| Malawi Questions: Part 1 |
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A few weeks back I posted a blog on new beginnings, new commitments…you know, what every blogger writes about at the onset of a new year. It was more of a test to see how many of you out there DO read our blog. No just kidding, really, I did want to hear what questions you had about what life is like here in Malawi…I’m just so thankful that there really is more than 2 of you out there who log into our site. Before arriving in the summer we had absolutely no idea of what we were getting into, quite literally…we had no idea what kind of living arrangements we would be in (we had decided previously to live with our accompanying friends, the George’s), we had no idea what we would be eating, how we would be getting around, how much Chichewa we needed to know, how we would be doing our laundry or where we would go in case of a medical emergency….it was all quite “faith baffling”…you know, so thrilling and scary at the same time. And just to clarify in case it was misrepresented somewhere, I am no expert in Malawian life, on the contrary I am still very much a novice at all things Malawian…but I am here to share what I know so far in my 6 month African trek. So onto the questions... First question comes all the way from the ever-so-wise Kelly in Jacksonville, FL. “My questions for you--you mentioned having a date night with your hubby before he headed back to the states- where does one go for a date in Malawi?? And how do you travel from place to place.” Great question, Kel. Blantyre, though not the country’s capital, is the banking capital and I do believe the largest city in the country (there really is only 2 cities). Though your mind is probably thinking NYC or Chicago, it is hardly a metropolis by any stretch. We were surprised to find that Blantyre does have a few restaurants around town…Italian, Chinese, Indian and a few pizza places. Literally everything shuts down around 6pm when the sun sets but we are lucky that most of the restaurants stay open. You pretty much can’t get around town after sunset unless you have a vehicle. That Friday night we decided on 1 of the 2 Italian restaurants here…the mushroom risotto I had was so yummy and my date was charming and handsome! We do have a vehicle that we own jointly between our 2 families…it makes coordinating a challenge, but we prefer it that way…its one of those things we chose to do in order to live in community. (Maybe the “why living in community” question that many of you are thinking should be my next blog…I can hear your brains churning with questions.) Second question comes from our always-encouraging friend, Tina in Huntersville, NC. Tina had several questions, but I just picked a few. “Where do you sleep? How long is night? When you say neighborhood, what is that? A village? City block? The three houses sitting together? What is a day like at an orphan care center? Do they spend the night there, too? What are the church services like?” First, I have to publically thank Tina for all the cards that she has sent our way here…they make us smile and feel loved. Ok, where do we sleep? We have a house that we live in together (the “McGeorge” residence) that is kinda out of town a bit…about 10 minute drive down this very long, dirt, bumpy, and sometimes muddy road. Night begins around 6pm when the sunsets (give or take) and the sun rises around 5:30am (I’ve converted to being a morning person here…love the early sunrise.) Neighborhood is pretty loose term…but yeah, there are neighborhoods here in the city…no strip malls or neighborhood pools to speak of. Village is also seen a little here…a cluster of many houses where a chief still resides over the rules of that small community. You will find bigger and more of a village with huts/thatched roofs outside the city. Sometimes only just a footpath or a road will separate a village from another. A day in the Orphan Care center: each orphan care center cares for up to 100 children under the age of 5 yrs at each center, the children arrive in the morning and stay until noon, they receive a hot meal, vitamins, clean water, education from the trained teachers, support for their families (many of them are orphans but live with next of kin, or maybe a mother is still alive but needs support). They do not stay the night at these centers as they have families to stay with…it is a safe haven and a place where they can be cared for during the day while their family members work. Church services: SIM (the mission we are with) in Malawi works with the African Evangelical Church (a very small denomination here in Malawi)…we attend an AEC church right up the road from our house. Church services are mostly in Chichewa. My favorite part is at the end when everyone lines up walking out of the door, shaking hands and saying hi to each person…its fun to greet each one…impossible for a church back home, but a great part of relationship building. Thanks, Tina, for the questions. And the very fun and lovely Michelle from J-ville, FL (way to represent J-ville) asks, “My question for you would be about that garden! Did you have locals help you? How much reading did it require or did you already know about that? Do you have to weed it often?” Well, our jungle…I mean, garden is flourishing but really not because of any of us. We do have a gardener and very good friend who has helped us from day 1. Security is a must around here and a great way to have security is to have someone who is on the property during the day when we aren’t…Nasho, is our gardener but also acts as our daytime security, as well as our very good friend! We simply gave him packets of organic seeds that we had brought over (and a few that we bought here) and told him to go ahead with it. So, no, I really can’t take any credit for the garden at all…I DO take credit for the yummy from-scratch spaghetti sauce that I make regularly with all the tomatoes and fresh basil! My dear college roommate, Judy from Chambersburg, PA asks, “What do you miss the most about the states? What kind of medical care is there in case you need it?” I know this is cliché, but I really do miss all of our dear friends and family…and our precious nieces and baby nephews! I feel like I miss our families the most when a joyous occasion happens that we aren’t there to be a part of, like the birth of our nephews (in Sept & Jan) and my brother-in-law’s wedding, Christmas holidays and birthdays, and our church’s big move! We miss our church a lot…I think worship is a big part of what I miss weekly, I will be an emotional mess the first Sunday that I can sing worship songs in English! I also miss Hershey’s chocolate & DQ ice-cream, but I would have sounded too shallow if I listed that first. As far as medical care goes, we are thankful that Blantyre has 2 private hospitals…a Seventh Day Adventist hospital and another private hospital. These two hospitals have great doctors and nurses. Both Daniel and I have been lucky that we haven’t been sick enough to go to the hospital ourselves, but a few of our friends have and came out in great shape! If we needed urgent care that wasn’t found here in Malawi our insurance would evacuate us immediately to a hospital in South Africa. We are in good hands! Part 2 to come soon! |
Comments (3)
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 09:14
Michelle Gentges
Great post Jamie!! Love reading about your life there. You are so brave! I just can't imagine packing up and leaving the US! Blessings!!
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Friday, 05 February 2010 06:38
Tina Sagisi
We could do the line thing.
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 09:21
Phil Brabbs
Awesome post!!!!
