back in town

It is as if I had only left for a holiday. Things have changed but not rapidly and not very noticeably. Malawi is green once more after the rains but much of the maize does not look healthy and our driver said that the rains have not been good.

Our journey was not unusual, we were meant to land in Blantyre on Saturday but the airport is closed so we had a night in Jo'burg on Saturday and made the most of our stay, looking around the Apartheid Museum. Our flight to Lilongwe was easy, although Jo'burg airport was very confusing, especially as we left our bags at left luggage in arrivals but the taxi dropped us at departures! We were met at Lilongwe airport but the driver said that this wasn't our car as that was broken down so we went to their office, all the way into town, to discover that we had self-drive not taxi and the car was still broken down! Anyway another driver was found we were delivered to our hotel and enjoyed dinner.

Monday has been a busy day of meetings and talking.

getting in the swing

Back in Africa, it’s lovely to see the familiar sights of ladies carrying babies under thick blankets on their backs and piles of vegetables and fruit for sale at the side the road. To smell the hot smells and to hear the sounds of different languages. 

But I had forgotten about time and how everything takes longer than I expect, I am re-learning the art of waiting. And I am once again surprised when the customer service is excellent and not when it is not. 

going back

I am travelling to Blantyre on Friday this week. I ma not sure what I feel. There is so much to look forward to but it's a different adventure without the doc and the kids and it's 2 years ago that we came home so things will have changed. A lot of our friends who had been in Malawi for years have moved back to the UK but the list of social engagements is long!

I am going for work, to help with a science exhibition that I worked on while we lived in Blantyre and I am going back to the National Museum to help with some evaluation work on another project. There is so much to do before I go, the doc needs lists and spreadsheets for childcare and kids' parties, hopefully he will manage all the domestic stuff too. He will be based at home doing research rather than being an NHS consultant.