite common, I don't think the shops have had it the last month). Frustrated by the various lies told by our driver in order to keep us as costumers, we decided to go for a nice hotel and hope for better luck the next day.
Lesson no 5: This is Africa, 5 minutes can easily turn into 7 hours. - Patience is more than a virtue...
The following day we were able to continue our long journey home (without the hens (I don't know what happened to them..) but a duzin dusty men in the back of the lorry of our new car). The driver was going even faster in this car, and Hanna was determinately praying in the back seat, while I was trying to defy my fear in the front. Fortunately everything went well, with only minor setbacks like the clutch breaking down, and we were relieved to get home to Zomba safe and sound the same night. The mood suddenly changed.
Lesson no 6: Malawi really is "the Warm Heart of Africa":)
(Eventuelt: "Borte bra, men hjemme best!")
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
My Malawian Life
After we came back from Zambia things kind of slowed down for a couple of days and there isn't really much to say, except that we were cold (because of a sudden change in the weather) and tiered after the trip.
But as soon as the weekend came, interesting things started to happend, and the first was a visit to Liwonde National Park together with Mr. Chilambo. Cruising with a speed boat through crocodile infested waters, almost hitting a huge hippo in the head (really!), spotting the usual animals (unfortunately no big predators) and close encounters with nosey monkeys sitting on the tables of the dining area of the camp, were only some of the ingrediences. It was quite allright.
Most Malawians are small-holders and are living in villages, so in order to really understand what Malawians are all about, we decided to go and see for our selves. We became Malawians for one day. Dr. MacJessie arranged for us to go to a far-off village, not interrupted by city life, and led us to meet the chief himself. The chief "gave" us a family to stay with, and we put our chitenges on and got ready to learn. We carried water on our head, harvested and pounded maize, roasted ground nuts, plucked chickens, cooked nsima, carried babies on our back, -and, boy(!), did they laugh at us! Of course it was all good-spirited and we were happy to entertain them, as they were happy to open their homes to us. It was quite an experience and not one likely to be forgotten easily.
Otherwise, we have all gotten a membership card of the great "swimming pool society" at Sir Harry Johnston Primary school, and we have spend some hours there, swimming or reading. We have also discovered the beautiful bothanical garden, and we went up there to study, but was, on the same day, disturbed in our reading by a wedding celebration and the making of a music video (- yeah, they do play the same song over and over and over again...). We were not particulary fond of the large instect population either, but enjoyed watching daring monkeys trying to impress the ladies of their kind and of course the various and brightly coloured flowers.
On the social part, we have been fortunate enough to meet quite a lot of interesting people, and we have all had several interviews for our projects. We have met some of the former "Exchange for Development"-students, and on saturday Mr. Steven Carr (writer and agricultural specialist), Mr. John Wilson (advisor in fishing development), Mr. Kamodzi and Dr. MacJessie-Mbewe (our coordinators) came over for home-made apple cake and interesting anecdotes of Malawian life now and before. I most also mention that our friends from the theological college finally got back from their holiday, and the place is suddenly more lively and welcoming.
But only two days later, it was our time to go on holiday. Next destination: Mozambique!
But as soon as the weekend came, interesting things started to happend, and the first was a visit to Liwonde National Park together with Mr. Chilambo. Cruising with a speed boat through crocodile infested waters, almost hitting a huge hippo in the head (really!), spotting the usual animals (unfortunately no big predators) and close encounters with nosey monkeys sitting on the tables of the dining area of the camp, were only some of the ingrediences. It was quite allright.
Most Malawians are small-holders and are living in villages, so in order to really understand what Malawians are all about, we decided to go and see for our selves. We became Malawians for one day. Dr. MacJessie arranged for us to go to a far-off village, not interrupted by city life, and led us to meet the chief himself. The chief "gave" us a family to stay with, and we put our chitenges on and got ready to learn. We carried water on our head, harvested and pounded maize, roasted ground nuts, plucked chickens, cooked nsima, carried babies on our back, -and, boy(!), did they laugh at us! Of course it was all good-spirited and we were happy to entertain them, as they were happy to open their homes to us. It was quite an experience and not one likely to be forgotten easily.
Otherwise, we have all gotten a membership card of the great "swimming pool society" at Sir Harry Johnston Primary school, and we have spend some hours there, swimming or reading. We have also discovered the beautiful bothanical garden, and we went up there to study, but was, on the same day, disturbed in our reading by a wedding celebration and the making of a music video (- yeah, they do play the same song over and over and over again...). We were not particulary fond of the large instect population either, but enjoyed watching daring monkeys trying to impress the ladies of their kind and of course the various and brightly coloured flowers.
On the social part, we have been fortunate enough to meet quite a lot of interesting people, and we have all had several interviews for our projects. We have met some of the former "Exchange for Development"-students, and on saturday Mr. Steven Carr (writer and agricultural specialist), Mr. John Wilson (advisor in fishing development), Mr. Kamodzi and Dr. MacJessie-Mbewe (our coordinators) came over for home-made apple cake and interesting anecdotes of Malawian life now and before. I most also mention that our friends from the theological college finally got back from their holiday, and the place is suddenly more lively and welcoming.
But only two days later, it was our time to go on holiday. Next destination: Mozambique!
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
The Holiday
It's been a little while since I last updated my blog and I will try to give a short account of the happenings during the past weeks, starting with my easter holiday abroad.
We decided to explore the region, in which we are, during our days off, and our main destination was Livingstone, Zambia, where I months earlier had been teaching at Linda West Basic School. The trip, however, did not go exactly as planned, and some days in advance we discovered that our plane, which was scadualed to leave on Wednesday, was cancelled. As this is the short version I will only mention that our uncertainty lasted untill we reached the airport that Wednesday, and after six hours waiting , we were put on a plane to Joh'burg in South-Africa. We spend the night at a luxurious hotell, paid by Air Malawi, as our meals also were. - And I must say that Joh'burg has got the most delicious Ostrich fillet;) Anyway, it worked out quite well for us.
We arrived in Livingstone the following day, and it felt good to be back again. During our stay we were able to meet the "Namibian Girls" (which is actually 3 Norwegian girls staying in Namibia on the same program as us), and of course my friends from Linda West. I took my travel companions to see the school and to meet my former students, energic as ever and still singing "Per Spelman", the Norwegian song I thought them. I was glad to learn that several of my students had improved their reading skills since last time I saw them, and they were eager to read for me.
We also enjoyed other activities, as hard-working students should on their holiday, such as canoe trips on the Zambezi, Sunset cruise, relaxing by the pool and eating the most fabulous choclate mousse at Chanter's (really, it is worth the trip!). And, of course, we watched the spectacular Victoria Falls, which I could hardly believe was the same as the one I saw last October. Mosi O' Tunia is the local name on the falls, meaning the "smoke that thunders", and it really did! You are able to see the cload of water from miles and miles away, and we got soaking wet despite our rain coats. But fortunately we dried quickly when sitting down having our lunch in the warm Zambian sun.
One of the days three of us went to Zimbabwe for a horse back safari and a lion encounter. The day started with a morning ride of four hours in the national park, for my part on a black stallion called Storm, whom not at all lived up to his name. He was meak as a lamb, but had the disturbing habit of running through every mud hole that was in front of him. During those hours we managed to see several animals, among them an elephant (only a tree separating us from the big and grey fellow), and getting a sore bum and aching feet. But it was worth it. After that we spend some hours in Victoria Falls Town, which is entierly a tourist made city, looking at prices reaching up to several billions because of the major inflation. In the afternoon we got picked up for the lion walk, which is exactly what it sounds like: walking with lions into the bush! The number of lions in Africa has sunken drastically the last decades, and this was a program to secure the animals existance. Cubs are bred in captivity and gradually accustumized to their natural habitat, where they eventually are set free and have cubs on their own. So we took them for a walk, and the lions displayed just how lazy a big cat can be and laid down in the shade of a bush as soon as they had the oportunity. But at least we got to pet a lion, which is not quite like peting my own cat (thinking of the size and the possibility of getting an unwanted close encounter with a much larger claw), but it'll do:)
On Wednesday the 26th we went back home to Zomba, and what happend there is another story...
We decided to explore the region, in which we are, during our days off, and our main destination was Livingstone, Zambia, where I months earlier had been teaching at Linda West Basic School. The trip, however, did not go exactly as planned, and some days in advance we discovered that our plane, which was scadualed to leave on Wednesday, was cancelled. As this is the short version I will only mention that our uncertainty lasted untill we reached the airport that Wednesday, and after six hours waiting , we were put on a plane to Joh'burg in South-Africa. We spend the night at a luxurious hotell, paid by Air Malawi, as our meals also were. - And I must say that Joh'burg has got the most delicious Ostrich fillet;) Anyway, it worked out quite well for us.
We arrived in Livingstone the following day, and it felt good to be back again. During our stay we were able to meet the "Namibian Girls" (which is actually 3 Norwegian girls staying in Namibia on the same program as us), and of course my friends from Linda West. I took my travel companions to see the school and to meet my former students, energic as ever and still singing "Per Spelman", the Norwegian song I thought them. I was glad to learn that several of my students had improved their reading skills since last time I saw them, and they were eager to read for me.
We also enjoyed other activities, as hard-working students should on their holiday, such as canoe trips on the Zambezi, Sunset cruise, relaxing by the pool and eating the most fabulous choclate mousse at Chanter's (really, it is worth the trip!). And, of course, we watched the spectacular Victoria Falls, which I could hardly believe was the same as the one I saw last October. Mosi O' Tunia is the local name on the falls, meaning the "smoke that thunders", and it really did! You are able to see the cload of water from miles and miles away, and we got soaking wet despite our rain coats. But fortunately we dried quickly when sitting down having our lunch in the warm Zambian sun.
One of the days three of us went to Zimbabwe for a horse back safari and a lion encounter. The day started with a morning ride of four hours in the national park, for my part on a black stallion called Storm, whom not at all lived up to his name. He was meak as a lamb, but had the disturbing habit of running through every mud hole that was in front of him. During those hours we managed to see several animals, among them an elephant (only a tree separating us from the big and grey fellow), and getting a sore bum and aching feet. But it was worth it. After that we spend some hours in Victoria Falls Town, which is entierly a tourist made city, looking at prices reaching up to several billions because of the major inflation. In the afternoon we got picked up for the lion walk, which is exactly what it sounds like: walking with lions into the bush! The number of lions in Africa has sunken drastically the last decades, and this was a program to secure the animals existance. Cubs are bred in captivity and gradually accustumized to their natural habitat, where they eventually are set free and have cubs on their own. So we took them for a walk, and the lions displayed just how lazy a big cat can be and laid down in the shade of a bush as soon as they had the oportunity. But at least we got to pet a lion, which is not quite like peting my own cat (thinking of the size and the possibility of getting an unwanted close encounter with a much larger claw), but it'll do:)
On Wednesday the 26th we went back home to Zomba, and what happend there is another story...
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