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!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
We have a house!!!
It is the first, very depressing house we saw, but as I said earlier, it looks a LOT better now. The location is fabulous for us, though it may mean a bit of walking for Regan to get to school.
Our weekend was also fabulous...quite the adventure.
We took the 'AXA' bus, which looks a lot like a bus we would see in Canada. The difference? No bathroom and selling of standing room tickets. We were one of the first on the bus, so we were OK, with seats in the back. After you arrive in Salima (the closest town to the beach), you can take local transport to Senga Bay...this is in the form of a matola (read pick-up truck onto which they pile 21 people). We had the luxury matola on the first leg, with a steel cage over the back of the truck and a tarp over that to keep the rain off us (it is rainy season!).
Sort of perfect in terms of what we were expecting, the matola blew a tire, and we pulled over - instead of an actual jack, a bunch of people picked up the truck and replaced the tire. We were able to pile back in again in a few minutes...five minutes later, the spare blew as well. The driver called 'a friend' to take us the rest of the way. Up pulls the smallest pick up I have ever seen in my life (it only held 16 of us instead of 21).
After a while, we pulled up at our campsite area and it was GORGEOUS. The campsite is on the beach and comes complete with a bar. We had two hours of sun just after we arrived (the only 2 hours of the weekend), so we took advantage and went swimming (in hopefully bilharzia-free water). After dinner it rained steadily, but we were able to head to the hotel bar next door and enjoy a live band while ordering a few bevvies.....nice way to spend an evening.
At the campground, baboons and hyenas are frequently spotted...Regan and I did not see it, but Jules saw a baboon right in the campground - no hyenas this visit though.
In the morning, it was still pretty rainy, so we decided to pack up and head back to Salima to see what there was to do....now we know....there is nothing to do in Salima. We waited around at the bus station for hours, and were getting concerned about the bus ever coming. We decided to take a mini-bus back to Lilongwe, but I started to get cold feet as soon as I got on....to ice the cake, the driver loaded a pail of fish under the back seat (which we were sitting on). That was it for me, and we got off the mini-bus and decided to wait for the AXA bus after all. Then finally the bus came. There is enormous competition in order to get back on the bus to get back to Lilongwe, so elbows came into the situation. We got on, but had standing room - for 2 hours.
Still, all in all, a great first weekend away, and I look forward to many more to come!
I am trying to update flickr, will let you know if I am successful!
It is the first, very depressing house we saw, but as I said earlier, it looks a LOT better now. The location is fabulous for us, though it may mean a bit of walking for Regan to get to school.
Our weekend was also fabulous...quite the adventure.
We took the 'AXA' bus, which looks a lot like a bus we would see in Canada. The difference? No bathroom and selling of standing room tickets. We were one of the first on the bus, so we were OK, with seats in the back. After you arrive in Salima (the closest town to the beach), you can take local transport to Senga Bay...this is in the form of a matola (read pick-up truck onto which they pile 21 people). We had the luxury matola on the first leg, with a steel cage over the back of the truck and a tarp over that to keep the rain off us (it is rainy season!).
Sort of perfect in terms of what we were expecting, the matola blew a tire, and we pulled over - instead of an actual jack, a bunch of people picked up the truck and replaced the tire. We were able to pile back in again in a few minutes...five minutes later, the spare blew as well. The driver called 'a friend' to take us the rest of the way. Up pulls the smallest pick up I have ever seen in my life (it only held 16 of us instead of 21).
After a while, we pulled up at our campsite area and it was GORGEOUS. The campsite is on the beach and comes complete with a bar. We had two hours of sun just after we arrived (the only 2 hours of the weekend), so we took advantage and went swimming (in hopefully bilharzia-free water). After dinner it rained steadily, but we were able to head to the hotel bar next door and enjoy a live band while ordering a few bevvies.....nice way to spend an evening.
At the campground, baboons and hyenas are frequently spotted...Regan and I did not see it, but Jules saw a baboon right in the campground - no hyenas this visit though.
In the morning, it was still pretty rainy, so we decided to pack up and head back to Salima to see what there was to do....now we know....there is nothing to do in Salima. We waited around at the bus station for hours, and were getting concerned about the bus ever coming. We decided to take a mini-bus back to Lilongwe, but I started to get cold feet as soon as I got on....to ice the cake, the driver loaded a pail of fish under the back seat (which we were sitting on). That was it for me, and we got off the mini-bus and decided to wait for the AXA bus after all. Then finally the bus came. There is enormous competition in order to get back on the bus to get back to Lilongwe, so elbows came into the situation. We got on, but had standing room - for 2 hours.
Still, all in all, a great first weekend away, and I look forward to many more to come!
I am trying to update flickr, will let you know if I am successful!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Further news...
Hi all!
Thanks for your supportive comments from my last post! Things are looking up - we are getting very close - ew have narrowed it down to three houses - two of which we saw on the first day (they really do look completely different now that we know what to expect)!
Anyways, we are waiting to hear about some crazy domino effect thing - someone in one of the houses we like is moving to another house, but aren't sure if the tenants at that house are ready to move out, and therefore don't know when the house we want is available....
Anyways, we had quite the adventure last night - we went over to Regan's new babysitting job (nope, that didn't take long!) - she will be looking after another volunteer's child after school - helping him to organize his room etc. Anyways, we settled down at Melissa and Shawn's (Melissa is another WUSC volunteer who works with Jules at the farmers union, and Shawn is her husband) after a frustrating day to have a couple of beers on the back patio - as the light began to fade, Melissa suggested we go to dinner. Transportation is a real issue if you don't have a car in Lilongwe (looking for one of those too - also an interesting process!), so we were debating the merits of calling 2 cabs, or trying to borrow a car from one of Melissa and Shawn's friends. Since they were able to locate a pick-up, we travelled in traditional Malawian style, loading into the back for the trip to the restaurant. We went to a place called Four Seasons (no connection to the hotel, but a nice collection of a couple restaurants, a bar and some shops). The grounds are truly incredible, with beautiful gardens and ponds. We dined outdoors and had superb meals - although the prices were high for Malawi, they were much less than in Canada, and the evening was relaxing and fun - time to enjoy the place and stop worrying about all the details!!!
When we went to go though, the pick-up wouldn't start. Shawn tried everything, but after 2 calls to the friend who lent the truck to us, he came out to help. First they thought the battery was gone, so hooked up jumper cables - this improved things somewhat, since we could then hear the truck turn over and sputter, but still no dice in getting the thing started. Then they suggested a rolling start, and that did the trick (second rolling start of the day for Jules and I!). The streets on the way home were eerily deserted and I was glad to make it to our guesthouse without stalling out again....all in all, the evening was terrific, including the car mishap as well as driving along with the wind whipping my hair in the back of the pick-up.
Tomorrow, we start out on a new adventure...off to the beach on the local bus - we are springing for the coach, hoping for additional speed as we heard mini-buses are long trips, as well as being dangerous. Again, wish us luck - will definately bring the camera, so hope to send some photos soon!!!
Thanks again for all your support - hopefully, next update, we may have an address.
Thanks for your supportive comments from my last post! Things are looking up - we are getting very close - ew have narrowed it down to three houses - two of which we saw on the first day (they really do look completely different now that we know what to expect)!
Anyways, we are waiting to hear about some crazy domino effect thing - someone in one of the houses we like is moving to another house, but aren't sure if the tenants at that house are ready to move out, and therefore don't know when the house we want is available....
Anyways, we had quite the adventure last night - we went over to Regan's new babysitting job (nope, that didn't take long!) - she will be looking after another volunteer's child after school - helping him to organize his room etc. Anyways, we settled down at Melissa and Shawn's (Melissa is another WUSC volunteer who works with Jules at the farmers union, and Shawn is her husband) after a frustrating day to have a couple of beers on the back patio - as the light began to fade, Melissa suggested we go to dinner. Transportation is a real issue if you don't have a car in Lilongwe (looking for one of those too - also an interesting process!), so we were debating the merits of calling 2 cabs, or trying to borrow a car from one of Melissa and Shawn's friends. Since they were able to locate a pick-up, we travelled in traditional Malawian style, loading into the back for the trip to the restaurant. We went to a place called Four Seasons (no connection to the hotel, but a nice collection of a couple restaurants, a bar and some shops). The grounds are truly incredible, with beautiful gardens and ponds. We dined outdoors and had superb meals - although the prices were high for Malawi, they were much less than in Canada, and the evening was relaxing and fun - time to enjoy the place and stop worrying about all the details!!!
When we went to go though, the pick-up wouldn't start. Shawn tried everything, but after 2 calls to the friend who lent the truck to us, he came out to help. First they thought the battery was gone, so hooked up jumper cables - this improved things somewhat, since we could then hear the truck turn over and sputter, but still no dice in getting the thing started. Then they suggested a rolling start, and that did the trick (second rolling start of the day for Jules and I!). The streets on the way home were eerily deserted and I was glad to make it to our guesthouse without stalling out again....all in all, the evening was terrific, including the car mishap as well as driving along with the wind whipping my hair in the back of the pick-up.
Tomorrow, we start out on a new adventure...off to the beach on the local bus - we are springing for the coach, hoping for additional speed as we heard mini-buses are long trips, as well as being dangerous. Again, wish us luck - will definately bring the camera, so hope to send some photos soon!!!
Thanks again for all your support - hopefully, next update, we may have an address.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Real estate in Lilongwe…
Sorry it's been a while since my last update - internet access is so limited, it is really frustrating. I can't believe I don't get internet at work (it is on 2 computers there, my boss's and his secretary's)! I get to use them, but since I have been out house hunting every lunch, I haven't had a chance - hopefully once we get settled, things will improve!!!
So an update on our jouney to find a house in Lilongwe.
We have been so unsuccessful, iot is a bit mind boggling…we found out that WUSC used to assist volunteers by finding homes but stopped as it caused the office here too much work. If it’s that hard for a local, I am not sure how tyhey expect a bunch of transplanted mzungus to do any better.
We have already toured a few disappointing houses so far, and today was really frustrating. It started when I picked up Heather (our future housemate (if we ever find a house, that is)) and drove downtown to see an agent. After calling him for directions (to the house, we thought), we went instead to his office. Our driver went up to talk to the agent, then came down and told us we needed to talk with him. We walked up to the third floor of a rickety building and entered the office, where we were told to take a seat (??). Anyways, he spoke with us about two ‘promising’ properties but then let us know we couldn’t view them until the afternoon. After totally wasting our time, we left and called a few houses from the paper. We saw a gorgeous house that was about a 45 min walk to the nearest transport (our driver told us we would definitely need a car while the real estate agent was saying, no, no, transport very close). And a tiny recently fumigated home (cockroaches EVERYWHERE) that was close to transport, but is a bit small for our needs, given that there are 4 of us.
In the afternoon – back to the morning agent, who we had to pick up (seems most agents don’t have their own transport, so you need to pick them up for them to show you around). He took us to the same cockroach house we’d already seen in the morning and then to a house that is double our price range, totally wasting our time again.
We are getting a bit down at this point, and the houses we toured last weekend that we found depressing are looking much better….
On a more positive note, we have met some nice people at our guesthouse and have had nice group dinners on the porch every evening as the day starts to cool down.Wish us luck – hope all is well with everyone in Canada!!!
So an update on our jouney to find a house in Lilongwe.
We have been so unsuccessful, iot is a bit mind boggling…we found out that WUSC used to assist volunteers by finding homes but stopped as it caused the office here too much work. If it’s that hard for a local, I am not sure how tyhey expect a bunch of transplanted mzungus to do any better.
We have already toured a few disappointing houses so far, and today was really frustrating. It started when I picked up Heather (our future housemate (if we ever find a house, that is)) and drove downtown to see an agent. After calling him for directions (to the house, we thought), we went instead to his office. Our driver went up to talk to the agent, then came down and told us we needed to talk with him. We walked up to the third floor of a rickety building and entered the office, where we were told to take a seat (??). Anyways, he spoke with us about two ‘promising’ properties but then let us know we couldn’t view them until the afternoon. After totally wasting our time, we left and called a few houses from the paper. We saw a gorgeous house that was about a 45 min walk to the nearest transport (our driver told us we would definitely need a car while the real estate agent was saying, no, no, transport very close). And a tiny recently fumigated home (cockroaches EVERYWHERE) that was close to transport, but is a bit small for our needs, given that there are 4 of us.
In the afternoon – back to the morning agent, who we had to pick up (seems most agents don’t have their own transport, so you need to pick them up for them to show you around). He took us to the same cockroach house we’d already seen in the morning and then to a house that is double our price range, totally wasting our time again.
We are getting a bit down at this point, and the houses we toured last weekend that we found depressing are looking much better….
On a more positive note, we have met some nice people at our guesthouse and have had nice group dinners on the porch every evening as the day starts to cool down.Wish us luck – hope all is well with everyone in Canada!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Well, we are definately in the rainy season here in Malawi - our daily downpour is still going on, but we have camped out at the wireless-enabled restaurant/lodge just down the street from our (not as nice) guesthouse.
Our weekend has been pleasant - after being busy on Saturday, we intended to have a lzy Sunday...but ended up walking downtown to see if we coul dfind fabric for Regan's school uniform (they are out of them and we have to get one custom made!). Anywasy, we learned that most shops are closed on Sundays, but did find where the tailors and fabric are for later.
After a very long walk, we decided to fork out 500 kwatchas each to go in the pool at the lodge down the road (where I now sit), but the rains beat us, and it is no longer hot enough for us to part with the $10, so we just ordered food and a few kuche kuche's (local beer) and are using the free wireless we get as a result.
I am trying to upload an image, but no luck so far, so this might be blank also...
We were at the market both today and yesterday...it is totally great....yesterday for only $900 kwatcha ($6.50) we got a bottle of vinegar and 4 bottles of beer (from the groc store) and 11 mangoes, 2 avacoado, a bag of garlic, 6 carrots and 6 tomatoes.
The market is a busy place, full of friendly malawians and many mzungus (us).
Anyways - I was trying to upload an image (again) but no luck so far - eventually I will find a way to update flickr at least.
Hope all is well - talk to you soon!!!
Janna
Our weekend has been pleasant - after being busy on Saturday, we intended to have a lzy Sunday...but ended up walking downtown to see if we coul dfind fabric for Regan's school uniform (they are out of them and we have to get one custom made!). Anywasy, we learned that most shops are closed on Sundays, but did find where the tailors and fabric are for later.
After a very long walk, we decided to fork out 500 kwatchas each to go in the pool at the lodge down the road (where I now sit), but the rains beat us, and it is no longer hot enough for us to part with the $10, so we just ordered food and a few kuche kuche's (local beer) and are using the free wireless we get as a result.
I am trying to upload an image, but no luck so far, so this might be blank also...
We were at the market both today and yesterday...it is totally great....yesterday for only $900 kwatcha ($6.50) we got a bottle of vinegar and 4 bottles of beer (from the groc store) and 11 mangoes, 2 avacoado, a bag of garlic, 6 carrots and 6 tomatoes.
The market is a busy place, full of friendly malawians and many mzungus (us).
Anyways - I was trying to upload an image (again) but no luck so far - eventually I will find a way to update flickr at least.
Hope all is well - talk to you soon!!!
Janna
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Arrival in Lilongwe
Well, I am writing here from an internet cafe in Lilongwe, quite dissapointed that the blog I worked on in draft on our lap-top from the guesthouse is totally corrupted (and it was complete with photos too!). Anyways, to add a bit more detail to my original arrival email, our stopover in Dubai was fun...we slept well on the flight and were disappointed that we had booked a $245 hotel room (that we are only eligible to receive $125 remibursement for). Anyways, we went to the hotel and they were nice enough to cancel our booking. On the advice of the adventurous Regan, we headed for the taxi stand to go into town. The taxi area was beyond any concept you may have of crowded....we waited over an hour in line to get a cab. We ate at a very nice restaurant and took pictures of the Burj.
Back at the airport on time for our next flight, we boarded an Air Ethiopia plane to Addis Ababa - though the planes are older and the service not as nice as the Emirates flight, the journey was pleasant, and after a brief visit to the duty free, we were off again, and finally landed in Lilongwe.
We were greeted at the airport and had lots of helpful boys to assist with unloading our 11 checked bags (and all arrived, which we now know is a bit of a rarity).
Lilongwe is much more like many villages than a big city and is very lush and green.
Hopefully pics will follow later!
Now that we have been here for a few days, we are getting more of a feel for the city and have gone through our first mini-bus ride alone (the first was assisted). A mini-bus is like a dub van with 4 rows of seats and they don't move until there are at least 4 to a seat...much like the collectivos we rode in Mexico.
Anyways, we are off to buy some mangoes - apparently, you can get them for about 7 cents a piece!!!
Back at the airport on time for our next flight, we boarded an Air Ethiopia plane to Addis Ababa - though the planes are older and the service not as nice as the Emirates flight, the journey was pleasant, and after a brief visit to the duty free, we were off again, and finally landed in Lilongwe.
We were greeted at the airport and had lots of helpful boys to assist with unloading our 11 checked bags (and all arrived, which we now know is a bit of a rarity).
Lilongwe is much more like many villages than a big city and is very lush and green.
Hopefully pics will follow later!
Now that we have been here for a few days, we are getting more of a feel for the city and have gone through our first mini-bus ride alone (the first was assisted). A mini-bus is like a dub van with 4 rows of seats and they don't move until there are at least 4 to a seat...much like the collectivos we rode in Mexico.
Anyways, we are off to buy some mangoes - apparently, you can get them for about 7 cents a piece!!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
ARRIVAL!!!
We have arrived, happy and safe in Malawi!
Our journey was long, but uneventful...
All I can say about Emirates as an airline is...WHAT AN ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM!
We were picked up at the airport and are staying at a guest lodge - pictures to come soon I hope!
Our journey was long, but uneventful...
All I can say about Emirates as an airline is...WHAT AN ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM!
We were picked up at the airport and are staying at a guest lodge - pictures to come soon I hope!
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