Hello everybody!

I’m sorry it’s been such a while since my last post. I’ve been fairly busy, as usual, but in a good way I think! It’s certainly better than filling the traditional “work experience girl” role and essentially spending 6 months making coffee and fetching doughnuts…

I’m really adjusting to life here in Lilongwe, I think. I still get a bit lonely, especially in the evenings as I’m quite isolated, but in a way I expected that so it’s ok. I’m starting to get used to the heat, the darkness, even the insects! The giant wasps, the hornets, the fire ants… they’re all becoming a part of my life here. The one thing that continues to bug me is the almost incessant blackouts. The power supply here is erratic, to put it mildly, and every 2 or 3 days there’s another blackout. Sometimes for only an hour or two, but sometimes for the whole day and that’s a gigantic pain in the heiney, let me tell you. You truly do not realize how much we depend on electricity until it’s taken away! I can’t use my laptop for work, can’t contact anyone (except by phone), can’t watch anything, and if it’s at night it’s even hard to read because I run out of candles so frequently. rolls eyes

But, we shall soldier on!

I haven’t been on any more field trips since the one to Mkanda about a week or two ago, but today I was asked to design a survey all by myself! The boss liked it so I’m well chuffed, I did it myself from scratch. We’re going to use it next week, apparently, to collect data and people’s case studies around Lilongwe. We’re going to ask them some more detailed questions about their lives and how they cope in food shortages, etc., so that we know what issues to focus our advocacy work on, for example. I’m delighted. I kinda feel sometimes here like I don’t contribute anything much to the Centre’s work, so I was actually really proud to be able to do this. Sounds silly, but it’s a big deal to me. It was one of my aims coming out here to be able to have more confidence in my own abilities, so this is like a little step down that road.

Having said that, I’m still learning at a rate of knots. Do any of you know that the average life expectancy in Malawi is 37 years old, as of 2004? And it’s been steadily declining since the late 80s, so it could be even lower now. It’s a frightening thought – if I was Malawian, both of my parents would in all likelihood be dead now. I’m sure my parents would never admit publicly that they are over 37, but I suspect they are… Ha! I’d be middle-aged, myself scream Obviously this life expectancy is somewhat distorted in that well-off Malawians and those in more urban areas would live to much more standard ages, but it still scared me. I hope I’m not becoming in any way desensitized to poverty… I see it every day here, and yet every now and again I learn something new that really throws me. That was one of them.

Quite a few of you have got back to me to say that you liked the photos, which I’m glad to hear! I will hopefully get to take some more soon for you to enjoy! Being the kind of girl that I am, however, I regularly forget my camera when I might need it, so I don’t get to take as many as I’d like due to being a scatterbrains. A lot of people have said that Malawi is a lot greener than you would have expected – and one or two thought I was in a jungle! But alas, I have seen no jungles as of yet I’m afraid! And no crocodiles… though I’m much gladder for not seeing those. I have also learned in my adventures here, that it is a very bad idea to poke a hippopotamus with a stick. Or, as I would have called it as a young wan, a “poppalamus”. I’m not sure poking it with a stick would be the first thing to spring to mind if I met one, but apparently people have done this… and got hurt. So – note to anyone planning on visiting Africa. If you see a hippopotamus, don’t poke it. You WILL be squashed, apparently.

I’m actually in the office as I type this. It’s five to 3, but for me to be kept busy until 3 is practically a miracle. I get on fantastically well with my colleagues here, but unfortunately I’m not sure that my role is really defined enough. I get the odd thing to do like making that survey and analyzing data, but these jobs are sporadic and I find it pretty frustrating to go into the office every morning at 8am and really not know what I am supposed to do… I keep asking, and being given odd jobs, but I’d love to have more of a sense of purpose here, rather than just “helping out”. I’m not really sure where I fit into the equation. I suppose I could have worse complaints about my job, though, so maybe I shouldn’t moan too much!