Red dust

As we flew over Malawi and came in to land, way back at the beginning of this adventure, we caught glimpses of long, straight, dusty red roads, stretching out across the landscape. It looked exactly how we had imagined Africa might look.

We’re in the colder, dry season now. We haven’t seen rain since we arrived. This is the Malawian winter. Temperatures reach the mid 20’s during the day, but plummet to 5 or 6 degrees celsius at night. That probably wouldn’t feel cold to us back home, but the contrast is tough. We layer up before bedtime, and hope that the samovar downstairs is hot enough for tea. Socks, leggings, tshirt, a hoody (or 2 if you’re Jen), then bundle up in blankets before carefully draping our mosquito nets around ourselves. We’re told that it’s not a bad time of year for mosquitoes but we’ve all had a few bites so we’re playing it safe and trying not to miss a dose of doxycycline (or malarone).

The daily doxy tablets makes us photosensitive, so we’re extra diligent about sunblock. A sunburn would just make us stand out even more. At first we thought we were getting an amazing tan, but disappointingly it was just the dust. It swirls up in clouds, and covers everything with rust coloured grit. When we wash our clothes (by hand, in buckets, with water from the samovar…) it turns the water red. If we don’t sweep our room every other day or so, it becomes impossible to get dressed without our socks and uniforms being painted with terracotta coloured patches. The students here wear bright white uniforms, but when they go out into the community they add a bright green apron (for the girls) or a 'duster' (a bit like a lab coat, for the guys). But we still couldn't figure out how they managed to stay looking clean all day.

Most ladies in Malawi wear a bright chitenge over their clothes to combat the dust. It’s 2 metres of wax printed cotton and it has many many uses; either as a skirt, or to hold a baby to your back, or to tie things up in a bundle. We’ve been getting lessons from the students on how to wear them, and we’ll definitely be bringing a few back to Glasgow. Even if the red dust isn’t such a problem back home.

 

Nsima, nsomba, nyama, nyemba: food!

A milestone in our first week here (which seems a long time ago now) was buying bowls so we could get food at the canteen with the other students. 

Lunch and dinner are served on campus every day, 12-1 and 5-6, prompt.  It costs 750 kwacha (MKW750, around £1), or MWK500 (about 75p, ish) for the veggie option.  This was our first taste of traditional Malawian grub.

The menu’s familiarity ensures you know what you’re getting. The students were all excited for us to try nsima (a dense maize flour porridge – think polenta or American grits but more finely ground and cooked for longer).  A standard portion consists of 4 patties (or bullets) known as a cross. We got a few funny looks as we dug in with our camping sporks... it's more common to use your hand to pinch the nsima into bitesize pieces with a dab of sauce and some of the relish (stewed veggies)

Nsima is the staple of the Malawian diet, the alternative being rice. Either option is accompanied by a choice of nkhuku (chicken), nyama (meat, usually beef or possibly lamb), nsomba (fish) or nyemba (kidney beans) for the vegetarians. There's also stewed greens (pumpkin or bean leaves), a tomato based sauce, and maybe aubergine or okra if you’re lucky. Some days you can also get a boiled egg in a spicy sauce. They're really good. The portions are also so huge that at first we thought maybe the students made do with only one big meal per day. They tell us that they usually have lunch and dinner, but breakfast is usually just a cup of tea (with milk powder and plenty of sugar).

We have talked about Malawi time already, which means that most things seem to involve at least half an hour or more of waiting around. Meals are the one exception to this and if you’re not fast you’re last. Some days we’ve rolled up just before one to find only empty pots and the apologetic faces of the ladies who cook and transport the food to campus.

There are other places to eat in town, for when we’ve reached our rice limit, but these are all much more expensive and require a tuktuk journey. There are also little roadside stands where you can get freshly cooked chips (mbatata iriisi - Irish potatoes, or mbatata - sweet potato). Luckily, most days we're too tired to be picky, and rice definitely does a good job of filling you up. 

Salima trip.

Wearing the KCN colours with pride

On my first weekend in Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing had organised a football match with Salima Technical College, situated on the shores of Lake Malawi.  Recognising the importance of integrating into the KCN, I (Michael) agreed to go on a road trip with a bus full of rowdy boys (and girls) to play football.  It also sounded like a good laugh.

We assembled at 8am on board the ‘Mighty Torino’, KCN’s bus and flagship mode of transport and set off through the beautiful Malawi landscape.  

We stopped off in Salima itself to buy snacks and supplies and I had my first glimpse of rural life.  Upon the bus’s arrival, locals carrying armfuls of fruit and raffia headgear with a fervour that belied their desperation to capitalise on a much needed source of income, including one forlorn looking little boy who came up to me and tried to sell me a ragged page from an exercise book scrawled with various letters and numbers.  Unsure how to react I and not wanting to show myself out as being an easy mark I mumbled some apologies and walked on, but in retrospect I wish I’d given him a few Kwacha.

Kondwan, myself and Godwell before the off.

We got stocked up then headed on to the campus at a place called Senga Bay which resembles a desert island, 100m from the shore of Lake Malawi, with fresh water breakers rolling in to the beach and the water a balmy temperature (or balmy enough for this Scotsman basking in Malawian ‘Winter’). 

The football pitch at Senga Bay

We gathered for the football match and I was assigned position of Right Back, then I remembered I’d not played a proper game of football in at least 5 years.  After a few simple passes left me wrong footed and sprinting after the ball, my team mates spared my blushes and kept me out of the play.  I knew things weren’t improving when people were saying if I was tired I could come off, and eventually I got the order that I was being substituted for someone younger and more agile.  I’d lasted about 20 minutes.  Ah well, the game ended up a respectable 2-2 draw against strong opponents and no-one seemed to hold a grudge.  Stuart, the KCN director of Sports summary was rather positive about my performance (‘quite fast but with poor co-ordination’).

The post-match bath was a dip in Lake Malawi then we had a stroll along the beach for a traditional meal of nsima, fish and beans, in an honest-to-goodness proper shack, where I was greeted with gasps of amazement, I don’t think they get many of my sort around here.  The students of both colleges were incredibly friendly and I got know some great people within my first week of being here.  

Result!