We’ve been living in Ntcheu for
three weeks now, a few of us have had difficulties settling in but we have
learnt to embrace it. For many of us, this is the longest we have ever been
away from home so far. So, we have had to adjust to some significant changes.
This doesn’t just apply for the UK volunteers, but the Malawian volunteers are
also facing changes and challenges. However, we are all trying to see these
changes as positive ways to develop ourselves and all part of the
experience.
These changes include; a change
of scenery (mountains are everywhere- its beautiful here), cultural differences and language differences and the concept of a
lay in as totally non-existent. Seriously, a lot of Malawians wake up at around
4am, completely naturally and will begin work or household chores from as soon
as they wake up. This also means that there have been plenty of sleepless
nights. But we don’t mind! We haven’t worked out yet if they are just constant
party animals here in Ntcheu or whether their work schedules are totally
different. Since we have a curfew of 9pm, I guess we will never find out, but
you will hear music, loud speaker announcements and people awake at every
single hour where we live. There are dogs constantly having a party too, and we
have been told that the roosters here only “cock-a-doodle-doo” on the hour, so
some people (particularly in rural areas) rely on the roosters for their alarm
clocks. However, we will not try this method before work just in case...
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| The beautiful view of Ntcheu from 2 of the Volunteers, Anisa and Naomi's, host home |
Anyway, enough about the sleepless
nights and more about the team and how we spend time together since this is a
huge part of our life in Ntcheu. We mostly gather at the basketball court a few
times per week since not only is it the middle point of where everyone lives
but it’s also one of the only activities the team can agree on as a whole. It
is not in a Malawians culture or religion to simply have a drink after work,
thus we have opted for the healthier alternative of basketball. It’s pretty
likely that after all this basketball; at least 1 of us could start playing at
a professional level.
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| Shubs, a UKV playing basketball with some of the locals |
You are all probably dying to
know about the food we are eating in Malawi, right? Well, let’s just say it has
taken the UK volunteers quite a while to adjust to the food in Ntcheu. Ntcheu
is well-known to grow the freshest fruit and vegetables in Malawi and it is
really clear why. They are delicious. However, there are 3 staple foods that
you will have with any meal in Malawi. This includes; Nsima (water and maize
flour blended to make a heavy consistency), rice and chips. Chips are
everywhere. People eat chips everyday here, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This is not an exaggeration and many of the UK volunteers have been told they
are putting on weight. Samosas are also a popular dish in Ntcheu, as well as
Mandasi (basically a doughnut, but heavier). However, although there have been
complaints about the somewhat stodgy diet, the UKVs still can’t help themselves
for taking a Kabaza (bike taxi) everywhere despite most distances being
walk-able. But this only costs 200K (about 20 pence), so how can you blame
them? Oh and by the way, almost forgot to mention but Mice are a popular tasty treat in Malawi...
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| Mice are sold on sticks on the side of the road for about 500 Kwache (50p) per stick, you are then expected to skin the mice and eat every single part of them, including the tail and toes |
A huge part of life in Ntcheu is
that most people here are very religious, mainly Christians and attend church
or church related activities quite a few times per week. There are numerous
Christian denominations within Ntcheu, including CCAP, Catholic, Zambezi,
Seventh Day Adventist and the Believers Assembly just to name a few. A common
question here in Ntcheu when you just meet someone is, “So, what church do you
go to?” Many locals are very surprised if you tell them you are not religious.
The answer to that is normally, “I am so sorry, I will start praying for you”.
Many of us have gone to church services with our host families as part of a
bonding experience, as well as embracing the culture more. One of the
volunteers went to a Believers Assembly Service with her host mother and it
really was not what she expected. The service included; violent praying in
which members of the church walked around on their own praying and crying to
God; stomping out the devil through song and dance and someone talking in
tongues. It was different, eye-opening and definitely an experience she will
probably never forget.
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| Even the transport in Ntcheu have messages and signs relating to religion |
Overall, life in Ntcheu is very
relaxed and we are all settling in well and enjoying life with the locals and
our host families. We are looking forward to exploring the area more and
getting to know the ins and outs of Ntcheu.
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