Going Away

I am supposed to attend a meeting, which will take place outside of Lilongwe starting this weekend. It is a planning meeting for HIV/AIDS programs in the ministry of education. I was not invited initially, but I asked them to include me, since gender issues should be an important component in it. I will be back on Tuesday or Wednesday. I will be glad to be away, as things have been pretty crazy lately, and I am not feeling too great to be honest. Has been very difficult juggling figuring out work issues and sorting out personal stuff, both of which are hard enough to deal with individually. Will be good to have some time to relax, not to get stressed out and have some perspectives on things. I will be OK, though.

I may be able to see some wild animals. Will post some photos when I come back!

Me and my crazy nomadic life

A lot has happened this year, and somehow I ended up in Malawi…. Here goes my crazy life in a nutshell.

In April I came back to Canada from Guyana, and I went back to Japan to see my family after two years of not seeing them. I spent a bit over a month there, and in the meantime I got out of the long-term relationship in a worst imaginable way.

It feels like I have aged 10 years in this short period of time (actually it is about time I look my age anyways so that I don’t get asked to show two pieces of ID to buy a bottle of wine...) This break-up was extremely hard, and I didn’t think I would make it. I think we learn so much about ourselves when we face challenges and hardships. It probably sounds completely crazy, but in a way I am glad that this happened. It made me stronger in many ways, though it also made me more vulnerable in some other ways. At least, I feel I am more or less standing on my own feet, and this is a nice feeling. Maybe, it’s true that things happen for a reason.

In mid-May, I came back to Montreal and found a place in Ottawa in two days and moved. In a month this position in Malawi was offered to me and I accepted it. And then, I “met” a person and I came to like him a lot (he is really great!) I was very happy to spend some nice quality time with him. This made it even harder to leave Canada again so soon.

So, this year so far I have lived in four different countries. Some of my possessions are still in Montreal and the rest is stored at two different locations in Ottawa. I am currently living out of two suitcases and a few more bags. My permanent address is in Japan, but the mailing address is at the place in Ottawa where I only lived for less than three months. I am having a hard time keeping track of all of my phone numbers and addresses. I am also trying hard to keep my head in this total madness. Will there ever be an end to this?? I wonder…

Shopping Day

As I mentioned in the previous entry, me and my future roommates (Rachel and Helen) went furniture hunting on Saturday. Our Japanese colleague from the Ministry kindly offered to take us around. Furnishing a house is quite a daunting task. Especially, the house comes with absolutely nothing. Not even a fridge and a cooker. On top of paying the six months rent and paying the hotel, this can put a big strain on our finances… The good thing is that we will probably able to sell most of the things when we leave, and we can recuperate the cost.

We went to a few household goods shops, supermarkets and electronic stores. We bought some stuff and just priced other bigger items. There is this one street in the old town area (I will write about the geography of Lilongwe some time) where people make and sell wooden furniture. We looked at beds, bedside tables and couches. I have seen the tackiest designs of couches, and we have no choice but going with these sorts. We will have real fun being creative and decorating the place with these….. We are still debating how much of an animal print fabric is allowed in the decoration of our common areas. I am definitely on the side of minimum animal print. We already live close enough to safaris. So, why do we need to make it more African??

The highlight of the day was in a market. We were taken to a local market where fresh produces, fish and other small commodities are sold. I love looking at colorful vegetables and fruits. We stopped at a baskets vendor, and we had a blast. We each bought a couple of baskets and were very happy with our purchase. They are so cute!!

Here are things that I bought:

· Blanket for 2600MK – still winter here
· Pillow for 860MK – so nice to have my own pillow…
· Cutting board and roller set for 800MK – planning to make dumplings from scratch with a roller
· Two wicker baskets for 1000MK – what a bargain!

($1CAD= 120MK)

Moving and moving—life on the go

Due to some miscommunication on our reservation, we had to move to another hotel. It was bit stressful, as I finally got used to the area and figured out how to take mini-buses to get to work etc…. Now in the new area, I need to start from scratch. I can’t wait to move into the house and settle down. Since our house is not furnished, we have to furniture-hunt this weekend. Still lots and lots to do.

What I did this week:

Celebrated Helen’s birthday in an Indian restaurant (She is one of two Canadian girls whom I came with.)
Paid six months rent for the house (about $1000CAD)
Had a good meeting to be briefed on work-related things, and then got stranded for an hour waiting for my pick-up to come.
Moved to a new lodge
Had a minor anxiety attack :)
Moved again to a different room as there was no hot water in the original room
Reading stuff and talking to people trying to determine what exactly my job should be
Tried Malawian fish for lunch (was quite good)

I am so happy to receive nice e-mails from all of you. It helps to get me through possibly stressful days. Thank you all for your support and friendship…

michiyo

My Contact

Here is my mailing address:

World University Service of Canada (WUSC)
P.O. Box 30268 Lilongwe 3, Malawi


Thank you all for your messages. I will reply individually soon!

The first week!

I have survived my first week in Malawi! The great news is that we have signed a lease for a house on Friday. It has lifted a huge weight from us.

I can finally feel more or less normal, so that I am in a state of mind to write more.

Frankly speaking, there are many challenges both professionally and personally, which could be quite daunting at times. My transition here is much harder than what I have experienced in Guyana. I felt like I would be more than happy to just go back to Canada. Although I could still go home (I know I won’t), I feel a bit better. I am keeping optimistic and hoping that it will get easier as I spend more time getting acquainted to the environment, the people and the culture.

The most difficult thing for me was and still is a communication issue. I initially did not have a regular internet access, and even when I did, the net was either down or extremely slow. What is more, phoning home is ridiculously expensive. It costs about 2 to 3$ a minute to call Canada!! I will for sure spend the money when it is deemed necessary for my mental health. Now I have more access to the net at work, and I got a new cell phone (cute Motorola phone for about $50.) You could call me if you like. From Canada 5$ calling card will give approximately 25 minutes. There are cards for calling Africa. The connection is not very reliable, but I hope it will get better when I have a landline in the house. My two Canadian colleagues and I will be moving in on the 1st of September (my birthday!!)

Other challenges are the transportation and accommodation, which are linked together. Lilongwe is the administrative center of the country, and it has developed in a sort of non-city way. Buildings are scattered and there is an un-walkable distance to get to one area to another. It is hard to get around without a reliable and safe transportation, which is not always guaranteed. This has limited our options for places to live in the housing market that is already limited.

I should list some positive things as well. People are nice and friendly. I have hot water, which I thought I would be deprived of for the entire eight months. It relaxes me when I can sit in a bathtub to take hot shower, singing. J The roads are better than Guyana. I haven’t had any stomach problems (I mean diarrhea.) Touch wood! There is one Japanese man, who is the education advisor on a same floor at the Ministry of Education, and I am happy to chat in Japanese once in a while. Generally, bathrooms are clean and flushable with an acceptable amount of water. I plan to come up with more things that I like soon.

Despite everything, I think I am coping quite well with my easy-going attitude and naïve optimism. It is the first step to recognize that it is normal that things are hard and I am going through some culture shock and adjustment.

Please send me e-mail or leave a comment on this site. Hearing from you means so much and it will certainly brighten my day!!

House-hunting

We have started the house-hunting, but it seems pretty hard. The property which was advertised on a paper on this weekend was already rented today, when we went to take a look at it. Another thing is the transportation. It is a big issue. Taxis are not so easily available, and getting around just by mini-buses is not always possible. I am trying to take one thing at a time and not to be stressed.

I am getting my cell phone unlocked (I had it unlocked in Ottawa, but it was no good….) I will be able to recieve calls soon!

I am in Malwi.

I have arrived safe and sound. I am now staying in a guest house with two other Canadian girls. We had a two day training/ orientation. I am already going in to work on Monday. How quick!!

I am a bit overwhelmed by everything, but I will be OK. Hope to write more when I have regular access to the net.

Miss you all.