Leaving Lilongwe

We are getting ready to leave the capital city of Lilongwe and begin making our way up to the Livingstonia Plateau, via Mzuzu - without luggage, but with high hopes that we will still see it at some point.

Much of today's post is John's description of our trip to Blaytyre, Malawi's commercial center and Mulanje, where we spent two wonderful days with John's old friends and my new friends Justin and Esther Funsani. They put us up at their home, close by the Chileka Police Station, where Esther is chief of police. Justin is retired from the U.S. Embassy, where he served as chief librarian and assistant to the public affairs director for about 17 years.

On Sunday, we ventured out onto the highways in our little rented car and drove down to Blantyre (about a 4-1/2 hour trip) in heavy rainstorms nearly the whole way. At times we could barely see the road in front of us, but since the roads have no shoulders we had little choice but to continue on. In some spots the muddy water washing across the road was so heavy that we couldn't see if there were potholes ahead or not. Quite an adventure! We were lucky in comparison, though, as throughout these downpours people -- most without umbrellas or raingear -- continued to walk or bike alongside the road carrying their loads (water buckets, bags of maize meal, firewood, baggage) on their heads, farmers continued to weed their gardens, small boys continued to herd their half dozen cattle or dozen goats, and mothers continued to pump water or wash clothes with their babies on their backs.

After a happy reunion with Esther and Justin that night, we headed out the next morning to her village near Mt. Mulanje, the second or third highest peak in Africa. The landscape there is spectacular -- gardens occupying every square foot of tillable land, smaller peaks jutting out of the plain, muddy rivers overflowing their banks during the rainy season, and people everywhere. The Southern Region is the most densely populated in Malawi, which, in turn, is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Our first stop was at Esther's sister's home, a three-bedroom, tin-roofed brick house surrounded by beautiful gardens and an amazing view of Mt. Mulanje. Her sister, Roseby, is such a strong woman -- despite losing her husband and four of her six children -- she continues to be optimistic, outgoing, and full of life. We had lunch there and then went to Esther and Justin's home in the village (where they will live when Esther retires in a couple of years).

Awaiting us were Esther's mother, four of her sisters, and one of the sister's mother-in-law, who, despite her age of nearly 90, had walked about a mile from her home to welcome the American visitors. We had a wonderful time exchanging greetings with all of them, talking with the sisters who spoke English, and sharing an unbelievably sweet, ripe pineapple from one of the sister's garden. Everyone was so gracious and welcoming, and when we expressed our thanks to them and to Esther, she said, "When you are in Malawi, this is your home." Wow! Justin's mother-in-law, also 90+ told him it was a great day for the village to have us there, and it never would have happened without him. We had no idea that a simple visit would have such profound impact on them. We were humbled and honored, and incredibly touched by their kindness. The 2 90+ year old women were so elegant and dignified in their headdresses and clearly put on their best clothes for the meeting.

Yesterday we had a wonderful conversation with Gome Mkandawire, whose grandfather worked at the Livingstonia Mission when it was first established by Scottish missionary Dr. Robert Laws. (Laws's dream, more than 100 years ago, was to establish a university there to serve all of east-central Africa. Last September's graduation of the first class was the realization of that dream.) Gome is interested in a possible position at the University of Livingstonia, so the vice chancellor asked us to have an exploratory conversation with him before we headed north. As it turns out, Gome will ride part way with us tomorrow back to his home in Kasungu, so we'll have an additional opportunity to visit with him further. He is very bright and well educated and would a huge asset to the institution, but unlike us, cannot afford to make his work at Livingstonia a volunteer position, but we will see what happens and continue to talk with him about possibilities.

Susan and I are amazed to think that we've been here less than a week. It's a rich experience, and we realize that we're slowly fitting into the local customs, figuring out ways of getting things done -- or discovering new sources of patience when things break down (often) or don't seem to have a rhyme or reason, slowing down, and coming to terms with the fact that soon we'll have very limited e-mail access, spotty telephone communication, no car, no movies, no TV, etc. All of that's balanced out, of course, by what we do have and what we have to look forward to. More later.

Today's photo's are of the Esther's family gathering in Mulanje and of John presenting some gifts to Justin Funsani.