Weekend Warriors

Blake and I finally got some down time over the weekend. On Saturday we drove out to Salima, a village on Lake Malawi. It was a good chance to check out the countryside and see how the majority of the population of this beautiful live (thru the car window at 100km/hr mind you; the roads are pretty good here).

It’s a very different lifestyle as soon as you leave the city’s perimeter. Small houses with thatched roofs sprinkle the country side with large cultivated plots surrounding them. Locals walk up and down the side of the road – some herding livestock, some balancing massive loads of water or firewood on their heads. As we got close to Salima bike taxis became popular; people were sitting on padded bike racks on the back of their “cab”, one was even reading the paper as the driver peddled away.

The lake itself is beautiful but unfortunately we can't swim in it as we lack immunity to a parasite in the water... it was a hot day so that was a bit torturous. Fisherman would return to shore with their catches of “Chombo” the local fish. On the way back our driver and his friend tied their fish to the side mirrors of the car... a pretty common site here... better than bringing them in the car.

On Sunday we played Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of local expats, it was interesting to hear why other folks are here. Mostly doctors and teachers… some here temporarily, some have no intention of leaving.

After the game we went to see the “Black Missionaries”, a Malawian reggae group that were putting on a concert at the golf club. They’re apparently one of the best groups in the world, and even if I couldn’t understand the language, the beat was awesome all the same. By the end of our stay we’d attracted a small cohort of children who all wanted to dance with us Mzungus (white people).

We just stared work week 2. We'll be at another employee based credit union, also in the tobacco industry, but this time attached to an auction house. It's much bigger, 7 staff, and they're in the process of "computerizing". Will be interesting to compare the 2…