Mangochi & Lake Malawi

I had an exciting adventure just before exam week – I got to spend the weekend in Mangochi (near Lake Malawi) with Zuriel. We had originally planned to have all the Young Adults (from Blantyre & Lilongwe) get together for a retreat at the lake, but finances were a little tight for most people so it didn’t work out. So instead, it was just Zuriel and I who went to the Lake on Sunday – we were able to go to a resort and use their beach area to swim, then we had lunch there before heading home.

I got to experience some different transport options while in Mangochi, which made the trip extra fun. I started out on a minibus, which I’m used too, but I was all by myself again, not something I’m used to. Next, Zuriel and I rode on the back of some bicycles to his house – I think he said they call them ‘Bandas’. There were more bicycles on the rode than cars or minibuses; they seem to be the main form of transportation in and around Mangochi (as long as you’re not going too far). On our way to the lake, we hopped into the back of a pickup truck – I’ve ridden in the back of a truck before, but never with 15 people, 3 bags of maize, one large basket of roasted maize and some paint buckets in the back. One thing that really amazed me was one woman who got into the truck handed her baby to the man sitting in the front passenger seat (not someone she knew) before getting into the back of the truck. I cannot imagine anyone doing that in the US – just handing their child to someone they don’t know who is traveling with them – craziness! On the way home from the lake, we were again on the back of a truck, but this time it was more of a diesel cargo truck rather than just a pickup truck. Again, I’ve never felt so smooshed – every time I thought we were full, they would stop and pick someone else up, and this time we had large boxes and baskets in the back with us, not just people. I also felt bad because the conductor (the one collecting the money) charged us double the regular rate because I was white. I knew something was wrong because Zuriel started arguing a little bit with the conductor, but it was in Chichewa so I didn’t catch all of it. I’m not surprised that they overcharged us, it is just frustrating that there is such a strong perception of all whites having lots of money. I mean, I do realize that I have more than most of those in Malawi; I just don’t have it with me or have ready access to it so I do have to be very careful with my spending.

Other than that last incident on the truck, it was a really nice weekend and I almost enjoyed the minibus ride home as well (it is just a long ride & hard to enjoy when you’re squeezed in between two people the whole way). I was very fortunate to have been able to ride in a minibus with a driver I knew – he was a friend of Dorothy’s and I was able to ride with him to and from Mangochi. It was a huge blessing to have a friend during my travels.