Back in Africa

It has been a long journey, but a familiar one. I was able to see my brother in NYC before taking off to Johannesburg.. Flying on South African airlines was a treat because everything came back to me even before landing in Jo’burg. The accents, the attitudes, everything. It was a nice flight and immediately after landing, I boarded my flight to Lilongwe. In classic African fashion, only 3 out of my 4 bags made it..  Still waiting for my golf clubs, which could have been stolen for all i know. 

Upon arrival in Lilongwe, my temperature was taken by a “physician”.. I’m assuming due to Ebola epidemic. I waited around for 40 minutes hoping my clubs would show up.. Then I filled out a form and will have to wait to see if they show up. While waiting for my bags, i was constantly being asked to exchange money by tellers at 3 different locations. 

I was greeted by a gentleman named Michael who works at the school I will be teaching at this year. He was such a great help and even knew how to speak chichewa , which was pretty impressive.  His wife Igna prepared a lunch for us.. It was refreshing to be in a nice home with a huge backyard and the quiet of the neighborhood. When  I stepped out of his van everything hit me at once. The color of this place, the smell, the quiet. It was all very comforting and made me very excited for the next several months. Michael took me around town to get minutes for my phone, enquire about internet for the house, etc.. 

I arrived at our home and was greeted by Kam and Joseph. Joseph is the guard and Kam the gardener. The place is great and very spacious. The kids are going to love the yard. The house is in a great location and close to shops that have the things we will need on a daily basis. 

Once I got to the home, I tried to use the internet service i purchased, but with no luck. It was about 5 pm and the sun goes down at 6.  I walked down the hill, looked for a internet cafe, settle for a local hotel and tried to reach michelle. I couldn’t because I was emailing from a foreign IP address, so every email service I use I was blocked from using. Even facebook asked me to do a name recognition thing in order to access my account.  It took me longer than I expected and I left the hotel at 630.. it was pitch black out and I walked right past my house.. I kind of freaked out, but fortunately Joseph was on the look out for the only white man walking the streets. 

So far , so good. Having spent some time here helps the adjustment.  on first glance, Malawi is much less developed that Botswana…  It will be a more rugged time here, but I think it will be great.  It is much poorer, but I think the people (first impression) are very kind and respectful. 

I have made small gains in the last few days... I was able to drive again on the opposite side of the street, I found the school , was able to refill our water container for the house (at a 7-11 of all places) and went grocery shopping for the first time with no glitches. It is a cash economy here, and there are only a few places that take credit cards.. Chipiku is the grocery store near our home, and they take cards.. the currency here is called the Kwacha.. currently the exchange rate is 396KWA - 1 USD.. 

awaiting boarding to lilongwe

our street

our home for the next 10 months

my first purchase.. biltong

all for now.