Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A week in pictures
I had a crazy busy week last week, (with a healthy sprinking of power blackouts and internet outages), followed by a lovely weekend at a lake resort thanks to some visiting Aussies. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes...
Monday- no piccies- just meetings, cooking and entertaining guests.
Tuesday- taking our Aussie vistors out to the village- but first we stopped to help push a truck that had run out of fuel (Mangochi has run out of diesel) off the road- only to find we had a flat ourselves. So, in true Aussie style we bamboozled the locals with hackey sack.
Wednesday- was the inaugural opening of a local Community Library that we've had a lot to do with. The ceremony started an hour or two late and went for an hour or two longer than the programme said - but hey- the local school and the villages in the area now have access to books to support ther functional education classes..and it's also stocked with sports equipment and a bicycle ambulance. awesome
Thursday- I attended the National Manure Campaign Launch at a farm a few hours drive away. 
Although the official proceedings resembled the previous day- i actually really enjoyed the displays and networking with other NGO's and organic farming oriented people. Im hoping to head back to that farm sometime in th enext few weeks for a few days to have a proper look around.
Although the official proceedings resembled the previous day- i actually really enjoyed the displays and networking with other NGO's and organic farming oriented people. Im hoping to head back to that farm sometime in th enext few weeks for a few days to have a proper look around.
Friday- I took our visitors to a translation project, local orphanage and of course- the farm!
The little babies I held last time I visited the orphanage were now toddling around and a whole new set of babies moved in.
Saturday n Sunday... was a bit cold, but we all had some much needed fun, reflection time and R&R
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Happy Malawi Republic Day!
Today, July 6th is Malawi's Republic Day.
From the late 19th century until independence, Malawi was a British protectorate called Nyasaland. Today in 1964 they declared their independence from the British, and 2 years later became the Republic of Malawi.
During the reign of the 1st President- his Excellency, the Life President Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Republic Day was celebrated with huge functions all over the country (mandatory attendance). For the past 10 years, however, the celebrations have been abolished and this year is the first time in 10 years that Malawians have been encouraged to celebrate this special day. Word is that those not politically aligned with the current ruling party won't be welcomed (ie there are no major celebrations planned in our district) but hey- we get a public holiday tomorrow!
The Malawi flag features a black stripe that represents the people of Africa. The color red stands for the blood spilt in Malawi's struggle for independence; while the color green symbolizes the country's vegetation. The rising sun represents the dawn of freedom and hope on the African continent.
image used from http://flagspot.net/flags/mw.html, flag explanation from http://www.worldflags101.com/m/malawi-flag.aspx
Smokin'
Its burning season.
Mangochi is down behind that hill- smothered. Bring on the rains - only 3 months to go!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Hysteria
Hysteria / Hysterics
A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women, in which the emotional and reflex excitability is exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished, so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into paroxysm or fits. [Webster1913]
I sat on the bench wanting to laugh- long and loud - uncontrollably for all the world to hear. It was then I started pondering the definition of hysteria. maybe 'hysterical laughter' wasn't a phrase to be used lightly if this was the urge i was feeling...
All I wanted was a map- a map of the farm with topography. In Australia I'd have called my mate John at Harley Survey and a few hours later it'd pop into my inbox with a poem or joke to brighten the day. I'd asked for this map 6 weeks ago, and finally deciding I'd been given the 'African yes' went hunting for it myself.
Several hours, several offices and a request for bribe money later I was sitting on a bench in the town records office- a small room lined with bookshelves and pigeon holes crammed full with tatty, yellowing manilla folders, labelled with peeling masking tape – the excess stacked in toppling piles on the floor. The clerk was slowly and systematically looking through every file for some tidbit of archived information for the man further up the bench. When it finally came to my turn it was 20 minutes 'til lunch so I had to go back in the afternoon.
He was held up some where else that afternoon, but very cheerfully handed the file to me this morning. It did contain a map - of sorts- but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be. sigh.
This culture shock stuff just goes on and on doesn't it? For some reason it still surprises me that my expectations don't fit here and I think completley differently and somehow miss most of the nuances in possibly every interaction.
Well- back to my comfortable task oriented cultural paradigm- If anyone knows how to measure and map topographic information for a very hilly piece of land I'd really appreciate it :)
A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women, in which the emotional and reflex excitability is exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished, so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into paroxysm or fits. [Webster1913]
I sat on the bench wanting to laugh- long and loud - uncontrollably for all the world to hear. It was then I started pondering the definition of hysteria. maybe 'hysterical laughter' wasn't a phrase to be used lightly if this was the urge i was feeling...
All I wanted was a map- a map of the farm with topography. In Australia I'd have called my mate John at Harley Survey and a few hours later it'd pop into my inbox with a poem or joke to brighten the day. I'd asked for this map 6 weeks ago, and finally deciding I'd been given the 'African yes' went hunting for it myself.
Several hours, several offices and a request for bribe money later I was sitting on a bench in the town records office- a small room lined with bookshelves and pigeon holes crammed full with tatty, yellowing manilla folders, labelled with peeling masking tape – the excess stacked in toppling piles on the floor. The clerk was slowly and systematically looking through every file for some tidbit of archived information for the man further up the bench. When it finally came to my turn it was 20 minutes 'til lunch so I had to go back in the afternoon.
He was held up some where else that afternoon, but very cheerfully handed the file to me this morning. It did contain a map - of sorts- but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be. sigh.
This culture shock stuff just goes on and on doesn't it? For some reason it still surprises me that my expectations don't fit here and I think completley differently and somehow miss most of the nuances in possibly every interaction.
Well- back to my comfortable task oriented cultural paradigm- If anyone knows how to measure and map topographic information for a very hilly piece of land I'd really appreciate it :)
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