Sika | September 30, 2009
In knitting we say, “It’s only sticks and string” to indicate to newbies that it’s all manageable. Well sailing a dhow only uses sticks and strings, too, but it’s far more impressive. Out on a dhow, watching how it is manoeuvred, I couldn’t help but think that my grandpa would love to see how it [...]
Sika | September 15, 2009
The train was meant to leave at 5am, and so I had to wake at O’Dark-thirty. I pulled on my traveling clothes (because what’s the point of dirtying new clothes every day when all you’re going to do is sit and sweat and then have dirt and grime stick to the sweat?). My jeans—chosen as [...]
Sika | September 14, 2009
After that was another, longer, hotter bike taxi ride up several hills, with a surprisingly wide lane considering the nearly complete dearth of motorized traffic. The lane was unsealed but in most places pretty smooth, and lined with trees, although the shade they gave was more theoretical than actual. The bike taxi dropped me at [...]
Sika | September 13, 2009
But first I had to clear Malawi immigration. The immigration guy called me in front of 4 or so other people, I think because I am white and looked confused and stupid white people are dangerous to leave wandering around all willy-nilly. He asked me why I couldn’t approximate how much I spent in Malawi. [...]
Sika | September 12, 2009
I called Debbie from the train back to Liwonde. She very graciously said I could stay and sent a co-worker just leaving work to come and pick me at the station. I was very happy that the return trip from Nayuchi was considerably shorter than the trip out—about 3 hours. So I even had time [...]
Sika | September 11, 2009
What was that I said about having enough time and just letting the trip unfold, and not stressing? Yeah, well, even though I know that to be best, after today I’m tempted to give up the whole trip.
I got off today just fine: Kory was concerned this morning that since the bwanas are in Chikwawa, [...]
Sika | September 10, 2009
Wanangwa and Kate, two Zomba friends of mine, got married. It almost didn’t happen because their ankhoswe* was late and the law books say you can only get married between certain hours, and the only reason the guy marrying them took pity was that Kate’s mum was returning to Scotland the next day.
Anyway, so they [...]
Sika | September 9, 2009
We weren’t there for Health ‘08’s site announcements. Health ’06 did a great event for ours, but due to scheduling problems we didn’t get to stay in Dedza long enough for the ’08 site announcements. This year, site announcement was at All-Health, like it was for us, and so we could all be a part [...]
Sika | September 8, 2009
Edith asked me to come to PST (pre-service training) for the newbies. I was excited because I was pretty sure Zomba was getting Marla, and I thought it would be nice to get to know her a bit better. Also, I hadn’t had/taken the chance to spend more than a few hours with the Health [...]
Sika | September 8, 2009
If there are people waiting with you on a minibus, and they seem too happy—dancing and singing enthusiastically to Lucky Dube blaring on the radio instead of looking like they’re tired of waiting but have nowhere else to go—and overly familiar with everyone at the minibus stand, beware. They’ll probably be paid a few kwacha [...]
Sika | September 7, 2009
If I said there aren’t some things I’ll be happy to leave, I’d be lying. Mostly things like stone babies and the way many men feel they own my body because I’m a woman, and being called azungu azungu all the time, and feeling like I live in a fishbowl—the only way to escape it [...]
Sika | September 4, 2009
I don’t think I’ve written about the routine of handwashing here in Malawi. I love ritual–I find it soothing–and this is one of my favourites. In Malawi, because nsima is eaten with the hands, hands must be washed before the meal and then again after to remove the last remnants of the nsima and ndiwo [...]
Sika | September 3, 2009
I haven´t written about my last weeks in Malawi partly because I still don´t have pics uploaded for some posts I´ve already written, but mostly because I´ve been in a serious state of denial: refusing to say good-bye to people I know I won´t see again; planning multiple trips back to Zomba so I can´t [...]
Sika | September 2, 2009
I think one of the problems some people have when returning from Peace Corps is a response to the loss of what Peace Corps means for one’s identity. For one thing, Peace Corps goes to great lengths to enculturate us–my mom even asked me, when we were kept incommunicado with the outside world during training, [...]
Sika | September 1, 2009
Unfortunately, it hasn’t even admitted it has a problem. Eventually (please, god, in the immediate future), it will realize it is out of control and harm reduction isn’t working. I hope it will then join Westlife Fans Anonymous and break the brutal cycle of its horrible addiction.
Preferably before my brains liquefy and splash out onto [...]