TAKULANDIRANI!

Zikoma!
I have learned only a few words in the native Chechewa (Chech-AY-Wa) language but I find myself saying these few words a lot.  It means "Thank You".  There is such a polite, genuine willingness to help here, coupled with a natural pride in their work, that it helps you become quite comfortable regardless of where you are from.

However, I won't say I am completely comfortable yet. There's just so much new here in this beautiful yet small country. I can say though that today was much easier. I think a lot of that can be contributed to having the first full nights' sleep and actual morning wake up that I have had for several days...or nights...I really can't remember. Another great help, even though perhaps it was by fluke, is that until tomorrow morning all six of the CCA "Malawi Team" are still together. I am by no means a timid person, but it is much easier to bravely explore new things in a new land with 5 other first-time Malawi visitors. So with only the day left before the Brad & Scott head North to the town of Rumphi and Larry and Karen head South to the city of Blantyre, the group wanted to make the most of the day.

Wake up call

The first thoughts of the day were "Hey, we have tin roofs" and "Wow, it rained REALLY hard last night." ... two thoughts that could not have come separately as when I opened my doors I was greeted by the warm sun and lush greenery. Malawi in the rainy season could possibly challenge Ireland for "most shades of green". ..probably as many tones of green as Nairobi seemed to have (looking down from an airplane mind you) of warm beiges.

Before coming to Malawi I was checking the weather on a pretty consistent basis. EVERY day for the whole week showed a cloud with rain and lightning, with a sun behind it. What I didn't realise is that it's very common to witness all of those extremes repeatedly in the same day. There is not rain every day in the rainy season any more then there is snow everyday of winter, and we have been blessed so far as it has only lightly showered in some afternoons and downpoured at night.

Pleasant Surprises

I was so sunny and warm this morning that I was just about ready to jump in the pool when I heard some powerful and intriguing music coming from the building behind the hotel. Brad, Karen and I decided to investigate, and I am very glad we did. We decided to drop in during the "last 10 min" of an evangelical church service at the Christ Assembly. As we left 1 hour later I had no regrets, even when they gave us a microphone and asked us to introduce ourselves. Everyone there was very warm and welcoming (no big surprise really, but nice nonetheless). I think from that moment on I really began to feel more comfortable in my surroundings.

Road to church

Entrance to church









Fish and Chips

In any new surroundings, coming to your own terms with the food is always a challenge, and one that is often rewarded with new and fasinating flavours...even for something like "fish & chips". Although I had been prepped for it, it was still a little intimidating to order "Closed Chambo" for the first time. And I will admit...I didn't. I chickened out! I went for the "Open Chambo" and must admit it was pretty good!



Closed Chambo





Open Chambo



Now to anyone who thinks this look soooo inedible...think about how we in Atlantic Canada eat something like lobster without so much as a pause!

Nature Calls

So with our last afternoon we decided to visit the Lilongwe Wildlife Conservatory. While not quite a "game reserve", the conservatory's main focus is to rehabilitate animals for return to the wild, and to care for those animals which cannot be freed. The areas for the various primates, hyenas, elk etc. are kilometres large, but strategically placed so a trail can provide an observation route to all species.

The main things I took from the trip was that A) Hyenas are larger then I thought and B) if you ever wonder what the difference is between a "Zoo" and a "Wildlife Conservatory" it's this:

As we finsihed up our visit at the Conservatory with a beverage, we headed to the best Italian restaurant...run by an Englishman...in Malawi and wrapped up a great day.

Tomorrow is a work day, beginning with a meeting at 8:30 AM at MUSCCO (Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives...similar to our Credit Union Central). As my comfort level increases, my challenge becomes two-fold: try to learn 2 Chichewa words each day and begin to discover the people of Malawi's stories that define them and often break the stereotypes we have of developing nations.

I look forward to the challenge, and will certainly keep you updated as best I can!

Until next time,

Tionana!