Hey
Sorry people, it’s been a while – you can tell I’m working a
bit harder now!
I think there were 2 highlights in week 3 – the commencement
of interviews, which, after all, is why I’m here and the momentous arrival of a
new fridge!! No more unintentionally frozen veg. Just in the nick of time too, as the
temperature is rising. Ok, I know
millions of Malawians live without fridges, but once I found out there were
unused VSO fridges from the days when there were many more volunteers here, it
seemed daft not to ask for one.
The initial interviews (I’m now up to 6, I think) are
unsurprisingly a mixed bunch – ranging from huge passion and enthusiasm for
eco-tourism and total delight that I am here to draw attention to it, to
complete disinterest. I’m currently
trying to get my head around the size of the task – it’s a big ask for one
person. Fortunately, the Lilongwe
interviews are providing a lot of background, which will be invaluable once I
get on the road.
Getting on the road is proving more of an issue than I
thought. The fuel crisis may be over but
getting money to pay for it is a feat in itself. I work for a Government Department, but there
is no money to pay for fuel this week and garages aren’t prepared on this
occasion to give the Ministry credit – so no money means no fuel, and no fuel
means no travelling. This shouldn’t
bring my plans crashing to the ground, but it does adjust the ground rules and
stops me taking anything for granted.
On a lighter note, last Friday saw a small group of us
heading off to a ‘sports and leisure complex’ to see Skeffa, an apparently
famous Malawian singer. This was “a
vibrant joint” or so it said on the sign on the gate! It was basically a big car park, a bar and an
enclosed open air concreted space with a stage at one end. The electricity failed within minutes of our
getting there. A very common occurrence for
everyone in Lilongwe, unless, like me, you live near the Prison – funny how our
supply is preserved! Half an hour later,
the generator sprang to life and this time wasn’t instantly blown by the amps on
stage and the music began. Kind of a
mixture of reggae and ska, played all night by the same musicians, whilst a
series of singers performed their sessions, often then becoming one of the
backing singers for the next act. The
show was billed to start at 8pm. The ‘main
event’ came on stage at 1.20 am, apparently not unusual for Malawian singers,
and we should consider ourselves lucky, as he was billed to perform somewhere else
the following night and I hear didn’t appear at all.
Crowd watching was fascinating. The whole question of personal space and
touching is so very different. Men dance
happily with men, often holding hands as they do, with no sub text. There were noticeably fewer women and very few
groups of women friends together. People
come and say hello, encourage you to dance, want you to prove you are having
fun by jumping around and then wander off again. There’s a complete lack of self-consciousness,
people dance as if no one is watching, often completely in their own worlds. It was relaxed, fun – and vibrant!! It was also one of the funniest nights I have
had in a long time – I stayed out way beyond my bedtime (but given that’s 9pm
it’s not hard!) and I loved it.
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