I'm an AZUNGU!

Muli Bwanje!!

That’s the most common greeting here in Malawi. Azungo means white person, and is the word I’ve heard the most this past week. It’s what all the kids and most adults will call us when trying to address us and get our attention. Our first day here, there were a bunch of children at recess and they all started to chant at us while we were across the street “Azungo, azungo, azungo” until we looked and waved at them. And that’s how it’s been pretty much every day since.  

The kids are insane. No exaggeration.
And yet they still have my heart <3

Right now it’s harvest time here in Malawi, and so everything has their crop drying out in the sun in front of their houses and nobody takes anything from anyone. I’ve never felt unsafe at all, and it’s so cool!. Honestly, the kids are the ones you have to keep your eye on haha. They ask you every time you see them is they can have you water bottle because they can sell them/trade them for money. I was walking with my backpack that had my water bottle on the side one day and a little boy came up from behind and tried to grab it from me. I turned around though right as he was trying to take and we both just laughed it off and since then I haven’t had any issues. The kids here also just swarm around you. It starts off as just 3-4 kids around you, and then BAM suddenly there are 50 kids.

Another thing that is super cool that I’ve learned is that words and language are pretty much not needed (well, I mean okay yes, they are, but still). While I can’t really fully communicate with the people here, especially the children, I have still grown relationships with people here. It’s crazy how a smile, or squeeze of the hand, or imitating faces can create a bond when no words are said. Also, the coolest thing happened this week! We had a game day, and we were potentially going to play soccer (didn’t end up happening). Anyways, I was talking with one of the men here with some of the girls in our group and we were talking about how we were excited to play. He was a bit shocked because women in Malawi don’t play soccer. As we were leaving, he stopped me and said “Emily, you look capable of playing soccer”, which is like HUGE. The culture here is very traditional, so women aren’t really…recognized/complimented much. Plus, it was a compliment on my strength, which everyone here thinks that American women are all wimps. It was pretty cool and made my day :)

On another note, goats, chickens, and pigs all roam around with no fences wherever they want. It’s pretty funny to watch them. Also, guys, roosters really do start crowing at sunrise and they don’t just “cock-a-doodle” once. They go on for HOURS. Most days I’ve woken up at lie 4:30-5ish. But honestly, it doesn’t feel that early because the sun is up and shining! Also, I can now add watching a chicken die to my list of things I’ve done. It was pretty sad. Now I officially know where my food comes from—and it’s not too pretty of a process!

This is one of my Chetenjes I got. They are
SO beautiful!!

Probably the thing that I’ve disliked the most so far is our bucket showers. The water is ice cold, and if you know me you know I don’t like the cold! And, ya know, you’d think that it’d be fine because Malawi is hot because it’s in Africa, right? Wrong. It gets pretty chilly at night and in the mornings (which are the times we have to shower). However, during the day it gets pretty warm and you sweat lots and look gross…But, I’m sure this is something good for me to learn :) I know I will greatly appreciate warm showers when I get back!!

Today we went to the market in Lilongwe (the capital of Malawi), and it was INSANITY. So many people packed into such a small area. It was a bit stressful for me, but I made it through! And, I got some pretty cool things. Mainly, I got lots of chetenjes which are basically the African wraps people think of when they think of African people. They are SO COOL. It was hard to not buy them all!

People. We are so blessed. We are blessed with a beautiful world to live in, that holds so much diversity in so many aspects. I encourage us all to look at how we view other people and truly analyze what our thoughts towards them might be. There are so many stereotypes and negative feelings about the people of Africa, but honestly, the Malawians that I’ve met are all very hard working and loving people. They have endured so much more in their lives than I will ever have to endure in my life. Look around you. See all the incredible blessings we share because I know they are out there.

I taught this girl some dance moves, and she taught me some Chichewa. This is
how life should be :)

Overall, I love being here and am excited for the next 3 months :)

Fun Fact of the Week: Malawi is known as the “Warm Heart of Africa” because of the kindness of its people.