I Know You Read My Blog; Get a Life

The title is for one of my favorites. But it still applies to the rest of you. Working abroad in public health can have a way of tearing you down and grinding you up. People in my office spend their lives at work. I leave in the afternoon and come in the next morning to find that the only thing changed is the clothing; people are still sitting right where I left them a few hours before. There's a lot to be said for putting in a few years of hard work. But a blog post from a co-fellow's blog perfectly expresses something I've also been thinking about in between sending 500 emails in a day and opening 10 Excel files at one time. Anna Quindlen spoke these words when she gave a commencement speech:

"Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay check, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids’ eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly."

Truth, eh?

American Football in Africa

Interception. :(

 This is what American college football looks like when you live in Malawi. The South African sports channel only carries the odd Thursday college game or Monday night NFL game when they come on at 3am. We don't have TV, even if we did want to watch those games. Instead Zach listens on the internet some time 12-48 hours after the game has finished in America, having ignored his email due to an unfortunate email from Ian that once disclosed the score before we got around to listening. This is how it goes:

1. I set up the game by going to the Huskers website and finding the beginning of the game in the audio version (Zach can't be in the room in case the score is on the front page or I skip ahead too far and he happens to hear an early touchdown). This means I know the outcome of the game for the entire four hour process but have to act like I don't.

2. The internet dies and it takes five minutes to come back.

3. Zach listens to the first half quite calmly, staring into space.

4. The internet dies and it takes twenty minutes to come back.

5. We get the game going again but accidentally skip a huge play while trying to find where we were.

6. Zach starts standing up and sitting down alternatively. Kicks a soccer ball against the wall repeatedly when things become more heated. Still staring into space.

7. Zach notes how cool it is that they advertise for fertilizer and seeds on the Huskers radio (I guess so?).

8. The internet dies and it takes seven minutes to come back. Bad words are uttered.

9. Zach talks about how much he honestly hates the internet connection in Lilongwe and you'd have thought capitalism would have fixed this problem by now.

10. Zach screams because of a touchdown by the Huskers. Moves from the bed to crouching on the floor (see above).

11. The fourth quarter plays like a CD with a huge scratch on it, is barely intelligible. More bad words.

12. QB throws an interception. Zach screams 'That is the only thing that could NOT HAPPEN!! NOOO!!" Quickly followed by 'This is a BIG DRIVE, BABE! A BIG drive!! Here we GO!" Wanders over to one of our potted plants to stare at it and be a little distracted from the tension and stress. Continues listening while looking at the plant.

13. Huskers win. Zach dances with the dog. He spends the next three hours on espn trying to load video highlights, complaining about how terrible the internet is.

14. Zach sends his analysis of the game to his father. This week's football odyssey is officially finished until next Saturday night - or Sunday or Monday, depending on how long the guy in Nebraska working on the website takes to get around to posting the game.

Spacey staring

Places We Go: Ama Khofi

Our table last Sunday

I've found that when you live abroad you end up going to the same handful of restaurants over and over again. Usually one place in particular stands out for its caramel muffins (Swaziland) or pesto pasta (Guatemala). In Lilongwe our standout spot is Ama Khofi, a restaurant about a mile away from our house. The iced tea is heaven.

It's a cute little cafe with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking a nursery full of beautiful plants located in the Four Seasons complex, which feels like America. We go once a weekend with friends and have a delicious meal and enjoy the ambiance. On Sundays you can stay into the evening and enjoy free live music (and soccer on the big screen) at the bar next door. It still gets cool enough to wear a light sweater in the evening so its very pleasant to sit outside and enjoy the fresh evening air, live music, large beautiful trees and twinkling Christmas lights.

Last Sunday we spent a few hours at Ama playing BananaGrams with some friends (well, not me, I read a book, I HATE that game) and then watched the Chelsea v. Man U game at the bar with fifty of our most rabid friends. Not a bad Sunday, eh? Definitely a far cry from the way I spent Sundays in Swaziland.

Part of the nursery

I don't know these people

Serena Votes!

A couple days ago Serena exercised her right and civic responsibility to vote.

Bao was pushing hard for Romney, but then we explained that his tax plan numbers and promises are simply fantasy, that he wants to squeeze social services for the most vulnerable people, spend trillions more on the military, cut taxes for the wealthiest and most secure, and will appoint more Supreme Court justices like Scalia while Obama ended the war in Iraq and is concluding our time in Afghanistan in 2014, continues to work with the military (albeit too modestly) to cut spending, will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire and raise taxes on the wealthiest and most able to contribute, implemented a health care plan that, while flawed, takes us closer to a humane system of coverage, has implemented one of the most sane foreign policies in many decades, guided us through a devastating economic crash and recovery, and plans to continue reducing the number of bayonets and horses in our military.

Bao looked us in the eye and said, in perfect English, "Clearly, with their positions articulated, I support President Obama."

My ballot never arrived, so it is off to Plan B: An emailed ballot. I didn't even know those existed until the helpful Oregon Secretary of State showed me how. Technology!

Norwegians

Four weeks ago we became acquainted with a group of four Norwegian undergraduate students in social work. They were in Malawi studying child trafficking (primarily in sex and labor) as a practicum for their degree.

From left to right: Roommate Cassandre, Trygve, Siri, Roommate Andrea, Annette, Kristen, Serena, me, Baobab

We hosted them at our house for a few nights when they were passing through from one part of Malawi to another. They left yesterday along with another friend--Tina--from England. Today, four more friends from the British version of the secret service are leaving. It is our first brush with the revolving door of personnel that is international development.

Before the Norwegians left, though, they promised a guest post about child trafficking in Malawi. Keep your eyes peeled.

PS Evidently--and to my great dismay--the Vikings did not wear big helmets with horns. Another beautiful myth, like the Easter Bunny and the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, comes crashing down.

The Beginning of the Rainy Season?

Up until Wednesday it was pretty hot around here. Temperatures in the mid to high nineties during the day feel like 100 in the direct sun. But on Wednesday the skies got a little cloudy and the handy dandy farm scene to your right started showing rain. I scoffed because its way too early (I thought) for the rain to begin. Last year it didn't come until December and normal timing is mid-November. But that night we got some legitimate rain for an hour or so and Thursday the skies were cloudy the entire day. Temperatures have been in the 80s for the past few days. Does this mean the rainy season is pending? I hope so - the break in temperature is a relief. It makes for a good night of sleep.

In other new our dog is itching himself to death. I'm 99% sure it isn't due to fleas so we're on a mission to find out what might be causing it. Allergies? Mange? He's losing patches of hair so hopefully we'll figure it out soon! That's a picture of him looking sad and itchy up there.

Awesome Plants 5

While in Dedza we came across these two bushes/trees and their wonderfully scented flowers.

Serena thought we had one of these in our back yard and, sure enough, upon returning home I found a white-flowered beauty. These look familiar but again I know no name. Anyone?

Irrigation

I hear irrigation is important under the hot African sun:

One theory of what is holding back the first steps of Malawi's development (again, with all the caveats associated with pro-development arguments) is its lack of industrial level irrigation. Millions of Malawians--the vast majority of the population--are subsistence farmers without irrigation, relying on one harvest following the rainy season. As a result, there is little room for cash crops or additional yields that would bring in income for school fees, health care, electricity, clean water, environmental protection, improved diet, etc etc etc.

Take the photo above, snapped from the top of our hike in Dedza. If there is water, crops will come. In the photograph, people have harvested what is a very small stream for the growth of thousands of pounds (perhaps millions along the length of the creek) of food. The stark contrast of browns and green is incredible. Of course, there are also the myriad consequences of pumps, dams, piping, water reallocation, etc. Large scale irrigation is not all roses and chocolate.

Bath Time

Many of you already saw the first in this series of shots from Bay's bath time on Facebook. They're all just so ridiculous that the world needs to see a few more.

Bay's bath time is a bi-weekly extravaganza in our house (well, our yard, most of the time). Malawi is very dirty and our dog spends a lot of time messing around in that dirt. But he also sleeps in a basket in our room so we make him hose off pretty regularly. The water runs black every time we do it.

Usually the process involves Zach holding the dog like a baby while I use a watering can to rinse him repeatedly. Bay moves his front paws like he's typing (maybe he thinks he is swimming?) until we finish. Then he tries to get dirty again right away. We've tried to do it in the bathtub a few times but it resulted in a ripped shower curtain and Bay continuously smashing his head into the porcelain as he scrambled to get purchase with his little paws. I guess we'll stick to the back yard. 

Our desire to keep him clean and flea-free resulted in us spreading poison all over the poor guy a few days ago. There's no such thing as Frontline here so he got an African version of it: oil that smelled like petrol and rotten eggs. We had to suffer the stench together for the next few hours. We'll definitely be adding flea treatment to the list of things to purchase in America, not Malawi.

Honda CR-V Brillance

It took moving to Africa for me to buy an SUV, but I was genuinely impressed with the Honda engineers who embedded this removable table into the rear of the vehicle. Impressive and perfect for picnic lunch.

Dedza

Two weeks ago Serena went to Dedza with her co-fellows for a retreat. Last weekend we decided to escape the city and return to Dedza for a bit of hiking and a look around the pottery and other sights. Shortly after arriving we took to the hill, something Bao loves as a chance to roam free.

Perched at a resting spot with our destination in the background.

Before this resting spot we noticed a group of eight--seven girls and one boy--coming down from the mountain after collecting firewood. Everyone had a load... except the boy. Serena explained that the rural Malawi culture dictates it is not appropriate for boys to do such work. Instead, he just merrily walked along as the girls, some looking as young as eight or nine, carried enormous loads on their heads.

Once at the summit, Serena and Bao found precarious perches upon which to enjoy the view.

"I am precariously perched!"

"I am very precariously perched!"

While on the rock a big crow buzzed Bao. We jumped, but he seemed quite unaware of any danger. In the background of the photograph is the summit with some fairly formidable rocks seen more closely in the shots below.

Notice in the picture above the rebar and wood at the top. At one point in time a ladder was in place, but it is long since usable. Instead of summitting I was content with photographing.

The hike was pleasant and afforded beautiful views near and far. On the way up we noticed massive tree planting efforts and, farther along, a small lumber mill.

Lumber mill in the distance with tree growing plots surrounding the grounds.

Why the tree planting efforts? Because, as you can see from the photograph below, the harvesting plans are the simple, dreaded, clear cut.

To their credit, most places in Malawi are cutting trees at an unprecedented rate without the replanting. Acknowledgement where it is due, I suppose.

Awesome Lizards

Instead of our regular scheduled salute to the crazy awesome cool plants of Malawi, I'm showing you this dude. He was hanging out in our back yard the other evening while we washed the dog, throwing us scornful looks. He can scorn us and our dog all he wants as long as he keeps hanging out with us.

If this post were about flowers it would be about how Malawi is the most delicious smelling place I've ever been - unless you're in a grocery store, walking downtown or anywhere near a hospital. Our backyard smells like a honeysuckle gala every night after dusk until about 9pm. Except...it's not honeysuckle. I have no idea what flower it is but it smells like paradise.

Maybe some of you could take a crack at identifying it in the next post?

Petrol Line Livebl... Meh

After the debacle that was getting gas during a shortage, yesterday I simply drove up to the gas station and said "Fill'er up!" For now the shortage is over--some now say it was partially caused by a run on the gas stations, not an actual shortage--and gas it back. After calculating gas mileage, our CR-V gets 27 mph. Considering it was largely around town, it is not too bad.

Who's Your Co-Fellow...?

...He'll tell you himself! We are required to regularly blog for GHC. I haven't written mine yet but you can find my co-fellow's first blog entry here. Jonathan is a regular Malawian who overcame a lot of the things that people growing up in this country must face if they're going to be successful so his perspective is incredibly important.

If you're interested in learning about the experiences of the fellows in other countries and organizations you can find some of their updates here as well.

Dogblogging

Bay says hello from his spot under the desk, squished between Zach's knees and the wall.

The dog gets a lot of attention. He gets a lot of time walking out in the neighborhood with Zach, too. This is the view down our drive way at the beginning of one of those walks.

One of my favorite things in Malawi is when I spot a Malawian staff member walking their expat employer's pet dog. Without fail the Malawian is acting like it is the most boring thing they have ever participated in and paying zero attention to the animal at the end of the leash. That makes sense since dogs here are definitely NOT seen as pets. This pet/Malawian couple are a pair we come across quite often in our neighborhood. This time he was texting on his cell phone while taking one step every ten seconds. The dog, who is quite fat, seemed pretty happy with the pace.

Helloooo Fellows!

 In my last blog I mentioned that I had spent the weekend away from Zach and Bay. What could possibly convince me to leave my happy spot under the tree in the backyard on a Saturday? Only this:

Well, that doesn't actually look like that much fun. But it was! These people are my co-fellows. We're spread out across Malawi so I don't get to see most them very often. With the exception, of course, of Jonathan who is in the striped shirt on the far right. Our desks are next to each other and we spend all day every talking. But the weekend was a great chance to check in with other fellows who are working in Malawi. Half of them are Malawian and the other half are from all regions of the US. They're working in organizations like Partners in Health and Mothers 2 Mothers (which was an organization I worked with in Swaziland).

Good looking people, eh?

Deforestation

On Wednesday Serena and I went to a branch of the US Embassy to watch the second presidential debate. While there I met a woman who spent time in Malawi 25 years ago and has returned for more work. I asked her about the differences that have occurred and this key phrase was the first, "There are more kids and fewer trees."

In the last couple decades deforestation has been rampant in the rural areas. I was told by one Malawian that great stretches of road between Lilongwe and the lake were forested just a few years ago. Now it is a near-constant field. Even in Lilongwe trees are cut down, both illegally and legally, for fuel. On a hill where I run Bao, I often see men in the trees hacking out branches and, ultimately, removing trees.

In this rather unremarkable photo you can see the recently-cut branches, removed by topping the tree, on the ground drying. Likely the entire tree will be taken sooner rather than later. There is a charcoal industry that harvests the country's trees and sells for the end-use of cooking because electricity and gas are too expensive. Unfortunately, demand outstrips the growing capabilities of the ever-diminishing forests. Serena and I hope to travel north where some of the original forests are supposed to still exist.

Water Shortage

A few days ago I outlined how stock outs are prevalent throughout the stores. Additionally, other blog posts have alluded to water and electricity outages. This past week electricity supply has been remarkable--only a few outages totaling a handful of hours--but water has been exceptionally spotty for nearly two weeks. Perhaps the worst was yesterday when we had water for only a couple hours.

This reminded me of the water workers strike that occurred when we first arrived, also known as the PBE (Pre-Blog Era). After devaluation of the Malawian kwacha, many organizations and governmental branches wanted to maintain compensation packages at the same absolute numbers, meaning before devaluation a person was making 40,000 kwacha per month and was able to take a minibus for 100 kwacha, but after devaluation that same person was paid the same 40,000 but the minibus cost 200 kwacha.

Some worker groups demanded more pay, most notably the water system workers. Eventually negotiations broke off and the workers went on strike with the significant consequence that water stopped flowing. We had buckets filled throughout the house in preparation for up to a week of striking. The next day, however, a skeleton crew (perhaps scabs, but unconfirmed) returned to work to resume pumping but without chemical treatment. Because most residents do not treat their water, pockets of cholera broke out throughout the city.

Ultimately, after just a few days, an agreement was reached and the workers returned. Still, not a day passes without a significant break in service. I haven't had a shower in...

Kungoni Lodge

Last weekend I left Zach in Lilongwe and headed two hours east to Kungoni Lodge. This is a town that originated as a Christian mission and now houses an artists guild that produces beautiful carvings. It also has a museum that outlines the history of Christian missionaries in the area and traditional culture of Malawi's tribes (opposing topics eh?). Many of the original structures, including the church, are still standing.

The carving below depicts people suffering from leprosy. The view below that is from the thatched roof open-air dining room. Local people use this water for bathing and washing and children yell at you across the small ravine to please give them your left over plastic bottles (for what? I don't know). The children in this picture are hurrying over to collect ours.

The place was especially beautiful because many of the beautiful trees that filled Malawi 100 years ago were still standing. This is rare; Malawi suffers from extreme deforestation. I can't imagine how gorgeous this place was when outsiders first appeared.

Finally, here's a look at the inside of one part of the museum. The other parts were much cooler but because they include depictions of the spirits (Gule Wamkulu) no photography was allowed. If you want to see it all you'll have to come visit!

More pictures from the weekend to come...

Comment Fame!

I just added a feature that catalogs the latest comments and displays them on the front page. Want to be famous? Leave a comment and bask in the glory of your co-readers' admiration.

Stock Outs

Petrol is not the only item to suffer from shortages. We have heard from various sources that butter, dark chocolate, and white sugar have been gone from the shelves for weeks at a time. Thus, I horde:

A couple weeks ago I finally found brown sugar and promptly made cinnamon rolls in honor of my Grandma. I'll spare you a photograph of our dark chocolate collection.

Mall Fire

Lilongwe is separated into various smallish shopping areas. City Center is the financial district and Old Town houses the western-style mall as well as the open-air flea market. Across the bridge to the east of Old Town leads to a long road of what locals call "China Shops" which are hole-in-the-wall specialty shops run, primarily, by Indians selling cheap stuff from China. Near the end of that strip (approximately half a mile) there is a turn off leading to a long road of wooden stalls with specialty goods. Two blocks of furniture, one block of beds, three blocks of metal goods, two blocks of caskets, and so on. On a search for tin mixing bowls I arrived to find this:

It was a rushed and poorly-taken shot as I was trying to avoid looking like a gawking tourist, but what you see are the first furniture shacks on the left and background and, on the right, an entire block torched by an electrical fire. The grid here is extremely rudimentary and, in many cases, badly jerry-rigged. Sometimes there are consequences beyond our daily blackouts.

The Weather

One common question--Kristen, Pops, others...--is about the weather. What is it like?

When Serena arrived she could see her breath at night which, if you are like me, was quite surprising. At 3,440 feet we are somewhat protected from the stereotypical sub-saharan African heat, meaning as we enter the hot part of the year, rather than 100+ degrees and humid, it is high 80's and low 90's without the moisture.

Rather than four distinct seasons, the year is separated into the wet and dry seasons: wet from December to (I've been told) about March/April; dry the rest of the year. At the height of "winter" the nights are chilly and the days are dry and perfect: in the 70's and 80's. I found it endlessly humorous during this time when I would be wearing shorts and still sweating while Malawians would have on three layers and a stocking cap. I guess it is all relative. As we close in on the rainy season the daytime temperatures are in the 80's and 90's and feels much like summer in La Grande (for those not in the know: my hometown in Eastern Oregon). In the two months I've been here there has been exactly 10 minutes of rain.

During this transition to hotter temperatures we have experienced a significant increase in wind. Everyday it blows fairly constantly at 10-20 miles per hour. I've been told that as the rainy season starts the winds will recede. I have also been told that the rainy season, unlike Corvallis's awful five month rain blanket, is much like what Florida experiences: hard rain at some point during the day for a few hours and then pleasant weather. This is all hearsay, so expect an update in a few months.

Postal Dropboxes

On my visit to the post office to send the "victorycards" I snapped this photo:

"ELSEWHERE"

Something about naming the "Out-of-town" box "ELSEWHERE" that is wonderfully quaint.

Breaking Radio Silence

It's been a long week. In the middle of Tuesday night I woke up with the "oh jeeze, I'm getting sick" feeling. Sure enough, 48 hours of headcold followed. We also had visitors from Zambia (Serena's program's country director), southern Malawi (a program-mate of Serena's), and Norway (four new friends completing a practicum experience). I also baked three loaves of bread, made a quiche and lentil soup, and hosted a dinner for Serena's three new work colleagues. Busy!

Anyhow, welcome back to regularly scheduled blogging.

BTW For my country friends, I saw a dually minivan yesterday. Ridiculous. Thought you should know.

Places We Go

I think some of you guys are probably eager to hear about what we do and where we go on a regular basis. While plant and dog updates are fun they don't say much about what we actually do to fill the hours of every day. So, in an attempt to keep everyone updated on more than just our backyard, I present to you the first Place We Go. Which is the front of our house. It looks a little odd from the front, eh? On the left are the quietest neighbors ever to exist (except when their generator kicks on when the electricity goes out) and the right is our garage. Immediately behind Zach is a small courtyard between the burglar bars and the front door that serves largely as Bao's coop.

I actually have only one other Place I Go: work. But Zach goes lots of places, so stay tuned!

Two Questions

1) In the States, how often do we give our dogs de-worming medication?

2) My Pops and I are discussing this via email, but I'm still curious: As my tomato plants grow they are starting to bloom. Because they are not fully grown, should I pick off these blossoms, thus encouraging plant growth or simply let the plants begin production?

BTW I've heard from various folks that the commenting function has had some bugs. I've changed a few settings in an attempt to make it easier. Give it a go!

Food Guessing Contest Winner(s)!

On Saturday I solicited guesses for the price of a bundle of delicious vegetables, the closest guess winning a postcard. My Mom clocked in at just under a dollar and Lexi went with $3.

Correct answer: $2.50

Lexi is the closest and, interestingly enough, she had a postcard drop yesterday from Serena. So as not to wear out the Eugene postal carriers, we're going with Price Is Right rules (closest without going over) and sending Mom a card. Congratulations to you both!

Dogblogging

This is where the doggie spends most of his inside time (in between pulling things out of the trash and trying to sneak onto the couches). His best friends (me and Zach) spent many days searching for a suitable bed for the boy. Finally we stumbled across some men selling wicker baskets and doll furniture on the side of the road in a wealthy part of town. They had accurately calculated their selling location; who needs wicker doll furniture and dog beds other than the very wealthy? We rewarded their calculation by paying them about $15 for this basket. Maybe the best $15 we've spent here, especially if you ask Baobab.

Awesome Plants 4

This plant was acquired during our Nursery Shopping Spree about a month ago. It's really more like a bush that grows beautiful purple flowers with strange seeds the size of grapes. During the sunny part of the day it appears to be on death's door. Every day I worry that we've finally killed the thing by allowing it to get so much sun but in the evenings it recovers and perks right up again. The purple flowers are amazing to me!

Dogblogging

This evening while I was writing a card for my friend (and reader of the blog, Lexi) I heard shuffling from outside. I turned to see this. This is the position that Bay finds himself in more often than he'd probably like. This is also how Zach holds him while I scrub him down for his weekly bath. He's become somewhat resigned; you can tell by his limp outstretched arms.

Food Guessing Contest

A quick post today with a question. The closest guess wins a postcard!

We popped into the open-air market this morning and bought the following (left to right in photo):

• Three bunches of spinach
• A head of lettuce
• Four carrots
• Five green peppers (fairly small)
• Three egg plant
• Three bunches of green onions
• One avocado
• A pile of green beans

How much did it cost? Leave your guess in comments!

Meet Paul

One of the grim realities of Malawi is the economic crisis it currently faces. Were this hundreds of years ago (actually, 50 years ago and it would still probably apply) and every citizen still a subsistence farmer, then a tough economic picture would be no big deal. Folks would grow their corn and raise their chickens and life would go on. Malawi, however, has started its integration into the global economic system and when things go south, they hit hard. This introduction is not, however, the beginning of a post on economics, rather it is a means for explaining Paul.

Paul digging the post holes for the fence.

As a result of a sour economic situation, a day of unskilled labor clocks in at less than a dollar a day in the rural areas and a bit more than a dollar in the city. With such cheap labor all wealthy Malawians and foreigners have gardeners, guards, and houseboys. Because we live in a compound, the guards and gardeners are provided by the owners, but we have hired Paul whose primary jobs are to clean the house and do the laundry.

He is a charming man who comes twice or thrice a week, smiles a lot, enjoys eating my random baked goods (he took two cinnamon rolls home to his family this Monday), and helped me build the back yard fence and garden. He also calls me "Boss", I think, because he doesn't know my name.

This One's For the Gogos

This blog mostly revolves around the more interesting parts of our mundane lives. I largely refrain from posting anything *too* depressing, although that picture tour of Malawi was no bucket of laughs. However, today I felt really crushed and sad and I would like the rest of you to feel crushed with me for a moment.

I spent the morning at Baylor' Clinical Centre of Excellence in Lilongwe. That's a pretty snooty name but they largely live up to it, I'd say. They provide the most comprehensive (and friendly and kind) care for HIV positive children in Malawi. If you're looking to give away some money, please click the link.

Today was a Friday so there were very few patients. For that reason a granny sitting by herself struck me as odd. I asked why she was sitting there alone. She had been caring for her HIV positive 12 year old grandson until last week, when he finally died of diarrhea. No child should die of diarrhea and no child should be born HIV positive, but that's a whole other blog post.

She was a very devoted gogo while he was alive and she's devoted even now I suppose, since she brought his unused medication back to the clinic and is sitting a sort of lonely vigil in the lobby of a place that was very important to the two of them. Clearly she has lost her child as well, since she's caring for the boy in the first place. It was something about the combination of her immaculate white shirt (which I promise is the result of intense hand washing) and her dusty black cloth shoes that made me think about how hard life is for so many people. I immediately went back into the meeting and messaged my own grandma, which is the natural thing to do.

So - cheers to that gogo (which means grandma in many African languages, if that wasn't clear) and to two fabulous gogos who read this blog (Hi Gwen and Marie!) and all the other badass gogos out there who work their butts off to keep their families moving forward.

Dogblogging

Featuring wrinkles.

Awesome Plants 3

Well, guys. After the horror excitement of yesterday I think we can all do with some calming Awesome Plants. This little thing looks like it's from Star Wars. It's about a foot and a half tall. It's awesome.

And, since I don't have any other commentary for the awesome plant, here's a bonus picture of my OTHER clay frogs. Yes, I have three. These two are having a chat on a couch.

What do you think they're chatting about? And now I'm back to my meeting.*

*Those of you in regular communication with me know that blogs and e-mails and most facebook updates are only made during meetings. Not sure what that says about me or the meetings here, but it's not a good sign.

Petrol Line Liveblogging 4!

And it's over folks. Six hours, a full take of gas (52 liters), lots of cussing, poop in the back of the car, and $95 dollars later, and Petrol Line Liveblogging is finished. Ironically enough, posting was not  more frequent because the internet went out. Ahhh, Malawi.

On the glass half full front, it is actually a good thing the internet went out when it did. I was witnessing the most imense line-cutting fiasco since Central Elementary was serving the biggest cinnamon rolls and chili in town. My fingers were itching to report and my mind was composing the most damning tirade against the Malawian sense of justice (or lack thereof) and their undermining of all sense of community and trust. It was chalk full of many things not fit to print and would have put to shame AI's "Ya'll talkin' about practice", Gundy's "I'm a man!", and Kramer's racist rant. It was laced with bombast and fury, confusion and utter incredulity and... was not composed nor published for want of an internet connection.

Petrol Line Liveblogging 3!

I understand you all are thrilled to have "Petrol Line Liveblogging" and, thus, are not questioning the reason for the line. Instead you are probably applauding: It's providing reading entertainment! However, as promised, an explanation to the best of my ability, as to why this line exists. Brought to you in bullet form:

• The former president, as noted here, pegged the Malawian kwacha to the American dollar. Because it was not valued correctly, no one wanted the kwacha and international trade ground to a halt. The kwacha is still overvalued and the effects linger.
• Oil is bought and sold on the international market with American dollars. Without access to American dollars, Malawi cannot purchase oil.
• The government sets the price of oil. Because there is always a shortage (demand outstrips supply), it is clear that that price is set too low. Therefore, the price mechanism as a regulator of consumption does not exist.
• What is that price? $10/gallon. Soon to be $13.
• Why not introduce competition and let prices float? The only answer I get is that the owners of the petrol companies (many of whom are politicians) all know each other and would fix prices, thus creating a trust. With many of those owners being politicians, there would be no political will to break up the trust.

I can feel the agitation and anxiety building within me as this petrol experience continues. All components are a nightmare and a fix is not on the horizon.

Petrol Line Liveblogging 2!

Wow, this is terrible.

View from behind. The line goes as far as I can see.

Three hours in and the gas truck has arrived. They are currently filling the underground tanks and folks are returning to their cars, preparing for the filling to begin. Two things of note:

1. Malawians, for how kindly they are, are completely unable or unwilling or do not grasp the concept or justification for a line. Since I arrived this morning, people have cut in line, added a second and now a third line. Folks are attempting to cut in and skip the wait. I cannot express the injustices I have felt in this country as people refuse to acknowledge the fairness of a queue. Thank god for Britain. I need go there just to line up.

2. Apparently you can make friends with or pay off the gas station owners in order to skip the line and simply park your car inside the gas station. I asked the driver behind me and he said "they must know the owners." Jeebus.

In the United States the difference between the rich and poor is not thrust in your face... the rich hide behind gated communities. Zing! Here, they skip to the front of the gas line.

Petrol Line Liveblogging!

My mentors in blogging, which do not exist, told me liveblogging is only productive and successful when your audience is, well, awake. As I type, in the mainland United States, it is 11:43pm-2:43am. Night Owl Liveblogging!

As mentioned before, Serena and I purchased a vehicle. Days later, petrol prices rose 20%. Whoops. One week after that a petrol shortage kicked in, leaving me with an empty tank and in line to purchase new:

View from my car

To quote my Dad in his latest email: "Good luck in the gas line.  It's like going to the dentist.  You have to pay a lot for something you don't want to do!"

Too true. Especially because I brought Bao with me for security reasons* and he pooped in the car on the way there (only half a mile) after having pooped in the house fifteen minutes earlier. At times he is, to say the least, frustrating.

Next Liveblog: Why are their petrol shortages?

*Malawians are exceptionally scared of dogs and because everything is paid in cash, it's well-known that people in petrol lines are cash-laden.

Bone Burying Is Real!

Baobob loves to chew and because the local supermarkets cut up their bones we have purchased  rawhide bones instead. He loves them. We love that he expends his energies on the rawhide rather than my socks. Win-win. Then, like he is trying to be the most stereotypical dog ever, he started burying pieces of his bone in the garden. You can see the tip of the bone still above ground right at the point of his nose.

 Until now, I thought this behavior (as portrayed in this, one of my Dad's favorite commercials*) was an urban legend. Serena guesses he started doing it after our friend Tina came over and pet him while he was chewing, something he misinterpreted as her trying to take his bone.

*I am actually just guessing this is the ad I remember, but considering how intermittent the internet can be here, I could not actually watch the video to confirm.

The Kwacha and Devaluation

Two weeks ago I wrote this basic overview of the kwacha, Malawi's currency. Understanding today's Malawi and its challenges--especially economically--means knowing recent problems with the kwacha.

Currently, one US dollar is worth about 300 kwacha. Just six months ago it was 150 kwacha to the dollar. The previous president--who died of sudden cardiac arrest in April--had artificially pegged the kwacha to the dollar, disallowing banks to trade at less than 150 to 1. It was generally known that this price was massively inflated, confirmed by the fact that on the black market (guys on the street corner), it was possible to trade 250 kwacha for one dollar. As a result, no country or company wanted the kwacha, foreign currency all but disappeared, and Malawi was unable to buy anything on the international market except what was brought in through international aid. In fact, just last week I met a young woman who was attending university in the United States but could not continue this year because her family, even though they are quite wealthy, simply could not get enough US dollars to pay school fees.

After the former president's death, Malawi's first female president, Joyce Banda, was elevated to the post. One of her first actions was to devalue the currency, nearly halving its market price, and to allow its value to float on international markets. This devaluation had dramatic affects on society, especially on the purchasing power of already-poor Malawians. On the other hand, it has helped the country reintegrate with the international market (clearly, whether that is or is not a good idea is up for debate).

Chatter on the street is a second devaluation is on the horizon, further impacting Malawian's ability to purchase products from abroad. How this will affect political and social stability is anyone's guess as people are still licking their wounds from the last devaluation. It could get ugly.

Interestingly, a Peace Corps volunteer I met yesterday mentioned that, as expected, the subsistence farmers in the countryside seem less affected by the devaluation. They rarely purchase imported products. Here in the city, however, folks are struggling to buy food, pay rent, and buy merchandise they have grown accustomed to affording.