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You can only be so prepared when you journey to another country. My first experiences in Malawi are no exception. I had heard many stories from my mother, sister and brother about the people and the way of life; however, I really had to experience it myself.
When I arrived late Monday, after easy travels through Johannesburg and Lilongwe, my time in Malawi began. Knocking on the door was Willis, a friend of my family. After we were introduced, Willis asked if I would like to come visit his house. My sister and mother gave reassuring looks, so I accepted his invitation and we walked to his house together. As we sat in his small room, he asked many questions: what sports I played, the music I listened to and whether I had any musical talent. He promptly gathered a keyboard from his house and beckoned one of his younger siblings to play, who ended up being very talented. Before we left Willis’s, I met many more of his brothers and sisters. Family is important here. Willis asked if it was okay if we ventured to the “market” so his brother, John, could buy some tomatoes. I saw no reason to refuse, so we walked for a few minutes to a market long after the sun had set, where we stopped to chat with a fish vendor. The vendor greeted me with kind spirit and a phrase I had heard before: “Welcome to the Warm Heart of Africa”. This proved to be a theme in Malawi – I felt very welcome and the country lived up to its nickname.
My sister woke me up at 6AM for a run. I was dead tired but I soon noticed just how gorgeous the scenery was. The sky seems to stretch on forever – I felt like I had never been able to see that far in my life.
After getting dressed, I walked to the St. Gabriel’s hospital with my sister, mother and Yiwen (a classmate of my sister who came to Malawi to work on a project that I will detail in further posts). There we toured the facilities and I encountered another common theme in Malawi – the practice of greeting one another.
Back home I’ve always been one to be warm and greet my friends. Here the same applies, but it extends to everyone. Just passing someone there’s a good chance they will stop to say “hello” and “how are you?”. I’m still getting the hang of Chichewa, the national language of Malawi and many times today I sound foolish trying to talk with them. They answer my stumbles with a warm smile and a goodhearted laugh. This process of greeting really brought a smile to my face every time. You really feel welcome even though you know you’re out of place.
I did plenty of work today. The pharmacy always needs help counting pills – I put in some work today and became adept at counting and putting the pills (today it was aspirin) into containers for distribution. I finally found the best method was to keep the pills in your hand and slide them into the container.
Later, I went to the ART (Antiretroviral Treatment – used for HIV/AIDS) Clinic to help out. There I met Alex, the “head” nurse at St. Gabriel’s who does Home Based Care, work with FrontlineSMS (the project my brother works on) and ART Clinic work. Alex is a hilarious guy to hang out with and I really enjoyed working there even though our job was mundane. We put ourselves to work updating the ART “databases” (by databases I mean huge binders full of every patient’s visit history). It’s a lengthy process but somehow my sister, Yiwen and I had a good time doing so and chatting with Alex.
After work, we walked back to the house we are staying in and were promptly ambushed by a group of youngsters. I had heard so many things about this group of kids and it was amazing to finally see them in person. They wanted to play soccer with us, so we grabbed a ball from our house and headed to the field. I’ve never felt such joy playing soccer in my life. Playing on a dirt field with kids barefoot, screaming, laughing and smiling is an unforgettable feeling.
Walking around St. Gabriel’s and the surrounding area is astonishing. To see people in their day to day lives – collecting wood, starting fires, walking everywhere, and living in their humble homes puts me in a different world. A different world where bitterness is put aside and warm smiles greet each other. A different world where people walk miles to get to a hospital. A different world where kids wander around with each other waiting for their white friends finish working at the hospital so that they can play soccer. This different world also made part of a dream come true – as the sun dropped after what seemed like a long day, I stood beneath an orange sky. A beautiful, clear and inviting orange sky. I think I like this different world.
Hey everyone.
My name is Daniel Nesbit. I’m 17 years old and next fall I will enter my senior in high school. This summer I’m taking a month from my summer vacation to journey to Malawi, a country in southeast Africa. There, I’ll be working on various projects – ranging from helping my sister build incubators to aiding my mother with her instruction of physical therapy. To say the least, I’ll be busy.
I named this blog The Orange Sky because one of my favorite songs: Orange Sky, performed by an artist named Alexi Murdoch.
Listen:
The song always struck a chord with me. The singer expresses his dream of an orange sky, with his brother and sister standing by. Family has always been important and influential to me. In the case of my adventure to Malawi, they are the reason why I am going. Years ago my sister went to Malawi with my mother, and the following years my brother took a trip. From their own experiences in Africa, my brother and sister have set their minds to impacting the world for the better using their outstanding education (brother recently graduated from Stanford and sister will be a junior at Rice University next fall). They are an inspiration to me and no matter where they are on the globe, listening to the song connects me to them.
Not only that, but Murdoch sings that “my salvation lies in your love”. I’m a strong believer that the well being of every person lies in the compassion and empathy of others. I think our capacity to connect with others while we live our short time in this world is fundamental to our existence.
While Alexi Murdoch enchants his listeners to imagine an orange sky, I hope my own experiences in Malawi open my eyes to the discovery of my very own orange sky.
I’m almost done with my packing – Mom is a pro at the Africa trip and told me exactly what I need. Plane takes off Sunday morning to New York, where my Mom and I will head straight to Johannesburg. From there, one more plane ride to Malawi! Simply put, I cannot wait.
