11.3.07

Hello! Muli Bwanji nonse? After being berated for lack of blogging well here I am. So, I’ve been based here in Mulanje now for over a month now and it’s been pretty full on but mainly really positive. My boss was with me for the first couple of weeks before heading back to Lilongwe then Dedza in which time we met the District Commissioner, my immediate colleagues in the District Department of Education, found a house, found some ‘desk space’, helped host some visiting Scottish teachers for a day from another organisation (i.e Simba’s!) and generally kick started LCD Mulanje…

I’ll start with the house finding. This isn’t an easy thing to do around here. Most quality housing is owned by the tea estates and there is a lot of competition – not least with expats and NGO workers in the area, of which there are quite a lot. The first house I saw was an ENORMOUS four bedroom old colonial style brick house currently owned by the Tea Research Foundation. I was almost tempted looking at the huge veranda and the enormous sitting room and fireplace, thinking of the mad old parties I could have in there. Except it dawned on me that I probably wouldn’t have that many people to fill the place of a Saturday night and it was just so big I would probably have to close off the west wing. Also it was right by the tarmac road to Mozambique with no gate or fence so I figured once word got round that a lone female was there I’d be a bit of a sitting duck.

Back to the drawing board. Simba had given me a few phone numbers from her previous time in Mulanje, including the number of a wife of one of the South African managers of a tea estate. After giving her a call she gave me a few managers’ numbers to follow-up on and, 3 links down the chain later, I was off to see a couple of houses in a tea estate not far from the district offices in town. That’s basically how we ended up finding this place – with three bedrooms and an inside bath and toilet. And the view is something special – about 10km of tea estates and then mountains in the distance that are in Mozambique. Funnily it is one of the few places in Mulanje (excluding inside people’s toilets etc) where you can’t see all 3000m of Mulanje mountain but it isn’t too far away.

View from outside house my house in the day and first thing in the morning over the teafields. The mountains are in Mozambique. Also my bedroom - the beds, mats, cushions, lampshade and curtains all made from scratch! Took a while....

After finding the house it was time, believe it or not, for a quick holiday with Simba. We hit the lake, chased some giraffes on horseback, got stuck in the mud in the truck (twice) before moving into the new place back in Mulanje. Here are a few of the highlights…

Sunset at Kuti national park, Simba on lake Malawi, chasing giraffes on horseback, boys on the beach at Senga bay

I since started a regular working routine, or as regular as I think it’s going to get. I’ve met all the Primary Education Advisors (13 of them in Mulanje who live in a zone of about 10 schools that they support) and 4 zones have been identified to work with. I’ve visited some schools in all of those zones and profiled about 8 schools fully, meeting the headteacher, school management committee, PTA, learners etc. It usually means arriving at the school by 7.30am and hitting the next school by 9.30am, mud permitting. The mud is certainly a bit of an issue. The car isn’t 4x4 and is absolutely massive – it must weigh over a tonne! I’ve had a few incidents already whereby mobs form around the stuck car and tractors need to be found. It tends to be a bit stressful as I don’t have much of a support network here yet and no Malawian staff…Anyway, I have another week of profiling like this coming up before having to stop for an inspection week and then end of term examinations….Luckily this time a colleague from the Dedza office will be coming down to assist.

Road to Mulanje school - we didn't make it that day! Mulanje primary at foot of Mulanje Mountain

On the social side, well, Mulanje ain’t that bad! There’s one nice lodge with bar right up on the hillside that is pretty spectacular for a sundowner and the staff are good fun. I went to play pool in town with one guy Felix and ended up coopted into the town’s pool team. There’s also a rather exclusive golf and country club, which is packed full of South African tea estate managers and wives and children with some expats but I’m not sure if it’s going to be my cup of tea, so to speak. I’ve also met a pretty cool guy from Blantyre a few weeks back who runs a Malawian arts and culture website and events – www.portraitmalawi.co.mw. I almost ran him over in Blantyre yesterday crossing the road carrying a tennis racquet, so my first tennis partner is set! He’s coming down to play in Mulanje in a few weeks time which is very exciting indeed.

Sundowner Spot over Mulanje

So take it easy guys - thanks for your comments - keep in touch!
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