Mushroom Farm, Lukwe Camp & Livingstonia

People say it is easy to hike up to Mushroom Farm hostel in Livingstonia but I say that I thought I was about to die in the heat! I drank all my water half way up and was waiting for the angels to start talking to me while I was slowly, slowly walking up, up, up the mountain. I was thinking, this is how it must be walking in the Sahara dessert... the heat being just imbearable. I had to stop every 5 minutes to catch my breath under the shady spots under a tree along the dirt road. After 3 h of struggling and talking to myself I reached my destination. I drank about 2 liters of water at reception and thanked the Gods I had made it. But I soon discovered it was soooo worth all the effort. The view, the tranquility, and the peacefulness up there was just amazing. 

I had made this journey alone to be able to be with myself for a while and this was the place to be at. In Africa it is not the easiest thing to find a place where you are just all alone. There are always some kids running around or some eyes following you wherever you are. But up here I felt at peace and could finally put some socks on as the temperatures were coole. I had my very own tent right on the edge of the cliff of the mountain. Ah just amazing!

The next day, I continued my hiking journey further up the mountain to Lukwe Camp and Gardens, which is owned my a Dutch guy from Belgium. The lodge and the view was absolutely stunning from here and I enjoyed some hours in solitude reading my book in the big swing. I can really recommend Lukwe Camp! And it's organic garden is just beautiful with its own pineapples, papaya, lemons, bananas, basil, mint, strawberries, eggplant, onions, leaks, and so forth. I applaud the local gardeners for taking such good care of it. I have some beautiful pictures that I can upload next time around.

After the first pit stop at Lukwe, I continued hiking to Malawi's deepest waterfall, which was also so beautiful that I took about 100 pictures of it! Then the longer 1h hike up to Livingstonia took place. Again during the hottest time of the day (around 13.00) when the sun is beaming and your skin is burning. But my legs made it up there and I spent one night in the tranquilo Stonehouse guesthouse, where I was the only guest. Ah, it couldn't get better than that since I wanted solitude on this trip. 

Luckily, I got a ride all the way down to the bottom of the mountain (Chitimba) the following morning and I continued back "home" to Nkhata-Bay with the National Bus company for some 4h.

And I am back in Nkhata-Bay right on time for New Years Eve and waaaaaaa it will be such a big, frantic, drunken, chaotic, loud party with music blasting from every other speakers in Nkhata-Bay tonight! People will enjoy, dance and have fun. The locals (plus all of the tourists for that matter) will be so drunk tonight that they won't make it home and will probably sleep on the beach, where they wake up in the morning and continue partying. As for me, I have good news, I stopped drinking alcohol all together but I might still wake up on the beach or in my hammock as that would be a very nice way to start the new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!!

All my love and good vibes :)

Daily life in Malawi

I walk down the street in Malawi and the kids love me, shouting "muzungu, musungu" (which means white person) at the top of their lungs. Then they say "what's my name?" and I say "well I don't know, what is your name?" looking confused... how would I know their name?? Well, what they wanted to say is what is YOUR name. So then I try to teach them to say "your" instead of "my" but it never works as I pass them again one hour later and they shout at me "What's my name, what's my name??"

Another very popular thing to shout to the muzungus is "Give me money"! Then I usually say, "Money??. your name is money? well my name is Anette" and the kids just look confused and run away.

Besides "give me money" the kids also say "give me pen", "give me sweety", "give me... give me.. whatever they come up with. I have no idea who thought them this Give me stuff... but it is for sure not working.

It is not only the kids that say random things. The adult can also blurt out stuff. Like the other day I walked to town and this guy saw me from far away and he shouted "Madame, madame!" and I was thinking this guy is in pain or something, needs to go to the hospital as he is running towards you looking like he needs to say something important. He came up to me and said "Madame, I want to get to know you" and I am like "What?, are you ok?", "I want to get to know you. We need to talk." And I am like "We need to talk?", "Yes, I want to be your friend. Can I have your number?". Then I get the picture and I am like "Dude, I don't have a mobile and no you can not get my number and no I won't marry you, good bye" shaking my head and continue my walk.

Ah, the daily struggles in Malawi :)

Merry Christmas!!!

I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!! I hope you will enjoy some delicious food and some even better drinks and desserts. And for some of you I wish you a lot of snow so you can get the real Christmas feeling. :) 

Here in Nkhata Bay there is definitely no snow. There is not even a Christmas tree. I have not seen any decorations at all, which I find pretty odd. Two years ago I spent Christmas in Guatemala, which is not a rich country at all, but they had santas and trees everywhere. Anyhow, it is not about what you have but what you do with it right. So now it is Christmas and one thing is for sure, the Malawians will celebrate it! There will be A LOT of drinking going on as they loooooooooooooove to drink here. And there will be music, dancing, food and church. I will try to go to church as well on Christmas day and listen to some gospel and yeah to just see how a Malawian ceremony is.

But tonight I will go out and dance to the best Malawian, Zambian, Nigerian, ah just good African music. It will be good and we will dance a lot! The two pics to the side is from the local bar, Sports Spot, where I go now and then to dance with the locals. The first picture is of Roger and me. Roger is a local boy that loves to dance to Micheal Jackson :) The picture below is of he and his friends: Kwame and Tom getting it going on the dance floor. Ah, they are really nice and funny guys. who loves to shake it!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!     XOXO

GOD JUL at er alla! Jag hoppas du kommer att da en riktigt bra jul. Har i Nkhata Bay ar det ingen nod pa mig. Jag ater gott och umgas med trevliga manniskor. Ikvall skall det atas grillad fisk! Mums!

KRAM!

Chizumulu and Likoma islands

Last week I went on a proper holiday :) 

The school finished for the year and I was off for one week. I had planned to go to Chizumulu and Likoma islands during this week for some time but then the bad news came. The ferry (the only transport) to these islands broke down about three weeks ago and nobody knew when the ferry would be back. Here in Malawi, fixing something can take two months or two days, you just never know. So I started to make other plans to go south to Cape McClear but I was still hoping the ferry to come to Nkhata-Bay on Monday as usual. And guess, who got happy when the ferry 'sailed' in to town on Sunday night. I rushed to the ticket office to ask when it is leaving to the islands and got told it would leave Monday at noon, so I had a full day to prepare and pack my bags. 

It was a bunch of us muzungus (this is what the black people call us here, muzungu = white person) that entered the boat but only me, Sebastian from South Africa and Rea from Italy was heading for the islands and the rest down south to the end of the lake. 

The ferry or the ilala as they call it here, is an old, old boat that was taken in to use back in the 1940's by the British missionaries and it is still running (well barley) today some 70 years later! The ilala is a old style ferry with a wooden bar and a sun deck for the first class passengers (which means us muzungus that can afford it) and the lower decks where the local people sit on top of the endless amount of rice bags, firewood, fuel barrels and what ever else they need on the island. Remember this is the only transport to the island so whatever a person might need or sell on the island is taken on this boat (coca-cola craters, bed frames, book shelves, chickens, oil, maize flour, etc. etc.). 

 It is literally crazy to get on and off this boat. It is just insane. There are no rules, no organization, no manners. Every man for himself. But we did not know this until we came to Chizumulu island and had to get off the boat in the evening (which meant in the dark) and people shoved us here and there and were in such a hurry that it was surreal. We did not moore at the island instead smaller boats came to pick up the passengers. We did not know that there was no hurry at all to get off this ferry (the boat stayed there for 5h!) so we followed the locals advice to get on the first boat out. And it was just crazy, everybody pushing and this old lady shoving a big rice bag on me like she was a bulldozer. Where did the friendly Malawians go?? 

We made it on the first boat and had to stand until we got to shore, which was not far at all. But then it was another huge mission to get off this smaller boat. Again people acted like maniacs and no one helped us and we had no clue where to go and who to trust. I was like "hell no I am giving my bag to some local stranger in the dark that will run off with it" so I hold on to my bags, took off my shoes and jumped in the shallow water holding my bags tights. Sebastian was right behind and we ended up just laughing at this insanity trying not get frustrated. This is Africa at the end.

Anyways, all this happened in the dark and it felt like a sciene from Titanic. Like getting of the ferry into the lifeboats that the use as transport to score. Even the ilala looked like a small Titanic with its old style and lights reflecting the water and people screaming and shouting like it was the end of the world. But we made it off the boat and only a minute away was our lodge Wakawenda. This was a beautiful place but right as we got there the power got cut so did not really get to see the place until the next day. It would have been nice if it was daylight when we arrived as the first thing we encountered on the island was aliens! Just look at it! It is the most freaky looking cockroach/spider that I have ever seen so I named it "the alien" as it sure looks like one.

Besides the aliens, the island is beautiful and we went hiking up the small and only hill on the island and got a full frontal view of one side of the island. Wakawenda lodge was also beautiful and a place where I ended up reading and relaxing for the following days. We also got to know the local kids. Which as always shouts and cheers as they see muzungus walk though the village. "Give me money, give me money"!

After two nights on the island and among the aliens we took a local motor boat (the machine as they called it) to Likoma island. Here we stayed at lovely Mango Drift enjoying the beach, the water and the hammocks. They had superb dinner meals and really friendly staff. Here are some pics below and you can see Chizumulu island in the background.

We also went in town to the market and had some local rice and beans at the Hunger Clinic restaurant. There was even an immigration office in town (Mozambique is only 40 km away by boat) and I accidently remembered I had to renew my Malawian visa so luckily I had enough money with me to do that there before it expired.In town we also passed this Hang Over Bottle Store bar. Nice name, isn't it?

We managed to stop this car, well I called it "The Beast" just like Obama's, when walking back to the hostel. This belonged to the luxury lodge Kaya Mawa and was not suppose to pick up any hitch hikers but we managed to get a ride anyways. I guess to the benefit of being "muzungus". It is an old safari truck and it might not look like it but it felt like being very high up and being a queen waiving to all the kids that came running down to the road as we passed. So surreal! But we had a great ride and did not have to walk the 45h minutes back in the boiling heat.

 After 3 days chilling on Likoma island we took the ferry back to Nkhata-Bay. It arrived at 01.00 in the morning and wasn't in Nkhata Bay until 13.00 the next day. Luckily, I had my hammock with me and was able to put it up on the sun deck. This is how I was sleeping that night. Actually, it was very comfortable !

Fat?

Today I went to Rasta Mike's restaurant after not been there for some weeks and the first thing he says is "Ah, you are fat." What? Are you telling me I am fat? "Yes, you are fat now". Thanks man, really what I wanted to hear... 

(Here in Malawi women likes it when the men tell them they are fat as it means you are wealthy and can eat all day.) 

I have, I guess officially now, gained some 3 kg after all the rice and beans I am having every day....

Everyday life in Nkhata-Bay pictures

I have taken a lot of pictures here in Malawi but not been able to upload them onto my picasa album as the internet is just too slow. However, here are some I have hand-picked from my every day life in Nkhata-Bay. 

This is Chikale primary school, where I volunteer as an English teacher for grade 7. There are 70 kids in the 7th grade but divided up to 7A and B. So I only have 35 in each class, which in enough :) All in all there are 720 students and 10 teachers at this school. There are many more schools and nurseries in Nkhata-Bay, even though it is a small town. Can you then imagien how many kids they produce here!

This is the classroom I teach in and this is Mr Daniel Nkhoma, the class teacher for grade 7. When I teach English he teachers math to the other half.  He is a very lovely and friendly person. He made the naught kids dig a 1m deep hole the other day as punishment for fighting! :) Better than spanking right!

My student are showing me some singing and dancing. These are some of the 7th grade boys.

Here are some of the 7th grade girls singing for me :) They are all around 12-13 years old. Moureen in the middle with the vest is sort of the class president and a very smart girl as well.

One of the students at school made this beautiful camera out of mud!

Here I am at Mayoka Lodge (where I live) marking the English exam I had with my students. It took me a week to correct 70 papers! Not sure if I would want to be a full time teacher...

This is Mayoka Village Lodge, where I stay. A beautiful, beautiful place! Owned and run by a South-African/English couple and they have around 40 Malawian employees.

This is the view from the restaurant at Mayoka. On the other side of the bay is Nkhata Bay city centre, a 20 minute walk away. Some times we take the boat over.

Here I am with some of the Mayoka kitchen staff. They made good pizza last night!

Another view from Mayoka. Pretty nice or what?! I love swimming in the lake and read a book on the cliffs. You can see the city center on the other side.

The dorm I am staying in at Mayoka.Sometimes I get to have it to myself, sometimes it is full with 7 other people sleeping there.

On a boat trip on the lake :) Love it!

Walking to town. They say that there are crocodiles in the grass down by the lake to the left. So far I have not seen one, thank God!

On my walk to town. Farming fields. Here they grow cassava, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, onions, garlic, etc. Now it is even greener as it has been raining.

My friend Gift carrying a full case of Coca-Cola on her head. Can you imagine how heavy that is??? I was soo impressed I had to take a picture of her. Girt works at Mayoka as a waitress.

So this was a glimpse of my life in Nkhata Bay. I can only say that I have a good life! Africa's best probably! It is a beautiful town and a beautiful place with friendly people. So if you want to visit me "you are most welcome" as the Malawians say!

Muli Banji! 

Examination time

All last week was examination time for my primary school at Chikale. I was supervising a lot and don't know how many times I have said "be quiet, "sit down" and "no cheating" to Standard (grade) 7. They can be quite naughty these kids. But I guess when you are 12, 13 years old you tend to be naughty all the time. And having 70 kids in two classrooms with one teacher is not the best either or yet worse 70 kids cramped in, in one small classroom so the kids have to sit on the floor. Here is Malawi everything is possible. You also got to be creative to solve problems you encounter every day at school.

For example, last Monday the students had their first exam, which was Science and Agriculture. This was the first time they were going to write an exam on paper. Before they wrote the questions on the board and the student wrote the answers in their notebook. But this year they have enough money to print out a proper exam. So everything was new to the kids. Also that you have to be quiet during exam and sit far away from each other so you could not cheat. Anyway, the teacher had not printed enough exam papers and five students got left out. So what to do? Well, let's go to town and print some more at the internet cafe (there are no computers at school). But then someone realized that there is a power cut and with no electricity, no printers or computers are working. Hmm..then what do we do?? The kids are waiting...maybe these five kids have to write it tomorrow then as by then power should be back and we can print.. but then they will cheat and get all the answers from their fellow classmates..not fair. Well what to do?? (This discussion went on for like 1 h) Ah let's write the questions on the board... but the board is too small for all the 20 questions. Not fair or easy... So what to do?? Then I came into the room, asked what the problem is and they explained and I was like " why dont we write it by hand, there are only five students so shouldn't take too long and we are already 3 teachers here that could write it". Great idea they thought and then I ended up writing 3 exams by hand... and the other teacher 2 and the other teacher left ( I guess he thought that was too much work). But we got it written, the students got to write the exam and I got a soar hand. The easiest problem can just become the most difficult here do to lack of resources.

So all week the students had exam, a new subject every day. I supervised the English exam and then marked 70 papers which took me like a week. Gosh so much work! I am glad I am not a teacher (in real life). Today I handed the exams out and the kids got excited but hmm they got really low scores as their English is really not good and the exam was pretty difficult. Some of the kids can barely read and write English never the less know what a noun and a verb is.

This week is the last week of teaching for standard 7, then they are off on Christmas holiday. I plan to go on a "holiday from volunteering" myself  next week for 1 week and then come back and volunteer over X-mas maybe painting some more or tutor some kids. Have not yet decided. Painting sounds good right now as that is theraputic to me and usually pretty noise free. Kids can be noisy man!

I hope I can blog some more soon again. For the last week we had no internet as problems with the internet provider and then there has been constant power cuts too.

Conversations with God

Everyday I bring my book "Conversations with God" with me to the lake shore and sit down in a comfy chair with the intention to relax and read some chapters. Some days I actually get to open the book while other days I end up chatting away the afternoon with other travelers. (I always have this habit of carrying around my book for months in case I get that inspiration of just relaxing and sinking into the book.)

"Conversation with God" is an amazing book though. I heard about this book a couple of years ago but it wasn't until two month ago I actually bought it to have something to read while in Africa. It is kind of a self-helping book where you have to stop and think after every sentence or two. It is in a way as well an autobiography. The author Neal Donald Walsch was going through a rough time in his life and in his anger he started to write a letter to God about why his life was so shitty. Surprisingly God answers, and he answers all of Neal's questions about life, universe, evil, relationships, marriage, sex, work, life purpose and so forth. 

It is interesting to follow this conversation Neal his having with God and I am having so many aha-moments while reading this book... and I am only half through it. For example, God is saying that "Life is a creation, not a discovery" and that "God is the observer, not the creator". He is also saying "My purpose in creating you, My spiritual offspring, was for Me to know myself as God". Hmmm... I have never thought of it that way.... that God created us to discover who he was (as there was no one else than him in the universe). 

To me this book is opening up a new horizon when it comes to who God is and why has he has created the world the way it is. (The answer is actually according to the book that it is WE who has created the world the way it is, with all its wars, world hunger and global warming.)

So my intention this afternoon, after a cooling down with swim in the lake, is to open the book and read yet another chapter in this eye-opening book.

Happy reading!

Teaching English

I feel bad because I have not been writing on my blog for so long. A lot of things happen all the time here and I want write down all of it but then I do not have a laptop or the internet is down when I finally get my butt over to the internet cafe. But anyhow I am here now :)
 

For the last week and a half I have been teaching English for grade 7 at Chicale primary school. First I only wanted to be the teacher's assistant and for two days I was sitting in on classes and helped the teacher Daniel mark the exercises for Mathematics and English. But already on the second day after the first lesson the class teacher asked me or more like told me "so tomorrow you can teach the class". I was like eeehhh...hmmmm... sure. What do I need to teach? He gave me the teacher's guide for English and showed me the exercises the kids are supposed to do and so it started. I have now been going to school every morning teaching for 2 hours. Grade 7 (or Standard 7 as they call it here) is divided in two classes 7A & B and there is about 35 kids in each class depending if all come to school or not. So while I teach one class the other one is either on break or are being thought Math by the class teacher Daniel. I would not be able to teach both classes at once as they sometimes have to do. It would be just too noisy and too crowded. The kids then have to sit on the floor as not enough space to it at a desk. So know when I do one class at a time it is ok. The kids are aged from 11 to 15 depending on when they started school (which should be at age 6) or if they had to redo a year, which is very common. The kids do love to learn but they are also just kids who love to talk and not pay attention. My kids are pretty good though and when the teacher talks the kids are quit... most of the times. The good thing is the other kids also tell the others to be quit, which is very nice and if someone does anything bad they all point fingers to that one... all what can I say, they are just kids.

So I teach them grammar, explain words and we read through chapters in their English books and do exercises together. Some student are brilliant while other can barely read and write in English. I have been giving extra classes to one of those students. Here name is Mercy and I had to start teaching her the basics of the ABCs and how to read English and write. She is suppose to come every day to my hostel for 1h but for example yesterday she did not show up. Maybe tomorrow she will come.

I spend about 3 hours at the school in the morning and then I have the rest of the day off. Except for when I have to mark their homework, which took me about 3h yesterday! Geez. That's why they did not get any homework today! LO

Besides volunteering I am also enjoying Nkhata Bay. This place is truly beautiful and the best place to just relax, enjoy and read a book. I go swimming every day (I also sweat as he** every day). I enjoy good food, for example today I will have some delicious bata fish fresh from the lake. I hang out a lot with Kelvin the rastafari at his local restaurant and we have some very good discussion about life, while enjoying his spectacular view of the lake. Once a week there is also a big party that the locals and the travelers go to. I meet a lot of other backpackers and hear stories about their African trip and suggestions on where to go. I could already write half a book about that.

I also moved to another hostel or backpacker lodge. Now I am staying at Mayoka Village Lodge, a beautiful beautiful place right next to Butterfly Lodge, where I stayed the three first weeks. Here is a link to Mayoka www.mayokavillagebeachlodge.com/. It is owned by a lovely mid-aged couple from South Africa and England and they also offer volunteer programs. Mayoka is a place where you can stay for weeks. So if anybody wants to visit me you are most welcome and trust me, you will love it!

Volunteering as a painter

This week I finished my volunteering project of painting at Chicale Primary School. The school has got two new classrooms and me and two other American girls started off by painting the walls white in on of the classrooms that still needs to get a proper floor. The floor will be made when the school will get some more money through donations so who knows when that will be...but hopefully soon because it is a very nice, big, and cool classroom.

After we finished painting the walls I started working on the other classroom that is already in use. I made a sketch for the blackboard wall and talked to the grade 2 4 teachers, who is using the classroom, what they would like to have. They mentioned ABCs, numbers, weekdays, months, and pictures. I had never made any drawings on any walls before so I was a bit hesitant to make any promises that there would be amazing drawings of cows and humans etc but I did promise them I will make something colorful :)

I was only able to go and paint from 15.00 in the afternoon until about 18.00 when it got dark so it took me some time to finish it. (But hey everything here is on Malawi time which means things move slow). So for the coming two weeks I was working on my drawing. There was always some kids popping in or hanging in the windows looking at what was going on. Sometimes I had to shoooo them off as they started to run around and shout in the classroom and I was afraid all paint would spill and that I would loose my peaceful 'mojo' :) Anyhow, this is the outcome of the past two weeks and tomorrow Monday I will try to see how it is to volunteer as the teacher's assistant. I am really curious if it will drain me or energize me??

Painted the walls in the first classroom that is yet to get a proper floor.

Spotless!

A steady hand is needed and some patience.

Don't ask me why I chose 12.20...

Final result :)

Some photos from the weekend...

On a boat tour to a local village beach in Nkhata Bay.

I was playing with these beautiful kids at the beach.

They all wanted me to take pictures of them.

 

 

Me and Jeannette from Netherlands enjoyed the day on the boat.

Reggea band playing in Mzuzu, a town 1h away.

20 days in...

I cannot believe it but I have already been in Malawi for 20 days! Seems more like one week. Days just flies by!

I am still working on painting at the primary school. We have painted the walls white in two class rooms and now I am working on my drawings that I sketched up for the wall where the black board is. It is coming along but is a working progress but I should be finished with it this week. I can only go and paint there after 15.00 when the kids are out and then the sun sets around 17.30. They do not have electricity at school so I can only be there during day light. Well, everything takes it's divine time in Malawi and I am also in no rush. That's what I like about this country... there is no stress and no timetable :)

I like it here in Nkhata Bay and it is a good place to stay if you want to meet new people. Besides the locals, you also get the chance to meet many other travellers as the Bay is a stop over for many backpackers going or coming from Tanzania. It is easy to spot the 'muzungus' on the street. This is what  the Malawians call us. It means 'white person' and is not in any way a bad word. Like when you walk down the street the kids can shout 'muzungu muzungu' and wave their little hands. Ah, the kids are so adorable here and so curious. They love being in school and learning new things. They always come up to you saying 'hello, how are you?' or some other random thing like 'I love you' or 'my name is Grace'. I guess it is all those small phrases they learn in school. But sometimes you end up having this how are you game. The kids say 'Hello, how are you?", I answer 'I am good, how are you?', they say, 'I am good, how are you?', I say ' I am good, and you?' and so it continues... :)

The locals here speak Chi Tonga, besides Chi Chewa and English, which are both official languages they study in school. I know they start learning English in third grade and Chi Chewa in first grade. I am yet to learn the local language but haven't decided yet if I should learn Chi Chewa or Chi Tonga. They only speak Tonga here in Nkhata Bay so maybe Chi Chewa would be smart to learn if I want to go other places in Malawi... So far I only know 'Mwe ouli '(how are you) and 'Ta wonga' (thank you) in Chi Tonga. I usually pick up languages pretty fast but here I have for some reason got stuck. So today I will make  an effort to start writing some words down. I will have a chat with to our kitchen staff, who I hang out with at times. I am sure they will teach me some words. Hey, most of them have already proposed to me!

So talking about meeting other muzungus here in the Bay, I bumped into Markus Varjonen and his Lotta the other night at the bar. Waaaa did I get surprised when I discovered they are from Finland and Finnish-Swedes just like me... I have never met any Finnish-Swedes on any of my backpacking trips! I mean there are only 300,000 of us and the likelihood of meeting two of them in Nkhata Bay in Africa is very slim! Ah so nice, made me happy! And then on top of that I discovered that Markus is a former co-worker with my best friend Maria in Helsinki.. aaah waaaaaaaaa the world is small! So we just had to send her a facebook message and take a picture :)

This weekend I also made many new friends in Mzuzu, a town 1h away. About 10 of us went there to listen and dance to Black Missionaries, Malawi's biggest reggae band. It was an afternoon gig in the park with loads of people. The pre-band played for hours and then Black Missionaries played for about 2 hours as well so we had music for the whole afternoon. Malawin's love to dance (and drink beer by the way) and in a split second tons of people, young and old, where dancing at the stage. This I love, the fact that they just go up and dance with no hesitation and no shame. Definitely something we stiff Westerners should learn. We had a great day at the park and splashed out on a pizza afterwards, which almost tasted like a real pizza back home. Yum yum yum!

I also met two lovely girl from The Netherlands, Jeanette and Veronica, this weekend. They are both teachers, who have spent the last 2 months in Malawi training teachers how to teach. Really nice friendly women and on Saturday we went together on a snorkling trip on the lake. Besides the tree of us there was Ravid, from Israel, Tom from Holland, and another guy from Kenya with us. We  went cliff jumping, swimming, snorkling, and hanging out with local kids on a beautiful remote beach. It was a beautiful afternoon on the lake :)

Yes, there are many nice things you can do here in Nkhata Bay. Maybe it is not representing the "real Africa" but it is sure a nice spot to hang at for some months while volunteering and trying to help out where it is needed. I could not ask for more.

Maybe this is also the reason why I have not managed to blog so much and upload any pictures. Well another reason is that the internet here is just very very slow. At night time it is suppose to be faster so tonight, if I have nothing better to do, I will try upload some pictures. I get to use the computers  (I do not have my own with me) and the internet 24/7 here at Butterfly as I pay for an Internet package. I am also eager to share my pictures with you as a picture always says more than a thousand words and waaaaaa... uploading a picture  would save me a lot of words!!! So I will do my best!

Until next, carpe diem.

HOOOTTT crocs

Waaaaaa it is hot in Malawi right now!!! and I am sooo lucky that I live in Nkhata Bay right at Lake Malawi cos if I wouldn't, I don't know what I would do... take 5 showers a day maybe? Here, I can at least take a dip in the lake any time during the day......... well almost. I heard today that there are some crocodiles lurking around the waters and I would not relly want to bump into one while out there enjoying my swim. But then someone told me that the crocs are only out at dusk or dawn (I guess that means no skinny dipping for me at night) but every time I am in the water during the day I do keep an eye out for any slow moving meat eating creatures that has a Finnish girl on its menu.

Malawi at last

I have now been one week in Malawi. The journey here was quite long with a lot of stops... flew from Finland via London via Nairobi with a stopover in Lusaka Zambia until I reached Lilongwe in Malawi. The crew on Kenya Airways were friendly and even the food was good :)

After a bumpy landing I found a couple of other travelers to share a taxi with from the airport to the city center of Lilongwe as taking one by yourself was just too expensive. On the way to town we figured out why.... there were loooooooong long lines of cars to the gas stations... Malawi has currently a fuel shortage. The guys would stay in the fuel line for days until the fuel truck would come and fill up the tanks. Hence, the price has gone up incredibly and there is even a black market where to buy fuel at ridiculous high prices. The whole issue of  the fuel shortage is due fuel coming from other countries and they do not want to sell their fuel for Malawi Kwacha, which is the local currency, as it has a very low value in other countries. They are like "what will we do with these Kwachas? we can't get anything for it elsewhere". This and other political problems has started a small crises with fuel shortage. Well, I think that this is just the beginning of the oil shortage that we all will face soon as we run out of oil and there will be lack a fuel. So we better hurry up and invent some alternative fuel methods before there will be war everywhere! Anyways, enough talking about this, I just had to mention it as everybody here is talking about it and is affecting everybody's day to day life.

On that taxi ride I also realized that WAAAAAA I AM IN AFRICA!! How nice isn't this?? I could not believe I was in Africa! Africa has always seemed distant to me and faaaar away while actually it is just around the corner, especially from Europe. It is even in the same time zone! So hmmm why have I not gone here before? Well now I am!

So there I was in the taxi, sweating like hell, looking at all these black people walking on the side of the road in the heat carrying stuff on their heads and biking with dead chickens hanging from the handles and I was like YES FINALLY I MADE IT TO AFRICA! I was all smiling and excited as my fellow travelers in the taxi, a guy from New York and an older couple from Wales.

I had booked a dorm bed at Mufasa Backpackers Lodge, which was run by a South-African guy and his German wife and their kids. A nice place in the middle of the city where I met tons of other volunteers and expats. All Westerners here are basically volunteering or working for a charity or NGO.  On my first day I already got loads of contacts and invitations to work on various projects. I also got to enjoy a night out at a local night bar called the "Shack", where I had a fun time with other travelers from around the globe and local dudes. I was really surprised to see so many "white" people among the locals and they all seemed to get a long just well. But I have to say it, Malawians are just the nicest and kindest people.

After a late night at the Shack I took the morning bus up to Nkhata Bay. This 9h ride turned out to be an 11h sauna trip. Waaaaa it was hot and I was sweating probably stinking like a pig at the end. I had chosen to take the lake shore bus, which runs along Lake Malawi until you reached Nhkata Bay in the north. The scenery was beautiful and the more north we came the greener it got. We made endless accounts of stops in every little village as people was getting on and off. The bus made more stops than usual as the smaller minibuses were not running due to lack of fuel.

I was lucky enough to meet Josie on the bus. She is one of the owner of Butterfly Space Lodge, where I was going in Nhkata Bay. I got a lift with her to the lodge from the bus station, which was great as there had just been a power cut in the village and I could not see anything but darkness when getting of the bus. She had also ordered dinner for me and her at the lodge so when we got there, there was a plate waiting for me :) That just made my day and yummie it was good too (rice with grilled vegetables and a salad)!

After arriving in the darkness it was a nice surpise the next morning to wake up in this paradise of Butterfly Space. The lake was just right there on the tip of my feet, palm trees and bungalows and even a small beach. Ah, nice! One can easily stay here for weeks at Butterfly Space. It is a very beautiful place right outside the city (or village) center, about a 20 min walk. It is located up on a hill and has several chalets (bungalows), dorms, a restaurant, bar, compost toilets and open air showers. You can hear the waves breaking from the beach and there is always breeze so you can cool down a bit in this hot weather.

The place is owned by two British girls, Josie and A.J and currently Jeff and Jenny is helping out running the place. Most of the guests are volunteers helping out with the various projects. But there are also other backpackers like Wout, who is biking from the Netherlands to South-Africa and Thomas and Sofia, who is making a documentary film of Malawi.

Nhkata Bay is a small town. It is located at a beautiful spot at the lake surrounded by small hills and mountains. It is mainly a fishing town and you can get plenty of fresh fish and sardines. There are many rastafaris in town blasting reggae and the locals seem to like their beers :) I am yet to explore more...but they have an ok food market where to buy tomatoes, onions, papaya, beans and greens.

There are several volunteering projects in Nkhata Bay and Butterfly is running about 5 or 6 of them if not more. They have their own nursery for 2-5 year olds, which I visited yesterday and helped out sorting all the books and spent some time with the kids. My main interest is not to be volunteering at a nursery as I think the kids are just too small. But it was interesting to see how it was set up and run. The kids were soooo cute and yes I could easily stay there and just help out with whatever they need but there is already plenty of short term volunteers helping out and well I also want to be able to communicate more with the kids than to just teach them ABC and colours. So today I went to Chikale primary school and met up with the head principal. This school is, just as the nursery, just around the corner from Butterfly, which is a major advantage as walking anywhere in this heat is a challenge. I must say that I am not yet used to this heat... it is probably around 38'C if not more in the sun in the middle of the day... will one ever get used to such heat? It is the same with -30'C, no one ever gets used to that.

Anyhow, it was a good visit at the primary school. The head principal Chuso showed me around and introduced me to some of the teachers and classes. There are around 750 students at the school from grade 1 to 8, so plenty of kids! And of course they need plenty of help. Currently there are no volunteers there at all... I don't know why... maybe the kids scared them away??

I explained to the prinipal that I do not want to teach a whole class of 70 kids but instead to be a teacher's assistant and help out in class or perhaps take 4-5 kids who are struggling outside and give them a more one on one session. He was open to this idea and told me I can do whatever I want. It is up to me. Well all the better I thought :) But before I start being with the kids, me and another girl will paint some of the walls in one of the classrooms. Will will do some ABCs and numbers and such. So that is what I will be doing (hopefully) in the coming days.

I will also try to upload some pictures. Not sure if this internet can handle it but I will give it a try tomorrow. Right now the power got cut (again) so no more internet for me. So I cannot do anything else than to go out and enjoy a lovely dip in the crystal clear water in the lake. Ah what a hard life!! The angels have defiently showed me to the right place :)

The power is back and it is the next morning :) Now I can finally upload this text to my blog.

Anette's African Adventure

I am thinking about changing my blog title as in five days my African Adventure starts!

The continent has for long been on my "to visit list" and now the time has come. This time I am not going as a regular backpacker but as a volunteer. Volunteering is another thing that as been on my "to do list" for many years and again this seem to be the time for me to do it. So off I go!

However, Africa was not my first thought when I was thinking about where to go and volunteer. I had been thinking to seriously go to Nepal and then to another South-east Asian country. But then my travelling-around-the-world friend Mike and my true hardcore backpacker mate Christine inspired me to go to Africa. Of course Africa has always been on my mind, but was more thinking in the terms of maybe one day I get to go there on my honeymoon. LOL, so I guess I am off on my honeymoon! But where is the groom??

Anyhow, once I decided on Africa I started to do some research on where in the big big Africa to go. There are hundreds and hundreds of volunteer organisations in Africa... the more I researched the more confused I got. But I had one certain criteria! That it had to be for free and in return for my blood sweat and tears I would get food and shelter in return. So I did not even look into those organizations that charges thousands for volunteering for some weeks. This to me is absolutely absurd! I soon realized that in Africa I also had to forget about the free stuff as at least I had to pay for my shelter or the food while volunteering. Well, fine I thought as neither of these are too expensive in Africa.

So I was looking for a small charity offering free volunteering and a cheap bed and I decided to go either to Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia or Mozambique. I also wanted to have some recommendations from other volunteers and nomads like me and where else to look than on CouchSurfing! I started reading posts and came across one Coushsurfer that had been volunteering in Tanzania and around so I sent him an email and asked what he thought would be a good idea. This couchsurfer was a Cuban guy in his 50s and he recommended me to go either to the poorer countries Mozambique or Malawi as the people need more help there than in Tanzania. He knew about this small charity called Butterfly Space that was run by two British girls and encouraged me to contact them. So I looked the charity up on the internet, found them very interesting and emailed the girls, who right away invited me to come down and work with them :) They offered me a cheap bed and free volunteering work. "AaaaaaaHhh" I thought shaking my head, never ever underestimate the people on Couchsurfing! Couchsurfers are great great people and even though we do not know each other we can count on one another! Like this guy in the Caribbean Cuba, on the other side of the world, recommends a Finnish girl from north of Europe to go volunteering all the way south to Malawi in Africa. What a small world it is. I love it!

So at the end it was an easy choice. Malawi it was!

The ticket got booked, insurance has been bought, the lonely planet is secured and the backpack is ready! This time around, I have also been smart enough to get a wind-up torch for all those moments when the battery dies and you are outside sitting on the bush toilet in the middle of the dark night when you hear scary rattle noises in the bush next to you. I have also invested in other smart gadgets that I have missed out on before, such as a head-light, practical waterproof dry bags, a ultra light travel towel and new hiking shoes. As all backpackers know the most important thing to bring is, except for the Swiss army knife, an interesting book and I got "Conversations with God" that I hopefully will have time to read.

I have only had a sneak peak in my Lonely Planet Malawi guide book (aka my bible) to get to know something about this new home of mine. I have to admit that I did not know anything, absolutely anything about this country. I did not even know where exactly it was situated in Africa. That is how bad my African geography was. Shame on me! 

So for all of you that actually have no clue, just like me, what Malawi is all about I have done the homework for you. So no need to google it :)

Malawi is located south of the equator. Right about here. Next to the the eight largest lake in the world! It neighbors Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia. Malawi it about as big as the UK and is populated by 13 million people, who speaks the official languages English or Chichewa or any of the smaller local tongues. The capital is called Lilongwe, where my flight will take me and they have the same time zone as Amsterdam and Stockholm so hurray for no jet lag! I will get to Malawi with Kenya Airways from London via Nairobi, a 15h flight transit included.

Their currency look beautiful to me and is named Kwacha and divided into 100 tambala. For 1€ you get 220 Kwacha, which maybe you get a meal for on the street. I will for sure find out how this really is as I am a big street eater.

Malawi has the reputation for being "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of its friendly people. Among backpackers it is knows as "Africa for Beginners". So I guess I am heading for the right direction. The rainy season is about to start when I hit the ground and it is promised to be hot and humid with some buzzing malaria infected mosquitos around. I have already stocked up on some glorious green malaria pills, which I hope I can take with no side effects. I am sure the mozzies inhabitate Malawi because of its beauty and animals and I hope to see some of these hippos around the bush. But hopefully not when I am out peeing in the middle of the night.

Malawi seem to also have its on gold. "Malawi Gold", locally knows as "chamba", is the name given to cannabis originating in Malawi. It is internationally renowned as one of the finest marijuana from Africa and brings an economic profit to the country even though cannabis is illegal in Malawi. It is one of the most popular type of marijuana in the Netherlands, where weed is actually legal. Its taste is described as "sweet, with a hint of pineapple".

 

Malawi also got very known a couple of years ago when Madonna adopted a baby boy from the country. There was the dispute whether or not the baby was an orphan and it turned out that his father was very much alive but somehow Madonna got to adopt the child anyway. Hmmm... don't ask me why.

Besides that, Malawi is a very poor country where the majority of the people live on agriculture. HIV and AIDS is very common and so is HIV orphans and infant mortality. There are numerous NGOs and charities located in Malawi. Butterfly Space, where I will be volunteering, is both a local charity and a hostel. They run several projects with the community and I can choose from working at the nursery, teach at the school, build the playground, work with disabled children, work in the garden, help out at their internet and resource center and much more. I have not yet decided what I am going to do as I first want to get there and check out the vibe. But one of my main interests is to work with children and if the vibes hit me hard I will go for it!

During my travels you can check out my whereabouts on my Google Map at the bottom of the blog. I will also upload pictures on Picasa, which is linked to the blog. I plan to write as much as I can and hopefully inspire you to join me in Malawi :) As always, you are more than welcome to visit me wherever I am in the world! As for now, my plans are to volunteer for three months in Malawi and then backpack around in Tanzania and Zambia for one month. But note than plans can always change. :)

Make over!

My blog has got a total new make over and I hope you like the result, cos I do! In between working on the layout I made some delicious raw coconut chocolate balls, which you can see to the left. Yum, yum, yum! I almost ate all of them at once!

The reason why I wanted to give my blog a make over is beacuse I am about to endavour on a new adventure in a couple of days. I will write about the where, when and why in a few but until then WELCOME to my blog!