Favorite things and other thoughts

April 19, 2008

We just returned from a 2-day College leadership meeting at Chinteche on Lake Malawi where we stayed at a Malawian resort on the lake.  It was pretty basic, but the people were amazingly nice and helpful, and they had a conference room with snack breaks in the morning and afternoon.  It would probably be most like a little camp type lodge that you might have stayed in somewhere in the U.S., with separate cabins. 

The only glitch was a really giant spider that we saw in our cabin – I’m talking 3 - 4 inches across, including the legs, so I was pretty freaked out about that, not to mention the bat that flew through the open air dining room each night and freaked out John.  Probably not a place I would recommend, but also about a 5^th the price of the place we had stayed at a month or so ago, which was right next-door. 

The meeting went fine considering we really didn’t want to be there since this was the same group that decided to kick out our friends Bruce and Karin, but we have committed to helping the College as best we can.  This was a budgeting meeting, and this group doesn’t have experience with developing a balanced budget, but there was a gentleman who was retained to attend the meeting who has extensive experience and explained in simple terms the whole financial management process which really helped them a lot. 

The lake was beautiful as always, and we loved hearing the sound of the waves each night.  Unfortunately, because of the waves, John didn’t get a chance to swim – it was just too rough.  He has had few opportunities to swim while we’ve been here.

April 20, 2008

I think this will be a “favorite things” blog.  When we were driving to Chinteche and back for this meeting John and I were talking about the things we really love here. 

1.    Names – I love the names of people here like:

a.    Blessing

b.    Precious

c.     Happy

d.    Innocent

e.    Praise

f.      Miracle

g.    Wisdom

h.    Lovely

i.      Gracious

j.      Beauty

k.     Glory

l.      Mercy

m.  Tawonga (thank you in the local language)

2.    The hand washing ritual before and after meals, where the host/hostess pours warm water from a pitcher over your hands into a basin and has a towel over their arm for drying. 

3.    Tea – not the beverage, although I do like that too, but the break in the morning and afternoon.  It’s a great form of entertaining to invite someone for tea, and some scones, or banana bread, or cookies along with the tea and milk and sugar.

4.    Powdered whole milk.  This stuff is so handy for putting in coffee or tea, and I hate the “non-dairy creamer” stuff at home.  This is actually powdered full cream or 2% milk and it is sold everywhere here.  The powdered milk we have at home is awful because it is totally non-fat so it’s no good for coffee or anything. 

5.    Big thermos’ to put your hot water in for tea or coffee at the beginning of the day.  It makes so much sense and is such an energy saver – and of course here it’s great because you can have a hot beverage even if the power goes out, which could happen at any time.

6.    Hot water boiler pots.  These things boil water so fast, and every one has them so you can heat up the tea water. 

7.    The amazing view from our konde out over the valley and Lake Malawi all the way to the mountains of Tanzania about 20 or 30 miles away.  Sometimes it is so clear that we can clearly see the valleys on the mountains there, and the occasional glint from the tin roofs of the buildings there.  I know I have put a bunch of these on before, but here is one that shows the outline of the mountains across the lake quite clearly.

8.    Rainbows, and beautiful clouds.  We often see rainbows as we look out over the valley and lake, or drive around the country during the rainy season.  And the clouds are amazing from up where we are – I put a picture of some that we took near dusk one night.

9.    No airplane noise.  We heard one airplane fly over since we have been here, it’s going to be strange to go back to our home only 7 miles or so from the International Airport.

10. Almost no car noise.  We have become such bumpkins, often going to the window to see what car is coming down the dirt road, as car noises are rare and get our attention.

11. The constant sound of children laughing and playing.  It is such a beautiful sound, interspersed with giggles and and sometimes singing – the other day there was a wonderful little girls voice belting out a call and response song with her friends.  At home you just don’t see or hear kids outside that much any more.  I put a picture of somei kids who were playing when they saw us coming and immediately gathered together and asked us for “picture, picture!” with their huge smiles, regardless of the rags they were dressed in – the littlest one was naked and his mom told his brother to cover him. 

12. The chickens and their sounds.  From early morning to dark there is a parade of chickens through the yard, scratching, clucking, squawking, crowing, and having a great time.  It’s very relaxing and a nice connection with nature.

13. Greetings.  Always – and I do mean always being greeted with a big smile and a “hello, how are you today?”, followed usually by the response “very fine thank you, and you?”, often even by total strangers as you are walking down the street or path.  If you are walking with a Malawian, you will hear shouted greeting exchanges with people who are some distance away as well. 

14. Handshakes.  Everyone shakes hands every time they meet, even friends, who might also hug or pull the person close while shaking hands.  Sometimes people have a hard time letting go and will keep shaking or holding your hand.  When you say something funny or something a Malawian really likes, you often get a dramatic “hand slap – hand shake” along with a big laugh to show their appreciation.

15. Men holding hands while they walk.  Women hold hands while they walk too, but honestly, I see men walking and holding hands more than women and certainly more than couples as that would be less common.  There is no “negative” connotation, or hidden meaning when men hold hands, it is totally normal here, and looks very sweet.

16. Soda in bottles with a deposit.  When did we stop doing that?  You can buy cans of plastic bottles here, but they are a lot more expensive, as well they should be for the environmental cost.

17. Singing.  We are sitting in the lobby of the hotel right now and can hear people singing somewhere nearby.  I could include dancing here too, as when people are very happy or excited about something, they ululate, sing or dance to show and release their joy.