Day One

We are in Dedza, at the foot of a fairly high mountain, an hour South of Lilongwe. The flight over the Atlantic was long but bearable. The climate here is cool and damp, luckily not hot and humid (as it was at the airport). I’m still getting used to the altitude, currently about 5,500ft , with occasionally dizzy spells and shortness of breath. My first observations of Malawi were similarities it is to India: the food, clothes, family politics, understanding of time, and traditions. An entire ocean and millennia of history separate two continents, yet we are fundamentally similar, a small world, large only in our perceptions. I haven’t stopped laughing since I landed and hope it continues in the coming months of training. The other trainees are great, such a diversity of backgrounds and personalities, so far from the people I had departed only days earlier. All of them are independent and adventurous spirits, resourceful and smart, with a great sense of humor. We are all about the same age, a few people older, but we all get along well so far.
The real magnitude of this journey, this massive leap of faith, didn’t strike me until we were half way across the Atlantic. When we landed, the idea, the feeling that this was home now was strange, alien. However, the flight over Malawi was a breath taking distraction, miles of rolling green hills stretching in every direction, some mountains scattered the landscape, mesmerizing. We landed in Lilongwe Airport to a big drunken welcome by all the current PCVs. The welcome was quite overwhelming, especially after travelling for over 30 hours, but it was fun. There were screams from the balcony, draped with the Peace Corps flag, and we were greetedwith hugs from the training staff before we entered the arrivals area. More screams awaited, along with high-fives and porcupine needles, as we gathered our luggage and passed through customs.
We all gathered outside in a big circle and introduced ourselves. Within five minutes of standing on Malawian soil Karonga hands me a Nalgene bottle filled with Malawian beer, which wasn’t bad. We were given fruits and a big, warm welcome from Vic the director. The whole event was a wonderful gesture and put us all at ease. After photos we all got in the bus and headed out to Dedza. It was a long ride to the Malawi College of Forestry, the closer we got the colder it was, passing miles of green, with occasional villages appearing in the fog. The dark tall pine trees were a beautiful contrast against the damp mist. The four PCVs that would join us for training were describing the area, but I was too tired to listen.
All the Malawians I have met so far have been wonderful, very friendly and warm people. Our trainers are all amazing, so are the PCVs that are joining us for the first few weeks. The food is delicious, especially mandazis (fired dough), although I’m still getting used to the blandness of nsima. There is quite a variety of curry-style dishes (dende) that go with nsima, which reminds me of home. Like the soya pieces dende. On the drive from Lilongwe I noticed a few Indian people, along with an Indian restaurant, two shops, a temple, and a country club (strange). It doesn’t mean much, nor does it change anything, but it is a comforting sight. A little piece of home so far away. On a side note, the word for enough in Chichewa is “bas,” a word we use often when getting food in the cafeteria. We have about five meals a day: breakfast, tea, lunch, snack, and dinner. The honey here is delicious, especially over some bread, it actually tastes like honey, untainted, unprocessed. The avocadoes are massive, roughly the size of two grapefruits, and very flavorful.