2 Weeks Tomorrow

2 weeks tomorrow. I will be touching down at Pearson Airport 2 weeks tomorrow. I will be able to hug my parents hello 2 weeks tomorrow. I will be able to hold Ryan’s hand as we walk out of the airport 2 weeks tomorrow. I will be able to talk and laugh with my girlfriends 2 weeks tomorrow. But here in my African day-to-day life, this day seems like a dream in a far-off land that will never come true. Right now my life consists of a schedule and a daily routine that has nothing to do with this day happening 2 weeks tomorrow. Many have asked what this daily routine looks like, so I’ll share briefly.

I wake up every morning at 5 or 5 30, depending on how noisy the kids are. I lie in my bed for a minute, reminding myself that I am waking up in Africa, thinking about my loved ones who are just going to bed, and mentally preparing for the day. I get up, get dressed for work, pack my lunch and have breakfast with the kids. Breakfast is usually either toast and tea or some instant oats I bought for myself (Hainaut: “it’s apple CINNAMON!”). Around 7 I head to work, either by car with Alice or Nelson, or by mini bus.

If by car, the morning commute is much more pleasant, and much quicker. We speed through the traffic of Malawi’s one-lane roads usually going about 80 or 100 kms/hr. Traffic cops everywhere direct traffic at the rare stoplights and more-common roundabouts. Lilongwe’s roads are BUSY.

If I’m taking a mini bus, I walk about 8 minutes down my street, through a quick catwalk and onto the main road of my neighbourhood, near the market. I walk past men sitting in groups fixing bicycles, selling fruit or cellphone airtime, and occasionally field a marriage proposal or a “good morning madam”/“where are you going miss?” I cross the busy intersection with the help of the traffic cop, and wander down a dirt path beside the main road (Kamuzu Processional) which I will take to get to work. About a 2-minute walk down the road is where busses will join the cue coming from town. I walk down the road until I hear a whistle or a “25!” from behind me- signaling they are going to Area 25 where I work- I stick out my hand and wave to the bus. The bus trips are usually quite eventful (see previous blog entry… “Christmas Comes Early…”)

At work by 8, I’m usually the first here. I stay until 5 if I’m getting picked up or 4 if I’m taking the mini bus home once again. During this time I work on proposals, plan my Violence Against Girls in Education program sessions, or go out to the schools in Area 25 to run the actual program. I usually break and eat my lunch around 12 or 1.

Heading home later by bus I will walk past the vendors and the market, through the catwalk, and up my street once again, hoping to get home before dark. If I get a drive I can avoid this stress. Tea is served at 5 30. Tuesdays and Thursday nights there is a blackout from roughly 6pm-8pm. Most nights I read, play with the kids, watch our one TV channel if there is something interesting on, or do a crossword- which I’ve become expert at. Dinner is usually served around 7, and afterwards I will do a bit of my Bible study or chat with Alice and Nelson, and finally I end the day with a bath after everyone else has gone to bed at 8 30 or 9. I consider this my ‘me-time’ of the day… where I can enjoy the short period when the house is silent. By 4 am the earliest risers are awake, and it all starts again.

I enjoy my life here in Africa. For the most part it is filled with enjoyable routine and friendly people. 2 weeks tomorrow will be a shock to the system, when a new routine will form and I will have so many more options for how to fill my time. I’m sure I will miss hearing “Good morning Madam” as I walk down the street to work… that doesn’t happen in Toronto. So I’m going to continue to enjoy the routine and the life I have developed here, before it is 2 weeks tomorrow.

Love to all,
Jacqueline