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Adjusting to Malawi

Posted on Monday, October 19, 2015

I touched down in Malawi early on Friday morning on October the 16th. The last 24 hours had gone as smoothly as could be hoped for when travelling halfway around the world and making stops in two different countries along the way. Malawi is a mostly flat country with small bushes dotting the landscape. Mountains can be seen the distance, and in the dry season, most of the dirt is turned up into rows, as the farms prepare to plant their maize. It is safe to say that I was excited to see the new sights,  meet my new friends, and begin life in Malawi!

I am now on my fourth day here, and I finally had my first full night of sleep, so I am feeling pretty well adjusted now. I have been graciously hosted by a family who I will be working with at There Is Hope. They have four young kids who have helped to make me feel very comfortable and welcome. I have started to ease my way into the culture with some restaurant visits and grocery shopping excursions. The city of Lilongwe has a population of about 1 million, but there are very few two-story buildings. The roads are mostly one lane on each side, and we drive on the left side of the road. It is an interesting mix of rural and urban settings, and I think I will enjoy it even more as I come to understand it all better!!

Yesterday I got my first taste of refugee culture when I watched a talent show put on just outside the refugee camp. I watched as seven singers and four dance groups performed in front of a crowd of about 300. The music was loud, and the competition lasted four hours, but the singers were passionate, and the dances exciting. The singers, all youths from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp, were required to compose a song about what it is to be a refugee. I was amazed by the words of the first singer, who sang of his situation in life, where war tore apart his family and forced him to run. But he sang over and over again, “I am a human!” It was moving to see him express his desire to be seen as more than just someone who needed something, but as person of value simply for who he is.

One of the motivators for my decision to spend the next two years of my life here in Malawi was the way I felt that my skills could help to remedy the situation I saw. But if I am not careful, it is easy to see the situation, and the people as only a need, or something that must be fixed. I pray that my view will continue to change into seeing these people as friends and equals, not as a problem that needs to be fixed. 

 

 

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