A visit to Blantyre

Trip to Blantyre
This morning there was fog and around some of the hedges hung an ethereal white mist that looked like spider webs then suddenly when the sun struck it was gone. I was up very early for the bus to Blantyre. It is a big bus with comfortable looking seats that aren’t all that comfortable. There is air conditioning and nice big windows so I can enjoy the scenery.

We are driving through central Malawi to Blantyre. The coach is comfortable until we get to a hot stretch when the air con seems to fail, and vibrating with African music as well as the ruts and potholes in the road. The country is green, green, green. last time I was here (November 08) everything was brown and there were no leaves on the trees.. The corn is tall dwarfing the small children walking through it. Two school-aged children are driving an oxcart rapidly on the verge of the highway. We pass many small masjids with towers at each corner some are walled others have open courtyards. The houses are small built of unfired brick or reeds some with thatched roofs, some of corrugated iron, still others covered with tar paper. People are busy this Saturday morning in the markets, at the masjids, and in the fields. We are surrounded by the bones of an ancient mountain range which has been reduced to rocky hillocks of odd and weird shapes that pop up seemingly from out of nowhere. Some of the hills are tree covered others while others are bare rock. There are more trees here than there are near Lilongwe and all are verdant green. Maize is growing everywhere but as we move south it is neither as tall nor as healthy and green because there has been drought in the south central area. In among the corn are tobacco fields. Under the maize beans and pumpkins are grown to make the most of scarce land. Women are in the fields with their makasu (hoes) tilling the soft ground. Houses are clustered together to make maximum use of growing space and provide safety. There are a group of middle school kids kicking a large plastic container around on a soccer (football) field. Suddenly, there is a forest of trees covering a hill that is mountain size. Then there are no more corn fields on this side of the road just hills and more trees than I have ever seen in Malawi. Some of the trees are evergreens that look a bit like the Norfolk pines I saw in Guam. Then there is there is grass maize, and trees, again. Then a village, then maize, sweet potatoes,and bananas.
Why are there men sitting about in the shade near a village compound below some tall green hills? Suddenly there is larger settlement and then some taller hills. The corn here is taller than the houses. Now there is furniture maker, the houses are of fired brick some covered with cement like stucco. Because it is a large village there is a bottle store and gas station, nevertheless there are women carrying water on their heads and washing clothes in an irrigation ditch. We are in Dedza a bigger city that is the district seat (boma) and is also a major highway turn off. In the market there are huge piles of Irish potatoes. More bottle stores and a Carlsburg bar – these are owned and managed by Carlsburg Inc. the only beer made in Malawi except the local chumbuku. This thick maize beer is also called “shake, shake” and comes in little boxes which are sold everywhere. At Dedzda there is a Police inspection of the cargo and the bus. A passenger buys a huge bag of potatoes that is stowed with the luggage. A man passes by holding a 10# bag of potatoes in one hand with his is arm straight up above his head so we can easily see them from the bus windows. Suddenly we seem to be going uphill, the mountains are taller and the gardens are terraced. (A fellow passenger borrows my newspaper. Whenever I buy a newspaper here at least 5-6 other people borrow it and read it.) We are on a high plateau. There has been rain here recently and men are cutting grass with machete –pango knife. A woman walks by with a huge load of wood on her head and a baby on her back. All the women are carrying things on their heads and most have babies on their backs but this load is remarkable for it’s size and length.
The bus stewardess hands me some peanuts. Could this be Southwest Airlines? “No”, these are Malawi peanuts! Next she hands me a Coca Cola. Nice. Then of course, I have to use the bathroom even though I really limited fluids this AM. The bathroom stinks and there is no light and I decide I can hold it. Soon enough we are in North Blantyre and I can see that this town is more compact and also more cosmopolitan than Lilongwe. I have called the Taxi driver that Lisa suggested but he is too far away so I take the taxi that is there and of course am charged too much even though I dickered. Of course I didn’t know how far the lodge where Lisa is staying is from the bus depot.
I arrive quickly at Kabula lodge, an odd collection of houses behind a wall. Lisa has a three bedroom house that is really huge. I have my own bed and I sleep well except for the 4:30 AM call to prayer from a mosque that is nearby but which we can’t seem to locate. I am really glad to see Lisa and she suggests we go down to her favorite Ethiopian restaurant where we are to meet Heidi. (Lisa is a Fulbright fellow – recent graduate from Tufts bachelor’s program in PH doing a research project. Heidi is older and has worked in Japan and Guatemala. She is an English Language Fellow teaching at International University.) The owner of the Ethiopian restruant is lovely and I can tell she is fond of Lisa (like who wouldn’t be! She is so friendly and kind). I am served some wonderful strong Ethiopian coffee – it is fabulous. Later I have a lunch of a pancake like bread with a wonderful spicy beef that I scoop up with the bread. We have to wait a while since Heidi’s meeting is lasting longer than expected. When she arrives she needs a cup of tea and we reschedule our pedicure for 3:30 so she can drink her tea. The pedicure is in a European style spa shop and is heavenly but expensive ($30USD). It is followed by some good gelato and then a Chinese dinner which was not very good. Sunday morning we hang out on the lovely deck overlooking Blantyre and then go to Ethiopian for real coffee but she isn’t open yet so we wait and visit until Heidi comes from her weekly internet morning. Lisa and Heidi are moving into a house in the next week or so and they are excitedly preparing and talking about cooking. Heidi is a vegetarian and Lisa is coming up with all kinds of dishes they can share. It was lovely to spend time with other American women. Dave and Vic are busy writing grants and haven’t been able to break away and join us.
I was supposed to stay in Blantyre until Wednesday but Sunday night I got a text from Regina saying the meeting I was to go to had been cancelled because of a funeral so I bought a ticket for Tuesday morning. On Monday I visit the Blantyre campus of KCN which is on the campus of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). Although I did not get to visit the wards I had to walk through the halls of the hospital- what a gigantic maze! In 1960 I worked as a candy striper at Harbor General Hospital (HGH) in LA. The hospital consisted of barracks strung together with covered walkways. QEH looks just like HGH looked in 1960 right down to confusing signage (all in Chichewa- which is good) and big open wards. What is different is the people camped out next to the wards sleeping and cooking and of course taking care of their family members. The person I needed to see at the college was not quite ready for me so I was taken over to College of Medicine because I needed to talk to the IRB office about our research proposal. I am certainly glad I did since she told me I didn’t need to send the proposal through their IRB because it was educational not medical research. (Everyone else told me I had to sendit to the med school IRB). I had a productive meeting with the Graduate Dean and I think they may ac use me to help do some faculty development. I also met with the person who is managing the on line education and distance ed and I will also be working with her. I will be back in Blantyre in about a week.
My final night Heidi, Lisa and I had a marvelous dinner with Dave and Vic at Vegie Delight a wonderful Indian restaurant. It was such fun and we laughed and laughed. This was the best medicine. We had been invited to an Oscar party later but when we got there everyone was really engaged in watching to Oscars so we went for dessert and ran into Zwide, the Malawian who works for WSU. He was alone so we sat with him and visited. (It is amazing I know so few people in Malawi and then run into someone in Blantyre).
Slow lazy internet today means I won't post pictures until tomorrow or Friday. SOrry this is a little disjointed I wrote while I was on the bus.