Settling In

           After 2 days, I feel settled in and time adjusted. I’m unpacked and have enjoyed getting to know the family and roommates that live in the house. It’s a really nice place with a beautiful yard, and huge edible garden (mom, you would freak out)!

I ventured out and explored the market and the old city center. I managed to buy groceries and bargained for produce at the market. I hung out with a couple awesome German girls and spent the day roaming around the town. While on a search for beer for a dinner party, we discovered that every store in town was out of beer for sale. Fortunately, “Malawi Gin” was very available and about $1 a bottle…seriously.

On Saturday night, I went to the German volunteer house and a group of us made dinner and hung out. We then headed to Kumbali Cultural Village, located next to the lodge where Madonna stays when she comes to Malawi. We were there for a full moon party (even though the full moon is on Tuesday). Drinks at the bar were about $1 each. I met mostly Canadians, German, and English folks, all staying in Malawi to work, do research, or volunteer. There were a handful of Malawians there but this party definitely attracted a particular crowd.

Life is good. I am really looking forward to start work at the camp on Monday. I spent Sunday finishing up reports for Red Cross and prepping for my research in the camp. 

           For those interested, here are some thoughts about the city, the weather, and the currency:

           Perhaps I made assumptions that Lilongwe would be much bigger since it’s the capital of Malawi, but I have discovered that this town is really small and very spread out. Apparently, the capital was in a different city until 1975 when the president at the time decided he wanted the capital to be his home city. According to Wikipedia, less than 800,000 live in Lilongwe, and it’s the largest city in Malawi. I live in area 14 but I am still not sure where that is in relation to everything.

           Although it’s winter here, Lilongwe has Seattle beat on the weather front. Think of a perfect Seattle summer day, and then imagine you are in Africa. Turns out this is the best time of year to be here (for me anyway), as it is about 75 degrees during the day with clear skies. It’s not humid and it doesn’t rain at all. The rainy season just ended so it’s very lush and green everywhere. It get’s a little chilly at night, but nothing this northwest girl can’t handle. As an added bonus, there are way fewer mosquitos out during the colder and dryer part of the year.

           The currency of Malawi is called Kwacha. In the recently published travel books I picked up, the exchange rate was $1 = 150 Kwacha. When I arrived and exchanged currency at the airport, the rate was $1 = 279 Kwacha. My first thought was, “Sweet! I get more money for the dollar”. This thought was quickly followed by a curiosity about the drastic rate change. I have a hard time wrapping my head around this issue but this is what I learned:

The currency was devalued by 34% in May 2012 in attempts to improve availability of foreign exchange in the market. The devalued currency reflects the realistic value, makes the economy more competitive, and increases donor funds that had been previously frozen. This has resulted in inflation and had a major impact on the lives of the people here. It sounds like the black market was previously a popular way to exchange currency. After the devaluation, any exchange rate you would find in the black market is equal to the rate that the banks offer. I am no economist and I am not sure why I feel compelled to share this, but I think it’s worth mentioning as it may provide some context for future posts.

Happy July 1!  This month is going to fly by!