A weekend with the locals

Saturday: At 5:00am Saturday morning, my friend Medson and I got in an old Land Rover and headed south. Medson had agreed to take me to the village that he grew up in, so that I could experience rural Malawi. Medson and Me

His village is 4 hours by car, so I had lots of time to learn his story. He is one of the only people in his village to go to secondary school and the only one to go beyond that. Unable to afford school, he was fortunate enough to find a British sponsor by an unexpected twist of fate. Now he is a hard-working intern that often skips lunch in order to care for the neglected patients. He is the only boy of 5 children, but his eldest sister passed away from complications of HIV 6 years ago. It was quite the story. After hours of talk and educating one another, we pulled up to his village.
When we arrived, his mother prepared a meal for me, Medson, and Medson's friends. It was fantastic! There was so much food, and everything was tasty. Medson's parents have a very nice new home that has a secure wall and gate around it. They have good investments in livestock and farms that have made them among the richest in the community. The village is directly outside his property:

One view from Medson's home.
I wanted to take many more pictures of the narrow, crowded streets; a "bustling metropolous" at the village's center, but could not do it with tact.

The houses were mud or cement with thatched or tin roofs and no running water. One well provides clean water to the town; a 13 year old addition. Electricity made it to the town 3 years ago and that powers the corn mill where they bring their dried corn to be ground into flour.

Medson's mother wrapping me in a Chitenge

After a great meal and initiation into chitenge wearing, we took a walk around the town. We walked the 200m to the Mozambique border and talked politics to the border guards. I didn't have my passport with me, but I couldn't resist running illegally into the a new country.

Me illegally in Mozambique

The kids that greeted me at the border

It was the most interesting day that I have had in Malawi so far, and I fell in love with Africa a little bit more. The community life so resembles what I miss about the villages that I have visited in Central America. The barefoot kids were all beautiful and everyone was so kind to me. It was a great experience. After a 4 1/2 hour drive through rain and fog and more good conversation, I arrived home safely.

Sunday: I went to the neighboring city of Limbe to meet up with my friend Madalitso. We had arranged to go to Catholic Mass; the English service.

The Limbe Cathedral on a rainy Sunday

After mass, I spent the rest of the day with Madalitso's family. She prepared 2 meals for me and we watched a lot of Malawian television. It was a low key day after the emotionally exhausting trip to the village the day before.

Me and Madalitso

Madalitso and her 3 year old son. Her son was scared of me at first, but eventually opened up. He was adorable...

I very much enjoyed my weekend adventures with my Malawian friends. It gave me a look into the culture here that I have so been craving since my arrival. I had great food, wore traditional clothes, crossed illegally into another country, and even tried to carry a bucket on my head. I wouldn't have traded it for anything.