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!