Hello all! So I have safely made it to Lilongwe and the UNC Guesthouse. I have to admit that I am extremely relieved to be here. I was so nervous about traveling so far by myself, but I think things went pretty well in that area.
On the plane I met a couple who were traveling to Malawi to work in the Malawi Children's Village. They were very helpful and gave me lots of clues about how to travel safely and reassured me that I was doing a good job. They traveled to Malawi for the first time last year, so they could sympathize. The husband was going to work on an irrigation project. His wife created a new project this year, which was teaching Malawians how to make soap. She said last year she just couldn't believe the lack of resources in this country, especially soap. At first, she tried to contact some larger soap companies in hopes that they would donate large amounts of soap. Then, she came up with the idea to bring the supplies to Malawi and teach the individuals how to make the soap so they supply would last longer. As she was telling me this story all I could think of was the "give a man a fish vs. teaching a man to fish" idea.
I arrived to the UNC Guesthouse (pictures to be posted soon) yesterday at 3pm or so. I was greeted by Joyce, who has a house on the UNC property and serves as the UNC Guesthouse housekeeper. She was extremely nice and repeatedly told me to "feel free", meaning make myself at home. There are several other students staying here, but unfortunately most of them are leaving on Friday or Monday. There are 5 Dental School students who will be in Malawi for 10 days, a Medical School student who has been here for two months, a microbiology student who has been here for a year, an IT employee who has been here for a year, and a surgical resident who has also been here for a year. And ALL of them are leaving except for the surgical resident who will be here for another year.
Last night I continued to settle in at the guesthouse and ate dinner with all the students here. They taught me the card game "Tonk", which apparently they play every evening. They said I wasn't terrible for a beginner, but I didn't win either.
Today, I met with the Director of Nursing for the UNC Malawi Project, Mary. She directed me to the Malawi Council of Nurses and Midwives where I had to register this morning. After three trips to the Council, I was registered. Needless to say it was a frustrating morning, but I expected things like this to happen and I'm glad it's taken care of now. I also met the Assistant Director of the program, Innocent. Everyone at the UNC Malawi Project was extremely helpful and very welcoming which cancelled out the frustrations of this morning. I also ate lunch at the Tidziwe Center, which is the UNC Project Center. You can get rice, greens, beans, and chicken for 250 kwacha which less than $2.
That's all for now. This afternoon I am tagging along with the students who are going goat shopping. Yes, goat shopping. They are having a big cookout tomorrow to celebrate before they return to the US. Tomorrow I will meet with Mary again and will most likely be going to the hospital for my first day.
On the plane I met a couple who were traveling to Malawi to work in the Malawi Children's Village. They were very helpful and gave me lots of clues about how to travel safely and reassured me that I was doing a good job. They traveled to Malawi for the first time last year, so they could sympathize. The husband was going to work on an irrigation project. His wife created a new project this year, which was teaching Malawians how to make soap. She said last year she just couldn't believe the lack of resources in this country, especially soap. At first, she tried to contact some larger soap companies in hopes that they would donate large amounts of soap. Then, she came up with the idea to bring the supplies to Malawi and teach the individuals how to make the soap so they supply would last longer. As she was telling me this story all I could think of was the "give a man a fish vs. teaching a man to fish" idea.
I arrived to the UNC Guesthouse (pictures to be posted soon) yesterday at 3pm or so. I was greeted by Joyce, who has a house on the UNC property and serves as the UNC Guesthouse housekeeper. She was extremely nice and repeatedly told me to "feel free", meaning make myself at home. There are several other students staying here, but unfortunately most of them are leaving on Friday or Monday. There are 5 Dental School students who will be in Malawi for 10 days, a Medical School student who has been here for two months, a microbiology student who has been here for a year, an IT employee who has been here for a year, and a surgical resident who has also been here for a year. And ALL of them are leaving except for the surgical resident who will be here for another year.
Last night I continued to settle in at the guesthouse and ate dinner with all the students here. They taught me the card game "Tonk", which apparently they play every evening. They said I wasn't terrible for a beginner, but I didn't win either.
Today, I met with the Director of Nursing for the UNC Malawi Project, Mary. She directed me to the Malawi Council of Nurses and Midwives where I had to register this morning. After three trips to the Council, I was registered. Needless to say it was a frustrating morning, but I expected things like this to happen and I'm glad it's taken care of now. I also met the Assistant Director of the program, Innocent. Everyone at the UNC Malawi Project was extremely helpful and very welcoming which cancelled out the frustrations of this morning. I also ate lunch at the Tidziwe Center, which is the UNC Project Center. You can get rice, greens, beans, and chicken for 250 kwacha which less than $2.
That's all for now. This afternoon I am tagging along with the students who are going goat shopping. Yes, goat shopping. They are having a big cookout tomorrow to celebrate before they return to the US. Tomorrow I will meet with Mary again and will most likely be going to the hospital for my first day.
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