HOME!

Well I am now safely back in Malawi after a couple of weeks at home. It was great to catch up with friends and family and even catch Hearts at a match (although getting beat by Dundee United was slightly disappointing!!).

Arriving back in Malawi was strange and the realisation that I won’t see anyone from home until August is quite scary! But still there is lots to do here in Malawi which will keep me busy.

The journey wasn’t as long as the one to get me home and I even bumped into Mairi’s sister who was on her way back to Mozambique after Mairi’s wedding. Arriving at the airport in Lilongwe I didn’t expect my luggage to arrive but much to my surprise I was the first person through. Customs wanted to know what I had in my bag and tried to charge me tax on the 30 odd t-shirts I had acquired from Hearts FC to donate to the local football team, as apparently bringing in gifts requires a tax charge – so basically when you come you are only supposed to bring items for yourself and nothing for the country!! Bizarre logic but there you go. In the end I didn’t have to pay but was told I’d have to fork out next time!! Next the baggage people open your cases and have a nosy about to see if you are bringing anything illegal into the country. Right on the top of my rucksack were 10 mini colouring books that I’ll use as part of a prize for a school competition we are running. The man wanted to know what they were and once I explained he told me that he would like one for his daughter. I tried to explain that I had an exact number and couldn’t spare any. I offered him a mini crunchie bar which he quickly hid in his pocket. Thankfully he seemed happy at that!!

Managed to get a lift back up to Rumphi the next day with Sue but on I have a story to tell about the buses! On the way down 3 weeks ago we got the posh bus called the Axa. It is a nice coach that takes about 6 hours which is quite fast and as a bonus it follows a timetable to no waiting about for 3 hours while it fills up! Half way down the steward announces over the PA system that the Axa company are proud to be the cleanest service provider in Malawi and that they pride themselves on keeping their buses clean and comfortable so bearing this in mind could people please not drop their rubbish on the bus – instead use the windows as that is what they are for!!! Keep the bus clean but not Malawi itself!!

Didn’t quite know what I was expecting to find when I got back to my house as apparently during my absence it was really windy and my watchman’s roof had blown off at his house so he just moved the entire family into my tiny outhouse and had taken over the cramped enclosure with their cooking, washing etc! He had also had an argument with Jonathan about feeding the cat and leaving the house open while he was sleeping. Thankfully when I got back where was no sign of this family but the back door was wide open for the whole world to wander in and no sign of him! At least the cat was still alive and seemed to have food in his bowl!

It’s been a short working week by the time I got back and I have had a leisurely weekend. The hard work (or something like that) starts back on Monday. We will now already have the rain to contend with and although the rains have been light so far, several of our roads are muddy already! Thankfully we have the vehicle to use and not me getting stuck on the motorbike!!