During the few weeks before my departure, my thoughts were mainly preoccupied with these thoughts. I was considering seemingly silly things like whether or not to cut my hair, whether or not to bring a sleeping bag, own sheets, how many shoes, what type of clothing to wear…
Well, this is the stuff that I brought along with me:
Medical supplies: Infusion sets, Ringer steril infusion bag, cannulae, needles, plasters, bandages, lots and lots of hand disinfection liquid, plenty of latex gloves, aprons, masks, medical tape, medicines (pain killers, anti-diarrhoeals, adrenaline, vitamins, probiotics, anti-malarial: doxycycline, hydrocortisone cream…)
The most useful so far from the above was the gloves, the anti-malarials, vitamins, painkillers, and anti-diarrhoeals. Diarrhoea can be a big problem over here. We have not yet had to treat each other for any medical emergencies, but the infusion sets and cannulae always come with us when ever we travel. The adrenaline I always carry with me in my handbag, along with a small bottle of hand disinfectant, toilet paper, sun cream, mosquito repellant, a pair of nitrile gloves, a bottle of drinking water and at least 30 dollars cash….and plenty of SUNBLOCK!!
Dress code in some parts is rather strict, and we found it was very important in malawi. For women it is recommended not to expose the legs above the knees, and not to wear too revealing tops, though tank tops are ok. Sandals are very useful, as well as closed walking shoes. Skirts and dresses are very comfortable especially in the heat. We bought a lot of nice clothes in malawi, especially pretty dresses and skirts and Chitenge (traditional materials printed with colourful designs), a skirt cost around 1000-2000 Malawian Kwacha, a dress around 3000, and 2 yards of chitenge about 450 kwacha. It is also a good idea to bring a raincoat or jacket.
Bring, if possible a mosquito net along. I bought one only later in malawi, which I regretted, because the quality is really bad.
Always have a good amount of US dollars with you. You never know when they might come in handy. On our way back to lusaka, at the malawian border we found out that we stayed two days longer than we planned, and that became a big issue with the authorities. They ended up taking our passports away, and threatened to have us deported. The issue actually was that when we entered malawi, we were asked how many days we were planning to be in malawi. We were not sure exactly how long so we just said 7 days. In the end we found out that we were not able to leave malawi when we planned to, because there were no buses going on wednesday or thursday. the next possible ride was only on friday, so we overstayed two days.
I made my first mistake at the border when I shouted at the passport control guys. Immediately they told us to wait aside and said that our journey ended here. After waiting for some 15 minutes we approached them again and I explained in a calm way as possible that we did not know of the rule and would very much like to continue our journey. They explained that we were supposed to apply for extra days at the immigration office in lilongwe, and that it costs about 5000 MK, which according to them was 100 dollars each.
I soon noticed that this was utter bollocks, and that they were asking us to bribe them. I asked them what the dollar-MK rate was, which was apparently 140 kwacha to the dollar. We worked it out that the fee was actually 35 dollars per person, and I said that I’ll pay no more than that. They guys first tried to get 40 dollars each out of us, but once I gave a disapproving look they accepted the 35 dollars.
I also found it quite useful to bring two towels along with me, because due to lack of washing machines , our handwashed washing dries very slowly. Sadly, one of my towels got stolen while we were staying at the malawi college of health sciences.
Concerning hygiene, at sometimes it is a bit tricky to stay clean, because of water cuts and travel. We found it very useful to bring wetwipes along, and to always have a bottle filed with tap water (which is not used for drinking) in the room. I luckily decided to have my hair cut just before leaving Finland. I had very long hair before, and with out regular washing and use of a lot of conditioner, it would e very knotty. Now it is shoulder length and I only need minimal water, shampoo, and conditioner to keep it clean and looking good. Also, its long enough to be tied back, which is very good.
Concerning behaviour, well, being a hardened Jo’burger, I’m as paranoid as can be. I’m always looking over my shoulder, and I always suspect everyone and I don’t accept any drinks from anyone (and I don’t take any alcohol at all). But that does not mean that I can’t enjoy myself, because I really do! I’m having a great time here, while having my feet firmly planted on the ground. One thing that I would warn any women when coming here is to avoid smoking in public places. First of all, its illegal in Zambia, and secondly white women (or any woman) seen smoking cigarettes is seen in the same light as a slut, ie, easy to get in bed with. This is just one of those culture things that needs to be respected in order to avoid trouble. One common phenomenon is that some african men are very blatant in that they will try anything to get in bed with a white woman. They will offer more and more alcohol, even if you refuse. In these cases I would recommend not accepting any drinks at all from men, and rather to buy your own, so that you can regulate how much you drink.
It is also very difficult to be a Mzungu woman (white person) and not to attract attention here. Sometimes the men can be extremely rude, and they make a big scene in some places in the streets when walking by. They are usually harmless if you ignore them, but once in malawi, this one guy was hassling us and following us, and when I turned around and told him in a very stern voice that he had better leave us alone, he walked away.
Money issues, as pointed out before, can be rather annoying because honesty does not always seem to be part of the culture. When buying something in the market, the price is almost always at least 5 times more than the normal price. When bargaining, if they offer 6000 for a dress, I usually say 2000, and raise it to no more than 3000. If they still insist on more than that, walking away will usually help change their minds. Sometimes its easy, and sometimes they will put you in a guilt trip by bringing out stories of hungry mouths to feed. After a while it can be especially annoying because it seems like people here want to extract as much money from us as possible and will try anything to do so. Also its always good to have your visa or visa electron along with you because they work at most ATM’s, but usually only cash is accepted as payment method.
I would like to point out that I’m not trying to make africa look bad, but that this is just the truth as I see it here. In contrast, the nature here is so beautiful, and we have made many good friends, and the food is great. I was also surprised to find so many south african products in the shops, and so I actually feel rather much at home here.
One thing to keep in mind is that this is not europe or america, this is ‘wild territory’, and the rules that we have in the west do not apply here. Time is of no consequence, and honesty is not part of their principles. But this does not mean that you can’t make friends here, or that you can’t trust anyone. With an open mind and buckets full of respect and patience, you will be able to get along just fine.
Health tip: If you see a mosquito, kill the bluddy bugger!!!!
One minute the weather was nice and sunny, the next it started to pour!
Sugar, spice, and all things nice, thats what supposedly girls are made of. And many people think that research projects are made of brains, glasses, lost social lives, and all things boring. Actually I thought rather the opposite. However when I was just a child, both my parents having been researchers, did not seem to have very exciting lives sitting at their desks.
