In 12 hours I will be heading for the airport for the first leg of my journey home. I am really excited about getting back to a normal life and spending time with friends and family. I'm also a wee bit apprehensive about having to deal with my apartment when I get back.
I subletted while I was away, so I'm not sure in what condition I will find things. Plus, my housemate Karlyn is moving out two days after I get home and I'm getting a new roommate, Ana Maria from Chile who sounds really nice over email! So I am going to try and move into Karlyn's room (bigger, has the only balcony and a private bathroom) in between all these other people moving in and out, starting a new position at work, and trying to catch up with folks. Why is life never luxuriously simple? (I know, I know, cuz I chose to make it complicated!)
The good news is that I have learned from the hell past returns, and I am taking a long weekend on my aunt and uncle's farm outside of Johannesburg on the way back. Tomorrow night I should be sleeping peacefully only disturbed by the jackals, wildebeast and spotted wildlife (mainly in the form of the two dalmations). So by the time you all see or speak to me at home, I should be fully relaxed - at least for the first few hours at home.
I'm already listening to my "Travel" Playlist on my ipod. It starts with "leaving on a jet plane" by Peter, Paul and Mary, and ends with "homeward bound" by Paul Simon. Get's me in the right mood for journeys.
Now on to packing - I have way too much stuff to bring home - as usual!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Conservation is Hopeless
I'm here in Malawi working on a natural resources program and today I came to the conclusion that in this environment, conservation is hopeless.
The harvest in Malawi just took place over the past few weeks and it was poor. Some crops failed completely because there were insufficient rains. In other places, the two week dry spell in the middle of the season at a key point meant that the crop was stunted. Part of the problem is that the staple crop is maize which is not adapted to drought conditions. Believe it or not, but maize was only introduced to Malawi about 80 years ago. It is seen as more modern and so has almost completely replaced the more drought resistant millet, sorghum and cassava in the local diet - even though that means starvation every few years when there is a drought.
There are reportedly already 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have already been declared in food crises. Malawi is not one of them, so there is concern that by the time people realize the scale of the problem, there will be no foreign aid left to feed the country.
In this environment how can we encourage people to invest in the future. These are people who literally do not know how they are going to get through the next year - the real crisis will come next year when the grain stores have been emptied and next year's crop of maize is growing in the ground while the people starve. In this environment how can we convince anyone to leave trees in the forest, fish in the lakes and medicinal vines growing on the river banks? How can we convince them to preserve the natural resources for a tomorrow that they and their children may very well not see? How do we convince them not to engage in risky behavior (transactional sex) if it will feed their children and keep them alive? In this environment, food today is without doubt worth more than the risk of getting some disease that might kill you in 10 years.
Life expectancy in Malawi is 34 years.
The harvest in Malawi just took place over the past few weeks and it was poor. Some crops failed completely because there were insufficient rains. In other places, the two week dry spell in the middle of the season at a key point meant that the crop was stunted. Part of the problem is that the staple crop is maize which is not adapted to drought conditions. Believe it or not, but maize was only introduced to Malawi about 80 years ago. It is seen as more modern and so has almost completely replaced the more drought resistant millet, sorghum and cassava in the local diet - even though that means starvation every few years when there is a drought.
There are reportedly already 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have already been declared in food crises. Malawi is not one of them, so there is concern that by the time people realize the scale of the problem, there will be no foreign aid left to feed the country.
In this environment how can we encourage people to invest in the future. These are people who literally do not know how they are going to get through the next year - the real crisis will come next year when the grain stores have been emptied and next year's crop of maize is growing in the ground while the people starve. In this environment how can we convince anyone to leave trees in the forest, fish in the lakes and medicinal vines growing on the river banks? How can we convince them to preserve the natural resources for a tomorrow that they and their children may very well not see? How do we convince them not to engage in risky behavior (transactional sex) if it will feed their children and keep them alive? In this environment, food today is without doubt worth more than the risk of getting some disease that might kill you in 10 years.
Life expectancy in Malawi is 34 years.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Field day
With one week until my departure from Malawi, yesterday was my last day in the field before I dedicate myself entirely to writing the final report. I decided to make the most of it.
I traveled an hour away to Domasi, a small town outside Zomba, the former colonial capital. There I met with Mrs. Katunu, a truly remarkable woman of the same mettle as Ma Ramotswe, the lovable character from The Ladies Detective Agency series.
Mrs. Katundu runs a small enterprise that makes and sells an interesting array of cassava based products including cassava wine, cassava juice, and a cassava energy drink. (I am brining some cassava wine with me to South Africa to sample!) She is an astute entrepreneur and has carved out a niche for herself selling mostly at International Trade fairs in Malawi and Zimbabwe.
I found her because one of the ingredients in her energy shake is Gondolosi - an indigenous plant that is most well-known in Malawi for its aphrodisiac properties. She has noticed that it is becoming harder to find in the wild and so she has decided to start cultivating it. This fits well with the project I'm working with because while Gondolosi has a strong local market, we have been struggling with the ethical issues of encouraging the use of aphrodisiacs in a country with a major HIV/AIDS epidemic. (Do you think the makers of Viagra think about these things?) Mrs. Katundu’s product allows us to sidestep the issue – it’s an energy drink!
We went to visit her field of aphrodisiac, which is at her traditional home. When we finished meandering through the field, we sat on a grass mat on the front stoop of her older sister's house and she fed me and my driver lunch. When she brought out a steaming dish of livers and gizzards, I had to tell her that I am a vegetarian - something I try to avoid, but her surprising response was, 'my sister doesn't eat meat either'. Her sister brought out some freshly cooked local spinach to eat with my cassava rolls. As I left, they brought out some newly roasted peanuts for me to enjoy on the road. The generosity of those with so little to give will never cease to astound me.
I traveled an hour away to Domasi, a small town outside Zomba, the former colonial capital. There I met with Mrs. Katunu, a truly remarkable woman of the same mettle as Ma Ramotswe, the lovable character from The Ladies Detective Agency series.
Mrs. Katundu runs a small enterprise that makes and sells an interesting array of cassava based products including cassava wine, cassava juice, and a cassava energy drink. (I am brining some cassava wine with me to South Africa to sample!) She is an astute entrepreneur and has carved out a niche for herself selling mostly at International Trade fairs in Malawi and Zimbabwe.
I found her because one of the ingredients in her energy shake is Gondolosi - an indigenous plant that is most well-known in Malawi for its aphrodisiac properties. She has noticed that it is becoming harder to find in the wild and so she has decided to start cultivating it. This fits well with the project I'm working with because while Gondolosi has a strong local market, we have been struggling with the ethical issues of encouraging the use of aphrodisiacs in a country with a major HIV/AIDS epidemic. (Do you think the makers of Viagra think about these things?) Mrs. Katundu’s product allows us to sidestep the issue – it’s an energy drink!
We went to visit her field of aphrodisiac, which is at her traditional home. When we finished meandering through the field, we sat on a grass mat on the front stoop of her older sister's house and she fed me and my driver lunch. When she brought out a steaming dish of livers and gizzards, I had to tell her that I am a vegetarian - something I try to avoid, but her surprising response was, 'my sister doesn't eat meat either'. Her sister brought out some freshly cooked local spinach to eat with my cassava rolls. As I left, they brought out some newly roasted peanuts for me to enjoy on the road. The generosity of those with so little to give will never cease to astound me.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
The Presentaiton
I'm sitting in an airport staring into space with my mouth open in between typing into my blackberry. It's been a busy couple of days.
I was up until after midnight last night working on the slides for my presentation today. The fact that I woke up at 6am today only to discover that the Meridian Hotel I was staying in had absolutely no hot water - great start to the day. My next realization was that I definitely overdid it with the Tai-bo “great buns” (DVD) workout last night - my glutes were killing me.
The presentation with one of my colleagues was on the work I've been doing here for the last three months on the traditional medicine market. We presented to a group of folks from the Department of Forestry, Department of Environmental Affairs, National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens, and the Universities - the gatekeepers of knowledge in the field of traditional medicine in Malawi.
The Chairman started off the meeting by welcoming the “lady and gentlemen”. Yup, once again I was the only woman in the room. There are so few professional women in Africa, is it any wander that I am rarely treated as an equal by my African colleagues? The presentation was well received and generated some good debate about the competing interests of conservation of medicinal plant species, promoting traditional medicine as a parallel healthcare system, and commercialization of medicinal plants as a livelihoods option for rural communities (our focus). Of course the debate was managed in a typically African way - more debate about how to best structure the discussion than actual substantive talk.
Now I just need to somehow capture all of this information in a paper in the next 8 days. I am really looking forward to that weekend of relaxation in South Africa on my way home. (Except of course for the shopping and errands that I need to do).
I was up until after midnight last night working on the slides for my presentation today. The fact that I woke up at 6am today only to discover that the Meridian Hotel I was staying in had absolutely no hot water - great start to the day. My next realization was that I definitely overdid it with the Tai-bo “great buns” (DVD) workout last night - my glutes were killing me.
The presentation with one of my colleagues was on the work I've been doing here for the last three months on the traditional medicine market. We presented to a group of folks from the Department of Forestry, Department of Environmental Affairs, National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens, and the Universities - the gatekeepers of knowledge in the field of traditional medicine in Malawi.
The Chairman started off the meeting by welcoming the “lady and gentlemen”. Yup, once again I was the only woman in the room. There are so few professional women in Africa, is it any wander that I am rarely treated as an equal by my African colleagues? The presentation was well received and generated some good debate about the competing interests of conservation of medicinal plant species, promoting traditional medicine as a parallel healthcare system, and commercialization of medicinal plants as a livelihoods option for rural communities (our focus). Of course the debate was managed in a typically African way - more debate about how to best structure the discussion than actual substantive talk.
Now I just need to somehow capture all of this information in a paper in the next 8 days. I am really looking forward to that weekend of relaxation in South Africa on my way home. (Except of course for the shopping and errands that I need to do).
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Goddess Plan
I just checked in for my flight back to Blantyre from Lilongwe. We are flying on a tiny 18-seater plane for the 50 minute flight and so when checking in you are asked, “what is your personal weight in kilos?” Now I don't even know my weight in pounds, nevermind kilos, so the attendant asked me to hop on the luggage scale. What an unpleasant shock! I was convinced that the scale was wrong until my colleague told me his weight and then got on the scale - it was exactly right. The irony is that aside from the disappointment I felt at failing miserably at the goddess plan (to be tanner, blonder, thinner and more toned by the time I got home), I was actually a little relieved.
For three years, I struggled to identify and then poison the 7 species of parasites that had firmly attached themselves in my system during my backpacking years. During that time I lost a lot of weight and actually couldn't gain weight. I promised to never again complain about putting on a little pudge. So I'm just going to look at this as additional incentive to get in shape and train for a triathlon. (I'm also hoping that broadcasting the goal on my blog will also provide some incentive by not wanting to fail in the public eye).
For three years, I struggled to identify and then poison the 7 species of parasites that had firmly attached themselves in my system during my backpacking years. During that time I lost a lot of weight and actually couldn't gain weight. I promised to never again complain about putting on a little pudge. So I'm just going to look at this as additional incentive to get in shape and train for a triathlon. (I'm also hoping that broadcasting the goal on my blog will also provide some incentive by not wanting to fail in the public eye).
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Catch up
I think my frequency of blogging is directly correlated to my level of excitement about my current activities. Notice that I didn’t blog once when I was in South Africa. Actually, that’s a little unfair. Part of that was that I was just frantically busy.
I have learned a new lesson – don’t mix business with pleasure, at least not on business trips. I ended up running around all day to meetings, typing up notes and planning for the next day in the evenings and still trying to socialize. It was definitely too much, but I did get a heavenly 24 hours of rest on Penny and John’s farm. My aunt and uncle are part owners of a game conservancy 30 minutes outside of Johannesburg. They recently established themselves as a dinner, bed and breakfast game lodge, and I was spoiled staying in one of their romantic canvas tent under thatch (www.butjanilodge.co.za). The complete silence of the night was only disturbed briefly by the calls of the jackals, the snorts of the wildebeest, and the hooting of the owl. In the morning, I enjoyed their outdoor shower (despite the chilly temperatures) and got to birdwatch while showering.
I also did get a chance to catch up with a few friends. I spent my 30th birthday attending a conference, but in the evening I went to dinner with the mother and aunt of one of my dearest friends. I also got to see my former host sister (who stayed with my parents in Hornell, NY – poor her!) and her boyfriend.
I arrived back at my home at the Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre Malawi completely exhausted and ready to go back to my real home. That first night I slept 10 hours and when I woke up I experienced that brief panic of not knowing where I was. I knew that I was in a hotel (big surprise there), but I couldn’t remember which one.
I have learned a new lesson – don’t mix business with pleasure, at least not on business trips. I ended up running around all day to meetings, typing up notes and planning for the next day in the evenings and still trying to socialize. It was definitely too much, but I did get a heavenly 24 hours of rest on Penny and John’s farm. My aunt and uncle are part owners of a game conservancy 30 minutes outside of Johannesburg. They recently established themselves as a dinner, bed and breakfast game lodge, and I was spoiled staying in one of their romantic canvas tent under thatch (www.butjanilodge.co.za). The complete silence of the night was only disturbed briefly by the calls of the jackals, the snorts of the wildebeest, and the hooting of the owl. In the morning, I enjoyed their outdoor shower (despite the chilly temperatures) and got to birdwatch while showering.
I also did get a chance to catch up with a few friends. I spent my 30th birthday attending a conference, but in the evening I went to dinner with the mother and aunt of one of my dearest friends. I also got to see my former host sister (who stayed with my parents in Hornell, NY – poor her!) and her boyfriend.
I arrived back at my home at the Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre Malawi completely exhausted and ready to go back to my real home. That first night I slept 10 hours and when I woke up I experienced that brief panic of not knowing where I was. I knew that I was in a hotel (big surprise there), but I couldn’t remember which one.
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