A few weeks ago I was writing on a blogpost with the working title "The lost warm heart of Africa" - it was however never published and might or might not be published some time in the future.
This post is somehow related to the previous one about the bus ride, and think I have discovered that the best way of coping with a culture that is different than your own is to get as deeply into it as possible. Of course that takes some effort, goodwill and adventurousness, so it's not something you can manage in the lunchbreak between answering emails and setting up budgets. So I am happy to have had a bit of time the last two weekends to really get into it.
Today I woke up at 0600 all rested out (yeah, it's actually Sunday today), and decided it was time to get out into some villages. I chose to make my goal the Sani Hilltop in Nkhotakota, actually not a big hill, but the highest point within a reasonable distance, and I guessed there would be a nice view from there (yeah, I did not completely loose my Norwegian mindset yet).
I made it to Fish Eagle Bay, my chosen starting point and parking place. Immediately a local boy from the village beside volunteered to be my guide and we started off making our way through the villages, casava fields, pathways, burnt grass and rocks. Every hundred meters we met another person, of course with the usual ritual of "Muli bwandji. Ndili bwino kaya inu. Ndili bwino. Zikomo. Zikomo."* My guide, who was now already my friend by the way, was good in English and very interested in me, my country and not least my job with solar energy here in Nkhotakota. Making our way back down we had to stop several places in his village to discuss solar energy with his neighbors in Mbalame village, actually a place we are considering starting operations in with Kumudzi Kuwale. It seemed everyone knew about our company and I felt like a celebrity walking through the village. Everybody were super friendly and the only thing they asked me for except of solar energy was to take pictures of them. It's condidered an honour to be taken a picture of - and I'm sure they would be very proud if they knew that their pictures were to be published on the World Wide Web within a few hours.
When I was back in Fish Eagle Bay it was only 10:00AM, but I had already interacted and had conversations with probably close to a hundred people that morning. Where else is that possible?
Malawi - I guess after all your heart is still warm. I just have to get out of the mzungu lifestyle to discover it.
*Translation: "How are you? I am fine, and you? I am fine too. Thank you. Thank you."
This post is somehow related to the previous one about the bus ride, and think I have discovered that the best way of coping with a culture that is different than your own is to get as deeply into it as possible. Of course that takes some effort, goodwill and adventurousness, so it's not something you can manage in the lunchbreak between answering emails and setting up budgets. So I am happy to have had a bit of time the last two weekends to really get into it.
Today I woke up at 0600 all rested out (yeah, it's actually Sunday today), and decided it was time to get out into some villages. I chose to make my goal the Sani Hilltop in Nkhotakota, actually not a big hill, but the highest point within a reasonable distance, and I guessed there would be a nice view from there (yeah, I did not completely loose my Norwegian mindset yet).
I made it to Fish Eagle Bay, my chosen starting point and parking place. Immediately a local boy from the village beside volunteered to be my guide and we started off making our way through the villages, casava fields, pathways, burnt grass and rocks. Every hundred meters we met another person, of course with the usual ritual of "Muli bwandji. Ndili bwino kaya inu. Ndili bwino. Zikomo. Zikomo."* My guide, who was now already my friend by the way, was good in English and very interested in me, my country and not least my job with solar energy here in Nkhotakota. Making our way back down we had to stop several places in his village to discuss solar energy with his neighbors in Mbalame village, actually a place we are considering starting operations in with Kumudzi Kuwale. It seemed everyone knew about our company and I felt like a celebrity walking through the village. Everybody were super friendly and the only thing they asked me for except of solar energy was to take pictures of them. It's condidered an honour to be taken a picture of - and I'm sure they would be very proud if they knew that their pictures were to be published on the World Wide Web within a few hours.
When I was back in Fish Eagle Bay it was only 10:00AM, but I had already interacted and had conversations with probably close to a hundred people that morning. Where else is that possible?
Malawi - I guess after all your heart is still warm. I just have to get out of the mzungu lifestyle to discover it.
*Translation: "How are you? I am fine, and you? I am fine too. Thank you. Thank you."
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