Life in Mzuzu

Although I've talked about Mzuzu a little bit in my past blogs, I thought it would be nice to go into a bit more detail about how living in Mzuzu is different than living in Canada. When someone says Africa, often the images and topics that come up are a very western position on what Africa is - hot, dry, elephants, HIV/AIDs, starvation, poverty, children. When we first heard about Malawi - our first question was "where?" Most people say "ooo, Maui!" Malawi isn't one of the more well known countries in Africa, but those who have been here never forget. Malawi is a unique country due to its history, its landscape, culture and its people. Malawi is home to the third largest African lake, Lake Malawi and there are 3 national languages other than English. Mike and I are attempting to learn Chitimbuka, which is the language of the Northern region. Right now (early August) it's cold! I have to wear sweaters and scarves. Its considered winter - cold and dry, which is hard to imagine when talking about Africa. There are cities, just not how we are used to them at home. Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, is very developed. There are many buildings and many people that make up the city, just not very many glass towers. The differences between Lilongwe and St. Catharines are less about the development and the people, and more about how things are done. 

At home, transit is provided by the city with planned routes, planned rates and not budging when it comes to personal schedules - unless you are able to always afford a private taxi to take you where you need to go. In Malawi there is transit through shared taxis, mini-buses, matolas and bike taxis. With any of these modes of transportation, you literally just have to walk towards a 'taxi stand' (random grouping of cars) and get in a car for a shared taxi. Now, you have to share the taxi with other people going to same way to general location, but when the car is full you leave - this is the same for mini-buses (which are basically old-school vans) with much more people packed in. No waiting for the specific time the bus leaves - it's just when the vehicle is full. In Mzuzu, the university is about a 30 minute walk from town down the main road. For us to go get groceries, we walk out to the main road to the taxi stand at the end of the university driveway and hop in a taxi to town. This only costs about 100MK per person, which is only 38 cents Canadian. Can you imagine getting a taxi at the end of your driveway to downtown St. Catharines for only 38 cents? A matola is a lot cheaper, but also more dangerous. Hop in the back of a truck bed that takes you where you need to go - sure there may be 30 other people and no safety procedures, but it's cheap and a fun way to get places. Of course, riding in the back of a pick-up, flat bed or bigger back home is illegal. And of course Mike and I have never done this in Mzuzu, don't worry mom. The most unique mode of transportation is bike taxis, which is something we really don't have at home. A bike taxi is literally someone's bike with a seat on the back wheel and they will take you directly to the shop that you need to go for only 200MK. The bike taxi operators truly are in shape! Some of the items people carry on their bike is amazing - there is nothing like hard work in Malawi. The only times when this transportation system is tested is when there is a fuel crisis and Mzuzu has no fuel - which is about once a month. You can still get a shared taxi, chances are that for half the trip to the town the car is turned off or in neutral with the gas tank on empty. Fuel crisis at home means that the gas price is going up 5 cents and people are angry. 

Another difference is the shopping experience - I've particularly understood this difference because of my partiality to shopping. At home to go shopping you hop in your car, drive for 10 or 15 min, stop at the mall or superstore, pick up everything in one place and drive home. And of course complain about having to carry everything into the house. How about instead you hop in a shared taxi (or walk if you don't have enough money for a taxi) into town to get dropped off in one location. To get general groceries and dry goods you walk to the grocery store, which happens to be on the other side of town. BUT, that grocery store is out of sugar - so you walk to another store to get sugar. And you need tape. So you walk to the hardware district to find a shop that sells tape that is not over 1000MK (about $4 Canadian). And you want bread, so you walk to the bakery. Need veggies and fruit, have to go to the market and barter for the local price (we are white = rich = no fair deals if you don't barter). It's not too bad when you get used to where the stores are located and where the best prices are. Of course it's also good exercise to walk everywhere. What is frustrating is when you need 4 items: sugar, bananas, tape and a blanket. At home, this is an easy list! Just go to the superstore, or Walmart. Here, it's a different district for each item, and only when the item is in stock. Patience is always a virtue, here especially. Want french toast for breakfast? Took Mike and me 2 months to get all the ingredients - mind you we didn't want to make our own syrup. Once you have all of the items on your list, it's just a matter of walking back to the taxi stand to get the ride back up to the university. Unfortunately, this isn't a 30 min shopping trip. Fast anything is not the Malawi way. No one stop shop stores and no fast food. When we want fries and it's a Sunday when the power is on, you make them yourself. Sure you could get a shared taxi into town and walk to the one restaurant that is open - but in the end its cheaper to buy the potatoes and oil and just do it yourself. 

At home, it's much easier to walk to a fast food restaurant, and probably cheaper too. At home we live in a bubble - we know it's not good to drive everywhere, to eat out or to indulge every chance you get. But it's just so convenient! Of course I'm going to eat all you can eat sushi and then stop to get a latte and a new book. It's so easy to do it! In Malawi, it's back to basics, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It makes you appreciate everything you own, eat and do more. Here, there is no such thing as garbage - everything can be reused. There is also no such thing as compost - everything can be eaten, at least by someone or something. Convenience is a term that has no relevance when you have to do something or go somewhere. It is amazing how people are able to accomplish tasks that would be a huge deal at home on a daily basis. We see people walk amazing distances with strange items on a daily basis - how many people at home have ridden a bike with a double bed on the back from downtown to your community over an hour away? Life is just different here - relaxed (on time is flexible), hard-working, appreciative, and generous. As stubborn as people are when you are bartering a price in the market, there is no doubt in my mind that if we met them in their home or on the road that they would offer us something of their own just to be nice. Too many times have we asked someone a question only to be given too much in return. Never ask someone where a store is, they will walk you to the door. Never ask someone where the best place to buy a power bar is, they will be at your house in an hour with the best one in Mzuzu and not accept anything in return. There is always time to do something, see someone or help someone out. That is the good thing about living in Mzuzu. It is truly community living. We've only been here a short time, but we already appreciate the simplicity of life here and the benefits of how Malawians live. Of course poverty, HIV/AIDs and starvation are still large issues - but they aren't the only things that define Africa. Our first two months here have completely transformed the stereotype. Now we just have to wait for the weather to get warmer.