How was it in Malawi?

That is the question. The question I receive every time I talk to someone I haven’t seen since before I went to Malawi early in 2014. The question to which people seem to know the answer better than me, even before I answer.

It's not that I don’t appreciate the question, actually. But it’s not an easy question to answer. It feels like my year in Malawi gave me more experiences than I have had during the rest of my life in sum. Some of them were of course good, and others were not so good. But, in order to not talk for hours on end each time I get that question, I normally simplify the answer to “Well, it was a very good experience for me, and I am very happy that I did it.”

Then, to my big surprise in the beginning, my friend in the commonest version of this conversation gives me the contrary: “Well, it wasn’t really that nice, was it?” – like if I would lie about it to conceal the fact that Malawi is a shitty country and that it was a mistake of me to go there for a year – “I have read your blog, Trygve, and you did complain a lot, didn’t you? It wasn’t so nice all the time, was it, really?”.  

It seems that my friends who read my blog tend to remember all the worst posts, while I have a selective memory which favours the good memories. That might be, but after a quantitative study of the 34 Malawi-related posts in my blog, 41% are mostly positive, 32% are mostly neutral and 26% are mostly negative. So I don’t think it was so bad, in the end. My theory is that the negative posts fit more in with the expectation people have of going to work a year in a serious job in one of the world’s most poor and under-developed countries. Or maybe it’s just shocking for Norwegians to read about things that go really wrong.

The other surprise I got when some friends tried convincing me that I went to Malawi due to an inspiration to help poor people and give of myself. That would be a very noble inspiration, but it’s not how I remember it. Actually, I claimed to my friends, I saw the job in Malawi as an opportunity to do something different and interesting, and to get to know a new culture and a new country. It was of course positive that I got to work with poor people’s access to solar energy, but I don’t think my only motivation for applying for the job ever was that I wanted to help the people in need. My friends refused to accept my complaint, and persisted that I had gone there because I was a great person that wanted to help the vulnerable and the poor. I’m happy to observe that my friends have such a nice conception of me, but I still don’t recognise myself in that role, even after considering it for a good while.

May 17, 2014. Lilongwe, Malawi

One year ago I had a revelation: Celebration of May 17, the Norwegian Constitutional Day, is much more fun when you are not in Norway. To my surprise I discovered that they are much better at celebrating this day in Malawi than in Norway. Celebrating outside of Norway brings in a dimension that makes the regular hot dog taste better, not to speak of the vafler, lefse and smoked salmon.

After this day, I and my friend Sille have talked about it regularly because it was so great. For Sille the experience was so overwhelming that she wrote her last blogpost ever after this event and she has never since entered blogger.com. When we in November 2014 got a hold of the “documentary” that the Norwegian Embassy shot about the event, we laughed so much that it hurt for days after.

The "trailer" of the "documentary" prepared by the Norwegian Embassy.

This was somehow the start of a new life for us in Malawi – it was the start of having a network in Lilongwe and getting to know all the talented artists that have after come to Nkhotakota to help build the culturalactivities and inspire the youth.

As said, the usual things that you do in Norway become much more fun when in Malawi, as e.g.:

• Raising the flag in the morning when its already 25 degrees C 
• Walking in a parade with a music band composed by mostly Malawians who play Norwegian songs
• Waving with the Norwegian flag when nobody really understand what it’s all about and they think you are going crazy
• Eating Norwegian food
• Playing typical Norwegian 17 May games with Malawians who have no idea but they are anyway much better than the Norwegians
• Listening to the Norwegian hymn being song by a Malawian choir who does not at all speak Norwegian

But there were so many other aspects about this day that made it better than a normal Norwegian 17 May:

• Nobody screamed “Hurra” for no apparent reason (well...almost nobody)
• During the break between breakfast and dinner we went to buy solar panels and batteries in Area 2 all dressed up and with Norwegian flags waving from the vehicle
• During that break we also went for a dip in the pool at Lilongwe Sunbird Hotel
• The entertainment of the night was a 2-hour show at the Norwegian Ambassador’s residence, with a heap of politicians, diplomats and the cultural elite of Malawi present
• It was interesting how different people dressed at the residence – Norwegians in student gala, black suits, bodyguard style, Idi Amin style, Baba Buntu style, Norwegian bunad, young hipster Indian guru style etc. 
• After the official program we moved on to Lilongwe’s limited but vibrant nightlife, where we had our first jamsession experience at Chameleon and ended up in the shady bling bling disco Chez Ntemba Disco.

The pursuit of happiness and the perfect life

Now that I am back from 14 months in Malawi, I often ask myself what I have brought back. What is it that will stick with me, what will I always remember?

Nkhotakota, Malawi - one of the poorest regions of one of the poorest countries in the world, at least in monetary terms. But still – what does that really mean for happiness? Does that make them miserable and unhappy? I would say no.

Today, 20 March, is the United Nations International Day of Happiness. I think it is worthwhile for us contemplate a bit more about happiness. We in the western world are overloaded with propaganda every day which in one way or another try to convince us that consumption is the key to happiness. There are millions of different products and services out there that will please us and entertain us, make us better looking and more popular. In order to consume, you need to have money. The ultimate freedom to consume you get only if you are rich. That is maybe why most people somehow choose to pursue monetary wealth – as a way to get to this ultimate freedom to choose on how to consume and thereby attain happiness. But is it so? Does it make you happy? I would say no.

This is what 14 months in Malawi has taught me: 

There is absolutely no relation between happiness and monetary wealth.

Before going to Malawi, some of my colleagues and friends back home in Norway considered me to be a kind of hippie. Mostly because of my dreadlocks I suspect, if it wasn’t for them I would probably just have been perceived as another average guy. Before going to Malawi I would probably have exressed it something like “There is not a strong relation between happiness and wealth”, but now I am getting to “absolutely no relation”. Is it so? Not completely unrelated maybe, but happiness is much more strongly related to other factors. The United Nations International Day of Happiness has proposed the following guidelines to have a happy life, based on a literature review of scientific publications on the topic of happiness:

More...

Let me try to analyze this in the context of my experiences from Norway and Malawi:

Factor	Average Norwegian answer	Score	Average Malawian answer	Score
Do things for others	I do things for myself so I can feel good. And nobody really needs my help anyway.	2	I mostly try to support my family and my community	5
Connect with people	Headphones on - leave me alone	2	Good morning! How are yooouuu!?!?	9
Take care of your body	I work out, I run Oslo Marathon, I do Birkebeineren on skis and bicycle, I do Zumba and crossfit	6	Walking to work, walking to get water, lots of manual work in the field – I keep active	6
Notice the world around you	No time for that - I'm busy	2	I have time, and not too much is happening anyway – so anything is interesting!	8
Keep learning new things	Plenty of opportunity for that in Norway	8	Limited opportunities for learning	2
Have goals to look forward to	Too many of them. Goals you said? No, they are deadlines	7	We focus on what's going on today, tomorrow is not so important - we are not there yet	3
Find ways to bounce back	No need to worry about that, that is the kommune’s responsibility	5	In Malawi you learn how to bounce back - sometimes you have to bounce back several times in one single day	7
Take a positive approach	Norwegians are more interested in criticizing than in being positive. An extremely good meal in Norway would be characterized as "not too bad" (ikke så verst)	2	If you can smile, then why don't you?	10
Be comfortable with who you are	Bombarded by propaganda about how you should be it is not easy and most Norwegians strive to be something they are not	2	Who else can I be, if not myself?	9
Be part of something bigger	What "something bigger" are you talking about?	1	I believe in God.	10
Average score	Norway	3.7	Malawi	6.9

Alas, we Norwegians are doomed to live in the unhappy pursuit of the perfect life. Malawians don’t really care, but they are happy anyway. And it has nothing to do with money. 

All the last times

I just finished my first last week in Malawi. It has been a lot of things to sort out in the office before I leave, but I've also enjoyed so much of the things I really love about Malawi - the good mood, the beautiful landscape, the random and crazy things, and hanging out with good friends.

Now I have arrived to South Africa for the homecoming workshop with FK Norway. Then I'll have another final last week in Malawi before I'm off to Florence.

Saturday - The last event at Nkhotakota Cultural Centre

Sunday - The last afternoon at Fish Eagle Bay and the last time to see Edson take chambo fish home to Lilongwe hanging from the side mirror of his hitchhike ride.

Monday - The last time to walk around Nkhotakota in the lunch break and discover totally random stuff.

Tuesday - The last time to bike home racing the local bicycle taxis, this one taking my housemate Cecilie on the passenger seat.

Wednesday - Last time to take a sunset Carlsberg (green) at Sungu Beach with my partners in crime, Sille and Thomas.

Thursday - Last time driving to Lilongwe with Sille, Robert, Andrew and Solace.

Friday - Last (and first) time to travel with Malawian Airlines from Lilongwe to Johannesburg

Also Friday - well back in the civilization, enjoying a cold beer in 7th Street in Melville, Joburg.

Random encounters

I'm biking through the villages on a Saturday afternoon, through these peaceful and innocent villages of Malawi. Where people have nothing, but still everything. Where people always smile. Where nothing is dangerous, nothing is unknown. Where time is just another thing passing by. Where nothing is wrong, where there is no shame. The kids run as freely and safely around as the chicken and the goats do. This is where everyone greets you, where you can always have a conversation, even without words. This is where people will treat you as you were their family even though they have never seen you before, even if you don't speak their language. Even if you are just passing through it will hit you; the curiosity, the friendlyness and the interest.

Is this what we lost with the invention of cities, the invention of roads, cars and escalators? The invention of high-rise buildings, the invention of TVs, cellphones, sunglasses and computers? The invention of property, borders, money, weapons, universities, hospitals, books and courts? What have we gained, and what have we lost?