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!