It seems perfectly fitting that on my second to last morning in Malawi, regardless that this is a Sunday, I should wake at the ever famous 4:30 am hour. The morning has changed a bit since the far off days of heavy rains and muddy roads - I find myself now clutching a hot cup of coffee to warm my fingers and fight off the chill of this African winter morning. I am somehow comforted by the incessant honking of the minibuses (even at this hour!) that I am hearing now for one of the last times. The nostalgia is hitting now, my last night sleeping in under the protection of my bright blue mosquito net, the last time I'll shop in Blantyre market, the last time I have to say no when a vendor tries to convince me that, "looking is free madam. Just look. Nice things, cheap prices. Looking is free." Here I am, pressed up against the window to keep my internet signal, already missing my African mornings. I have one (maybe two) runs remaining to feel like a celebrity ("azungu! azungu!" I run with you!"), one night to cook a big dinner with my friends, and one last day to drive past the curio market and hear, "Daniel, Daniel!" from every vendor. I suppose I'll have some serious adjustments to make as I re-acclimate to American culture- I'll have to start thinking in dollars and not kwacha, and I'll probably have my work cut out for me to catch up with the current fashion styles. Somehow, I don't think chitenjes came into fashion in the US while I was gone...
I wrote an entry a few days ago and intended to post it, but never managed to load it. It had a political flair to it, though I am certainly no one to make any insightful political comments. However, I must share the funny part of that post. As I have probably mentioned in previous posts, Kathleen is also wrapping up her days here in Malawi. She has been working hard to get all 1,350 interviews translated from Chichewa to English so that she can do some serious data analysis when she gets back home. She has had three people helping her with the translations, and she has been furiously typing their handwritten transcripts into word documents. In doing so, she has come across some really funny responses from her interviewees:
Q: Do you support any political party and if so why?
A: "No. I support nsima and G-d." (recall that nsima is the staple food here, made of corn flour and water only).
Absolutely perfect answer.
Dr. Manary and his son arrived yesterday, and another medical student, Meg came a few days before. The house is filling up, and I'm sure it will be nice when I get all my stuff packed up and out of the house. I know saying goodbye will be really difficult, but I know it will only be temporary before I come back to this neck of the woods. I will probably write one final entry, maybe my last in Malawi or maybe from home...I'm going to miss the blog!
-dkm
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Home Stretch
Last night, while enjoying an awesome thai-inspired coconut curried chicken dinner prepared by Kathleen, Zach, Rachel, Kathleen and I had a pretty good bout of the giggles as we reminisced about our childhood days in the school cafeteria. We started by debating which candy is best (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups had the majority, but I fought hard for Swedish Fish and the whole Twizzler family). This quickly moved into the best snacks in your lunch box - Chips Ahoy being far below Mallomar's and the ultimate treat being Hostess Cupcakes (the ones with white frosting swirly decoration on the top). Kathleen complained that her lunchbox was never decorated with such great things - "The best I got was carrot sticks, my only hope was to trade..." To which Zach replied, "How did you pull that trade off? Trade with the blind kid?!" Perhaps it should not have been funny, but it did send us into roaring laughter for a minute or two, more for the thought of the poor kid who got convinced to trade a Hostess cupcake for a carrot stick.
All the talk of home - cookies and candies, sandwiches and huge cups of coffee to go - made me realize that I am ready to be back and get into the grind of American life, but that I also really had a huge experience abroad. I do miss some of those things, but really, being abroad has been everything I wanted it to be. I can appreciate the luxuries of home in a whole new way, but I will also miss my life in Malawi. I will miss the fresh produce, the incessant greetings, the formal hand-written letters, having children around every day bringing smiles when you're stressed, the beautiful landscapes, the chance to make a tangible difference in a person's life. Maybe this post is too cliche, but the truth is - I have done something that I know has changed my life. I have seen people come and go, and I've met many people who are very committed to working in global development. But I have also learned that working in this exact environment is not for everyone. I know that this is a world were I could work and be happy, and that is quite a realization.
So as I pack up my bags, wrap up wood carvings, pull down pictures, and take my last drives through town, I am only half sad. I know I'll be back - something I didn't know at the end of my time here in the summer of 2006. I remember leaving then and having tears well up as I wondered if I'd ever see my friends and colleagues again. I don't need to get upset like that again, I know for sure I'll be back.
I probably have one or two more blogs to wrap this year up, hard to believe. Thanks to everyone for reading, I know I've had fun looking back through old posts. I'm glad that I kept this going, and I hope that it gave you a sense of what my year has been like. I never knew this thing was searchable by google (naive I suppose - had I known, maybe I would have paid more attention to my grammar!), but I hope even you random people have enjoyed learning about PPB and St. Louis Nutrition Project.
Until my last post,
-dkm
All the talk of home - cookies and candies, sandwiches and huge cups of coffee to go - made me realize that I am ready to be back and get into the grind of American life, but that I also really had a huge experience abroad. I do miss some of those things, but really, being abroad has been everything I wanted it to be. I can appreciate the luxuries of home in a whole new way, but I will also miss my life in Malawi. I will miss the fresh produce, the incessant greetings, the formal hand-written letters, having children around every day bringing smiles when you're stressed, the beautiful landscapes, the chance to make a tangible difference in a person's life. Maybe this post is too cliche, but the truth is - I have done something that I know has changed my life. I have seen people come and go, and I've met many people who are very committed to working in global development. But I have also learned that working in this exact environment is not for everyone. I know that this is a world were I could work and be happy, and that is quite a realization.
So as I pack up my bags, wrap up wood carvings, pull down pictures, and take my last drives through town, I am only half sad. I know I'll be back - something I didn't know at the end of my time here in the summer of 2006. I remember leaving then and having tears well up as I wondered if I'd ever see my friends and colleagues again. I don't need to get upset like that again, I know for sure I'll be back.
I probably have one or two more blogs to wrap this year up, hard to believe. Thanks to everyone for reading, I know I've had fun looking back through old posts. I'm glad that I kept this going, and I hope that it gave you a sense of what my year has been like. I never knew this thing was searchable by google (naive I suppose - had I known, maybe I would have paid more attention to my grammar!), but I hope even you random people have enjoyed learning about PPB and St. Louis Nutrition Project.
Until my last post,
-dkm
Friday, June 6, 2008
Buying a beast and then some thoughts
With the current price of gasoline at home, I will probably never again have the satisfaction of buying a beast. The days of enormous, 9 seater, four wheel drive vehicles with tires that reach my hips are over. But first thing Wednesday, I woke up and wrote a check for a million-ish Malawian Kwacha and bought just this. I took the Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD Turbo home complete with automatic locks, power windows, seat heaters, and a CD player - on top of being a diesel engine and automatic transmission. Quite a posh vehicle... probably makes the other 7 cars in the fleet feel incredibly antiquated.
On Thursday, Franklin, Zach and I headed out to a district to the west of Blantyre called Neno, the site of Partner's in Health's new healthcare facility. Franklin was once a student of Paul Farmer, the famous founder of PIH and known for this work in Haiti (and the book Pathologies of Power). We met up with Liz, who was out in Neno visiting her boyfriend, and then had a tour of the new hospital, the lab, the outpatient facility, and the housing from the country director, Keith Joseph. Keith is a native of Harlem and a real down to earth guy. It was interesting to see the construction progress, but even more interesting was hearing Keith's comments about working in Malawi compared to his previous work in Lesotho, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Our visit was very brief, but enough to get a picture of what PIH is all about, at least here in Malawi. Meanwhile, Mike (MBA student from Duke) came back down to Blantyre for some business meetings. I was able to fit in a good run with him in the late afternoon, and then had a chance to chat about some non-work stuff over dinner, which was nice. One of the best parts of working in development is meeting people from such diverse backgrounds who are all so committed to improving the world. It's pretty neat, and I will really miss meeting these people. I think I'll be a bit spoiled when I get home... dumb guys in bars better save the small talk, lol.
Now, as the days before my return narrow, my main focus has become preparations for my departure and making sure that everyone else here feels as oriented to Blantyre as possible. I took all my extra clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous goods to the curio market to try to trade for novelty items. I found some fun gifts and am excited to bring it all back :) I am really looking forward to a brief break before starting medical school, and can hardly believe how fast time has passed. I am still waiting for WashU, but in the meantime, I am getting excited for Stony Brook. My next move is to find housing and a roommate in the area...that is, after I get back from here...
I can't wait to see everyone at home.
-dkm
On Thursday, Franklin, Zach and I headed out to a district to the west of Blantyre called Neno, the site of Partner's in Health's new healthcare facility. Franklin was once a student of Paul Farmer, the famous founder of PIH and known for this work in Haiti (and the book Pathologies of Power). We met up with Liz, who was out in Neno visiting her boyfriend, and then had a tour of the new hospital, the lab, the outpatient facility, and the housing from the country director, Keith Joseph. Keith is a native of Harlem and a real down to earth guy. It was interesting to see the construction progress, but even more interesting was hearing Keith's comments about working in Malawi compared to his previous work in Lesotho, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Our visit was very brief, but enough to get a picture of what PIH is all about, at least here in Malawi. Meanwhile, Mike (MBA student from Duke) came back down to Blantyre for some business meetings. I was able to fit in a good run with him in the late afternoon, and then had a chance to chat about some non-work stuff over dinner, which was nice. One of the best parts of working in development is meeting people from such diverse backgrounds who are all so committed to improving the world. It's pretty neat, and I will really miss meeting these people. I think I'll be a bit spoiled when I get home... dumb guys in bars better save the small talk, lol.
Now, as the days before my return narrow, my main focus has become preparations for my departure and making sure that everyone else here feels as oriented to Blantyre as possible. I took all my extra clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous goods to the curio market to try to trade for novelty items. I found some fun gifts and am excited to bring it all back :) I am really looking forward to a brief break before starting medical school, and can hardly believe how fast time has passed. I am still waiting for WashU, but in the meantime, I am getting excited for Stony Brook. My next move is to find housing and a roommate in the area...that is, after I get back from here...
I can't wait to see everyone at home.
-dkm
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