Ever met someone and felt like, “How have I not known this person my entire life” This past week I have asked myself this question in regards to my new friend, Brona. Brona is in her 50s, 100% Irish and is an absolute gem of a human being. Since meeting her she has swiftly taken Finn and I under her wing and become our surrogate Mama in Malawi.
It all started a few weeks ago when we met her at a friend’s house. Finn happened to bring his fiddle and was encouraged to play after dinner. After 1 song, Brona was weeping. “Oh, my, it sounds like home! What a gift!” We exchanged numbers and thought we’d maybe hear from her down the road. A few days later she calls Finn with an exciting offer- to join forces with 4 young Irish musicians who are coming to Malawi for 10 days to perform at different venues around Lilongwe. Of course Finn gave an enthusiastic “YES!” I was also excited because I was invited along too, and Brona wanted me to sing! The dates: Marh 11-17. As I am writing this on the morning of the 17th, I can say that the past few days have been, hands-down, the most fun I have had in Malawi.
Here’s the play-by-play:
Thursday: Meet and Greet.
Arrive for the first time at Brona’s beautiful home. Meet her 15 year old twin daughters and guests as they start coming in. One was a Malawian woman Victoria who is married to an Irishman named Shane. This was the first bi-racial/cultural couple I had seen in Malawi. Let me tell you- this woman was a hoot. She just started talking away to me about everything under the sun; how I am learning Chichewa, how cold Ireland is, how crazy South Africa is, how she wants to go shopping in Miami… everything.
Then the Irish Lads arrived: Cillian the guitarist, Colm the bodhran player, Ryan the flute player, and Tighe the accordian player. They are all between the ages of 18 and 20 and nice as they could be. We went over the schedule for the week and let them get some rest.
Friday: Rehearsal and Performance #1
After much speculation, I decided to sing Crooked Still’s version of “Orphan Girl,” originally by Gillian Welch. Crooked Still’s version is much faster, and I think much more fun. But I had just a couple of hours to learn those lyrics….. !
Rehearsal at 1:00 pm at the house of Brian O’Brien (could that name be any more Irish?!) who works for the Irish Embassy. For this rehearsal, all people performing had to come- including the Malawian band Mafilika!! YALL. I can’t explain how well Irish music and Malawian music blend. It was unreal. All 9 musicians started jamming and I just watched in awe as everyone in the room started smiling, realizing simultaneously, “Damn, this sounds good!” That translates into any language.
So after an intense jam session/rehearsal, it was time to get ready for the sound check. Went home to get dressed and then straight to the school for sound check. Didn’t take too long. Then the guests started streaming in! I was only a little nervous; I haven’t sung in front of a crowd that size in years. There were 300 people in the audience and I’d say about 95% were ex-pats. It felt so weird- more like an assembly in Ohio than in Malawi!
As the organizer of the event, Brona also served as the MC for the evening. She was great and the first half of the show was a hit. I was at the top of the second half so I started to get more nervous, but Finn calmed me down. When the time came, I put on my Southern charm and just went for it. I was pretty proud of how it went and people seemed to like it. But the number that brought the house down was Brian O’ Brien doing traditional Irish dancing along with this local guy Shambe, who was doing traditional Malawian dancing. It was amazing. I really wish I had taken a video of it. The crowd went nuts. So so cool.
All in all it was a huge success and everyone loved the Irish-Malawian fusion. After the concert Finn and I had so many people come up to us and congratulate us, especially him as he played the entire show. It was a real confidence booster to have all of these women tell me that they loved my voice- wow! We were floating on air. The American Ambassador came up to Finn and said, “Tonight, you made America proud.” HOW BOUT THAT?!?
(Unfortunately Finn and I forgot the camera that night! But, Brian O’Brien is making a DVD of the performance. So if youre realllllllllly interested in like October when I am home you can see it then)
Saturday: Family Fun Day and Peformance #2
Woke up in the morning feelin like P. Diddy. Headed back over to the school with our house-mate Eleonora for Family Fun Day! Again I wondered, “Am I in Nebraska or something?” So many ex-pats and their kids, it really felt like home. A huge braai, Gaelic football for everyone to watch, face painting for the kids, plenty of sun and plenty of shade. We stayed for about 2 hours and just soaked it up. I even drank a Coke (highly unusual, but I felt really American all of a sudden and it just fit). Back home in the afternoon and then over to 4 Seasons, this complex that has a nice restaurant, bar, and a bunch of little shops (again, mainly ex-pats or upper-class Malawians). The sound check was at 5:30 for an 8:30 show. The Malawian guys were there at 5:00 like we were, but when did the Irish musicians show up? 9:30. How’s that for Malawian time? The bar was disgustingly smoky and full of drunk people but the show was great. So energetic, like a rock show. I sat with some friends and watched while drunk people tried to dance “Irish” (to no avail). The show finally wrapped up around 12:30 and we were home by 1. A lonnnnnng night.
Sunday: Private Dinner Party and Irish Music Session at Brona’s
Headed over to Brona’s at 6:00 pm for a beautiful evening. There were maybe 40 people total. We had a fantastic meal. I don’t think I’ve painted a sufficient picture of how incredibly sweet Brona is, so here is an example: during dinner, she pretty much said the following in about 4 seconds in the sweetest Irish accent:
“Do you want some more? Are you sure? Oh, don’t be shy. Please. Have some more. Is that ok? Can I get you a drink? Oh, don’t be silly. What will you like? Ok, coming right up darling.”
The Irish lads + Finn started playing and everyone gathered around in a circle; nice low-key atmosphere. Brona encouraged people to sing (she sang herself, lovely voice) and convinced me to sing as well. I did a little Gavin DeGraw inspired rendition of “Tracks of my Tears” and felt good about it. About 3 hours into the event I realized Brona has a TRAMPOLINE so I naturally freaked out and went and did about 20 back flips on it. I felt like I was 8 years old. Awesome. Finally the night drew to a close and Finn and I went home happy.
Moday: Off
Finn and I had a narrative scheduled for that day and could not join the lads to perform at local schools. But we were able to the next day….
Tuesday: Performances #3 and #4 at Local Schools
The idea behind this whole series of events is to share culture through music. While it was great to perform for all of the adoring ex-pats, it wouldn’t be right if the lads didn’t perform for Malawians. Tuesday morning headed straight over to Brona’s and hopped in her car, the Irish lads following behind, and drove out about 30 minutes to a rural Catholic primary school. There were about 300 children in the auditorium. Seeing their faces when the lads started playing was incredibly cute, but waned in comparison to when they started dancing on stage with them. Imagine 5 pasty white boys jamming away on some jigs and polkas as hundreds of little Malawian children giggle and dance along:
So incredible. I got some good video footage and will post it when it won’t take 8396732 years to load (whiiiiiiiiich means when I get home). Anyways, we grabbed a quick lunch then headed off to the second school, which was for me the best part of the whole week. It was an all boys school somewhere out in the sticks. When we arrived they looked SO excited. The school had no hall like the previous one. Instead we wandered out into this beautiful field behind the school. The Irish lads + Finn set up in the shade of this giant tree in front of their audience of about 400 boys. It was pure magic. The boys were totally enthralled and even got up to perform a song they had written about HIV/AIDS for us. So much dancing, so much smiling… it hit me in that moment:
**It is days like these that remind me why I am here**
These are just a couple shots to give you an idea. I took TONS of photos and will make a separate entry with my best ones. Anyways, during our car ride back home, Brona, Finn and I starting talking about the ex-pat lifestyle, struggles, diversity in culture, and many other things I have thought and written about since my arrival in Malawi. Talking with Brona made so much sense.
My favorite quote from Brona throughout the discussion was:
“I just have to remember that I have learned far more
than what I have had to put up with.”
BINGO! I thought. The traffic bribes, the heckling at the market, the inconceivable amount of pot-holes, the taunts of ‘mzungu’ everywhere you go…. all those petty things that we as ex-pats in the city begrudgingly put up with on a daily basis are nothing in comparison to what we learn through these experiences. 2 weeks ago I would have probably written, “To what avail? To say that we went through it? To learn how to apologize to traffic police when in actuality you’ve done nothing wrong and they’re just milking what miniscule ounce of power they have?” While I think there is still truth in that, talking in the car with Brona made something click. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else, someone who I can see has seen a lot in her many years in Africa and is not hardened but grateful that she has been able to learn. “Ah, sure there are days when I’ve said, ‘THAT’S IT! IM GOIN HOME!’ But then you learn how to deal with things, sweety, you know what I mean? And it may not seem like it at the time, but you come out better for it. Trust me, you do”
Wednesday: HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
As I am writing this the morning of, I can’t tell you about the event at the Irish Ambassador’s house… yet. Stay tuned! I am definitely excited about tonight but also a little sad because it’s all about to be over. “Now what!?” This past week has been an absolute blast. While I can’t expect every week to be this action packed, I am certainly glad I got to be a part of all of the celebrations. I am so glad to have met all of the musicians and especially Mama Brona. I know that she will be a good friend for some time to come and I can’t explain how comforting it is to have a Mama figure around. I also know that I would not have had the opportunity to be involved in any of this if Finn were not so dedicated and passionate about Irish music. Props. I never thought I’d say it, but DAMN it pays to date an Irish musician!
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