24/2/13
Okay, on the 17th of February I wrote this:
“I have decided to try to continue doing a weekly blog. I
have stopped writing my diary, so if I don’t do a blog post there won’t be any
written record of this last week in Malawi. And I know, one day, I’ll regret
that.”
Trust me to fall at the very first hurdle.
So, what happened that week? It rained.
It’s like no rain we have ever experienced before. Holes in
the roof we didn’t even know existed opened up to spice up our lives. We had to
spend most of a morning frantically running around the house with buckets –
conveniently there is a leak right above my pillow, so there’s an upside. That
day we were rained in yet again – the ground around our house turned to
whirlpools as the rain came down in unrelenting sheets leaving us soaked in
seconds. I wore my sandals more that week than the past 5 months combined, as
it become nearly impossible to walk while sliding around trying to keep my feet
in flip flops. My umbrella couldn’t deal with the stress so broke in protest,
but fortunately I still had my sister’s old Berghaus jacket with a tiny hood.
This has caused me to discover why jacket cuffs are equipped with velcro straps
– to stop the rain from going down your sleeves as you hold your hood to your
head. Unfortunately, they are not entirely effective.
We also had a couple of weeks of feeling perpetually cold.
Our house seems to be unable to cope with any temperature or weather – when hot
the metal roof heats us up like a green house, when windy the gaps around the
windows and doors cause drafts, when cold the single glazing window panes do nothing
to keep out the chill and when rainy – see the above rant. Our poor little
house. It tries so hard.
So, other than the rain, it’s been business as usual here in
Baluti. Oh, I forgot to mention that fellow volunteer Georgia turned 23 two
weeks ago, and invited us to help throw a joint birthday party for her and two of
the children she works with. There was cake, party hats, games and dancing – the
children seemed to have a really good time… and so did we! Thank you to Georgia
for sharing your birthday with the lovely Richmond House children – everyone had
a really great day.
I am over half way through my year, so I’ve shot another
video of the house. It’s changed a lot since we moved in 5 months ago. I intend
to upload it… before April.
I really will try to update this more regularly – I am very
disappointed in myself.
I hope everyone is well. TTFN
Notable Events
When going into town at the weekends, Lou and I walk up to
the filling station to get a minibus. There are usually quite a few, each with
a conductor standing outside shouting where they going. We got on one that was
headed to Blantyre only to have it turn around 5 minutes into the journey and start
to head in the opposite direction. We were told it was going to Chikwawa
instead, so everyone got off and started back to the filling station to get
another bus. This is Malawi.
This week we had carpenters and painters in to fix the roof
and doors and other broken things around the house. It has basically been a
week of waiting – African time means that someone will swear that there will be
there ‘soon’ or ‘in the morning’ or even ‘at 9am’, only to turn up at 3pm,
often with absolutely no apology. Again, this is Malawi.
Due to the excessive rain, the maize is struggling.
Fortunately, the rice crops have been very successful, so prices are low.
However, over the past 4 months I have become addicted to phala (morning
porridge made from maize) and maize flour is now scarce and expensive. Phala
has literally become my life. I used to have it 2/3 times a day before I
rationed myself. I might have to go cold turkey – wish me luck.
It was very good cake.
