4/19 Site Visit!

I awoke to discover my site this morning. Gorgeous Mountains covered in endless trees and an impossibly beautiful grew up around me while I slept. I left Kasungu district yesterday to travel to see my final living site for the first time. At a crisp 530 am we rolled away from the village of Chinkhombwe with its flowing plains and sparse hills that is dominated by the towering, lone Kasungu Mountain that has watched over us during our training. First stop is the hotel in Kasungu Boma where our counterparts are staying so that all of the people traveling north may cram on a minibus. (Boma is the term used for major cities and trading centers – a remnant acronym from British rule, I don’t remember what it means!).

‘Mini’ is the key descriptor there. We fit 26 people and gear onto a vehicle designed to carry 15 – glad I packed light. Such is travel in Africa, and by now we have become well aware of the regularity of this situation. Unfortunately this makes the situation no more tenable. I find myself precariously wedged between three people’s knees and the back of the front seat. The first stop is a little over an hour away and while we lose 4 people when we get there, we gain 2 more. Now I find myself in nearly the same spot, this time sitting in the lap of Jackie. Jackie is an intelligent and joyful woman who is much smaller than me and remains quite a good sport about the situation.

We complete the second leg of the journey with her acting as the ‘big spoon’ – you really have to be comfortable with your fellow volunteers. She departs at the next stop with her counterpart but the general theme of seating remains the same for the duration of the trip. I also sit on Brittany and Amy’s laps and finish with Matt in mine before we finally part ways 2 hours later as we head towards our respective individual homes. The last leg of minibus travel from Mzuzu to Rhumpi is much more tolerable.

My nearest volunteer will be Ian, another trainee, and we meet up in Rhumpi Boma around 2 pm. I will be working with an extension and education agent at Nyika National Park and my counterpart has arranged for transport the remaining 40k (Ian) & 60k (me) to our sites. I will be living on Thazima Mountain in Thazima village, a kilometer from the park entrance. We expected to be at my site by 3pm or so, but have arrived a little later than planned and our park transport is tied up for the afternoon dealing with some poachers that were caught removing a large portion of park fence from nearby Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve with the intent of reselling it later.

We don’t leave Rhumpi until almost 7 pm. We pass the time talking to our counterparts and to Brooks, the volunteer that Ian is replacing. We learn of specific projects and activities he has taken on and discuss his experiences as well as the general social climate of the country. It is dark and chilly by the time we start the last leg of the journey. The road is a wide, rutted, and pot hole filled adventure – we ride in the back of a heavy duty park truck. My bones are jarred by the time we drop Ian off.

Then it gets interesting. The driver knows an off the beaten path shortcut that surely only the burliest of off road vehicles can take. The twin track we drive up and down requires the truck to be paced in mechanical 4 wheel drive. Much of it resembles mountain bike trails I have tackled in the states. By this point I have ridden much of the way standing while grasping the roll bar, probably the best way to keep from being rattled to pieces by the bumps or tossed from the truck bed.

There was no moonlight. All that I can see is the stars and the small bit of red earth ‘road’ or trees that are illuminated by the headlamps. When we arrive I can see very little of the immediate area around the house. I meet the headman of the sub village I live in and I take a meal with my counterpart. We eat a bit of bread, some nsima, and fried egg before I finally sleep – exhausted.

When I wake the view is, as previously stated, overwhelming. I am greeted by an exceptionally cheerful dog (unusual in Malawi, dogs are typically not treated well here). I later learn his name is lion, no surprise as I have begun to wonder if every dog in Malawi has been named the same. We are fast friends before I am through with breakfast. The house is small, two rooms with a fenced yard. Outside is a nice open aired kitchen, the bafa (bathing room) is reed/bamboo with a cement pad and the chimbuzi (toilet) is a touch removed from the yard. I am a stones throw (ha!) from climbing; there are some marvelously large boulders up the mountain from my front yard. Fruit trees abound and the soil seems good, I hope to have a great garden by the rainy season next November.

This place, this country, and the people here are amazing. In the time I have written this out the weather has turned from sunny to cloudy to foggy and raining and back yet again. My neighbors have brought me fresh cooked corn on the cob, a very common treat here. It is all nearly too much to take in and since arriving in Malawi I often feel many waves of emotion washing over me. The fact that I am fortunate enough to be here never ceases to astound me. I look forward to the times to come!