culture shock

After a few weeks back in the UK I am still waiting for the culture shock of returning. Some things felt a bit strange and I am certainly enjoying chocolate, wine, cheese and the lack of creepy crawlies. Our first week went very smoothly and it felt like we hadn't been away, Malawi felt like a dream, a nice dream but slightly unreal. We have just completed a week with our eldest being sick most days, which has reminded me that I worried about them just as much here as in Africa.

bit cold

After a long silence I can now admit that we are back in the UK. It was a bit of a last minute decision, we changed plans and we had hoped to surprise some friends. The latter plan was scuppered due to my mother! It is great to be cold, we have been enjoying not being hot and catching up with family and friends.

We had planned to come back just for 2 weeks but various things persuaded us to change our flights and come back for almost a month. The journey was long, we expected a 7 hour wait at Nairobi airport which was extended to 13 because the runway lights stopped working. Most flights were cancelled so we were very relieved to hear that the flight was going. Our youngest was still awake when we boarded at 5am and only slept on the plane when she was lying upside down on me! Our eldest slept all night in the pushchair and then on the plane. -6.5 degrees was a bit cold after 35 degrees but the kids enjoyed the snow.

black tie in the tropics

We celebrated St Andrews day here in Blantyre with a ceilidh held by the Caledonian Society. Unfortunately the doc left his kilt in England, although the sporran seems to be here in Malawi! We had a great dinner, which included haggis lots of wine and a bottle of whiskey per table! The ceilidh itself was great fun although I think some were a little surprised by the doc’s fast dancing! He managed not to injure anyone and I don’t think he stepped on my toes. Going out in formal dress felt strange, we spend most of the time here dressed very casually, wearing as little as convention allows. Our housekeeper, Dorcas babysat for us and was excited to see us dressed up, I did feel like the ugly sisters, leaving Cinderella - our tickets cost almost as much as her monthly salary. In our defence the money raised from the evening will go to the paediatric wards of the hospital. There were almost 200 people there many of whom we knew and it really shows the range of jobs which bring people to Blantyre – local NGOs, sugar, tobacco, tea, haulage and medics as well as charities. There was quite a bit of discussion about the political situation here, the lack of diesel is not making a big impact yet but the shortage has been going on for a month now and it is symptomatic of bigger issues.

more paradise

We have just had an amazing weekend away with friends. We stayed at a beautiful lodge called Fisherman’s Rest about 30 minutes drive from Blantyre. There were 14 children and a similar number of adults staying in two lodges and some tents on stilts. The views were stunning and the weekend was so relaxing; the children played or swam and we spent quality time with lots of friends. It was lovely to escape from the city despite the lack of diesel and spend time chilling out. The last few weeks there has been talk from some ex-pats about moving on as life here becomes more difficult but it was good to get things in perspective and appreciate the beautiful country where we live.

me

For those of you who complain about the lack of pics of me (maybe it was just my mum who said that)!

The Rains

The Rains are here. They began last week and it’s very exciting. It gets really hot and then suddenly there’s a rumble and then a few spots and then it rains. It’s hard to describe but it rains really, really hard and just when you think it can’t get heavier it does! The downpour doesn’t usually last long and is often in the afternoon and once it’s finished we go and jump in the puddles, although they dry up very quickly. The garden is looking even greener and we might have some grass soon. I thought that I was doing quite well as far as bugs were concerned but I didn’t realise that there is a whole extra set of creepy crawlies that appear in the rains. The bongologos (meaning lots of legs) are enormous centipedes, I saw one about 20 cm long and really fat but I am told they get bigger. The flying ants are not so cool, they swarm just as we are putting kids to bed and then by the time the kids are asleep the ants are termites (or is the other way around) and their wings are everywhere! There are obviously more mosquitoes; we had one in our bed net a few nights ago and in desperation (we were sleeping badly anyway) got up at 1am, sprayed the net and watched an episode of “Sex and the City” and returned to bed 20 minutes later! The crawling ants have been driving us mad, one crumb and within minutes there are 100s of ants. We can’t leave dirty plates on the side in the kitchen because it would be covered in ants. And cockroaches, I don’t think that I have seen them before, but they are really nasty. Apparently you shouldn’t squash them with your foot as that releases all the eggs onto your shoe! One more top tip for this time of year, don’t wear white t-shirts in case you get caught in the rain!!

coming and going

We are about to say goodbye to a family that we have got to know really well in a short space of time. They have four children of similar ages to ours so a playdate with them is always good value! They have come to the end of their two years here and head back to the UK next week. The photo shows their eldest with us at a fancy dress party last week. It’s the nature of the community here that people come and go but because it’s such a small community maybe we feel it more.

filling time

I am still working out how to fill the days. I have not been feeling very well this week which makes things worse as I feel lethargic so don’t really want to do very much. The doc’s diagnosis is a reaction to a yellow fever immunisation I had last week; getting the injection was typical Malawi: we waited 40 minutes because the driver had taken the bigger car to the airport then the eight of us arrived at the private hospital to discover we needed a prescription and that the cheque was not for exactly the right amount, this took some time to sort. The vaccine was duly mixed and then we waited for a long time for someone to give us the injection. In fact we waited so long that we gave up brought the vaccine back to our place and persuaded the doc to give it to us!

 

Anyway the days are filled with the children and seeing other people with children. Errands can be turned into events and it is easy to call in on other people. It is interesting because quite a few friends think that I need something to do but I am still trying to work out whether I really do. I am meeting an American lady this week who is looking for someone to take over teaching English to women but it is in the afternoons which is more difficult for childcare.

red cake

The food colouring is quite scary but the results were satisfactory!

hot party

Birthday parties here are not too much different from the UK. It was a busy week, we had been warned that there might be no electricity so we did a lot of the cooking beforehand and decided not to order a (very cheap) bouncy castle. The day started early with a very excited toddler who enjoyed the presents that we brought with us from the UK and the birthday cards that my sister brought out in Sept. The power stayed on so at the last minute we got a bouncy castle. Everyone (including our staff) loved it! It was an extremely hot day so the paddling pool (borrowed from a friend) was also popular and there were quite a few naked children.

waking

A good nights sleep becomes relative with two small children, but last night I slept until 4am at which point my body thought that I had had enough sleep! It’s strange the things that can wake us here. The children go through phases of good sleep and bad sleep, we have had 4 weeks of not so good sleep probably due to sick bugs, colds and teeth but once a week we all sleep worse after taking anti-malarial tablets. Then there are all sorts of other noises that wake us in the night: the neighbours dogs (in our garden); the call to prayer from the mosque (4.15am); the local nightclub (sometimes until 6am); the neighbour’s cockerel; the dawn chorus; rain hitting the metal roof (louder than you think); the water coming back on. And it’s beginning to hot up again which also hinders sleep.

flurry of activity

There is a flurry of activity on my blog as I have at last got some child free time. It has been a long few weeks of d&v bugs and colds. The youngest is still suffering so we are all lacking on the sleep front. However she has got the hang of walking and does short distances un aided, which causes lots of excitement from her big sister!

Poppy

This is Poppy the Puppy. I was hoping to have some cute photos of her with the children but they are still not entirely compatible! She is a gorgeous puppy and I am not a dog person but I may be converted! The children are getting used to her and love to know where she is and going to see her but she is quite jumpy and they are still slightly nervous.

bathroom

I thought that it was about time that you (my lovely readers) saw some pics of the fabulous interior design of our house. There are five bathrooms and these two photos show two and yes the rest are just as lovely!

cuts

I can sometimes forget that we live in a developing country, but yesterday we were reminded that there are so many things we take for granted. Yesterday there was no diesel in Blantyre, we had an almost empty tank because last week we had cash flow problems so I hadn’t filled up, then the water was off for a few hours. Temporary cuts are OK but the worry is that the water can go off for days at a time and you just never know which it will be. The lack of diesel is apparently due to the difficulty with changing money and buying goods from outside the country. I did find some fuel yesterday, I got half a tank after a long wait in a very noisy petrol station and I got another half tank at a station that had just had a delivery. I had not appreciated that most of the mini bus drivers buy fuel a gallon at a time in jerry cans because each driver puts his own fuel in the vehicle. The stations were busy with these drivers trying to fill their cans, there were less people trying to fill their cars. Anyway the water is back on and our bath filled up in case there are more cuts.

the cook and electrician

Bit of a nightmare morning. All because we have a cash flow problem, the doc gets paid at the end of the month but we have to move the money through three bank accounts and then get cash from the bank which all takes time! Anyway the electrician returned this morning to fit a new plug to the iron and a new socket to the wall (the last ones melted) and I discovered that I didn’t have enough cash to pay him. Our housekeeper wasn’t around as she had misunderstood yesterday’s errand and was doing it this morning, so I had to take the children to the bank, the easiest way to do this was to take our cook too so that he could stay with the kids in the car. We zoomed into town and found a space right outside the bank – result! Except that the machine was out of order and so were the other four that I tried. Rather hot by this point I did offer to pay the electrician next week but he (understandably) wanted paying today so we had to head out to another bank. This one was working and handed over the cash. I am not sure why there was a shortage of cash, we can only withdraw equivalent of £80 at a time as that is a huge wadge of 40 notes and the machines can’t count more than that.

a man with a sofa on his head

Our eldest and I spent last Saturday morning sat outside a petrol station waiting for a man with a sofa on his head. The sofa is our new wicker 2-seater which lives on our khondi. We had planed to meet him at 11am and after quite a lot of waiting and spotting people with things on their head but no sofa we gave him a call and set off to meet him. The confusion may have arisen as there are two Chieka roads but we didn’t find him. He eventually arrived at the petrol station and we can now enjoy sitting on the khondi.

 

We are enjoying cooler weather, the temperature has dropped from mid 30s to low 20s which is very pleasant. We keep getting a bit of rain but this isn’t The Rains yet!  

long week

It’s Friday as I start writing this although I’m not sure when I will get it finished. It has been a long week. Monday morning began with visits from the plumber, electrician and tailor all before 9 am. Then I was ill Mon night and Tues; fortunately there was lots of help around the house and the doc managed the household and children splendidly as I was flat out. There has been a bug going around for the past few weeks and I have been expecting it but I had forgotten how rotten they make you feel. The other mums here seem to all be so capable and carry on as usual when ill but I felt very un-capable. By Wed evening I managed to drag myself out for my birthday dinner, there were lots of people and we had a lovely evening; I realised just how many lovely people we have met in such a short space of time. Thursday our youngest came down with the bug and I as I continue writing this on Saturday she is still not herself. She has the delightful habit of continuing to be sick for days after a sick bug, although she is eating and drinking. By Friday I was very tired and the doc was busy with an assessment at work which involved evenings as well as meetings during the day. Anyway we made it through the week and actually Friday morning the eldest and I had time for a mammoth doll’s tea party. I expect you were all wondering what we put in a 40 foot container, now you can see – dolls, pushchairs and more toys!

blue lagoon

It sounds a bit like the name of a dodgey nightclub but is actually a beautiful spot in the middle of a tea estate at the foot of Mount Mulanje. The water took our breath away but it was spectacular. The kids dipped their toes in and enjoyed watching us swim.

tea

I am a bit behind on my blogging. These photos are from last weekend when we had trip to Mulanje – the highest mountain in this part of Africa. We drove through the tea estate, beautifully green and very different to the sugar plantation, more refined in some ways. We meandered our way through the estate on some exciting tracks then followed a path and balanced on a pipeline to find our picnic spot. Our eldest informed us that she had her mountain legs on and did much of the walking herself, except when her mountain legs got a bit tired and then she rode on Daddy’s shoulders. Our friends were disappointed with the picnic spot as the water was much lower than usual due to some maintenance work so after lunch we drove onto a beautiful spot for a swim.

hot

I think that I have said before that I had forgotten how much I dislike the heat. And it is getting hotter, there is probably about 6 weeks of more hot then the rains should begin. Anyway, we have joined the sports club which has a great paddling pool and sizeable swimming pool both are ideal places to cool down. The photo shows another good way of cooling down hot children – washing the tea set. I am becoming a little paranoid, everyone feels so hot and a bit flaky in the heat I find it difficult not to assume the worst and regularly take the children’s temperature. It doesn’t help that there are a few bugs going round too. Despite the heat our garden is blooming, everything grows so much quicker than it would in the UK, provided there is enough water. We had another water cut this week, for a couple of hours, the scary thing is we never know how long they will last and we don’t really have back up water for washing and toilets etc. We plan to buy a water tank but we’re still recovering from hearing the price quoted! Drinking water is easier as we have a large filter and lots of bottles, also having 5 toilets means that there is plenty of water in the cisterns!

culture

We went to an interesting concert this week. I didn’t know much about it beforehand except that everyone was talking about it and as there is very little cultural activity in Blantyre we thought that we should give it a go. It was a concert by Francois Francois Salque a cellist and Vincent Peirani an accordion player, both very famous in French jazz circles. Mostly they played duets which had eastern European influences, there was an accordion solo which I found more difficult to enjoy but it was a surprising evening. It took place at the French Cultural centre which has a programme of events promoting Malawi and France.

everyday life

The days are starting to take shape and we seem to have weekly events which the girls and I look forward to. The eldest goes to nursery Mon and Wed mornings and the youngest and I go to a ladies Bible Study group on a Wed morning. Tues and Thurs mornings are spent pottering at home or running errands and I have a Chichewa lesson. Friday mornings we join some other mums at the local café for baby group. Wed afternoon there is another baby group with older children and this meets at people houses. We have got to know other families and we meet up to play with them two or three afternoons per week.

 

on safari again

Without the camera!! It is working but we forgot it this time. We went to a small park called Nyalo and saw giraffe and a zebra (well its bottom as it stalked off) and monkeys, impala and birds. The giraffes were amazing, the first one was so tall (and close) that we could only see its legs and then we saw a group running, they were so graceful, the movement is hard to describe as they move the back legs together and then the front. The park is within a large sugar plantation and we had a lovely cooling swim and lunch at the club. The sugar appeared to be grown in rotation so we saw the cane in all the various stages; the irrigation and sprinkling systems were vast and very efficient. The journey to the park was quite exciting, the road goes over a mountain and twists very steeply up and down. We had to get past lorries that were moving very slowly and a couple that had broken down, they were laden with big bundles of cotton. The views looking down onto the valley were spectacular. The pics are from Mvuu safari and taken by my bro in law.

 

time

I do have time to do things with the kids because someone else is doing a lot of the shopping and the cooking and laundry. This tee-pee was designed by my bro in law and made by my sis and I but it shows that I probably have too much time. This is all about to change as I currently have three different offers of activities with which to fill my time! The Society of Malawi have an archive which could easily occupy me for any spare time, they are also planning an oral history project to record memories of the last 50 years and I have been asked to help with the development of a small museum/display related to medical research. All this help around the house is great but we still have bad days with the kids and in some ways having people listening to me or the children hysterical is a bit embarrassing! I am really struggling with our youngest, it’s not unusual for her to scream all the way through a meal and at other times when things don’t go the way she wants or expects. I find it hard. I am also bracing myself as there is a nasty D and V bug going around, those who know me well will remember that I fall apart a bit when people are throwing up so here’s hoping we avoid that one. Although, we have been very blessed so far with good health, to have managed 2 months with only a couple of colds is good going for a family with toddlers.  

outdoors

I love the outdoor life here. We spend the whole day outdoors, running around the garden or lounging on the khondi (veranda thing). We are looking forward to some khondi furniture which will make the lounging more comfortable. Our eldest spends most of her free time helping our gardener Jonas who is very patient and used to young children. She was watering the plants with her wellies on today as it was slightly cooler (only 25 C) and her feet got muddy! When we go to other people’s houses my children usually end up in the sand pit getting grubby.

mvuu

Pronounced ummmvu not moovu, I have been the cause of much mirth among friends who have been laughing at my pronunciation. Mvuu means hippopotamus, which is Greek word for water horse. They cause the most human deaths by wild animals in Africa. They spend the day in the water because their skin is so sensitive to the sun, but only the babies can swim, the adults walk along the bottom of the river and come up for air every eight minutes. We watched them pop up for air and they make a snort as they empty the water out and unfurl their ears. At night they leave the water and graze, it is when they are moving between land and water that they are dangerous. When we stayed at Mvuu camp we heard the hippos moving about the camp and being chased back into the water by the guards. Our eldest was delighted by the slosh slosh noise the hippos make when they walk, this is the water in their tummies!

700 mkw

MKw stands for Malawi Kwacha and 700 K is about £3 depending on the rates. So what does 700 K buy you?

4 bunches of bananas

500 credits for a mobile (this lasts me a few days)

Cake and coffee at or favourite cafe (aka The Park Cafe)

5 bottles of Carlsberg Green (beer of choice in our house)

An international newspaper (weekly with change for a coffee)

3.5 litres of petrol (yes this is about the same price as the UK)

A lot of electricity

A decent chicken (for eating)

3 ½ litres of milk

36 eggs fresh from a friend’s chickens

One and half days work by one of our guards (that’s more than double the going rate)

One chitenje, the brightly decorated cloths worn by women over their clothes

 

The really frustrating thing is that the largest denomination note is 500 K and everything is paid for in cash so we have to carry enormous wads of cash. Apparently there is concern that if higher notes were introduced the kwacha would be devalued. Getting cash takes a long time. First we pay to move it from the UK into our international account, then we pay to convert the pounds into kwacha and transfer it into our kwacha account and then we draw straws to see who will go and queue for a long time in the bank to get the cash. Taking cash out involves writing a cheque, signing it three times and having it stamped many times. Fortunately the bank staff have not yet noticed that our surname is spelt wrong!

 

on

 

.... without a camera! We have just got back from an amazing couple of days at Mvuu camp with our first visitors my sister and hubbie) and before I had taken any photographs the very fancy digital camera broke!! We have a few shots taken on the video camera and when my sister returns I will pinch some of their amazing shots! The camp is very plush and all inclusive, so there is a boat trip in the morning and a drive from 3.30 until 7pm with drinks at sunset – very civilised. The first day I took our eldest on the drive and we took along a sandwich for her, the youngest stayed with Dad and had dinner at the camp. The second day we felt brave enough to take them both and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Each drive and boat trip was different from the others. We go very close to hippos, both in and out of the water, elephants, baboons, impala, kudu and lots of birds. The guides were very knowledgeable and obviously excited by what we were seeing and keen to share their enthusiasm. Once it got dark we saw different animals, well on the first evening we saw nothing but the second evening we made up for it with lots of smaller mammals. We saw elephants most trips and on our final boat ride a herd of about 30 at the river’s edge. The children enjoyed spotting the animals but maybe we saw to many because when I pointed some elephants out to our two year old she said that she had seen some already. The children were great in the jeep and the boat although it was a little hairy without any barriers or seatbelts particularly when we drove off the edge of an embankment into a stream.

 PS there are no pictures because we can’t find the cable for the video camera!!

 

This is the version with pics from my brother in law!

pims on monday afternoon

For all those of you who have just finished a hard day at the office, we have completed a very social bank holiday weekend with Pims and a bar-b-que. The bank holiday is because today is Eid, but we weren’t sure until Saturday as it depended on the moon. We had a birthday party on Saturday at our neighbours house (Malawian colleagues of the doc) followed by another Barbie. Friday night was curry out with more doctors. Yesterday we cooked curry for Sunday lunch with friends and today was a lazy morning followed by another barbie. The weather has been hot but not unbearable and it is easier planning these things when it almost certainly won’t rain!

dogs and nannys

Those of you who know me well will know that dogs are not part of my plan for a happy family life. But, we are contemplating one: it would be a great opportunity for the kids to get over their complete terror of dogs, they would be a good deterrent for intruders and there are some really cute lab puppies up for grabs.  I also said that I would not be one of those ex-pat ladies who have a nanny, especially when they take them along to look after the kids while mum drinks coffee. These ladies always wear white and manage to look immaculate whereas I am as grubby as my children. However, I am looking at childcare for our youngest so that I can get involved in some projects. Our eldest goes to pre-nursery (like pre-school) two mornings a week and the youngest could tag along with me but we have a lovely housekeeper who is quite happy to look after the children so again I may be proved wrong. I may yet wear white and stay clean.

On safari

.... without a camera! We have just got back from an amazing couple of days at Mvuu camp with our first visitors my sister and hubbie) and before I had taken any photographs the very fancy digital camera broke!! We have a few shots taken on the video camera and when my sister returns I will pinch some of their amazing shots! The camp is very plush and all inclusive, so there is a boat trip in the morning and a drive from 3.30 until 7pm with drinks at sunset – very civilised. The first day I took our eldest on the drive and we took along a sandwich for her, the youngest stayed with Dad and had dinner at the camp. The second day we felt brave enough to take them both and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Each drive and boat trip was different from the others. We go very close to hippos, both in and out of the water, elephants, baboons, impala, kudu and lots of birds. The guides were very knowledgeable and obviously excited by what we were seeing and keen to share their enthusiasm. Once it got dark we saw different animals, well on the first evening we saw nothing but the second evening we made up for it with lots of smaller mammals. We saw elephants most trips and on our final boat ride a herd of about 30 at the river’s edge. The children enjoyed spotting the animals but maybe we saw to many because when I pointed some elephants out to our two year old she said that she had seen some already. The children were great in the jeep and the boat although it was a little hairy without any barriers or seatbelts particularly when we drove off the edge of an embankment into a stream.

 PS there are no pictures because we can’t find the cable for the video camera!!

 

On foot

I was offered the chance of a childfree walking safari at 6am. Three of us set off with our guide (Henry) and an armed guard we got to look at tracks, birds, poo and insects. Henry explained that if we saw any elephants we would be walking the other way because while they are quite happy with people in jeeps they do not like us on foot. We had been examining some fresh (warm) elephant poo when we heard an elephant off to our left by the river and then we saw another two in front of us. We paused, the elephant indicated that he knew we were there and we beat a hasty retreat. Another group of walkers on safari were closer to the river and as we were backing off we saw the elephant charge towards them. These beasts might be big but they can move fast, a few warning gun shots followed and with both our guide and guard looking a bit twitchy we moved off in the other direction. This caused quite a bit of excitement when we returned to the camp with Henry announcing that we had lost a couple of tourists. For those of you ever confronted with an elephant you should back off, take cover behind a tree or termite mound, failing that a few shots should scare it otherwise the guides carried whistles that would also scare it. If we ran we had to stick with the guide or we could end up hopelessly lost.

 

little miss muffett

Not been blogging much this last week as I am too busy entertaining visitors and managing staff! However, the appearance of the most enormous spider has driven me to write. I don’t mind spiders but this one was just outside my bedroom and it was huge. It wouldn’t fit into a cup to put it outside it needed a bowl! Even our guards were impressed by the size. I now have that tickly itchy feeling that makes me think something is going to be tickling my toes. It’s a good thing that we sleep under a mosquito net! Although we have had some issues with mosi nets this week. Our tailor came to make a set of curtains and a net in preparation for our visitors. The doctor drew a beautiful drawing of what we wanted - a big box to hang over our bed with openings in the side. It took all day but the net was ready by dinner time. There were very smart openings in the side but they didn’t close, leaving a large gap for the mosis to come and join us in bed. I have employed another tailor, who speaks English to re-hash the net so that we can sleep in peace. Note for my mum – we have bought a cheap net so we’re not sleeping unprotected!

online from my sofa

I am very excited, we now have internet at home. It is one tenth the speed of broadband back home and we have to pre-pay but it works! The doctor has just pointed out that I should be doing this offline because we have to pay as we go! So I will go back to e-mailing updates into blogger and get on with some surfing!

paradise

There are some perks to be married to a dr. Conferences in nice places is one, we are staying at Club Mac on the southern shores of Lake Malawi. The hotel is very posh and has its own secluded 600 M of beach, which we have had to ourselves during the day as the doctors are all at the conference! It is really beautiful, the lake is so big it might as well be the sea. The girls are enjoying the huge beach and the swimming pool. We don’t plan to swim in the lake this time, there is a snail that passes on a nasty disease via its eggs, it’s very treatable but as we can’t go snorkelling it’s not worth the risk.

not alone

Just to prove that we did bring the children with us!

our house

Or hoose as the Scots call it. Our house is enormous. There are 5 bathrooms so it’s good that I don’t have to clean them all. We have lots of space and fortunately most of the rooms have big cupboards for storage. There is a large khondi which is covered but open and leads from sitting room into the garden. The girls are enjoying the space to crawl and run where they like and the floors get cleaned regularly so they are slightly less grubby. The decor is interesting. Typically the skirting boards and doors are painted very dark and the floor is an amazing mix of blue and white and brown and white tiles and often they don’t match. The bathrooms are quite wacky too and there is a chandelier in the sitting room.

and the garden

Just so I can send another pic, of the garden this time. The garden is large with long thin terraces but they’re not too high. There are loads of fruit trees – guava, avocado and loads of mango. The gardener says that we will not be able to eat all the mangos! That sounds like a challenge. We still need to identify a suitable tree for the swing but the girls love having a dog-free garden.

miracles in Malawi

What an amazing week! Last Wed we got a phone call to say that our container had arrived in Blantyre. We didn’t get too excited as everyone is full of horror stories about how long it can take to get things through customs. But that afternoon paperwork complete we set the date for delivery as the following Mon. We couldn’t move sooner as we needed to sort staff and security for the house. Since then we have employed a housekeeper, a cook, a gardener and two security guys, they all turned up punctually this morning.

 

This morning I organised a tailor (who speaks no English) to measure up the windows, buy fabric and by the end of today he had made three lots of curtains. Our container was delivered this morning and everything unpacked. There is a lot still in boxes but tonight we will sleep in our own beds. I am very excited. For those of you not familiar with the African way this efficiency was a big surprise and we are just pleased that everything has gone so smoothly.

 

The girls are delighted to be reunited with their toys and every box we open has things that we had forgotten that we brought. Things got a bit exciting when I got back to the house with the children at 5.55pm and the power went off at 6pm. We were just about to string up the mosquito nets before the children’s bedtime at 6.30! we found a torch and some candles and managed to get things sorted. The power cut was only an hour but they do like to time them for that last hour of the kid’s day.

its arrived

I have been meaning to write a blog called waiting patiently. Because we have been waiting (not very patiently) for our container to arrive and had decided to move into our house before our stuff was due. But yesterday, we got a phone call to say that our container was in Blantyre. We didn’t get too excited as it can take weeks to go through customs but a few hours later it’s all sorted! We are very excited and hope to move into our house next week with all our things. This is perfect timing as our hosts arrive back next week and my sister comes to stay in just over two weeks. Thanks to all those who have been praying for our stuff to arrive, it really is amazing!

the grubby gang

I was warned about the dirt. But the children get so dirty here. There is a thin layer of dust everywhere and the floors are tiled so knees and socks get very grubby. Children who fall over come up black. And our youngest has decided (at last) to crawl so she is permanently grubby. (incidentally she has also decided to walk too when there is someone to hold her hands). Then there are the sandpits. Our favourite cafe known as the park cafe has a play area (there are no parks here) with a sand pit and you can see that it’s dirt rather than yellow sand. At least someone else is doing the laundry and ironing. Everything has to be ironed because there are beasties that lay eggs on the washing, then these hatch while you are wearing the clothes and they burrow under your skin (nice) so all clothes are ironed or tumble dried so that the heat can kill the insects.

posh hotel

We had a trip out today, to Zomba. This is just over an hours drive away and looks like Scotland. We could have been back home, there is a lake surrounded by pine trees and apparently the lake is full of trout! The road winds up the mountain and at the top there is an amazing hotel, where we had coffee. The hotel is luxurious and the gardens beautiful. It was tranquil and a huge contrast to the villages that we passed through on our way there.

road trip pt 2

The journey to Zomba was lovely, we had time to look at the countryside and the villages that we passed through. I love the roadside stalls, different areas specialise in different goods and they are all beautifully presented. But it is the piles of tomatoes that I like best. The tomatoes taste as good as they look. We did stop to buy some strawberries at the roadside – our first foray into roadside shopping. We knew that we were being fleeced but when you’re only talking about a couple of pounds it doesn’t seem worthwhile haggling and the poverty here is so real.

one at a time

Due to technical issues I can only put one photograph per blog so this is more caption than blog just so I can put more pictures up! This photograph was taken from the (moving) car on our way down from Zomba. We had a really peaceful journey home, with two children asleep.

FW: someone elses house

 

Some very kind friends have lent us their house (and cook and gardener) for the whole of August, while they are in the UK. They have also lent us a car. I am in the lovely position of having nothing to do. Cooking, cleaning and laundry are all done for us. All I have to do is look after children. We have managed to borrow some extra toys from another doctor family.

 

It is strange living in someone else’s house and we are getting used to having staff in the house. I am looking forward to our things arriving, and having our stuff and internet access at home. The container is due to arrive in Mozambique next week and will take another two to four weeks after that. We have found a house (with many rooms) which is in a good location although the decor is interesting! We had hoped that the re-painting was going to be in our choice of white but that would cost more and we would have to foot the bill!

 

The photo shows the lovely house we are staying in and the girls enjoying the trampoline

another pic

Due to technical difficulty (and enormous frustration) of not having internet at home the last post only had one of the promised photos, so here’s the other one. I need our container to arrive soon so that we can start living with our own stuff, move into our house and get internet!

marmite again

They do have marmite! For all those who were worried marmite and many other familiar things are easily available. At a price. Obviously anything imported is expensive, we paid £16 for a pack of nappies although I am hoping not to use too many as I have borrowed some washable ones until ours arrive. However we do have lots of eggs, courtesy of the 21 chickens at the bottom of the garden! I am not sure that we are going to be able to eat enough eggs to keep up with them. Chickens is on our list of things to get once we have our house.

 

 

road trip

We decided that rather than get on another plane we would drive to Blantyre, apparently a 3 hour journey. It took all day to organise car hire and then we ended up with a driver and paying almost double the agreed amount for fuel! Anyway, we were collected at 9 o’clock prompt and set off. After about half an hour the driver took a call on his mobile and announced that he had set off without one of the tax disks he needed. There were 5 disks stuck to the windscreen but apparently we needed another one. We turned around and then got stopped by the police in Lilongwe. There was a lot of discussion but we set off again in another direction and ended up on the Blantyre road. A few minutes later we pulled into a petrol station and got the disk. We set off again. About 12 o’clock we passed through Dedza a place I remembered from the book as being just outside Lilongwe. I asked the driver how much further it was. Another two and a half hours he replied! About an hour later we were stopped by the police for speeding. Our driver got out to negotiate the fine and we stretched our legs and made small talk with the locals who came over to chat. Our driver returned pleased that he had only paid 2/3 of the original fine and we settled down for a long drive.

life in brown paper

24^th June 2009: Our possessions are all wrapped in brown paper. The packers arrived at 8.10 this morning and look like they may have finished by lunchtime. All we do is tell them what needs to go and make endless cups of tea and coffee! After weeks of worrying and sorting and a few late nights we now have nothing to do.

 

Anyway, it’s starting to feel like an adventure. Last week was stressful but now it feels like the morning of your wedding, when you can’t do anything about what’s not done you just have to go for it. The container arrives tomorrow and that should be on its way by lunchtime (if the driver turns up on time). It will take 6 to 8 weeks to get to Malawi, the tricky bit is getting it through customs and to our house.

under the stairs

Now that we are finally here I have had time to catch my breath to think about what this move means, something that maybe I have avoided until now. A bit like the cupboard under the stairs, you don’t want to open it because you’re not sure what might fall out. Anyway, we are here for three years and it will probably fly by. There is so much to worry about here, is the water OK to drink or brush our teeth with? What about salad? Will we get bitten by mosis if we go out in the evening? Life has a different pace here. Nothing happens quickly. It can take all day to organise car hire. And just going on a 5 minute journey can turn into an adventure that takes all morning!

Lilongwe

We had a long drive from the airport, but as we were in separate cars we couldn't comment to each other about what we saw! We passed the big tobacco factory and other industrial sites. Most of the buildings are single storey. After a quick shower and a snooze we walked along the road towards the shops. We were obviously of interest to passersby, I'm not sure if it was because we were visitors or walking with a pushchair. The only other pushchairs that we saw were in the hotel. Children tend to be carried strapped to their mothers. There are very few pavements, pedestrians walk along the side of the road and it's rough going with regular drainage ditches.

flying

Just 30 minutes into our 24 hour journey I remembered why I don't like flying. A bit of turbulence for a small plane (Manchester to Amsterdam) and I feel really ill. Amsterdam airport revived me, it is an amazing place with baby rooms and children's play area. We happily whiled away 5 hours before our big flight (Amsterdam to Nairobi). This plane was fine despite some really bad turbulence - more roller coaster than flight! The children were great on the plane, our youngest went to sleep the minute we took off - she has always insisted that we be driving at at least 40 mph before sleeping in the car so I shouldn't be surprised! Our eldest watched films until she fell asleep. the doctor slept most of the way and i enjoyed "Marley and Me" in between some naps. The last flight left Nairobi at 8.30 am (local time) and we all slept for the 2 hour flight.

Leaving Lilongwe we needed two taxis to fit all our luggage! The driver thought that he would get it all in but there really wasn't space and no roof rack.

about to go,

This is it. We are poised for take off, spending the night in an airport hotel. Although, by this time tomorrow we still not have left Amsterdam! Our flight leaves at 9 pm and following a 9 hour flight we arrive in Nairobi.

It feels like we are going on holiday, not leaving for 3 years! There is an awful lot of luggage, it filled the boot of an estate car so I have no idea how we are going to manage it and two children across various airports. I am sure that I should be feeling more excitement, or apprehensive but I am just looking forward to a few weeks of no packing or sorting!

missing you

Someone asked me this week what I would miss most, apart from family and friends. I think that it maybe coffee and cake. It's also the cultural activity of going out for coffee.

We had a wonderful meal with friends recently and the conversation was easy and there was lots of laughter because we all knew each other well. That intimacy takes a few years and I will miss that easy chat. And being the same, I can talk to mums at the park because we're the same I can chat to the bloke at the garage because I know what to say, but will that be different? How will the local people view us? I don't want to be seen as a rich westerner who is only going for a few years and can leave when the going gets tough, but that's what I am.

prayer

We are now counting down in days not weeks. At our last Sunday in church friends prayed for us, including a prayer for those we would meet and a reminder that God has gone before us. It reminded me of when as students we would pray for the new first years, before they arrived. I always liked the idea that maybe someone had prayed for me, before I matriculated too. In fact quite a lot of this move is like going to university, except that we will probably be the only new people and late nights will be due to children not parties!

hot

Like most wee people our two children did not enjoy the recent spell of hot weather. They struggled to sleep and toddlers just don't get that you need to slow down when it is hot! This is not very reassuring for moving to Africa. People keep telling me that the children will adapt but I do worry. However the good news is that it's really quite chilly in Blantyre at the moment - about 13 degrees! I am sure that the locals are not appreciating the cold spell but it will be good for us to not struggle with the heat as well as cultural change. It means that we will be able to play outside without worry of heat/sunburn.

We may have to do a bit of shopping before we go as we have sent all our warm clothes in the container, keeping only one jumper each.

friends and boxes

Life is a rather peculiar mix of spending as much time with friends, seeing friends for the last time and packing up the house. The decorators start this week so that the house will be looking its best ready for renting. If you know anyone who would like to rent a delightful 3 bed cottage next door to the village pub please let us know! We would all prefer to be with our friends but there is still an awful lot to do at the house.

a spoonful of sugar

Today is the day that we start our anti-malarial drugs. We all have to take one a week for the next three years. The children have to take 1/4 of a tablet, this is based on their weight so it may increase. Apparently the best way to get kids to take them is in a spoonful of jam, so just like Mary Poppins said "a spoonful of sugar ...".

under pressure

Those of you who knew me as a student will remember that I do not work well under pressure. I was the student who had to have my work in the week before it was due (and before everyone else). The pressure is on here, the shipping co. arrive on Tues to pack us up and the container comes on Wed. The hardest thing is making sure that as much as possible goes in the container so that we don't have too much left to put in the luggage.

Anyway back to the packing and sorting.

chaos

Just a short blog today as there is so much to do! We ship in just one week. The shipping company pack all our stuff so this process should be quite smooth, however customs in Malawi require a complete list of everything that we are taking. This involves sorting out everything and counting it. The pile of things that we are taking has been reduced because the effort of listing it has made us quite ruthless!

leaving

I am starting to realise what leaving will involve. I always knew that one of things I rely on a lot are my friends and family and this adventure will challenge us. The problem with challenges is that they can seem a good idea until you have to actually face them. I remember agreeing to absail down a very large waterfall in Australia, it sounded fun but when faced with a big drop and lots of water I was scared. I am also afraid of failing, I set off to climb Mont Blanc a few years ago and I never made it to the top, I had a heavy cold but part of me fears that I just couldn't do it.

It's very hard not to talk about the trip all the time, it's becoming a bit all consuming. We went out for dinner last night (very rare occurrence) and all we did was talk about how many pairs of trousers to take and which day we should fly. We need to remember to live in the now and enjoy what's going on around us, share our children's achievements and fun and stop boring our friends with stresses over shipping companies and which plates to take. There is an excellent poem by Helen Mallicoat called I Am (link below) which is reminding me to live in today, with God.
www.wowzone.com/iam.htm

Going Home

I still catch myself referring to my parent's house as home. We had a lovely time there this weekend. For those of you who don't know Wash House it can be cold in the winter but the wonderful garden makes it great when it's sunny! As we set off we realised that next time we're "home" will be just before we fly out of the UK in about 7 weeks. The photo was taken 2 years ago while we were playing croquet.

We met up with my school friends, which just like old times when we used to often have bar-b-ques round at mine. I'm not sure when we will all be together again as there are two families living abroad and we may not be back at the same time. Although a rendez vous somewhere half way between Australia and Africa sounds much more exotic, although less nostalgic. They were all talking about the next meet up, which will probably be at New Year, when we won't be there. Apparently this is the "leaving stage" of moving abroad, when you realise that life goes on after you move abroad.

the age of stupid

I have just watched this film. If everyone in the west watched it and did something about climate change we might be OK, otherwise the film suggests that we will make the human race extinct by 2055 - that's within our lifetime. The worst thing as individuals we can do is get on a plane. Maybe we should travel with our container on the boat? That would be an adventure or maybe take the beast (our 4x4) overland. That could be disastrous as neither the Dr or I are mechanically minded! I do recommend seeing the film, it's quite shocking but good entertainment too.

2 kids a Dr, 1 pushchair, 2 car seats ....

..... a trunki, 2 rucksacks, 1 big bag, a laptop, a camera, changing bag and my handbag ... and that's just the luggage for the plane! One friend suggested that the list above should be the title of my blog! We haven't quite booked our flights yet (that really does seem a bit final) although the container is booked. We will be easy to spot at the airport with all that. We have a choice of routes, either a short hop to Amsterdam, a long flight to Nairobi then onto Lilongwe or a journey to London (or Amsterdam) followed by a flight to Johannesburg and a flight to Blantyre. I'm not a big fan of flying I spend most of the time not asleep and going backwards and forwards to the loo. Although, that was before I became a mother; now, sleep is such a precious commodity maybe I will sleep all the way. We've had a bad couple of weeks for sleep, just as we get the reflux under control one child breaks her arm and the other has a few nights of fevers. Anyway I have plenty to think about while I'm awake in the night - like how many mosquito nets is enough and who has injections next week!

my family and other animals

The weeks are flying by and we seem no closer to getting organised. Just when I think that I have some child free time something happens. This week one of the children broke her arm (for the second time) she is OK but spent today sat on my knee instead of at nursery. She has also decided that she is ready to do potty training. I had given up on trying and thought that we would leave it until after 30 hours flying. However we seem to be back to front, she is great at poos on the toilet or potty but not wees! Anyway this does mean that we won't need to take quite so many washable nappies with us, which leaves more space for books and toys!

The 'doctor' is now a consultant. He has finished the day job (of being a registrar) and is now doing his research full time and one clinic for the NHS as a consultant. This is all a bit weird for those of us who have known him since his medical school days and see him in absent minded mode.

PMT

This is a different sort of PMT, it happens every Thursday and I look forward to it, I am not sure how I will manage without it when we go abroad. I may start a Malawi franchise. PMT stands for Prayers, Mums and Toddlers and it's made up of a great group of girls, who are all mums, have toddlers and need to pray. We also study a book together, one chapter a week.

Being a mum is hard but it would be so much more difficult without the girls. We make each other meals when babies are born, we played netball (for fun), there's always someone who has time for a coffee, between us we can loan any piece of baby or child equipment or clothes. There's always spare wipes or nappies or pants in case you forget to bring spares and there's someone who cares about your children and how many hours sleep you had. We try to pray for each other during the week and it makes the week easier.

nothing new

We have actually begun packing. The crystal glasses and some of the nice crockery have been boxed and taken up to Scotland, these are things we can manage without (so why are we keeping them?). It must have been different when my great-grandmother set off for India. She travelled (by boat) to meet her fiance who was not allowed to marry until he had passed his local language exams. They married in India and lived there until she and 2 children came back to the UK just before the outbreak of World War I. I wonder how much luggage she took? and her journey would have taken a lot longer. It makes our 3 flights look paltry!

In fact I have plenty of ancestors who worked abroad, from missionaries to scientists and clergy. Jim Field pictured above left worked for the meteorological office in India; Thomas Pearne (above right) was a well known Methodist preacher in the USA. Communication for them would have been slower, no text or e-mail. News would have been old by the time it reached the family back in the UK. I wonder if the sort of news coming back will be different.

Do they sell marmite?

I have been reading about moving families abroad and discovered that our children will become "Third Culture Kids" (TCK). They will grow up in a culture that is not ours. They will actually be exposed to 3 different cultures ours (British), Malawi and a 3rd culture that is the community (from all over the world) living alongside us.

My only experience of TCK are the Americans who used to come to our school and they had a special shop where they could buy oreos and other essential American delicacies. Will we be able to buy marmite in Malawi? For our toddler, the world is divided into those who like it and those who don't! She assures me that her little sister likes it.

Nancy Blackett

Ever since my dad first read us Swallows and Amazons my hero has been Nancy Blackett. Her real name is Ruth and she is fearless, an enterprising leader and a good sailor. I am neither fearless or a good sailor - my sailing instructor on Lake Windemere told me that I had a "wiggly wake". And I am beginning to realise that I am not as adventurous as I think I am. Going off to Africa with 2 kids sounded easy enough, until I started writing a big list of everything we need to do before we go!

However, I was recently reminded by a wise woman that I should not be concentrating on all the worries and fears about travelling to and living in Africa, but we should remember that this is an amazing opportunity for an awesome adventure. An adventure which Nancy would have faced with no fear!

Pincushions

We have been making some progress in getting ready to move abroad. One job we can now tick off the list is our consultation at the travel clinic. This took about an hour and we now know that there are about 17 injections between us! That's only 8 inoculations but some have 3 doses, I think we may feel like pincushions at the end of it. The nurse spent a lot of time explaining that none of the vaccines would prevent these nasty disease so we need to keep an eye out for the symptoms.

We will have to make a start with the injections soon as some need to be given 3 months before we go and it looks like we could be on the move within 4 months. We have been quietly pottering along, talking about our move and suddenly there is a lot to do, this thing is gaining momentum.

All Our Stuff

It sounds easy. Organise to ship what we might need for 3 years to Malawi and persuade family and friends to store the rest of our belongings. But there is a lot of stuff that is neither useful or beautiful; things that reflect our life, places we have visited, lived, people we have known and lived alongside. Maybe we have just accumulated more than other people. I am envious of friends who have unclutered homes, which must be easier to tidy. They would find moving abroad easier too.

Really, we don't need very much and I am longing to live with less and to be able to say that I can live without all my stuff, to turn my back on consumerism. Apparently a 40 ft container should be big enough to send the necessities to Blantyre. Our life condensed into 683 cubic feet.

there will be no more colds

There are some things that I will not miss about life in the UK and colds is one of them. Apparently we get less colds in hot climates because the viruses don't function so well in the heat. Our youngest has the delightful habit of being sick when she gets a cold; of course there are plenty of other things that can make her throw up and I am sure we will experience many of them.

I imagine that life will be simpler in Africa. We will have less stuff, the decision about what to wear will be easier as there will be less options. Explaining this to a two year old who has strong views on her outfits may not be simple. The shopping will be done daily or every few days as food won't keep as long. I am not sure how reliable the power is so we may have to do some laundry by hand, something I have hereto only done with my delicate underwear (and even that was a long time ago). In some way it may be more like life in the UK was in the 1950s, only hotter.