Random Episodes (2)

I Bought a Car!

So I have now 4-wheel-drive: a Toyota RAV4 from 1997. The car costs 2200$ but because I am importing it from Japan I will have to pay for the ship to Dar Es Salaam (1450$ including insurance on ship), and I will have to clear it in Tanzania, which will be around 85% in import taxes all together. So I will end up paying around 6800$ for it. This seems like a lot for a car that is worth 2000$ in Japan, but as it is all the cars in Africa are imported. So somebody once had to pay for the freight and clearance, so all the cars are more expensive than in Europe. And also Africans prefer buying directly imported cars, because then they know that they have been well taken care of. Also the Japanese car dealer has a really good name (Trust). I asked Henry, the headmaster if this will be a good deal and he said “yes, I mean coming from Japan it will be brand new.” I said it was a 1997, he goes “yeah but coming from Japan it will be almost brand new.” The term “brand new” seems to have a different meaning in Africa than it does in other parts of the world. But anyways, let’s keep our fingers crossed that I won’t have to many problems with it. Otherwise an African adventure can quickly get a bit more adventurous I hoped. If you break down in the middle of nowhere in 45° celsius…

Lilongwe

This weekend I went to Lilongwe. I met funny guys going out, played golf with my personal caddy (who also happened to be a great golf instructor, he plays for Malawis national team…), and just sunk into the vibe of the city. I also visited Maula prison, where the thieves, rapists, and murderers are kept. The guards greeted me nicely. They found interesting, peculiar, and funny that I wanted to visit a prison as a tourist. They were very friendly and I could go to the main entrance and see where the visitors could visit the inmates. Unfortunately I couldn’t go inside, because it was a Sunday and the officer in charge wasn’t there, so they had to ask me to come back another time, which I probably will. It was a very special experience. I read in news articles that there was a food shortage at this prison, where there was no food for three days (but nobody died of hunger). I also read that the prison is severely overmanned. The inmates all sleep on the floor, but there was not enough space for them to sleep on their backs, so they all had to sleep on their sides. In the middle of the night somebody wakes them and they all have to turn to the other side. Whether or not this is true I can’t say, but it seems very possible. The guards couldn’t tell me how many inmates there were, they said I would have to ask these questions to the officer in charge… Unfortunately I couldn’t take a picture from closer, I had to leave my camera with the guards.

On the way back the bus had to pause because it overheated. But after about 15 minutes we could drive on without problems.

China Greets Malawi

I have already written about the devaluation of the Kwacha due to an imbalanced export/import balance. This is no wonder when you look at the products that you buy here. Almost all the juice is imported from South Africa for instance, even though Malawi has tons of great fruits right here. Obviously all technological things are imported from China, but also things that you would think that Malawi could produce itself, like lanterns, and torches. And even my students’ note books are imports! They come from South Africa and even from India! Also a lot of fake things (like fake Manchester United shirts) are from China.

People here are saying that China is helping them a lot. And it’s true, the whole internet system with dongles and close to all phones here are Chinese. But it also comes at a cost. China wants Malawi’s resources like coal. However, the Chinese hardly ever employ locals when they do something in Africa. They bring their own Chinese workers, leaving very little money or job opportunities for Malawians. The Chinese say that Africans don’t work hard enough and Africans as well don’t like working for the Chinese, because working conditions are very harsh and the Chinese expect a lot.

On the other hand, they do help build the infra structure of African countries a lot (mainly for their own interests). So while China is definitely helping to develop Africa, it hardly creates any jobs for Africans.

Teacher vs. Students Volleyball Game

On Saturday a week ago we had a teacher vs. students volleyball game. It was quite intense, as we have some pretty good students. We teachers won, but there was absolutely no mercy towards the students. No gifts towards them. Some teachers even celebrated students’ mistakes, and there were harsh discussions with the student referee from some teachers. I couldn’t help being amused by this spectacle. I really enjoyed the game though, it was a tough fight.

Museum

On Saturday a week ago I visited a museum about Malawian culture. It was quite interesting. The masks of the Gule Wamkulu are also worn to teach the kids. For example when the teens reach puberty there is a celebration with masks that have a penis or a vagina as their mouth. This is to show that from now on they should cover up their private parts and be safe. Don’t just go around and show it to everybody or sleep with everybody.

When a man in Malawi wants to marry a woman, he tests her first, if she can cook well, and especially if she can brew beer. Because beer is brewed by women, and drunk by men. We have also seen this when we were hiking in Rumphi, the men were just drinking beer (at 10 am on a Tuesday) while the women were walking around carrying water and so forth. I have to say that I’m really growing on Malawian culture ;)

Mango and Rainy Season

Mango Season is now really kicking in. I can just go out and pick a mango from the tree and eat it – it is so good! The locals even eat them with the skin. At the same time the rainy season has started, but we haven’t had the really harsh rains yet. Farmers have started sowing and now they are praying for the rains. Let’s hope that they come.

Respect

If the teacher is sitting and the student wants to speak to him, he or she will kneel to the ground so they aren’t higher than the teacher when talking to him/her.

Self Study

The students have to attend a self study from 4-6 am every morning and from 6-8 pm every evening (except for weekends). I once tried to do the 4-6 am study, but I was so extremely tired at 5 am that I went back to sleep, because otherwise I would have been useless the rest of the day as a teacher. I had a discussion with Henry – the director of the school – and told him that I thought it was too early to have a study so early in the morning (they get up around 3.30 am which is basically in the middle of the night). Often students are quite tired in my class, so I think they would profit more if the morning study was cancelled. Part of the reason is that it is still a nice temperature at that time, after it just gets too hot. However, no one really checks if the students are doing this self study, still about ¼ of the students showed up when I went there.

Power Cuts

I was still in town last Saturday after helping one of the teachers set up the program Gimp on his PC and explaining him how it works. So after I went for food and for a game of pool. Suddenly the party was over because in the whole city there was a power cut. We finished the game with the flash light of my phone.

Then on Thursday there was another power cut when I was teaching German from 6-7 pm. So at 6.30 the lesson was over because everything went dark. The kids were running around scaring each other. Later many girls were singing songs together to pass the time, which was really nice.

A Busy Man

These days I am quite a busy man. Doris and Tobias left two weeks ago, so I now also took over all of Doris’ classes, which are German and ICT. On top of that I am always joining the English teacher in a class where African short stories are being taught, which is always very interesting. I also join some other subjects where I can. So there is no time at all to get bored, which is good.

Pictures

This is how Nsima is cooked. You litterally have a pan of cooking water and just add the corn flower until it is thick enough.

I was trying to help a bit, but I could hardly carry on long enough to pose for a picture. For one it gets quite hard to stir when it becomes thick, but what was really killing me was the bad smoke. I couldn't keep my eyes open at all and to breathe while working is really bad. I don't know how our cook can do it every day...

Now it goes in the bucket to be served.

I finally learn how I can fix a flat tire. I could go back a couple of times, because I get flat tires all the time. Now I bought a new tube, so it should be ok now.

This is an image to show the speed of the mail. Tobias' friend sent him a package, but it arrived only two weeks after they left. The teachers and I enjoyed it though, thanks a lot ;)

A mosque in Lilongwe. There are not many more 'sights' in the traditional sense here. It is more the vibe of the city you have to dive into.

This here is great and will help all Swiss travellers who are heading to Great Britain or common wealth countries. The Swiss plug actually can be used in that socket, you just need to put something in the upper hole. I really learn a lot here in Africa ;)