Friday, February 29, 2008

Blogging...from HOME!!!

Yep, you read that correctly...I am at home right now AND on the internet, which is totally awesome! I even managed to upload a couple photos to flickr. But not many and it took hours, so for the rest you will have to wait until Kate uploads the CDs I sent - should be in a couple weeks.
We have actually had internet since Wednesday, but it is still a bit tricky, tends to come and go a bit and with three of us vying for the computer, plus our strangely busy social lives, I haven't actually been on that much...
In fact, I have been a bit homesick for the last week - in some ways, I am surprised that I haven't felt homesick before this. Not too much and I am definately getting over it, but it is there. I think some of those feelings have come up since I am now getting more into my work and am noticing some of the differences in work relationships etc. I am used to a fair amount of autonomy at work and am getting a bit frustrated here that someone has to accompany me to every meeting, and they are all very busy, so that means it can take weeks to set up a meeting with someone...oh well.
This morning we are up bright and early to pack for the long weekend (Monday is a public holiday here and Jules and I have also booked Tuesday off - very nice!). We are going to Liwonde National Park...there are hippos and elephants there for sure - crocodiles too, so I am very excited and am packing my camera!
The group of people we are going with did not book Tuesday off, so they will leave Monday, while Jules, Regan and I will explore somewhere else - either Dedza or Zomba on Monday/Tuesday.
I will let you know how the trip goes when we return Tuesday evening as I don't expect to have internet access (though maybe in Zomba - we will see).

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Last week

My first business trip was so amazing, I was sure it would be hard to top - and it was! I had a great trip last week, but this time I definately experienced a few negative things! We were working on a baseline survey with a group of consultants, so it was challenging to plan things for everyone.
The first night was fine - we went to Dedza (just 90km south of Lilongwe), and found a decent lodge for $2100KW ($15.55) - unfortunately, the lodge was way out of the consultant's price range, so we had to drive around looking at skecthy $500KW ($3.70) resthouses. Eventually they found one, but it made for a late night.
The next day we headed into the field...in Malawi, field work is about a whole lot of waiting. We waited for the consultants to eat breakfast, then went to the diocesan office to meet people, then to another village to meet more people, and then finally drove to the village we were surveying. Basically the result of this was that we left the lodge at 7:30 and began surveys at 11.
But working in the field was great also. I listened in on one of the surveys, following along the Chichewa interview by looking over the interviewer's shoulder as she was writing in English. It was interesting to hear the opinions and experiences of the woman we were interviewing. It also drove the level of poverty home to me. In one of the questions, the woman indicated that she felt her household was fairly well off compared to others in the village. They own an axe and a lamp and 2 other household assets and that's it. They grow enough maize to feed the whole family each year, though she did indicate that one of her children misses school to work.
The life that the people in the villages lead is a very simple one - yet many of them do have basic needs met. But they don't have access to so many of the things we take for granted, it is mind-boggling. And for many, being hungry is a fact of life. The illiteracy rate is alarmingly high, and it is diffiucult for extension workers to conduct trainings etc due to this. Still, education about HIV and AIDs has clearly been communicated as people seem to have a high level of awareness - lower levels of awareness on gender and human rights issues, and all in all, the focus is definately more on immediate needs like food and water.
Anyways, it was great being out in the villages for several days. Our next accommodation did not work out as well as the first, since despite the fact that we have a bigger travel budget, there were no rooms left in Salima for us and we had to spend the night at the same lodge as the consultants - spending just $500KW and having to share a communal pit toilet!!!!
I don't mind sharing, but the bathrooms were located in such a way that you actually had to walk outside to use them. And it rained. All night.
Our next stop was in Mangochi - one of the places on this trip that I hadn't already been to. We stopped for a drink at a great resort on the lake on the way - the southern part of the lake is quite beautiful and it was great to do a bit of sight seeing along with work! After being promised a self contained room (read room with private bath), it turned out that our executive rooms were in fact dorm rooms again. Then at 11pm, a self contained room became available, so they gave it to me, but it was DIRTY....I couldn't tell if I was better or worse off...but whatever!
I got a lot of insight into how things work here and in my organization on the trip, so I think it was very productive and my brain is busily trying to work out solutions to many of the challenges I identified. I am really glad I got to go, see 3 new villages and meet new contacts.
This weekend, though low key, has been fun as well. We spent yesterday at our friend Melissa's and she made us ceasar salad from scratch (she is a bit of a Martha), which was delicious with a glass of white wine and just spent the afternoon conversing. In the morning, Regan and I went for pedicures, then Regan headed to a pool party for a friend from school. After we met up wioth Regan again in the evening, we met other friends at a local watering hole called Chameleons - very classy but was a bit too low key as we were wanting to find somewhere to dance....maybe next weekend???
Today we went for a long meandering walk, and then found a yummy yummy indian restaurant, then here, to the internet cafe.
All in all a great week followed by a great weekend.
We are struggling with internet at home but a hopeful that we may get it set up next week some time! In the mean time, I am burning a CD of pictures tonight to send to Kate to upload to flickr for me, so you should be able to share some pictures soon!
In addition, next weekend is a long weekend, plus we have taken the Tuesday off, so we are heading to Liwonde - one of Malawi's best game parks - hippos, here I come!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Short Notice

So, I arrived at work this morning and asked when we would be heading on the road to do the baseline survey we will be completing in order to establish baseline indicators against which we can measure the effectiveness of our programmes (thats how they spell programs here - little by little I am being drawn over...). I knew that I would be travelling a bit this week but wasn't sure when...turns out it is today?? At 4.
I guess I am just not in the loop yet. The travelling is a 13 day trip overall, but I am intending on jumping off the wagon on the weekend and re-joining the group next Monday, so that I can get a little home-time in!
I had such a great experience on my first trip (and wait til I manage to get the pics up!), I am evry much looking forward to this one. It is great for me to be able to get out and meet the people working in our diocesan offices...wish me luck (and Jules luck managing the house on his own for the whole week!).

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Where to start???

I had such an amazing trip, I don’t even know where to start.
We first left Lilongwe in true Malawian style – an hour and a half late and with 5 people jammed into an extended cab pick up. But it was a blessing in disguise, as it turned out that three of the people in the pick-up were contacts at three different dioceses in Malawi and during the drive I got to make some contacts as well. So we left Lilongwe and travelled through Dedza to drop off one collegue, after which we stopped to pick up Irish potatoes (normal potatoes to us, but small) and then tomatoes at a vegetable stand where I got some pictures of the female farmers working there – they were delighted to see their images on the LCD screen of my digital camera. Then we went to Zomba, where we dropped off the second of my collegues and then stopped for lunch. Zomba mountain is the second highest in Lilongwe (right after Mount Mulanje). Then we drove to Blantyre and met my boss, Carsterns there briefly. After greeting him, we headed down on one of the most scenic drives (so I am told) in Malawi. The road twists and winds from the highlands in Blantyre through to Chikwawa in the Lower Shire valley. My third collegue in the truck works in the Chikwawa diocese, so John was with me for the whole journey. John had a Canadian student stay with him a while ago, so he related well to me and was happy to show me all the sights along the way.
If I wasn’t in love with Malawi already, I am now firmly in love with this country, especially after my visit to the Chikwawa region. I have never met more friendly and open people.
Once we got to the area, we checked into our rooms and then went for dinner. Having ordered an unadventurous chicken curry with rice for lunch, I was encouraged by my colleague from national office (Winston) to order local goat with nsima. I have to say, the nsima is really growing on me…and the local goat was good as well. After a couple after-dinner drinks, we retired to bed, where the one mosquito that made it through the screens in my room made it into my net. In the morning I got up and lathered my hair in my (cold, dribbly) shower, only to run out of water mid-lather…I managed to fill my Nalgene bottle at the sink to rinse out. After breakfast we started into our meeting. The meeting was a great experience for me to see how Malawians interact in a business setting, as well as get an idea of the challenges they are facing implementing programs in their world of few resources. When I started to realize what it was like to operate in this communication challenged world, I wondered if I would really be able to deliver the mandate I was hired for. Now, after the meeting, I realize more than ever the challenges that we are facing, but I have ideas about what to do and where to start, so I am feeling very hopeful that I can help my organization develop an effective monitoring and evaluation system.
After a productive meeting, Winston and I walked through the active area of Nchalo, and then played a game of pool while waiting for our dinner. It was fun and nice to get to know one of my national office colleagues a little bit better. The next day, we headed into the field to check the M&E tools Winston developed for his Food Security program with the Village committees. I was so excited to get into one of the villages and see one of the places where my organization is trying to improve food security.
We drove to the first village we visited and met with the Village HIV/AIDs committee. The committee was impressively organized, though I was a little disturbed by the protocols – the women greeted me from a subservient position, then took positions on the floor while men sat on benches, and we sat on chairs. After the initial protocol though, once the committee meeting started, men and women both took positions on benches and participated equally in the meeting. It was a great experience, but I didn’t get to see much of the village, and only got one picture of a small girl (though she was beautiful).
Then we headed to the next village, which I had been told was much further than the first. After heading south for about an hour, we stopped for a drink in what I am sure you would all think was an extremely rural area, though it wasn’t rural by Malawian standards. I tried a local drink called Thobwa, but I have to admit I couldn’t finish it. It’s a mix of water, flour and sugar. I guess it keeps the locals full when taken for lunch, and is only 10 kwatcha (7.4 cents).
After our refreshment break, we headed down to the village. We took a road that was in such bad repair that if you go to the village and it rains, you have to stay there for the night. Hoping for dry weather, we headed in. The road definitely had some challenges – gorges where the road had been washed away, fortunately we had something close to a four wheel drive, and Winston was able to negotiate the road OK. We pulled into the village, and I was informed that the chief of Dolo was a woman. The protocols were very different in Dolo. Once the women started to gather, they began to sing and clap, then began dancing to the rhythm. It was a truly astounding site, and better yet, my colleagues encouraged me to snap away. In fact, the villagers were happy to be my subjects. After the dance, we met again with the local committees – this time I sat with the Livestock committee. I was impressed with how knowledgeable they were, and the experience incited me further to learn the language so that I can communicate more directly with people here. After official business was concluded, I was again treated to dancing and singing, and was then presented with maize from the village. Afterwards, I shook hands with everyone I could and the villagers walked/danced me to the car, then danced around the car as we drove out of the village. It was truly magical, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity – I only wish Jules and Regan had been there with me.
On the way out, our car got stuck for a minute or two, but we managed to push it out. We had a brief follow up meeting (that went a bit late) then headed back to Lilongwe. I had heard cautions about driving at night, mainly due to foot traffic and potholes, and the warnings are well heeded. Fortunately, Winston was driving and took utmost care in avoiding all hazards, but at the cost of a slow pace.
Despite getting home at 12, I can’t believe how wonderful the trip was and look forward to more in the future!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Day to day life

I have had a few questions about day to day life here, so thought I would try to answer - it's actually a bit difficult, since in many ways, it's not that different. You wake up, go to work and come home and have dinner.
One of the main differences is the security concern - our house has a brick fence with glass sticking out the top, and a gate that is padlocked at night. We have two staff (which is taking quite a bit of getting used to), one night guard (Thomas) and one day guard (Grant)/housekeeper. Since washing machines are even more rare and expensive than stoves, it is nice to have Grant do our laundry, as it must be done by hand. He also keeps the house tidy, and helps prepare food for dinner. Poor Thomas's job I fear is less interesting - stay awake all night and keep an eye on the property. I really don't know if the risks of being broken into are as high as people think they are or if it is somewhat overblown, but best to be on the safe side I guess.
Another hige difference is the disparity between rich and poor - there was a big difference in Brazil as well, but it seems even more striking here. There are people who walk large distances into town (like 10k) since they can't afford the 90 kwatcha mini-bus on their 2000 kwatcha monthly salary (minimum wage was just raised to 125 kwatcha/day (the Canadian dollar will get you 135 kwatcha). Other Malawians (and ex-pats) live a very different lifestyle, employing many people and having huge homes.
Transportation is by mini-bus or walking or taxi (see last blog for more on the taxi service here!) if you don't have a car. I walk to work, but it is quite far...I generally get picked up on the way by a co-worker (see last blog for more on the Malawian walking allergy - I guess once you have a car, you use it!).
The work environment is definaltely different - we have computers - Jules and Heather (our housemate) both have internet at work, but people haven't taken to outlook etc the same way that my blackberry addicted workplace did back home. My workday is long, but with many breaks - I am actually going to try and reduce the lentgh of my day at some point once I am more familliar with what I am doing. The scheduled breaks are different for me as well. My day:
7:30 - Arrival
7:45 - Prayers (most organizations do start with morning prayers)
10 - 10:20 - Tea (my workplace provides tea, sugar, bread and butter)
12 - 1:30 - Lunch
3:30 - 3:50 - Tea again, no bread this time
5:00 - Leave
Jules's workplace is less regimented! As a volunteer, my workplace doens't mind if I take a bit more flexibility (thank goodness!).
Access to buy things is limited. My workplace is isolated and there is no cafeteria, so I am getting used to being prepared - if I am not, I have nothing to eat or drink!
Even in more bustling areas, you can find somewhere to sit down and eat, but there are less places to ust pick something up.
At night, you basically hope you have all groceries you need by 6, as that is when it gets dark, and is no longer advisable to be walking around (last night, we realized we were out of bread - Thomas gets bread and tea every night, so we had to make some rice so he would have something to eat!). You can also go out for dinner - a few places that mostly cater to ex-pats (though there are generally Malawians there as well) are open in the evening, but it will cost 1000 kwatcha each way for transport and you can be stuck waiting for a taxi that isn't coming (that happened to our friends last time we went out, and we had to send our taxi back to get them after we got dropped off).
That's our routine for now...will let you know how things change as we go on!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Internet

Woo hoo!!! I have access to the internet today!!! For as long as I want! Well, at least until the generator that is supplying power to this internet cafe during this power outage lasts...
I know I have probably complained quite a bit about the lack of internet here - it is frustrating to try an work in an environment with no internet after living in the blackberry world.
At any rate, I have many blogs started in my head, and will do my best to bring you all up to date!

Let's start with my birthday....I have to say, I have a GREAT birthday weekend...despite the fact that we couldn't move into our new house as the repairs were not yet completed. On Saturday night, we went to a crazy ex-pat party...hosted by ex-pats who are simply not living the volunteer life that we are here. As we approached the party, we went past countless white SUVs parked on the road and entered a huge house. The party was great fun though, and we met quite a few people there. On Sunday, our (then soon to be) neighbours, Melissa and Shawn, hosted a welcome barbeque and made me birthday cookies...it was an awesome night of eating and chatting...and the best thing is that our new house is only 6 houses away, so transportation is not an issue. I don't know if I have blogged about the transportation barrier, but basically, there is a pretty good public transport system here in the form of mini-buses, but they only operate until 6pm. So there is no going out at night without a car. We originally thought we might buy a car, but have now examined our finances in more detail, and think we are better off without one (financially). However, that means to go out at night, you depend on taxis. And there is no taxi company here. Basically there are guys that drive you around when you call...and you have to store up a big selection in your phonebook to ensure you can get one that is working, whose car isn't broken that day and who has petrol in the engine. Often you can cycle through 5 numbers and not get someone to pick you up. We have now built up a repository of at least 6, but are still looking for more!!! In addition, as you can imagine, there are no meters, so you are pretty much at the taxi driver's mercy when it comes to negotiating price!
Anyways, as I said, my birthday was well spent, and we had a great weekend. Wednesday was moving day, and we moved in true Malawian style. WUSC staff helped us out and drove me down to get a flatbed truck, then we went to pick up out custom made beds from the vendor we had ordered them from on the side of the road. Then to the guesthouse to pick up all our bags, plus the mattresses we had bought - I truly wish I had had the foresight to leave my camera unpacked so you could see how the truck was loaded. What I thought for sure would take 3 trips took one - bags precariously balanced on mattresses and furniture - we drove behind the truck just to watch if anything might fall off....at one light, the guy got out of the cab, climbed on top of the pile and fixed a bag more securely in place.
Anyways, we are all moved in now, with just the matter of curtains and a few other homey touches to take care of. I am hoping that after this weekend, we feel more settled in.
I bought a manual sewing machine, but it I can't quite operate it yet - fortunately we have someone coming by to look at it this afternoon.
I am embarking on my first business trip this coming week. For all my work collegues, I have to share the travel allowance - $7000MKW ($51/day) - that is supposed to include all meals, AS WELL AS ACCOMODATION. Wish me luck, and think of me as you spend my whole daily allowance just on food at ROMA!
I also bought a bike, though everytime I mention biking or walking to work to my collegues at CADECOM, they recoil in horror and are trying to figure out someone who can pick me up. Though 80% of Malawians can not afford a luxury like a car, I guess the people who can simply don't understand why you would walk anywhere...I guess that isn't all that different than Canada, but there seem to be more of us 'crazy' walkers there.
So now it is the weekend again and we spent most of yesterday out buying stuff for the house (can't believe how many little things you have to buy) and today, I started curtains, only to realize I could not operate the machine, so hopefully I can get to those this evening.
That's all for now - hope to have better access next week, but not sure, since I will be travelling to Chikwawa, the southernmost region of Malawi.
And for the people dying for photos, I ask just a little more patience - it will take so long, I will have to wait until we have access at home - hopefully withing 2 - 4 weeks.
Talk to you soon!