Landed in Malawi

As you know, I am in Malawi (MW) now. I landed yesterday 12:30pm Malawi time. It was such a long trip coming from San Francisco to NYC to Johannesburg, South Africa to Blantyre, Malawi. I met up with my research partner at the NYC JFK airport and we flew in together from there on out. The journey was extremely long. It took me over 24 hours including time in the air and airport layovers. The flights were fine although there was a bit of turbulence on the plane ride from South Africa to Malawi. South Africa Airways is pretty good and the food was nice and tasty. At one point as we were getting near Malawi, I was waking up from my sleep and ready to eat dinner. They made an announcement saying good morning and telling us the breakfast food options. I was like what…oh…my body is definitely feeling the time difference and jet lag. The time difference between Malawi and San Francisco is 9 hours. I was sitting between two sweet grandmothers from South Africa to Malawi. They were both really nice.  One is from Zimbabwe, but has been living in Malawi since the 1960’s. She was really helpful in giving me advice and tips of places to visit. She also gave me her cell phone number in case I had any questions during my stay. The other grandma is from Mauritius (island in Africa). She is in town for a month to visit her expecting daughter and soon-to-be grandbaby. The flight from South Africa to Malawi was 2 hours. So, before I head back to the U.S., I plan to visit South Africa-Johannesburg, Capetown and Pretoria. One of my classmates previously studied abroad at the University of Capetown and so she has some contacts there.

I was so exhausted once I arrived in Malawi. The line at the airport in Malawi to go through customs was a bit long and the airport had one working fan and no AC. So, I was burning up. Plus, I was dressed in SF gear and not for MW. After customs, I picked up my luggage and they were both there so I was glad about that.

Once we arrived in Malawi, we met up with our other classmate and a staff member of the NGO who gave us a ride to our housing. We are located about 15 minutes from the Blantyre airport. We are staying temporarily at a guest lodge until we secure long-term housing.  My first day in Malawi consisted of getting acquainted with our housing and a 2-mile walk (felt like forever) to the shopping center. There, we were able to get internet access, send emails/facebook messages, and exchange our dollars for Malawian kwacha. The exchange is approx.  380 kwacha for 1 USD. I will make sure today at the bank as I will need to do another exchange. After that, we went to the grocery store, Shop Rite, and bought groceries for dinner.

I ended day 1 with a nice, long, and much-needed shower and my two classmates and I cooked pasta for dinner. After dinner, I went straight to bed. Once my head hit the pillow, I was out. The lodge we are in is nice. We have 2 bedrooms (2 beds in each), 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining area, and backyard patio. 

Day 2: I woke up feeling so refreshed. We woke up around 6:30am and got ready for the day. The lodging staff prepared breakfast for us. We had eggs, toast with jam, chicken sausage, and tea. Nice breakfast! After that, we walked about 2 miles to the office of the NGO with whom we will be working. We met the NGO staff and were greeted with warmth. 
 

We plan to move from Blantyre (where we are now) to Mulanje (more rural area) on Monday. We will stay there for about 4 days to get a feel for the housing. If all is well, we will extend our stay there until the end of our time in Malawi. If not, we will find something else. We will spend most of our time in the town of Mulanje. We will move there Monday and meet the NGO staff on Tuesday. Friday and Monday is a work holiday here because of Easter weekend.

I am now relaxing in my room typing up this message. I plan to buy a cell phone later, have lunch, and then do exchange money. This is pretty much my update of the first 24 hours in Malawi.

Update you soon. Sending my hello and love to family and friends! Happy Easter!

Rahwa J