(( busy ))
02 September 08 - 10:15
Wednesday 27th august
So I headed back up to Lilongwe today to get my visa sorted out and meet with Steve about the advert stayed in the crown lodge as it was cheaper than budget lodge. The scout association of Malawi just held there AGM there so the lodge got a lot of business, and Steve came with me to check in and asked the manager to make sure I was comfortable and I got treated like a VIP because Steve passes a lot of business his way and didn’t want to upset him. I mean he really made sure I was happy, I order a chicken and mayo sandwich at lunch but the chef said he didn’t have any prepared I was like ok whatever then I’ll have something else but the manager was in the restaurant at the time and was having done of it and made sure personally it was made, it took a while but the meal was huge it had everything I don’t know if it was the managers influence or what but it’s a great meal., randomly met with coconut and George tonight on my way back to the lodge and we decided to go out for a drink so we went to one of the local bars bit eerie when I walked as it was one of those moments when everyone stops what they were doing and everything goes silent as they stare at the guy whose just walked in then slowly the chatter picks up again and people go back to what they were doing, actually it was really funny so we had a few drinks and I met a few people then headed back to the lodge.
Thursday 28th august
I cant believe it, 250 pounds for a work visa I am going to cry. Lol
So yeah me and Steve went to immigration to get a temporary work permit and its well complicated 250 pounds for the permit and I need to give them all my school qualifications but luckily my dad was on the ball with that one and got them printed off so yeah thanks dad for that.
I was walking along the road today to the market with my bandana and sunglasses on when some random guy comes up to me and goes er… sam? Im like yeah didn’t recognize him. He’s like hey man then it clicks.
ITS ROCKY probably my best friend in Malawi met him last year and we got on like a house on fire. Haven’t seen him since I got back to Malawi he’s been schooling and then he just randomly manages to find me in the middle of a busy market well actually I suppose it wasn’t that hard to find I was the only white guy in the market. That might have made it a bit easier for him to see me. But anyway yeah we talked for hours me and him just clicked again just like me did last year and were just talking non stop.
In the evening coconut and George had invited me over for dinner and surprise surprise it was nsima, but I have fallen in love with coconuts sister because she cooked me chicken and it wasn’t just chicken it was the nicest chicken ive ever had that might be because I haven’t had it for months I don’t know. Then we went out for a drink again and played some pool which attracted quite a crowd to watch this white man play pool lol.
Friday 29th august
Headed back to Makwawa again today. I somehow managed to start a fight in the bus depot in Lilongwe I not sure how, the callers for the minibus’s can sometimes be very in your face if you haven’t been to a bus depot in Malawi or Africa you would understand what’s its like but basically it huge chaotic and makes no sense, luckily ive done it a few times now so I know what bus to board where to go and which people to trust. But there was this one guy there he was a caller for this horrible little tiny bus and from past experience I know not to board these buses because they don’t go direct and it takes a long time on them and sometimes they don’t even go the destination that they state on the bus. But he was trying to get me to board and I was trying to make a phone call at the time and I was on the phone and trying to tell him no then he grabbed me and tried to pull me towards his bus and of course that angered me a little so I grabbed his arm and removed it from me and told him to back off then some other guys who were standing next to me got involved and told him to leave me alone and this guy I don’t know if he was drunk or something pushed one of them out the way then about 25 people jumped him I was just like, …I just want to take this call guys. Anyway I left them to it and boarded the bus I wanted and went back to Makwawa. Went straight in to see my little baby bush buck in my house Crispin has suppose to have been looking after the past 3 days, im not so sure though she’s very thin and they’d run out of milk and hadn’t brought anymore and didn’t tell me when the last they fed her was, but she was allot thinner then when I left, bit worried bout her.
Saturday 30th august
So headed off in zomba this morning to buy some milk for Eliza and get some more building materials, when I came back Eliza had died, I was actually really upset about but then again I have always had a soft spot when it come to animals. Of course Malawians wouldn’t understand that animals are just meat to them so I didn’t tell them I was upset lol. Water is off again, a forest fire ripped through the site the other night and melted some of the water pipes that were above ground.
Sunday 31st august
The end of the second month of my stay here brings a lot of stress and worry about the cost of the house it keeps rising with the help of shay who seems to think money grows on trees in England, I wasn’t going to have electricity in the house but he gave me this huge speech about how could they have electricity and me not it wasn’t fair and all this, but what he failed to mention in his speech it would cost me 250 pounds to put it in and things keep rising ive put a hold to the building work which is a shame because the roof is on electricity is and one room is plastered, no doors or glass in the windows yet and there’s still some brick work to do. But I said to stop while I sort of the financial issue or before I know it he will have installed a cinema in there and be handing me the invoice to pay. However is the second month draws to a close and my work pile starts to build up my first real bout of home sickness arrives with it. Ive been pretty good at not letting things get me down to much and not dwell on things and living in the moment, but of course I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to just pack my bags and leave everything I knew the place that was secure and head to a foreign country on my own without my family and friends. Its at times like this when you realize how much the tiny little things you do in live are the things that get you through the rough patches, when I sitting in the office trying to sort through financial records attempting to make some sense of the piles of papers that have no logical meanings when there’s is a blackout and the computer cuts out and for some reason when the power is back on the computer hasn’t recovered the documents and you cant find them and have to start all over again you cant just go down to the pub for a quick drink with your friends to forget about the worries and stresses of work, you cant sit at your drum kit and write a song with your best friend next to you on the guitar to let the stresses of work melt away into music, or just sit on the sofa with your parents and chat with them about such trivial things it isn’t even worth talking about but the thing is its those sort of things that keep your spirits and feel you can escape the things that get you down. But here, I cant do that, I live at work its always there work is always there and I cant get away from it there’s always something to do, I mean don’t get me wrong I love working but I also love being able to forget about working and just relax with my family. Like before I came out here I used to play golf at college with my brother, I don’t even like golf, but the reason I did it was because he did and to be honest to be able to say yeah ok Sunday is reserved for us two so we can go out in the car forget bout things at work and school and just have a laugh, I didn’t realize it before but times like that when I could just hang out with him were really important to me something I cant do here mainly because there isn’t a golf course a brother or a car here lol. But also sometimes I’d pick Ben up from work or go over his house for like 5 mins then leave because I had somewhere to be. But again the little things in life are so important because that was cool to be able to do go chat for a bit then go and real erm I dunno sorta feel refreshed. Again don’t get me wrong
I am in Africa its not boring lol and I am having an amazing time and I love it here, but it does get really hard when you want to put on some clean clothes you cant stick them in the washing machine then go do something else, if the water is off you have to take all the way to the stream and spend hours washing them for you to do that its not easy sometimes and it does make you stop and think, woah didn’t realize how important such people are in my life and much apart of you they are.
