Little Observations

Mr Johnston Ngalu, 4 wives, father of 33, aged 89. One son is got his masters degree in engineering in Utah and is running for a seat in parliment on May 19.

Malawi avocados being sold at the market.

I can't stop..... FORGIVE ME!!! The voice in my head won't shut up. I've begun carrying a little notebook to jot down everthing I want to tell you. Cause I think every little thing I see and feel is so important and really believe you want to know about it too. So I appologise for this never ending dialogue that runs in my head, NON STOP, to spill onto the blog. My mom always said I was very obsevant.... and talked a lot. Now I'm learning to write a lot.

I love to see all the differences between here and there, basically what I take for granted as true, which is only my idea of 'true'. FOr example, here in Malawi, an avocado is ripe when the seed inside rattles. In Malawi they're much sweeter and eaten as a fruit with sugar. see picture

You eat the skin on guavas or you'll get a hard stomach, I was told. It tastes nice too.

A 5 year old is a perfect baby sitter to a 1 1/2 year old. The older sibling - usually a girl - even carries them on her back using a cloth. They take the child around the village for the day and the mother never sees the kids til meal time. The children always seem safe as there are many eyes in the village and plenty of dirt to rest on. The kids are definitely raised communally.

Walking can also be done slowly! There's a brother of Spencer who I tease because he walks so slowly it looks as if he's going backwards. I saw someone the other day walking as I usually do - FAST - and she looked so out of place. Everyone commented that that one was in a hurry! I am usually in a hurry.

You don't need a tree to lean on. I know my dad would notice right away that no one grabbed the spot beside the trunk for rest. At first I found sitting so hard. No indian-style allowed for the women in skirts - just straight back and straight legs or side saddle. After I got used to it and also found ways to sneak my legs into cross - leg, I found the tree no longer necessary either. Then there was always an occasional spot on the odd bench or brick or small rock.

Garbage can be disposed of in many ways. Actually, in the village there is no such thing as garbage. They throw their cobs, husks, food scraps and occasional paper or animal remains into the bush. At night the dogs and goats sweep through the area and all that remains are the odd paper wrappings - mostly which I imported and quickly learned to keep in my suitcase. There is very little waste or things that come with packaging but if the markets start carrying more 'junk' they'll have to think about the fact that the paper and foil wrappings are not tasty to the dogs and remain on the ground. Plastic bags and bottles are in demand and used carefully.

Monogamy?? Spencer has 24 siblings (8 passed away) and his father has 3 wives and divorced one. His dad is called Johnston Ngalu, he's 89 years old and is building a new house and planning to buy a car next year. The guy has got energy. He jumps up from the ground when it's time to go and moves every so quickly. He is very sharp and full of humour. See picture


A clean floor is not necessarily without mud. Krisi 'mopped' the floor the other day. What a job. She took two types of dirt - one sandy and one more organic and we mixed them on the floor breaking up the clumps and removing small stones and sticks. I noticed some of the clumps where quite organic! Then you mix it up with water and make clay to be spread evenly over the entire room. It's a really slow process - she took a flat, round stone and 'polished' and leveled the surface for quite some time. The result was lovely - a shiny surface without any protruding stones. With time and daily sweeping the surface begins to disappear and the process has to be repeated every other week - in a good household like Krisi's.

Hot coals are good for keeping the pit latrin smelling fresh. Twice a day is recommended.

Going to the movies....Krisi and I went to the movies 3 times. There's a meeting place right next to her house where the head master runs a program every Friday and Saturday night showing Chinese slap stick fighting movies. She never goes cause she has no money, but with me there she was ever so eager to get inside. It's powered by a generator and a tv and vcr player are carefully carried to the large straw hut. We sat on a 2 inch rail for 2 hours which was SO UNCOMFOPRTABLE and SO HOT in there! Krisi loved it. I learned to fall directly to sleep during our movie nights - not my favorite.

Bananas!! I would say the bananas you buy in europe taste like half a banana. Half the sweetness and half the banana taste. They are simply way better in Malawi!!

I had to drink Krisi's boiled water in my own container which meant it was usally pretty warm, had corn fluff floating in it and tasted like smoke. I was totally healthy the whole time in the village and got a slight traveller stomach only when I stayed in the hotel. I told you she was a great housekeeper!

more later... and there is a lot more for those sticking around.....

Well and happy? If not, take aim and THROW yourself at it full throttle. Nothing to lose! Just time and your life.
:-)

and speaking of wasting time....clutter.....my hair has turned gray and frizzie. The real me has escaped again. So off I go to the beauty parlor to regain a few years in the mirror.