Chipsi

This morning was the second “looking forward, looking back” course, so Lin and I went in with Mari, so that I could do the same session with this second group of students as I had done with the first on Tuesday.  I am into the routine now – I went off and bought samosas for everyone, while David and Mari set up, and watched the students arrive in dribs and drabs, most before the start time of 9 o’clock, and a few drifting in a bit late.

I didn’t observe the class as closely this time, and spent some time beginning to think about what to cover in the one day course I am running for them in two weeks, which has been rather grandly titled (not by me!) “staff relationships, team working and conflict resolution”.  I have brought a lot of training materials and outlines with me, so that I can adapt some of the exercises we have already developed at Merton and Sutton Mediation.  David and Marian are going to help me to write some scenarios which will be suitable, not only for a children’s centre context, but also for Malawi.

I was vaguely aware of what was going on at the other end of the room, and certainly gathered that this group was rather more lively and chatty that Tuesday’s! 

After the break, we ran the community conversation in the same way as on Tuesday, and the students raised very similar issues, although it was also noticeable that this group appeared to be less affected by the delay financially, although they were still disappointed and frustrated that they were not able to put their learning into practice, and worried that the promised jobs might not even materialize in January.

During the class news came that a container had arrived from the UK, and Sarah went off to watch it being unpacked, and ensure that things didn’t get too trampled in the unpacking!  Once I had done my bit, I went out and joined her.  They were just unsealing the container, watched, not that closely, by a customs officer, who actually fell asleep during the unpacking process!  It did take about 5 or 6 hours I suppose.

The doors swung open to reveal a teetering pile of bicycles, which were gradually unpacked into a waiting Torrent lorry.  They piled them amazingly high; then the men from Bee Bikes climbed on top of the pile, and the lorry drove off to unpack them into the already full yard over at Bee Bikes.

After lunch (nsima and beef) Lin and I went into town in the land rover with Hugh and Chris, the newly arrived engineer, and they dropped us off at Ryalls Hotel, so that we could go and pay for our trip next week.  We handed over a vast amount of cash in sterling, only to find they had no change, so, as Mari is a well-known customer, they let us pay £10 too little, on the understand we would pop in and pay the balance when we had some change.

Lin and I then walked down to the market by the river, which Mari had pointed out to Lin when they were in town without me on Monday.  Being in the centre of Blantyre is like being in a different world from Chilomoni, and much more like being in a city anywhere – more traffic, modern buildings, a few posh hotels, and taxi drivers touting for business.  A few people tried to sell us things as we walked along the street, but no-one really gave us any hassle when we said no.

The market itself was, in some ways, like a market anywhere in the world, with people shouting, different sections for clothes, electronics, food and shoes, and people hurrying everywhere.  Lin was particularly keen to see the fruit and veg section, and we wandered around for a while looking for it, and finding everything but!  Then suddenly a young man approached us and greeted us like long-lost friends – it was Collins – one of Mari’s students from that morning.  We asked him where the fruit and veg was, and he kindly walked us down there to make sure we found it all right – it turned out to be the other side of the river, and slightly up the hill the other side.  He left us amidst beautifully laid out piles of potatoes, beans, carrots and onions arranged in intricately constructed towers, and other vegetables which I couldn’t name.  It was cool, but noisy, in the fruit and veg section.  After looking around for a while, we made our way back out into the hot sun, and began to walk back towards the hotel.  We stopped on the bridge for Lin to take some surreptitious pictures, as stall holders are often a bit funny about you taking pictures and not buying anything.  The river itself looked filthy – apparently it is the most polluted river in Malawi – but on the other side was a kind of garden centre, with a shelter in which the vendors were sitting, and plants laid out over quite a length of the river bank.

Eventually we walked back up the hill and went for a Fanta in Martin’s Tasty Food – a café at the bottom of Victoria Avenue.  The woman who served us was very chatty, and we sat there for a while before Lin decided she fancied the chips (chipsi).  She had a long and complicated negotiation with the server, as Hugh was on his way to pick us up, so she wanted the chips in a take-away container, even though she was going to eat them in.  But she got there in the end!

When Hugh and Chris arrived we ran out to the car, and one of the servers ran after us, as they didn’t want us to leave with the Fanta bottles.  I ended up giving him some money instead, as neither of us had finished our drinks.

When we got back to the site they were still unpacking the container, and I sat and watched them load tyres into the back of the lorry using a JCB with a fork lift.  By this time some of Sarah’s stuff had come off too, and a long line of workers from the construction site were carrying tables and chairs on their heads into the IT college.  There was a pile of old (very old!) computers, and quite a lot of miscellaneous items including a scooter, a wheelchair, and an old-fashioned desk with a lid.

Mari and David had a meeting with Vince about the students' concerns, so Lin and I stayed out of the way while they finished.  Suddenly they came running out and ordered us into the car double quick, as they had forgotten they were due for a Chichewa lesson at Mitsidi.  It was a white-knuckle ride with David driving!

Lin and I had a swim while they did that, and then it was supper time – shepherd’s pie!

After dinner we spent quite a time debating the pros and cons of setting up a hardship fund for the students – we didn’t really reach any conclusions about whether it was a good idea or not, or how best to do it, but it helped to sort out our thoughts a bit.  And then to bed!