Posts Tagged zomba
December 14, 2008 at 10:54 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged food, house, motorbike, rains, zomba
It’s not often that I spend a weekend in Zomba. I’m very pleased that I’ve been away almost every weekend, and feel that I’m seeing a good deal of Malawi in the short time I’m here. That said, it has been good to spend the weekend here for a change.
This was our backyard last week one evening after work. The rains had cleared the air, and the scene was as crisp as a stage set. The warm evening light is fantastic - and I promise that I haven't touched this photo up at all (though it is a panorama). The mangoes on the tree on the right are practically glowing!
Backyard muddy river
The rainy season is well under way. Almost each day there is a truly colossal downpour, preceded usually by gusts of wind and some impressive claps of thunder, as well as the traditional darkening of the sky. I will rely on these warning signs heavily when I’m biking, as it would be really stupid to be caught in such a downpour. Within a few minutes the roads flood, covered in muddy water which conceals all manner of treacherous potholes and cracks.
Saturday morning rains fill the gutters quickly
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December 3, 2008 at 9:59 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged guards, house, zomba
No power last night, which is not unusual, but this time it didn’t come on at all from getting back from work to going to bed. We cooked on my gas and ate in the dark.
Went to bed at my usual too-late hour, woken at 00h30 by knocking on a window somewhere.
I’m disorientated, who’s window? Where’s the noise? Is it the guards telling me that the door is open? But why now so late? Something is different.
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October 15, 2008 at 8:09 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged malawi, racism, visitors, zomba
[This entry should really be read after reading the entry for 9 October Morning Jog. It’s a follow-up to that.]
A week after our first morning Jog, again early on a Wednesday, Sue and I set out again. It felt a bit different and a bit boring this time because it was a school holiday, so there were fewer kids about. We trundled along uneventfully, past the deserted school playground, past the airbase with a wave to the sentries, and up the gentle slope to the circle and the Muli kuti? Bar at the end of the road. As we rounded the circle, excited young shouts were heard in the distance.
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October 9, 2008 at 9:07 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged racism, zomba
Going into town today, I thought I’d try get a haircut in preparation for the Lake of Stars Music Festival. I walked through the non-food part of the market, and snapped some photos first.
 Colourful chitenjes, for wrapping wherever you want to – around head, bosom, waist, baby, etc… Or to use as curtains in our house! |
 Enamel plates make a nice display |
 Inside the covered part of the market – a less busy area, and not representative of the bustle at all. |
 I liked this sign in the street for the full range of signage services they offer, and the motto at the bottom. |
I bought some (overpriced but unavoidable) phone credit from one of the usual ladies seated at their red plastic tables, and asked her if she knew where I could get a reasonable haircut. 
Of course, I’d seen signs advertising barbers before, (like the one on the right) but I wanted a personal recommendation. The lady didn’t know, and yelled across the street to her large-bosomed friend, who came cheerfully bouncing across to help me. Read the rest of this entry »
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October 8, 2008 at 4:59 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged malawi, visitors, zomba
Bouncing and bumping in hospital transport on our way to work this morning, we saw a sign suspended between two trees in the main street. Unexpectedly, it advertised a fun-run this coming weekend. 
The idea of running for fun seems curiously out-of-place here, like a string quartet at a rugby match. I haven’t heard of, nor can I really imagine, people here having the luxury of enough time, money and concern for future health to invest in the effortful expenditure of excess energy. But Rob tells me that there is an active aerobics group and running club at the sports club in Blantyre, and we did read about the Zomba Walking Club in the local paper. (It has six members, one on crutches, but they all attend regularly.)
So this morning Sue and I went for a brief run, perhaps encouraged by the reminder of what is possible. Sue is a serious runner in the UK, and I find her in the kitchen stretching, wearing black and pink lycra. I’m in shorts and a long-sleeve T-shirt which I slept in. We’re not sure how people will react to seeing white people running, so my sleepiness is edged with a slight feeling of excitement and apprehension as we emerge from our gate and begin plodding down the road. Read the rest of this entry »
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October 7, 2008 at 9:17 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged psychiatry, zomba
The electricity problems are such that I have decided to buy a medium-sized gas canister and hot plate for use at the house in case of emergency. Today being Monday, Rob and I went into town to lunch at Tasty Bites, the comfortable little cafe under the trees, frequented by many expats.
Good solid Monday lunches here
(Chicken and chips is K795, burger and chips K595, sausage and chips K495.) Next door, there was a small Afrox shop, so I sauntered over to ask if they could fill my new No. 10 canister. Knocking on the door and gazing into the dim interior, I could make out two desks. I crept in and saw two staff lying dozing with their heads on the desks, and one reading a newspaper in a chair, who grunted and carried on reading. It was lunch time, after all. I made some noises and some greetings, and one at a desk stirred and looked up. Greetings were brief and slurred from his side, and I asked about getting my canister filled. There was a long silence which made my heart sink a little before he said “Ah, yes”. I’ve noticed that in Malawi people often say “yes”, even when they answer is clearly “no”. They want to please, it seems. So one has to learn to judge what exactly each “yes” means. The pause before this particular “yes” demanded exploration. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 30, 2008 at 6:41 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged hospital, zomba
We are at the mercy of the hospital transport system, and already it is becoming tiresome. We’re supposed to be picked up at 7h30 in the morning, and brought back after we “knock off” at five*. It actually arrives at any time from ten minutes early to two hours late in the mornings. So I sometimes opt for the more time-consuming, but more reliable and independent option of walking and minibussing to town , and then walking to the hospital. It’s a 20-minute walk from town to the hospital, and this is what it looks like.
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Gareth in Malawi 