Days with M

Got a car. Yessss, life without a car here is somewhat limited. Getting number plates (the car is used, but straight from Japan) and the first road trip.

 Cape Maclear. fun.

 Very fun. 

 Zomba plateau. Stunning, but super cold. 

Zomba plateau. 

And more

 at work. power cut breaks and phone charging at those times

porridge with papaya from the back yard. sweet melon growing super fast. and the best present ever 

 landscape just outside lilongwe and the presidential residence

brilliant glasses from cut bottles (will have some made too), modern hair salon and belgian meets malawi in ultimate

on the left the view on the centre of lilongwe. not a big city, but has bike lanes!

Bits of life

our two (a bit filthy, but still lovely) dogs. and how their food is transported

 

 our lovely house and the new herbs I got (the empty pot is where the sweet melons were planted)

our house-warming party and almost daily shared dinners with neighbours and friends

One month in

Just a quick update on the last weeks. I've been here a month now - the time flies with all the nice people around, little weekday pleasures and weekend trips. 

A day trip to Dedza. Beautiful landscape, quite nice pottery. 

 My new (permanent) little house. Freshly painted, simple but really comfy and cozy, and perfectly located between the town centre and my office - 10 mins biking each way. And the most important: a great housemate (on the right) and next door neighbour (on the left). 

 Kawalezi Tea Estate. Amazing scenery. 

 Kawalezi Tea Estate: Fairtrade tea made safely :)

VSO Peer Support workshop in Chinteche. Lots of fun & beautiful stormy lake. 

Settling in

So, after almost 2 weeks, I begin to slowly settle in. I got a house (temporary & shared), a desk, a bike and a first frisbee practice completed :) Having a bike and lovely colleagues who insist on driving you everywhere makes things much easier. Biking back after dark is not so fun with hardly any streetlights, but I'm getting used to it. I guess I will just look for a better front light to be able to avoid potholes ;)

Plus there's more to do in Lilongwe that I expected. There are frisbee pick up games twice a week, yoga classes, running meet ups, Afropop classes, movie nights, acoustic nights, salsa nights, quiz nights, jazz afternoons, gospel concerts, occasional poetry & spoken word evenings, volleyball league (apparently massive, but there's a holiday break at the moment). Seriously, more to do than evenings in a week. 

my office at the CSEC 

 first shopping. coffee, rice, peanut butter & the newspaper made in Malawi :)

got it second hand from another expat. very happy! 

my little, temporary home. cozy. 

...and the first days in Malawi

First days went well and rather slowly, as expected :) I spent most of the time at the VSO office getting some basic briefings on security, health, financial procedures etc. Went for a checkup to the local clinic, opened a bank account at the National Bank and sorted out living arrangements. So far I've been staying at a hotel. Last night I will moved in to another volunteer's place for a month. In the beginning of August I should get my own little house.

All the VSO staff and other volunteers I've met so far are super nice and welcoming. The longer you stay the more welcoming they seem to be - under 2 months I guess people wouldn't be investing much energy ;) It's kind of like in Brussels. Anyway, straight away I got invited to a small 4th of July get-together and a Friday dinner at one of the volunteer's places. On Sunday we drove with two other people to the lakeside - a lovely day trip.

It was good to get out of Lilongwe. After a couple of days here there isn't much to do. There are literally maybe 5 or 6 bars/cafes where people hang out in the evenings. No cinemas or theatres. Plus the city is really spread out and half-empty - not easy to get around without a car. I might get a bike soon though - still thinking about it (ok for now, but less practical for the rainy season when it gets super hot and, obviously, super rainy). Still, expats seem to organise well both for leisure and transport and most of the people I've talked to are enjoying their time here.

This afternoon I will go for the first time to the office of the CSEC where I'll be working. Looking very much forward to it.

Last days in Bru & away

The last days in Brussels were rather hectic, but I did get my goodbye hugs (& some amazing presents!) and I got ready to go :) I will miss Bru Big Times!

The buffer time  at the ECBU near Barcelona was definitely a good idea - lots of sun, sea & frisbee playing. We lost all the games, but have been finally officially recognized as the nicest frisbee-playing girls in Europe :))) (Spirit of the Game award in Women division!)

And now, after a long but rather eventless flight, I've arrived well to Lilongwe. I'm spending the first days at the VSO office here getting all sorts of briefings and paperwork done. First day in the new job on Tuesday! First frisbee practice here - on Sunday I hope :)))

In the meantime

Just arrived to Malawi and will soon start posting news here again, if the time allows me.

For the moment just a couple of albums from the trips I skipped on the blog:

Israel & Palestine

Qatar

Lebanon

Uganda