Aaaaand the winner is...

Mr. Axelrod!

For using exceptional powers of logic and math (per Mikes notation), Mr. Axelrod bested Ian in the competition to guess how much our new car cost to purchase from Japan, import to South Africa, and transport to Malawi. The answer: $4,900.

For winning the inaugural quiz competition, Mr. Axelrod wins a postcard from Malawi. Congratulations!

First Salad

Our lettuce is finally big enough to feed us! A pretty exciting milestone: our first salad from our garden in Malawi. Not as cool as the pink leaves on that plant down below, but very very close. Here's a picture of the big moment:

Awesome Plants 2

Last weekend Zach and I spent Saturday morning at a nursery buying every plant that caught my eye. We planted them over the course of the next few days and now our garden is a mish mash of cool looking unidentifiable plants. For this edition of Awesome Plants I present to you Pink and Green Tree ish Plant:

Um, what? Pink leaves? I want a whole forest of these things. If you happen to be a botanist and know what the heck this thing is, please enlighten me. As a bonus, here's my clay frog. Putting clay figurines in your garden is totally for losers but the guy who was making these was super nice, it only cost $1.50 and small things appeal to me.

And, since I paid $80 for him and we need to get our money's worth of cute, here's a bonus shot of the dog! He's sleeping in this position, totally still. Not comfortable.

We're beginning to heat up here in Malawi. Hope everyone in the Northern hemisphere is enjoying the Fall weather! More complaining about the heat to come.

First Hike

Yesterday marked the first real hike into the great outdoors for our new dog Baobab and it was marked with few events, not all welcome. Our target? A modest granite bump south of Lilongwe by the name Bunda Mountain:

For the first mishap you must understand that Baobab is a bit thin and Serena wants to "fatten him up." So what do we do? Feed him lots! As it turns out, too much. Bao ate and ate and ate and hopped in the car aaaaand... you can imagine what happened next.

About half way to the mountain, vomited. No worries, we have cardboard in the back of the vehicle! I pulled over to discover he had ralphed not once, but twice. Still, no trouble, with a simple cardboard removal and off we went. He had upchucked lots--not to get too detailed here, but probably the equivalent to a grapefruit of half-digested dog food--so I assumed that would be that. I assumed wrong.

Bao, almost immediately, peed on the cardboard-less floor and puked twice more to the tune of another grapefruit. Armed with sticks, I cleaned the car at the base of the mountain and thus started our adventure.

The hill itself was fairly simple and, as I came to find out, a popular local hike. At the top, people had built what looked like some kind of spiritual monument and various small rock shelters. In fact, it looked as though people actually lived at the summit. Trying to be inconspicuous, these were the photos from afar:

Bao surveying the monument

Stone huts

The human-dog relationship here is much different than at home. Considering this, especially because it may have been a spiritual site, I decided not to linger, snapping these shots before descending:

Easy to see where water is available. Water transportation and large-scale irrigation are essentially nonexistent.

In the distance is a quarry and on the left is a planted forest.

Thankfully Bao had ejected everything in his system, leaving the ride home hurl-free. Just another day in Malawi.

Danger: Poop?

Sometimes things are lost in translation. Sometimes not. In this case, the red skull and crossbones got my attention (though, exactly what was the danger was not clear). The Chichewa word that followed, however, was not fear inducing. Behold:

"The floor is wet, poopsya!"
"Don't put your tongue on that icy pole, poopsya!"
"Drunk driving?!?! Poopsya!"
"World War II? Blitzkrieg? The Holocaust? Poopsya, poopsya, POOPSYA!!!!"

#Poopsya... anyone?

Oversimplified Public Health (with photos)

For those of you interested in oversimplified public health tidbits and high quality photos: I present to you some of this. For more, see this story from The Huffington Post about Malawi's health care system.

 

This photo of the Maternity Ward in Dedza gives you an inkling of the true horror of many of the hospital wings around here. Bare mattresses, overcrowding, persistent heat, the smell of bleach and dirt mixed, medical contraptions from 1932 (see below) and screaming children. The hospitals are my least favorite place to find myself on a work day.

 

The slide show is pretty optimistic about the success in training healthcare workers in 'bagging' an infant who isn't breathing. Really, thank goodness for small things like this training, because parents sometimes have to squeeze the bags themselves currently - and no parent wants to be the one doing the breathing for a baby who then dies. 

And now back to our regular dog and plant updates.

Awesome Plants

One of the joys of travel is seeing exotic plants and animals thus far, in my life, only viewed on BBC's Planet Earth. This is the first in an ongoing series of "Awesome Plants" that will likely be expanded to "Awesome Plants, Animals, and Other Things."

Today's plant is the Jacaranda tree. I had no idea the thing even existed, so it was quite the enjoyable surprise when trees started bursting with purple colors. My poor photography cannot do it justice:

 
If you want to see a proper photo, click here.

For Those Without Facebook

Late night spear fishing on Lake Malawi. The local guy we were with gave me the knife because, he said, you never know when a croc might show up. Whaaaaa?!?!

"I have no idea how to use this."

It took moving to Africa...

Wow, blogging is really hard when the electricity is out for about 85% of the weekend. We haven't been able to charge anything. My best uneducated guess is that because most of Malawi's electricity comes from hydropower and we are nearing the height of the dry season, there simply isn't enough water volume to meet demand. But I digress.

It what will likely be a reoccurring blog theme... It took moving to Africa to become the stereotypical American driver: An SUV owner.

I am truly sorry Captain Planet

At home I drive a 40mpg little Mazda. In Malawi, where gas costs nearly $9/gallon, I drive an SUV. The word on the street is the extra clearance helps on bad roads during the rainy season, but I am skeptical. On the other hand, drivers are semi-crazy here so being big means a bit more safety... at least that's what the Big 3 automotive companies hope I believe about these beasts.

Trivia question of the day: How much did it cost? The vehicle was imported from Japan. Is a 1995 Honda CRV with 95,000 kilometers. Any guesses?

Hint, it cost this much:

And yes we paid in cash. And yes it felt like a drug deal.

Do I get to dogblog too?

Bao (which is pronounced, 'bayo,' not 'bow,' btw) is a hand full. Mostly for Zach, since I'm at work during the day so I only play a secondary role in his training. We have recently discovered that he is a contortionist and can fit through very small spaces, including the back door:

 

 He never goes far, just escapes and then stands there waiting for someone to come see what he's done. Hard to stay mad though...

Elephant Rock

On Tuesday I headed north to Mzuzu, the third largest city in Malawi (after Lilongwe and Blantyre). I've been to Mzuzu before, having traveled there for work a few weeks previous. So I knew there was an awesome rock on the way there. I'm not really a rock person - Zach loves 'granite outcroppings' but I feel pretty neutral. But if something is in the shape of an animal then I'm always a fan, even if its just a rock. This time I had the driver stop so I could take a picture. So, I present to you Elephant Rock:

I didn't make up the name - some Malawian dude did, probably a long long time ago. Now the elephant guards the road between Mzuzu and Lilongwe. He's only one of many large granite blobs on the landscape there so if, like Zach, you're into granite outcroppings, I invite you to come visit and drive up to Mzuzu with me:

Plastics

Development and globalization, to understate it, are complicated things. Changing a society that makes more money to buy more things that have been introduced through newly-established international trading (with, primarily, cheap producers in China) leads to a much higher GDP, but whether it actually improves quality of life is another question altogether. Let's have Mr. McGuire introduce an effect from globalization:

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

Benjamin: Yes, sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Benjamin: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?

This is how he means in Malawi:

Delicious corn field

You may be wondering what those ridges are? They are furrows for planting maize. How would you like some of that corn?

In Malawi and many other developing countries (it was identical in Mongolia), just enough wealth exists to create a demand in retail businesses for goods wrapped and made out of plastic. Additionally, rather than using traditional leather or reed containers, shoppers receive everything in a plastic bag. Unfortunately, this change has not coincided with a system or culture for collecting and disposing of this waste. Every day while walking about town you will see locals simply tossing their rubbish onto the ground, likely because that has always been sufficient: until recently, everything was biodegradable. Furthermore, even if someone wants to get rid of their trash "correctly" the options are not available. I have seen only a few bins, all of which have been overflowing. Or, as is commonly popular, folks pitch their trash over the wall into a pile and burn it:

Burn pile behind housing complex

Not exactly a good alternative. One system that has worked and is similarly employed in the United States is a deposit system. While ours in Oregon is on nearly all bottles (glass, aluminum, and plastic), in Malawi there is a deposit on glass drinking bottles. The result? In more than a month I have yet to see a broken or trashed glass soda/beer bottle. A deposit is incredibly effective. Why, then, is it not expanded to all products? Put a price on a good and the market responds.

Dogblogging

*Apologies for the missed day so early on. Evidently internet was down throughout Lilongwe from a technical malfunction. Aaaand we're back...





After a nice evening of indoor soccer I came home to the remnants of a Baopage (Baobab+Rampage). His home when we are not home is in the sun room and evidently he has discovered how to open doors. The handles here are levers and he has found that opposable thumbs are not a prerequisite for opening such devices. I brought him to the front porch and witnessed his naughty dexterity.

Speaking of naughty, while I was in the shower, not four feet away, managed this and then posed, stoically, surveying the damage:

Then, after a good bit of shaming:


Interestingly, and I assume as a result of 14 months in the shelter before our adoption, he simply is not particularly responsive to verbal cues. Sit? Not a chance. Stay? Nope. A simple 'come'? Even after six days, still no. Any ideas?

The Kwacha

Plans for this blog are to highlight the fun (see Baobab), travel (Lake Malawi, the mountains, neighboring countries, etc), life, books, gardening, friends, but also to discuss some of the various social, economic, and political happenings of Malawi. It's not all fun and games. In that vein, today we introduce the kwacha, Malawi's currency.

One US dollar, at the bank, is worth approximately 290 kwacha, depending on the day. If you want a small Snickers bar, it will set you back about 325 kwacha, but that is a luxury few in this country enjoy. Being subsistence farmers, many Malawians survive on zero kwacha a day so, again, not much of a reference point. Some of the items and prices I purchase regularly:

2500 kwacha=a fairly common meal price that caters to the upper class and ex-pats
350 kwacha=traditional Malawian lunch
300 kwacha=a kilo of fresh, local strawberries
150 kwacha=most minibus fares
100 kwacha=an apple or orange, five tomatoes, or three medium red onions
20 kwacha=a single Malawi-produce cigarette, a small bunch of cilantro

Are there other goods or services about which anyone is curious about pricing?

Home Makeover: Malawi

This is the first guest blog! While I can't commit to maintaining my own blog or splashing my name across the internet I promise to piggyback on Zach's efforts - which is mostly what I've been doing in Malawi in general. Zach cooks. Zach cleans. Zach trains the dog. Zach shops. I work. And now I blog.

Zach's first project was making our yard into something a little more comfy and useful for all of us. Here's the way it looked when I first arrived in Malawi:

(Well, minus the boards). The fence went up with the help of a machete, our houseboy Paul and a Malawian who bargained for the scrap lumber for us (otherwise we'd have paid twice the price, being mzungus):

Next Zach bought bricks (paid twice as much as they cost) in a shanty town a few kilometers down a terrible dirt road. But now we have beds for our garden! The garden remains to be completed but the potential is huge! Flowers and vines grow beautifully here. So far we've started with herbs, cantaloupe (which haven't sprouted yet - cross your fingers) and lettuce:

I'm sure the blog will have regular garden updates - including one about the mysterious dangling red things seen in the above photo.

Welcome to Dogblogging

With fond memories of her favorite Peace Corps friend Michael Jackson (Sorry Margaret, Scott, Lisa, Kim, Bobby Kennedy, et al), Serena visited the local animal shelter and couldn't resist the urge. Less than a week later and we have this:

Introducing: Baobab. Named after this awesome tree found in Africa, this little guy, a quintessential Africa mutt, had been at the shelter for 14 months so. As you can imagine, he's a bit odd. Oddity number one: note the Serena hair dangling from mouth. That's odd.

Odd pose:

And finally, an oddly long neck:

He is weird, a handful, and now the subject of weekly dogblogging installments inspired by my favorite daily read: Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones.

Mzungu!!!!

When arriving in Lilongwe Airport I was struck by the number of Caucasians on the plane. There are dozens of European, American (Canadian and the United States), Australian, and Chinese organizations, both non and for profit, based in Malawi, so this should have come as no surprise. Plus, being on an airplane, there was certainly a particular demographic being served. Furthermore, I came to find out only four international flights arrive per day, so the number of travelers was concentrated. Still, while Malawi is the base of many western aide groups, a white person, even in the capitol city, is a sight that elicits one simple exclamation: "Mzungu!!!!"

While walking in the neighborhood: "Mzungu!!!"
While running on the beaches of Lake Malawi: "Mzungu!!!"
While purchasing veggies at the market: "Mzungu!!!"
While walking past a school: "Mzungu!!!"
While... doing about anything.

Literally it means one who wanders aimlessly, but more accurately it means "White person!!!!" Fame and recognition for the color of one's skin, huzzah!

Housekeeping

While close, no, this is not a description of my job in Malawi. Rather, a bit of how-to in regard to this blogging endeavor.

Two easy ways to follow yours truly's adventures in Malawi:

1. In the text box on the right, simply click the blue "Join this site" icon and follow directions to subscribe to each new post. You will receive an email notification as posts are written.
2. Simply bookmark this page and visit regularly. Wait, no, not that. Set this as your homepage making every new browser window a Malawian adventure. An adventure!

Finally:
*Posting comments is a blogger's crack. Any and all thoughts can easily be posted in comments after each post and are robustly encouraged. Rev up those wit-engines and let'er rip.