Photos as of late

Today marks the 5 month-a-versary of my landing on this continent.

 Anywhooo, we've been up to a lot lately! Here are a few shots:

This is from the day we went to the school with World Camp for Kids

We finally made it to the Lake! Just for the day- it was so nice to get out of the city. More about that later. But I did manage to snap the above shot

Me in front of the UNC Malawi Project. GO UNC!!

Our room.

Thats all for now!!  More later!

Wow

So you know how a couple posts ago I was talking about how, during my time here in Malawi, I by no means expect a sea of a thousand smiling African children to welcome me with open arms just because I’m white?

Well, today the unexpected happened. Initially it was a little weird, but turned out to be really great.

Today, Finn and I went out with World Camp for Kids, an awesome NGO based in Lilongwe and directed from none other than the mountains of North Carolina (Asheville/Boone). Started by 2 Americans in 2000, this is a very successful and well-organized volunteer-based NGO that let us joins in on one of their educational camps in a rural village school. They mainly focus on HIV education and environmental education, and get mostly young Americans to come over for 5 week periods to volunteer. Such a great idea, such a great group of people- definitely Google them!!

So today as we arrived in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, our car was swarmed with hundreds of children, jumping up and down, all smiles, and chanting “A-ZUN-GU!!! A-ZUNG-U!!!” which means “WHITE PEOPLE!!!!! WHITE PEOPLE!!!” I felt like a celebrity and couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous and strange it felt. I had done nothing to deserve this attention. 

But after some ice-breakers and warm-up activities, things felt a lot better and the day was underway. World Camp is so organized! They mainly worked with teenagers and split up into different classrooms. I got to sit in on a long sex-education class taught by a WC volunteer and one of WC’s translators. The students were so well behaved, so involved, and very receptive to all of the information. Bananas and condoms were busted out, which is always fun. Of course I was reminded of my time in Tanzania; teaching the same things by myself (and a translator), and how neat it would have been to have the resources that WC has! They have so many charts and handbooks and condoms- wow! The students asked some really intriguing questions, such as “If a HIV + mother pumps her breast milk into a pan and then boils it, is the HIV gone?” and “If a child finds a used condom in the trash, unties it and drinks the semen, will that child get HIV?” They kept asking alllllll of these questions- which was really encouraging. After 2+ hours of this, it was lunch time, followed by a section of the day called Empowerment where the students are divided into groups of boys and girls so they can really talk candidly about anything they want. This was my favorite part of the day, as we all sat in a circle on the floor and the girls were able to ask anything they wanted and the WC volunteer was able to talk about gender roles in society and women role models. I’ve seen this attempted before, but never executed nearly as successfully as I saw it today. Recently I thought I was getting too jaded with ex-pats coming over to do HIV education and empowerment and all that, especially after South Africa. But today with World Camp I genuinely felt what they did made a difference, I could see it in the student’s faces. WAY TO GO WORLD CAMP! It was so nice of them to let Finn and I tag along, and we were so thrilled with the whole day, especially with meeting this one man.

He is a teacher at the school who is HIV + and very open about his status. He has started a HIV support group within his community, and even accompanies people in his community to go get tested. He talks very candidly about how his sexual history and everything- I was floored. This kind of openness is really extraordinary, especially in Malawi.  When Finn talked more with him one on one (with the aid of a translator) about the project and if he would be willing to provide a narrative for us to use for the album, the man simply said, “I am more than ready to fight this war with you.”

WOW!! 

(or "GUAU" for my Chonga-lese audience)

The Plight of a Pianist: Part Deux

The other day as I ran across a field during a lightning storm with rain stinging me from all sides and thunder booming in my chest, I couldn’t help but smile. I ran past the guards and straight into the sanctuary to find my friend.
I had stopped by Assemblies of God Church earlier in the day as I walked home from the grocery store, “just to take a look around”, which in my dictionary means, “just to see if they have a piano.” When I saw the baby-grand sitting on an empty stage, the rush of excitement wasn’t that of “OH MY GOD I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN SO LONG HOW ARE YOU?!?!?! LETS TALK!!!” It was more of a silent conversation, the kind that lives solely in the eyes, the kind that you have with those friends you only get to see every few months but know you the best. The friends that know exactly how you feel without you having to say a word, the friends that are family. This deep understanding is the only thing I can equate my relationship with piano to these days. And just like those friends that you get to see sparingly, when the reunion finally occurs it’s as if nothing has changed, like you haven’t missed a beat.
I would consider my Malawian plight as a pianist even more difficult than in South Africa, as many of the churches use small keyboards and the (few) nice hotels do not have pianos (I’ve looked). Instruments are very hard to come across here, and to buy them would mean paying an exorbitant amount of money as they are imported (most likely from South Africa). Thus, I have resorted to listening to more piano music and writing things like this about my friend, the piano. Someday, my friend and I will live in the same house again, and I can wake it up in the middle of the night if I need to, joke around with it if I need to, spend hours a day with it if I need to, or leave it for a few days if I need to, knowing it will understand all of those scenarios. When my friend and I are together, old inside jokes come up, we remember the times when we lived in the same place and manage to find common ground despite the time apart. To focus on the time apart is torture; so when the itch gets really bad and you just want to call that friend, even though it will cost you, that can mean running through a field with lightning all around. Despite how “rational” I have been when it comes to playing piano here, there is a time and a necessary place for what some may deem irrational. However, to me a friendship of this caliber is not qualified by what crazy lengths one must go to for physical proximity; a friendship of this caliber need not be qualified at all. I easily could have stayed at home, but the impending storm outside urged me on and I made an informed decision that yes, it is time I visit this friend. It has been far too long.

So to my friends which are far away:
The music will still be there when we are reunited, and many of the songs will be the same. There will just be some new songs that I will want you to hear, and most importantly, ones that I can’t wait for you to play.

Jam with Peter Mawanga

The other day Finn and I went to Peter's house. Whilst there a jam session broke out between the two which was quite fun and entertaining. If it is any sort of peak into the future, this album is going to be BALLER.

sometimes Olivia likes to pull on my earrings. 

The Boy Who Didn't Know Any Better

The following is not a complaint of any sort. Just some observations.

Earlier this week, I met a group of children at an orphanage. Great place. Some of the children seemed really happy to have a new playmate (even if it was just for a half an hour) and I had a blast. However, I noticed something; the older children, say age 6 and up, where much less receptive to me, much more skeptical. I got looks from the older kids that screamed, “What are YOU doing here?” While the 3, 4 and 5 year-olds were all smiles, the older kids just stared.
Sunday morning at church, I met up with this same group of kids, as they go to church together every Sunday. I don’t really think any of them recognized me, and since we were in a church setting I couldn’t talk to them to spur their memory. Therefore, almost all of them gave me that “Who the hell are you?” look. Except one.
There is one boy who, at both meetings, LIT UP when he saw me, and automatically reached to hold my hand. He is probably about 6 and his smile is unlike any other I’ve seen; he smiles with his entire face. So bright, so honest. He doesn’t speak, just smiles. Both times he nuzzled against my hand, and in church he laid his head in my lap and looked up at me with heart-melting eyes. At one point all of the other children left to go to Sunday school, but he stayed, tapping my hand with his fingers and looking at me for approval. I stayed a half an hour later than I planned just because I enjoyed his company so much, and he seemed to enjoy mine.
So, what makes this boy different? Why did he, out of all of those children, choose to trust me, choose to not look at me like I was an alien?
Upon meeting him it was explained to me that he was “slow”, mentally disabled. If you just saw a photo of him you wouldn’t be able to tell; you’d think he’s just a beautiful little boy. I don’t know much about his condition, perhaps it’s a combination of poor nutrition and education from before he was brought to the orphanage; who knows. I do know that being aware of his situation creates a bittersweet feeling; playing with this child and holding his head in my lap during church, but also knowing that the only reason he was so open with me was because he doesn’t know any better. Any better. What does that mean?? Are the other kids better off because they can see and are beginning to comprehend the complex boundaries between themselves and mzungus? I imagine the older kids must be jaded at this point- seeing mzungus come in, play for a while, then leave. Who can blame them for not getting excited at all of these fleeting meetings?
However, I can’t help but be somewhat discouraged by this. Trust me, I am NOT expecting a sea of a thousand African orphans swarming towards me with huge grins and open loving arms because I’m white. Puh-lease. However, I am trying to figure out what I do expect. Really, I should expect nothing from these children; it would be selfish to do so. Maybe I can expect from myself the patience (and patience and patience and patience and patience) to take those “Who the hell are you?” looks that I get from everyone and greet them with my smile, as that’s all I can really do. Maybe I need to take a lesson from this boy and smile for no reason and not get offended if I don’t get a smile in return.

But then there are the people who take that smile to mean something completely different; namely men. side note: WHAT A DIFFERENCE it makes traveling with Finn, who in Malawi I refer to as either my fiancée or husband as this has a tendency to really weed out the seedy characters who want to talk to me for a) my money b) my ass. “Oh, sorry, my husband is waiting on me at home…” that usually does the trick. It is HILARIOUS to see the expression change on these men’s faces!
So I usually just don’t say anything (or smile) to strangers that I pass, which is a shame. I feel like I have to shut a big part of Kaitlin Houlditch-Fair down when I do this. I feel like by not smiling I’m perpetuating another stereotype of the white lady who doesn’t really want to interact with the locals….. “oh, look there. She probably lives in a nice house and the only Malawians she knows are her cooks. She thinks she is too good to eat nsima and drives a nice car while people are starving." On the other hand, I feel like if I were to smile I would be a target… “ohh, look there, the dumb mzungu who thinks that Africa is simply a land of beautiful sunrises and lions. She will totally give away her money because she thinks she can save everyone.” 

Maybe I’m analyzing this too much. Who knows what the hell people think when they see me. In the end I guess I really shouldn’t care. But though I am “busy” I have plenty of time to think about it all. Plenty. So what do I do? In a way I envy the boy who doesn’t know better because, perhaps in his mind, I am just another person he can love, and that is all he really needs to know.

Simplicity and complexity live in the same house.

The ABCs of Malawi

A= Area 14 where we live. So, the city is divided up into “areas” that really don’t make any numerical sense. AT ALL. Area 14 is really close to Area 43 which is close to Area 10….. it is so random and confusing for people like Finn (Andrew’s name whilst in Malawi) and I who don’t have a car (yet) and are still trying to navigate this place.
B= Bicycles. A new friend of ours will be leaving for a few months pretty soon and lent us his 2 mountain bikes- HELL YEAH! It has made things so much easier, fun, and provides quite the workout as well. LOTS of people bike here.
C = Chichewa, the language of (most of) Malawi. I gots to learn it. Gots to.
D = Deet. Spray that poison right on my body- keep those mosquitos away!
E = Embassy. They are our hook up. Its so close to use and they have such nice people so willing to help us out. I might be able to go to the gym there- fingers crossed!
F = Francesco, our housemate. What a guy. A 40 year old happy trilingual mechanic who told us today that, under this roof, we are all family. (Awwwwww!)
G = Gin. Malawi “gin” is apparently not really gin, but that doesn’t keep me from taking a shot after dinner to possibly kill some of the nasties that were in my food (I learned this trick from my friend Hadley who knew someone who did this in India…). And believe me, it is that strong…
H = HIV /AIDS, the whole reason for our being here. We have already met a lot of people who do AIDS research and relief and we feel we have a good base of connections within this expansive community. Malawi’s infection rate is not as bad as South Africa’s but it still is a huge huge problem, hence our being here.
I = Internet. I thought South Africa was bad? Bah! It is even slower here. I really hate paying by megabyte. This means no YouTube for a long time, and even worse no downloading music. I mean, I COULD do it, but it would cost even more. Stupid stupid system.
J = Juma, our 90-something year old house-helper. He is so nice. I must admit it is really weird having someone always in the house, vacuuming or putting away dishes or this and that….. it is definitely something to get used to. It’s so weird to say “we have staff at our house.” But I just have to look at it as local employment, and they are surely treated well here. Its just odd to come back into my room after spending 5 minutes in the kitchen and having my bed made. Not bad, just odd.
K = Kait, the name I go by here, as it is easier for most people to say.
L = Lake as Lake Malawi is Malawi’s biggest tourist attraction and apparently THE
thing to visit while here. We haven’t been yet but hope to go soon- apparently it’s only about an hour and a half away! Our housemates have a speed oat and we’re hoping we can tag along with them one weekend.
M = It’s a tie!
Mzungu, a term used for a white person. It is also used in Tanzania, so I “got used to it” there, but I never really get used it it as so much is implied by using it (money, mostly). When I ride around on my bike with my bright yellow shirt, pink draw-string bag, and green ball cap, #1 I look like a dumbass and #2 could see why I get the scoffs and hear a condescending “mzungu” somewhere in the mini conversation I inspire. Plus, I get stares. All. The. Time.
and
Malarone. Every night, yall. Every night.
N = NGOs. There are TONS of them here in Lilongwe, especially ones dealing with HIV/AIDS.
O = Olivia, the little girl I live with, pictured in an earlier entry. WHAT A CUTIE. She makes this house so much fun and I am so glad that I will be able to see her grow. The other day I had my yoga mat all rolled up and she unrolled it and proceeded to dance on the mat, asking me in her cute little way to join her. It is now the dancing mat.
P = Peter Mawanga, the musical artist we are working with while here who is incredibly smart, talented, and driven. We have now met with him twice and are always so inspired afterward. Good vibes, good vibes. Check out his music online!
Q = Quiet, which is how we spend our evenings here. With no car we are pretty much confined to the house after dark. Since it is the rainy season, lots of nights we fall asleep (at like, 10) to the sound of rain. We’ve eaten every dinner here thus far, with the help of our amazing housemate Carmen. who either helps us cook or cooks for us. She was a nutritionist for years and if she feels we haven’t gotten enough protein she will give us some chicken korma she made…. WOW! But yes, Quiet nights at home, which I like.
R = L. and L = R in Chichewa. “Didn’t you hear about the Plesidential Erection last year?” Oh, Chichewa, you can be funny sometimes.
S = Steripen. LOVE IT. This thing looks like it belongs on a spaceship or something. “Wait, so by stirring this little magic wand that lights up in my water, I’ll be ok?” Thus far, yes. Rock on.
T = Talents of the Malawian Child, Peter Mawanga’s non-profit organization. The other day while Peter was at our place he explained more to us about this endeavor and what it is all about. I could write so much about it but basically they get kids off the street by getting them into music and making albums, and through their album proceeds they support themselves. Peter has a lot of ambitious and awesome ideas for this NPO that Finn (Andrew) and I would be so thrilled to be apart of.

Anyone want to design their website?

U = UNC Malawi Project. WORD UP to Irving Hoffman, who started this project years ago. They will definitely be good people to have on our side. Walking into their building which is by the main hospital for a meeting, I got such a sense of pride seeing Carolina Blue all over the building, as well as UNC’s logo. Google them to see what they do.
V = Village of Hope, an orphanage really close to our house. Owned by a Canadian couple who have been very welcoming to us. They have done some wonderful things and we definitely see ourselves spending some time there.
W = Wisdom, which I hope to gain during my time here and what a lot of the people I’ve met definitely have, especially a lot of the…..
X = X-Pats. There is a huge eX-pat community here. The New Years party we went to was mainly ex-pats who either work for the embassy or an NGO or something of the sort. They have soccer games, walking clubs, book clubs, yoga classes….. everything! A very social bunch. Ima definitely get in on that yoga.
Y = You. This may seem unoriginal, but let me just say, though I am totally here and living in the present moment, I still think/dream of home and my friends and family. For sure. Also, YOU should come visit. Yes, YOU!
Z = Zain, one of the phone companies here in Malawi. There are 2 – Zain and TNM, which are always competing with one another. Most people have 2 phone numbers- one with each company, because its cheaper to call people in network. Its pretty bureaucratic and silly. I miss Verizon.

So, there were lots of other ties I wanted to include (like Lilongwe for L and Christianity for C) but alas I think these are the best. And this is just the beginning!
I really want to document this entire experience and am digging this blog thing, partly because if I ever lost my real journal I’d be SOL! But really, in my mind this site is meant not only for me to share but also for whoever the hell happens to read this to share. The project is all about collaboration so as I go along please feel free to send me and/or Finn any ideas/thoughts/advice you might have. Having an outside perspective can really help sometimes. And who knows, maybe we’ll give you a shout-out on the album credits...

Love ~ Kaitlin

my new housemate

MALAWI!

Where to begin? It’s only been a few days but I feel like I could write an entire novel about it…

First and foremost, I have arrived safely in Lilongwe, Malawi. Our flight out of Cape Town was at 6:20 AM, and a few hours later after a frustrating time at the Jo-burg airport we took off for Lilongwe. I was more ready than ever to say SO LONG to South Africa. Done. Finished. Finito. Closed chapter. Closed.

The view from the plane as we were arriving in Lilongwe was breathtaking. Red earth, green pastures, piercing blue sky…. Vibrant colors everywhere. Andrew and I were totally stoked. Customs where a breeze and we had a fellow Fulbrighter, Sieglinde, pick us up at the airport. WHAT AN ANGEL she has been. She is in her 40’s and has been in Malawi many times before so she totally knows the ropes. She and her partner of 20 years, Vicky, have 2 daughters she adopted in Malawi back in the early 90’s who are now teenagers. She helped us with out bags, fed us, got us a place for the night….. whew. She has been such a tremendous help, and all of that was just on the first day!

The first night Andrew and I stayed at a somewhat charming little place called Mabuya camp, definitely a backpacking camping type place. LOTS of mosquitos- HELLO MALARONE! We had a great dinner and were then picked up by our new house-mate.

YALL. I CANT EXPLAIN WHAT A DREAM THIS ALL IS. SERIOUSLY.

This all seems too good to be true. Let me explain.

So about 2 weeks ago when we were still in Cape Town we joined Lilongwe Chat, a Google group and put up post about housing. Within 5 hours we got a response that seemed too good to be true. A 32 year old Canadian ex-pat and her Italian/Malawian husband have a 4 bedroom house in which they only use 1 room, so 3 rooms are free. Oh, and they happen to have an 18 month old adopted Malawian daughter. I don’t even know where to begin with all of the perks of this place so I’ll just list them as they come to mind:

1) This couple is SO NICE and helpful and welcoming.
2) Their daughter is definitely one of the cutest kids I have ever met, not to mention one of the most well-behaved. An absolute joy.
3) The husband  is fluent in Italian, Chichewa (the language of Malawi) and English
4) Oh…. And he is also a mechanic (we will be getting a car soon…)
5) The wife was raised in rural Thailand, has been all over the world, is an agriculture expert and nutritionist, writes children books…..super super cool.
6) The house is GORGEOUS and is in a nice, safe part of town
7) Safety perks:
a. 2 guards, including a night guard who stays up all night watching the place
b. coiled barbed wire surrounding the high walls of the entire property
c. 2 Rottwielers (that are big and sweet and way cool but also a little scary)
d. SO MANY LOCKS its unreal
8) A house-helper who does our laundry everyday and cleans the whole house (WHAT??)
9) We have a private room (big ol bed) and private bathroom with HOT WATER
10) The tap water is chlorinated and apparently safe to drink, though I’m going to stick with my Steripen for the first week or so
11) Fully furnished everything – all the kitchen supplies we’d ever need etc. etc. etc. And all utilities are included in the rent
12) We are a 15 minute walk from the Embassy
13) ……plus lots of other things

…All of this and the rent is less than what many people pay in Carrboro… WOW.

Sounds pretty great, right!?!?! Needless to say got the place, we are PUMPED and already feel at home here. The only big downers are spotty internet and phone service, but oh well. This is a dream, a DREAM.

I am so blessed and grateful to be where I am right now and to have had the best 2009 I could have ever asked for. I will be updating when I can and have so much to look forward to in 2010.

Here we go!!!!
Happy New Year, everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much love from a very happy Kaitlin