(Lilongwe, Malawi) Getting the Party Started

Pang’ono, Pang’ono (Slow by Slow)….
People here never say take your time or slowly, instead they say pang’ono, pang’ono or slow by slow. That’s sort of the way I felt that everything was going for awhile here. Well that was until my amazing weekend of fun happened.

On Friday, I convinced the undergrads to make me Chambo tacos (fish tacos) because the chambo here is soooo good. It’s so easy to make amazing dinners here because of all the produce that’s available. We had homemade tortillas, guacamole, salsa and then (of course) rice and Malawian beans. Imagine all this while enjoying a good boxed white wine….I know, I’m so classy. After, eating I told everyone that if I had to stay in the house for another night I was going to die. Even though they were tired, the undergrads agreed to go out with me. We decided to go to the nightclub inside the casino. I played a little black jack and then we danced until 3am. It was the best time!

The next morning, we drove to Dedza. (It’s a small town about an hour away.) They are known for their mountain and their pottery (it’s considered the pottery capital of Malawi). After eating brunch and buying a little pottery we headed to the mountain. This for me was an epic FAIL! I was able to struggle up the mountain in Nchitsi, but not Dedza. So, while all of my friends climbed I went back and waited at the lodge and watched a little World Cup action. We drove back just in time for Mariah’s going away party at the Italian restaurant. Delicious! Of course, we went to the bar afterwards to watch the US play…we all know how much of an epic fail that was. It was good that we lost though because if not I think we wouldn’t have been able to go to any other bars to watch soccer because every single Malawian would’ve hated us. There was even a fight at the bar (of course the American had to be the a-hole). I, originally, thought that we would go out this night too, but it was just too sad and I wanted to go home.

Earlier in the week I’d been invited to go to a concert of a local band, The Black Missionaries, by a guy in one of the labs. The concert was scheduled to go from 2p-8p. I was a little nervous about staying at this concert for 6 hours, but when we got there it was just great. We sat in lawn chairs for the first couple of bands. By the time it was dark, The Blacks came on. I couldn’t understand the lyrics because they were in Chichewa, but it was some of the best live reggae I have ever seen. We danced for hours and the band ended up playing until 9pm. It was the best time I have had since I got here. Also, apparently every Malawian I have met since getting here was at the concert as well. People just kept coming up to me and saying I’ve seen you walking around town. I think it’s just because I am the tallest woman (or person) here.