Malawi, first impressions
Posted by Chloe Piche on January 27th, 2012
I have now been in Malawi for a little bit over a week now. The people are just amazing and the landscape of the country is un-believable; everything is green, there are so many beautiful birds, mountains and clouds.
I am living in a little town called Dowa, it is about 6-7 km away from the refugee camp which is where I am volunteering. The Jesuit Refugee Service has a Higher Education at the Margins program, which is an online University program for the students living in camp. It is a way for them to have an opportunity to attend university and pursue their dreams. During a day at camp I organize discussion groups with the students on course content, I help the students one on one with their work and I am part of a community garden project that has just kicked off.
Having travelled before a bit in the past the Malawian culture is similar in some ways to South American and South East Asian culture: The markets are hustling and bustle-ling, there are issues with waste disposal, the people are in general very friendly and helpful, it is not abnormal to find a chicken sitting beside you on the mini-bus, poverty is very apparent in rural and urban settings… This is not to say that the culture is the same as any other though. Since I have been here, I have had many surprises, some warming my heart and others that feel much harder to deal with.
The Malawian people seem to be really friendly and try and help me for whatever it may be: getting on the mini-bus, bargaining in the market, finding the rest room or figuring out how to boil water to drink. One thing I have noticed is that no matter the question you ask someone the answer is always ‘yes’. I think this may be the combination of a language barrier but also something that is cultural.
In Malawi the main language is Chichewa so most people speak this language and various other African dialects depending on which part of the country that they are from. English is the office language of the country and although many people do speak English it is very basic. Chichewa is a language that is very difficult to learn but it is definitely worth learning while I am here, with hope that in terms of the miss understandings that are reoccurring can be reduced.
The other part of the miss understanding I believe is more caused for cultural reasons. As a white person I really feel that the Malawian do not want to say ‘no’ to me or other westerners, so they seem to say ‘yes’ to everything even when the answer is ‘no’J. It can get a little bit confusing.
I am hoping that throughout my stay I will come to understand this communication issue that seems to keep happening. Learning some Chichewa should help and also just getting more used to the people, their body language and the way that they communicate not only with westerners but also with other Malawians.
My overall experience so far has been really positive and I have gained an appreciation for the culture and the people. Life here feels much more tiring but again that may be just because I am not completely use to it, I will see how I feel about this in a month.
Thanks for sharing !