The Way Back to Salima

On the way back from Salima I try some bush meat – a mouse that is sold at the roadside. It was quite good actually, much better than I had expected.

Later we also try some fruit which is sold at the road side. I don’t know what exactly it is, I have never tasted anything like it before, but it was very good.

A bit later, we join the wedding of Ester and Kinsley. Kinsley is one of the teachers at Zipatso who invited us to his wedding. In Malawi, weddings are a bit different from the weddings we know in Europe. Everybody changes their money into small bills (50 or 100 Kwacha). When they are called to the front, everybody dances and throws these bills around. Afterwards someone collects all the money for them. It was a really fun experience.

If you want to marry in Malawi it is quite a difficult process. First you will be introduced to the parents. Then if all goes well he will propose marriage. Then the woman talks to her mother, the mother talks to the father, the father talks to the mother’s brother (i.e. the woman’s uncle), the uncle will then talk to the man’s uncle and they negotiate a dowry, usually money (usually more than 200 $), or a cow. This is still how it works in rural areas (see Kamkwamba, p. 99).