Flora and many anthropological observations

HUGE Baobab in Majete wildlife park - i love these trees!


nice pink flowers just outside Majete (apparently this plant only flowers in near drought)


a Mulanje Cedar (i think) on the slopes of the Mulanje Massif


on the Mulanje 'plateau'


on the Mulanje 'plateau'


wee alpine flowers on the slopes of Sapitwa, probably around 7000ft altitude


wee alpine flowers on the slopes of Sapitwa, probably around 7000ft altitude


tea plantation near Mulanje, looking across to a hill in Mozambique


flowers half way up to the Zomba plateau

I thought I should share some of the photos of flora I’ve been diligently taking. I am often accused of taking too many photos of mountains, so I thought I’d diversify to other immobile objects (starting on the easy stuff!). So I hope you enjoy. I don’t know the names of any of them, but perhaps that will whet your appetite to look them up.

In other news, Rachel has been ridiculously busy this week as today is the start of the first work camp. She is currently out at the site (around 1hour, to 90 minutes away) managing the deliveries of various building materials, volunteers and professional builders who will hopefully manage to build 2 new classrooms for a massively over subscribed school in a rural village called Kachere (or Kuchere, I’m not exactly sure).

Rachel has been a beacon of calm in the hysteria and disorganisation that has surrounded her – I’m beginning to wonder if she’s been sneaking off for a quick smoke! She has been really good at accepting that in the short time we are here we cannot suddenly change the prevailing ‘laid back’ (aka lazy) attitude of Malawians, and realising that as long as she has done her best she should not worry if the final outcome is achieved or not. A hard thing for us liberals to accept, but it has to be accepted for sustainable mental health. Once one has accepted that things may happen, or they may not, it is like a weight being lifted from your shoulders (until the next frustration piles the weight back on). I think we were approaching this attitude on our own, but an email from Hamish quoting Laurence of Arabia was a catalyst for a change of approach. This change of approach will hopefully only last until December, otherwise we’ll be unemployable in the UK!

Before I forget, I must note down some of the amazing slogans we see around us (mainly on the minibuses). I wish I had photos of these all, but trying to get a camera out while surrounded by 25 people and chickens in a 15 seater minibus is not really an option! The slogans attributed to minibuses must be looked at in the context of the incredibly dangerous and non-courteous way they drive, otherwise they wouldn’t be funny.
• Lord Knows (on a minibus)
• When god says yes, nobody says no (on a minibus)
• W*nk electronics (name of a shop)
• Aunty / Uncle (insert very British name here) ‘s Grocery/Salon/Investments (common name of shops)

OK, so I can’t remember as many as I’d hoped, but I will try to carry a notepad around with me next time I’m in town, and come back with some more “gems”…

Other African observations I must get down before I forget that they are odd:
• Hawkers will carry live chickens around for sale, but the chickens will be partially plucked (probably to show the good quality of the meat – must be pretty cruel to the animal, but in some respects they lead a much better life than many chickens in the UK as they are all free range and organic!
• Yes, people (mainly women) do carry things around on their heads – quite skilfully. Often you may see young children being schooled in the art, which is quite funny as their parent will always laugh at them when they fail.
• When Malawians receive a gift (from white or local people) they will almost never say “thank you”, however if you exchange greetings with someone in passing on the street the conversation always ends with a “thank you”#
• Yes, most Malawians eat all meals with their hands
• I haven’t mentioned sugar cane yet have I? This is the staple snack for the country, a foot or so of sugar cane which they carry around, chew on, and spit out the husks to the ground
• The amount people can carry on a bicycle (mostly single speed as the derailleurs / hub gears have failed a long time ago) is incredible. Again, I must try to get photos. We regularly pass people with what must be 30 or 50kg bags of maize or rice on the back of their bike. Or with a 5ft tall sack of charcoal. Or a 12ft long piece of corrugated metal for roofing (if they are sensible this will be tied on vertically, but occasionally you come across people who have tied them on horizontally and are a very wide load. A chicken cage or 2 (each would be about 1ft cubed) Or pretty much anything else you can think of! Admittedly you rarely see people actually cycling with these loads, but rather using the bike as a means of not having to carry the weight. But still, the sight is impressive!
• I regularly get called “boss”, especially by people who want something from me. Sometimes I am called “brother” in a more informal setting by the youth. Rachel will often be called “madam” with respect, or “sister”, “aunty”, or “mama” in a less respectful setting. One bloke even called her “aunty” while trying to proposition her…a bit odd!
• Chichewa has no differentiation between “he” and “she”, “him” and “her”…which means when someone is being described to you, you are never quite sure whether they are talking about a male or female. This is especially interesting when you consider how divided the culture is in respect to gender roles…all very anthropological anyway.
• In the Malawian family children get tough love. Adults are given priority when it comes to meal times, the kids will get the scraps. A child given a sweet by a doctor may have it snatched from them by the mother. Children in Malawi are not allowed eggs, as the parents worry that if the child works out that they can get eggs from any chicken in the township, none of the eggs will be left to produce more chicks. In Malawi it is entirely normal to see a pre-school child (girl most likely) carrying a younger sibling on their back with one of the wrap-around pieces of decorated cloth their mothers use…parents seem to take very much a back seat with raising children if there are siblings about.

So that's the update, I hope you enjoyed it!