Arrival to SA

Hello my friends! What is your name? What is your number? Come come, let me show you some good (shirts, shoes, potatos, cellphones, wrenches, vegetables, ...)! You are my friends and I will not charge muzungu prices!

We've finished our two days of in-country training in Lilongwe, Malawi. What a place! What amazing people! I'm sure that being in the city definitely brings a different experience than more rural areas. I've seen maybe 10 azungas (white people... singular muzungu) that I didn't know - there are 13 JFs and ~6 OVS chilling out here. And Melissa!. After a couple sessions on safety and culture, we split into groups of 2 or 3 and went on a scavenger hunt! Another JF and I took a dive into the culture and wandered down to seek some Kwacha (malawian currency), The Nation (newspaper), cell phone and sim card, traditional healer medicine man/medicine, information on testing and treatment for malaria, a random list of items like chibuku... we did not complete nearly all of them, but we sure learned a heck of a lot very quickly. My goodness, Chibuku is my new friend!

One OVS, Rob, set the bar pretty fricken high by building a stovetop oven and baking buns (garlic and lentil, and honey) and banana bread. We were also supplied with some delicious Mzuzu coffee and coffee making implements. It is terrific coffee and an excellent initiative from what I've heard.

On the subject of mosquitos - I am here for winter (dry and cold season), and there are very few mosquitos. Even near Lilongwe River (our nearby market), there are not many. I am taking mefloquine as a prophylaxis, and I'm fairly certain I won't become psychotic. It sounds like the Western Africa team in Ghana and Burkina Faso have a much rougher time. I've grown somewhat accustomed to the bednet procedure - tapping the headboard, shaking out the net, tucking it in, climbing inside, sealing it... and our guest house has blue nets!

Our second day consisted of more sessions - the history of EWB overseas programs in Southern Africa, the role of JFs and the big picture of where we are, and sector-specific stuff. Our IDE team got a chance to chill with Thulasy, the team lead. We also had a very insightful session from a Malawian doctor who now volunteers his time for HIV/AIDS work. He seemed very optimistic about the epidemic, at least in Malawi.

At the end of the day we had a big indian-styled dinner and pulled some shenanigans. A very good introduction to Lilongwe and Malawi!