It has become apparent that many self-absorbed travelers appear to be completely unaware of how their actions affect others. The following rules of etiquette have been drafted to rectify the situation, and should be handed out to all travelers along with the standard airplane safety information:
Personal hygiene - this may be obvious to most, but the resulting pain and suffering of fellow passengers from those who do not obey this rule make it worth mentioning: brush you teeth before getting on a plane (bring breath mints if necessary), take a shower, put on deodorant, and in general make sure that your personal body odor issues are taken care of.
Perfume - related to the personal hygiene rule, do not go overboard on trying to kill odor by dousing yourself in perfume (this is not the middle-ages; take a bath). In fact, you should avoid wearing perfume on flights as a matter of courtesy to those who have different olfactory preferences to yourself, and to those who may suffer from allergies.
Carts - when in the airport operating luggage carts, maintain a distance of at least 12 inches between the front of your cart and the delicate ankles of the person in front of you (believe it or not, but bashing into the person in front of you is not going to get you to the front of the line any faster - unless of course you actually manage to break the ankles of the person in front of you).
Aisle vs window - when the question is posed at the check in desk, 'aisle or window?', please stop and ponder the question seriously. If you are a frequent restroom visitor, you must sit on the aisle. I once sat next to two young missionaries (who didn't look old enough to be going around saving souls all on their own) who actually woke me up four times during the night to go to the loo!Bulkhead seating requests – if you are of average or below-average height, do not request the bulkhead seating. This should be saved for those poor individuals of unnatural height. Think about how cramped you-of-average-height are in the small seat space, and take pity on those born to be high jumpers.
Armrests - Maintaining personal space is of the utmost importance for marinating mental health while traveling. When two adjacent seats are occupied, the armrest should serve as a barrier between the two passengers and should be used by neither. In the event that one passenger finds it absolutely necessary to use the armrest, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should their elbow EVER cross over the armrest into the adjacent seat area. Sitting with your elbow hanging 3 inches over the armrest is NEVER acceptable, neither is bumping the person next to you every time you move. This seems to be a particular problem for men. I have even had conversations with offenders (particularly at the beginning of a 16 hour flight) to explain that we will get along much better if they don't occupy my seat as well as theirs. One young average-sized gentleman retorted simply that there is not enough room! I actually had to explain that I too was cramped and he wasn't helping matters.
Seat pockets - again, this may be obvious to most, but for those with your own personal challenges: the seat pocket in front of you is attached to the seat in front of you. When you dig around in the seat pocket, the person in front of you experiences the sensation of a boney-fingered inexperienced masseuse. In short, your seat pocket is there to be used, so use it, but show some consideration. (The same is true for tray tables.)
Standing up - related to the seat-pocket rule, when you are standing up, remember that the seat in front of you that you want to pull yourself up with is occupied by another weary traveler who will not enjoy the jostle if you yank on their chair. Whenever your physical fitness allows, you should rather push yourself up from your own seat. If you are frail, or just weak, and must pull on the seat in front of you, be sure not to hit the head or pull the hair of the poor weary traveler. (Believe it or not, but this happens all too often!)Babies – of course we would all rather that babies be banished from flying, but given that at some point in our lives, most of us may need to travel with a tot, we are willing to compromise. There really ain’t much to do about babies crying on the plane other than brining earplugs!Overnight flights – when the lights are turned out on an overnight flight, this is an indication that it’s time to sleep. Do so. Do not think this is the time to start talking loudly to the person next to you (unfortunately, this is a particularly problem for Americans).
Baggage claim - after a long voyage, you may be impatient to get to your final destination, but guess what: so is every other traveler. So, do not push your luggage cart plush with the baggage claim carousel so that it blocks the view of others and does not leave room to pull suitcases off the carousel.
Depending on the rate of adoption, a training video may be required.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Muti Market
The traders in traditional medicinal plants at the market in Durban proved to be the exact opposite of their Malawian counterparts - they were completely unwelcoming.
I went down there after being told that one of the healers who spoke English would be able to translate for me. As it turns out, this was not the case. The healer in question demanded 600 Rand (USD 100) to work with me. I refused as a matter of principle, but also because I would have to deal with the bureaucracy of the project’s funder to be able to pay someone that much. The hard part is that I sympathized with many of their reasons for not wanting to talk to me:
• So many researchers go to the Durban muti market and take up hours of the traders’ and then go home and write their dissertations, never sharing the information with those who they interviewed with.
• The traders said that the last white people who came to the market to talk to them only came to instruct them that they should not sell certain plant species (those endangered that are illegal to harvest)
• The traders are suspicious because it seems to them that outsiders come and talk to them and then suddenly there is a new law that hurts their business.
• On the other hand, as is often the case in Africa, when people see a Gringo asking questions they think that it means that there is money to be had.
In the end I went back the next day with my own translator and managed to talk to some of the traders. Some were friendly and helpful. Others not so much. But as I stood interviewing muti traders on the side of the highway with minitaxis rushing past, I had a little moment of pause; I’m lucky I’m paid for this.
I went down there after being told that one of the healers who spoke English would be able to translate for me. As it turns out, this was not the case. The healer in question demanded 600 Rand (USD 100) to work with me. I refused as a matter of principle, but also because I would have to deal with the bureaucracy of the project’s funder to be able to pay someone that much. The hard part is that I sympathized with many of their reasons for not wanting to talk to me:
• So many researchers go to the Durban muti market and take up hours of the traders’ and then go home and write their dissertations, never sharing the information with those who they interviewed with.
• The traders said that the last white people who came to the market to talk to them only came to instruct them that they should not sell certain plant species (those endangered that are illegal to harvest)
• The traders are suspicious because it seems to them that outsiders come and talk to them and then suddenly there is a new law that hurts their business.
• On the other hand, as is often the case in Africa, when people see a Gringo asking questions they think that it means that there is money to be had.
In the end I went back the next day with my own translator and managed to talk to some of the traders. Some were friendly and helpful. Others not so much. But as I stood interviewing muti traders on the side of the highway with minitaxis rushing past, I had a little moment of pause; I’m lucky I’m paid for this.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Snapshots from my drives
Children are laughing and playing excitedly in a mountain of waste paper spilled by a truck accident. At first glance, it looks like they are playing in snow: sliding down the slippery slope, picking up armfulls to throw at each other, rolling around and being buried, all the while with shining smiles lighting up their faces. Christmas for them came in April.
I am driving with Nelson the taxi driver to the boat that will take me to Liwonde National Park, we are listening to West Life (an Irish boy band) blasting on the radio - Nelson's choice. When I tell him I know the cousin of one of the boys, he is not impressed - in Malawi everyone knows everyone and he assumes it is the same in the US. We whip past a chameleon crossing the road at a snail's speed, and well camouflaged speckled black and white to match the tar. The Malawians are superstitious of these strange animals so no one will move him off the road. This was definitely a situation where camouflage was not an advantage.
I’ve seen absolutely anything and everything transported by bicycle. I've seen three people on one bike. I've seen people riding with 25 sugar canes (10 ft long) stacked around them. I've seen people riding with cut firewood stacked between vertical poles on the back of the bike to height of 8 foot. I've even seen a bicycle carrying bicycles on the seat carrier. But the prize goes to the bicycle carrying a double bed precariously perched on the back.
A sign reads, “Love your family, get a vasectomy”. The sign belongs to a local NGO, but I wander who sent them the message.
A busy open air market spreads across the main road from Lilongwe (the political capital) to Blantyre (the financial capital - don't picture New York). Market women are busy selling their beautiful big red tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, and even the odd carrot (all non-indigenous vegetables with much lower nutritional value than the traditional varieties which are now considered inferior). Busy shoppers walk back and forth across the road spending their few Kwatcha on tonight's dinner. They are completely unconcerned that as they cross the road, they cross an international border from Malawi to Mozambique. I wander if they figured out how to capture this market in international trade figures?
The highest prize of all goes to the 'Grory to Jesus restaurant' (L's and R's are pronounced the same in the local language, Chicewa).
I am driving with Nelson the taxi driver to the boat that will take me to Liwonde National Park, we are listening to West Life (an Irish boy band) blasting on the radio - Nelson's choice. When I tell him I know the cousin of one of the boys, he is not impressed - in Malawi everyone knows everyone and he assumes it is the same in the US. We whip past a chameleon crossing the road at a snail's speed, and well camouflaged speckled black and white to match the tar. The Malawians are superstitious of these strange animals so no one will move him off the road. This was definitely a situation where camouflage was not an advantage.
I’ve seen absolutely anything and everything transported by bicycle. I've seen three people on one bike. I've seen people riding with 25 sugar canes (10 ft long) stacked around them. I've seen people riding with cut firewood stacked between vertical poles on the back of the bike to height of 8 foot. I've even seen a bicycle carrying bicycles on the seat carrier. But the prize goes to the bicycle carrying a double bed precariously perched on the back.
A sign reads, “Love your family, get a vasectomy”. The sign belongs to a local NGO, but I wander who sent them the message.
A busy open air market spreads across the main road from Lilongwe (the political capital) to Blantyre (the financial capital - don't picture New York). Market women are busy selling their beautiful big red tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, and even the odd carrot (all non-indigenous vegetables with much lower nutritional value than the traditional varieties which are now considered inferior). Busy shoppers walk back and forth across the road spending their few Kwatcha on tonight's dinner. They are completely unconcerned that as they cross the road, they cross an international border from Malawi to Mozambique. I wander if they figured out how to capture this market in international trade figures?
The highest prize of all goes to the 'Grory to Jesus restaurant' (L's and R's are pronounced the same in the local language, Chicewa).
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Waste Management
This weekend I was in Mzuzu in the north of Malawi. While there I decided to be sociable and attend a seminar that was being sponsored by a local NGO that is a partner of the project I am here working on. My determination to be social would not even let me be dissuaded by the title of the project - 'Waste Management'.
Needless to say, the presenter droned on for over 2 hours about rubbish - literally and figuratively. This is not a particularly entertaining topic at the best of times, and if you ask me, a bit inappropriate in the context. This project had somehow convinced the local district authority that it needed to invest some of its scarce funds in a trash removal program. A local youth group quickly volunteered their services when they realized that they would likely get some of the donor funds. Needless to say, shortly after the youth received their new overalls, gumboot, helmets and bicycles, as well as their first miserable salaries for arduous and unpleasant labor, they lost interest. A great example of demand driven development.
But wait, it gets worse. The program established a garbage sorting program and the town was now supposed to recycle. The organic material was now to be used for compost to be sold by the youth. The fact that the transport costs tend to outweigh the price people are willing to pay for compost didn't seem to factor into the equation. Then, even better, the guest speaker told us about a program they were doing to recycle paper into burnable brickettes that were to substitute for firewood. He said there was a women’s group that tried it in Mwanza, and it failed because they didn’t have a market, but, “The demand only comes if you promote it.” He actually said that – an even better example of demand driven development.
Needless to say, the presenter droned on for over 2 hours about rubbish - literally and figuratively. This is not a particularly entertaining topic at the best of times, and if you ask me, a bit inappropriate in the context. This project had somehow convinced the local district authority that it needed to invest some of its scarce funds in a trash removal program. A local youth group quickly volunteered their services when they realized that they would likely get some of the donor funds. Needless to say, shortly after the youth received their new overalls, gumboot, helmets and bicycles, as well as their first miserable salaries for arduous and unpleasant labor, they lost interest. A great example of demand driven development.
But wait, it gets worse. The program established a garbage sorting program and the town was now supposed to recycle. The organic material was now to be used for compost to be sold by the youth. The fact that the transport costs tend to outweigh the price people are willing to pay for compost didn't seem to factor into the equation. Then, even better, the guest speaker told us about a program they were doing to recycle paper into burnable brickettes that were to substitute for firewood. He said there was a women’s group that tried it in Mwanza, and it failed because they didn’t have a market, but, “The demand only comes if you promote it.” He actually said that – an even better example of demand driven development.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Braii
On Friday night I was invited to attend a real African Braii (a South Africa BBQ) with my colleagues from the project here. I had a quick meal of veggie pizza before I headed out the door, predicting (accurately) that this was not a veggie friendly event.
There was an interesting mix of people from bankers, to restauranteurs, but the majority were development types like myself. At one point in the evening, the group I was talking with was focusing exclusively on children and child raising. It became clear that once again I was the only woman there with a career and who was not following husband around the world. For some of these women, this works for them and they are completely content working in their gardens, reading and taking care of children and the house. But there are other women are dying to find a satisfying job. One of the happy housewives even pointed out that of all the couples they have met over the years in development, they are all either divorced or living back in the UK.
I am now trying to think of any woman that I know who has been overseas long term for work who is married (and whose husband has followed her). I can't think of any. The women I know who work overseas are all single or divorced. It definitely doesn't bode well. Maybe I really should try that treatment that the traditional healer gave me to help me find a husband!
There was an interesting mix of people from bankers, to restauranteurs, but the majority were development types like myself. At one point in the evening, the group I was talking with was focusing exclusively on children and child raising. It became clear that once again I was the only woman there with a career and who was not following husband around the world. For some of these women, this works for them and they are completely content working in their gardens, reading and taking care of children and the house. But there are other women are dying to find a satisfying job. One of the happy housewives even pointed out that of all the couples they have met over the years in development, they are all either divorced or living back in the UK.
I am now trying to think of any woman that I know who has been overseas long term for work who is married (and whose husband has followed her). I can't think of any. The women I know who work overseas are all single or divorced. It definitely doesn't bode well. Maybe I really should try that treatment that the traditional healer gave me to help me find a husband!
Friday, April 01, 2005
Eating candy with the wrapper on
Yesterday the project that I am working on in Malawi set aside an entire day for HIV/AIDS with mandatory attendance by all project staff from the cleaner to the Chief of Party. This informational session was supposed to happen months ago, but it kept getting pushed back. Sometimes an outsider is better able to build momentum and just get something done.
Leading up to the day, there was much mumbling in the hallways about whether a full day was needed for this discussion. The hallway talk indicated that everyone knew the basic facts so a reminder was all that was needed. This proved not to be the case and interestingly enough, at the start of the session, we went around the room and several people noted that none of the projects they had worked on before had ever spent a day talking about HIV/AIDS.
The outside consultant who was brought in spent the majority of the day fielding questions from staff from the basic (can you get AIDS from a mosquito or from sharing a meal with someone?[1]) to the more complicated (what does a CD4 count measure[2] or why is the attention for AIDS focused so much more on Africa than on the West?[3]). Questions often revealed viewpoints, which I may disagree with, but which provide a lot of insight. The colleague who asked the question about why the world community is focusing on AIDS in Africa said that people in the West have much more sex than Africans. The instructor asked if he knew how the West had sex (looking for the answer that the West uses more condoms than Africa), but he replied that the west has free and open sex all the time. Definitely a negative influence of US TV and movies and it made me wander how he looks at me.
It became clear as the day went on that everyone in the room had been affected by HIV/AIDS in one way or another. In fact, it is very likely that at least one staff member is already HIV +, given that 1 in 8 Malawians is HIV positive, and that number goes up in Blantyre (where the project is based) to 1 in 4. If that wasn’t serious enough, project staff are at greater risk because almost all staff travel and are given daily allowances when they do so. In other words, they are away from their families with money in their pockets and plenty of women to spent it on (most staff are male).
The strongest point of the training was the person living with HIV AIDS who came to speak to the group. She spoke in Chichewa, so I couldn’t understand most of what she said, but I know she did talk about the common excuse for not using a condom: Who wants to eat candy with the wrapper still on? At the end of the day, people kept saying that they had learned from her that HIV is not a death sentence and that it is possible to live a full life with the virus. The negative view of HIV as an immediate death sentence is one of the main reasons that so few people get tested. I was also able to tell the staff about our company’s HIV/AIDS policy that pays for Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) for staff – hopefully providing them with another incentive to get tested and get tested early.
The highlight of the day for me, was at the end of the day when someone came forward confidentially to ask to access funds for testing. If this is the only outcome from the day (and given the level of attentiveness in the room I am sure it won’t be) it was well worth it. One of the hallway mumblers even said that two days could have been used for this discussion and other staff members have asked that we have a guest speaker every other week to talk about AIDS issues.
[1] No to both questions
[2] CD4 count is the number of CD4 white blood cells per mm2 of blood. This is the particular cell that is targeted by the HIV virus, and so it is used as a measure of the relative strength of the immune system. A health person has a CD4 of between 800-2000. When an HIV + person’s CD4 drops below 200 the individual is put on Antiretroviral Therapy, or AIDS drugs (in the west, the drugs are administered to those with CD4 below 300).
[3] A very good question with many possible explanations from sociocultural issues (e.g. the colonial introduction of moving men to industrial areas without their families), the fact that drugs are readily available in the West, economic issues (women are often forced to resort to transactional sex to feed their families), and sexual habits (condoms are not widely used in Africa, and dry sex – where a drying agent or cloth is used to dry the vagina which increases friction and pleasure for the man, but tearing and vulnerability to HIV for the woman – is widely practiced). There is much contention about all of these issues and this is still a much debated question.
Leading up to the day, there was much mumbling in the hallways about whether a full day was needed for this discussion. The hallway talk indicated that everyone knew the basic facts so a reminder was all that was needed. This proved not to be the case and interestingly enough, at the start of the session, we went around the room and several people noted that none of the projects they had worked on before had ever spent a day talking about HIV/AIDS.
The outside consultant who was brought in spent the majority of the day fielding questions from staff from the basic (can you get AIDS from a mosquito or from sharing a meal with someone?[1]) to the more complicated (what does a CD4 count measure[2] or why is the attention for AIDS focused so much more on Africa than on the West?[3]). Questions often revealed viewpoints, which I may disagree with, but which provide a lot of insight. The colleague who asked the question about why the world community is focusing on AIDS in Africa said that people in the West have much more sex than Africans. The instructor asked if he knew how the West had sex (looking for the answer that the West uses more condoms than Africa), but he replied that the west has free and open sex all the time. Definitely a negative influence of US TV and movies and it made me wander how he looks at me.
It became clear as the day went on that everyone in the room had been affected by HIV/AIDS in one way or another. In fact, it is very likely that at least one staff member is already HIV +, given that 1 in 8 Malawians is HIV positive, and that number goes up in Blantyre (where the project is based) to 1 in 4. If that wasn’t serious enough, project staff are at greater risk because almost all staff travel and are given daily allowances when they do so. In other words, they are away from their families with money in their pockets and plenty of women to spent it on (most staff are male).
The strongest point of the training was the person living with HIV AIDS who came to speak to the group. She spoke in Chichewa, so I couldn’t understand most of what she said, but I know she did talk about the common excuse for not using a condom: Who wants to eat candy with the wrapper still on? At the end of the day, people kept saying that they had learned from her that HIV is not a death sentence and that it is possible to live a full life with the virus. The negative view of HIV as an immediate death sentence is one of the main reasons that so few people get tested. I was also able to tell the staff about our company’s HIV/AIDS policy that pays for Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) for staff – hopefully providing them with another incentive to get tested and get tested early.
The highlight of the day for me, was at the end of the day when someone came forward confidentially to ask to access funds for testing. If this is the only outcome from the day (and given the level of attentiveness in the room I am sure it won’t be) it was well worth it. One of the hallway mumblers even said that two days could have been used for this discussion and other staff members have asked that we have a guest speaker every other week to talk about AIDS issues.
[1] No to both questions
[2] CD4 count is the number of CD4 white blood cells per mm2 of blood. This is the particular cell that is targeted by the HIV virus, and so it is used as a measure of the relative strength of the immune system. A health person has a CD4 of between 800-2000. When an HIV + person’s CD4 drops below 200 the individual is put on Antiretroviral Therapy, or AIDS drugs (in the west, the drugs are administered to those with CD4 below 300).
[3] A very good question with many possible explanations from sociocultural issues (e.g. the colonial introduction of moving men to industrial areas without their families), the fact that drugs are readily available in the West, economic issues (women are often forced to resort to transactional sex to feed their families), and sexual habits (condoms are not widely used in Africa, and dry sex – where a drying agent or cloth is used to dry the vagina which increases friction and pleasure for the man, but tearing and vulnerability to HIV for the woman – is widely practiced). There is much contention about all of these issues and this is still a much debated question.
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