March 3

HI!!!!



I made it!! The flights were all on time, good company, an hour of sleep and 20 hours later I arrived in the warm and soft African air. Mmmmmm.



Although I've only been on safari in Kenya for a week, it all feels familiar. I'm a sucker for people who smile and they do it beautifully here. On the first day I met the office staff and Lennart from Denmark, who is in charge. I'm also staying in his home in Lilongwe the capital city,until Thursday. Then I head for the south to stay with a family in a small village which is apparently hit hard by the recent flood and now the dry, hot spell. They are waiting for the harvest which is in another month.


Today is a holiday so we made a party of it and drove to Lake Malawi which was a great start to my working career - lounging by the pool and swimming in the beautiful lake with billowing clouds over head which didn't shed a drop. It was a gorgeous day with good company. I went with Lennart and the house husband of another employee and his baby. The conversations are so interesting with people who have lived and worked in so many different countries in Africa.

I learned a lot today. For example....only 4% of Malawians use electricity and in my 24 hours of being here, it's already shut off once. (The dam gets clogged with lilly-pads) Malawi needs 2.5 million tons of maize -corn every year to feed itself. Only 20% of the land is fertile. The rest is either too rocky, too hilly or depleted. It's totally green everywhere you look, yet the crops die without the subsidized fertilizers. There's water everywhere - rivers, ground water - but crops dry up as soon as the rainy season is over - no developed irrigation systems. There is a tree here that grows to over 1,000 years old and looks like it's upside down called the Baobab. The main and favorite food is a hard porridge made from maize. I'll be living on it for the next 3 1/2 weeks and ever so happy about it cause it's gluten free!!



OK. I'm off to bed. Big day at the office tomorrow!!! (I've always wanted to say that!)



Hope you're all well and happy..... I AM!!



hugs,

Nina
ps. Something is wrong with the connection and won't let me upload pictures. :( I'll keep trying....