How Do You Live: Part II
So last year in October I posted a blog answering 10 different questions about how I live my life in Malawi specifically relating to my life in the village in Balaka. If you want to read that blog you can go here: http://peacecorpsmalawi2013.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-do-you-10-q.html.
But now as you've read, my life has changed a little bit. And to highlight the great and beautiful diversity that is Malawi, I wanted to post a part 2 to this blog to answer these questions again. I now live in the capital city of Malawi called Lilongwe. While it's not a huge city compared to Nairobi or Lusaka, it's still a capital city no less. So here is how I live now:
1. Where do you get water?
But now as you've read, my life has changed a little bit. And to highlight the great and beautiful diversity that is Malawi, I wanted to post a part 2 to this blog to answer these questions again. I now live in the capital city of Malawi called Lilongwe. While it's not a huge city compared to Nairobi or Lusaka, it's still a capital city no less. So here is how I live now:
1. Where do you get water?
- From the tap! Yes, I have a sink in the kitchen, toilets and sinks in all the bedrooms and even an outside tap for watering the grass, doing laundry, etc. I pay my bill monthly to the Lilongwe Water Board for consumption which never exceeds about $3 a month. While there are still those random times when issues arise causing the tap to run dry, a reason you always want to keep a back-up bucket of water stored somewhere, it's fairly consistent. I also have a geyser which I turn on when I want warm water for laundry, dishes or a shower.
2. How do you shower? And do laundry?
- As stated above, I have a geyser which heats water which the tap then supplies to a shower! I have a real, beautiful, wonderful shower. And I've told several people that's it's my favorite part of my entire house. I have a big shower with great water pressure and I really enjoy it.
Laundry is more or less the same only now I have tap water. I still do it all myself by hand. In my backyard I actually have a tap attached to a hand washing station and three drying lines. So I still manually wash all my clothes, normally on weekends, and hang them to dry. But I must say after 2.7 years, I've gotten pretty good at washing my clothes.
Laundry is more or less the same only now I have tap water. I still do it all myself by hand. In my backyard I actually have a tap attached to a hand washing station and three drying lines. So I still manually wash all my clothes, normally on weekends, and hang them to dry. But I must say after 2.7 years, I've gotten pretty good at washing my clothes.
3. Where do you charge your things?
- I charge everything at my very own house! I have electricity now. I also pay for this monthly costing about $8-10 a month depending on how many appliances I run. And I don't run much. My water heater, mini fridge, mini cooker and floor fans do take some units but other than that all I really use are my lights and charging my phone and laptop. As I've mentioned, I still have no washing machine, dish washer, oven or air conditioning. I rely on fans and windows to cool down and my hands to wash dishes and clothes.
4. How are you always on Facebook?
- The great thing about living in the capital city is that there's almost always 3G network and data bundles that are functional.
5. How do I commute in the city? To work?
- In Lilongwe, there's a lot of traffic and no official bike lanes. For this reason, it makes me nervous to ride my bike. So these days the bike is mostly gathering dust. Instead I have a pretty reliable bus system that I use. For about $.60 I can get to and from work each day. I just wait at the appropriate minibus stops, which happen to be really close to my house and my work, and catch a bus. For about $.80 round trip I can make it to town where all the shopping and restaurants are. Occasionally I get lucky and get taxi rides to and from work which costs the same as a minibus due to the competition. And unlike in other cities where you may just walk, I'm still a little cautious to do that alone for safety reasons and also that Lilongwe is a very spread-out city and not the easiest to get around in by foot.
6. What do you eat? And how do you cook?
- So I no longer cook over charcoals in the backyard. Now I have what's called a mini-cooker or mini-stove. There's a small oven and two hot plates on top. I also have a water boiler that can boil water in just a few minutes for coffee. I also have a mini FRIDGE! I saved up my own living allowance to buy this and I just love it. I am so appreciative of my fridge.
My diet hasn't changed so very much. Or maybe it has. The fridge always has several things stocked: cheese, wine, real milk, yogurt, Nutella and vegetables. And man, vegetables can last such a long time when stored in a fridge- it's amazing! I still cook rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, spaghetti, vegetables, and soup. I've also started investing in salad dressing (also kept in the fridge) for when I make salads. I also keep canned good such as chick-peas, corn, and baked beans. I have crackers, crisps, biscuits, instant noodles, and sometimes Mac and Cheese. I keep ketchup, mayo, hot sauce, lemon juice, etc. along with many spices. I even attempted to make an apple crumble in my oven.
I buy goods from large grocery stores mostly but for vegetables, fruits, rice and legumes I go to the market to bargain with vendors on prices for heaps of these goods. Close to my house there is a smaller market where I can readily get eggs, tomatoes, relish, and onions. And just to treat my self, about once every 2 weeks I eat out getting a pizza, burger, or quesadilla.
My diet hasn't changed so very much. Or maybe it has. The fridge always has several things stocked: cheese, wine, real milk, yogurt, Nutella and vegetables. And man, vegetables can last such a long time when stored in a fridge- it's amazing! I still cook rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, spaghetti, vegetables, and soup. I've also started investing in salad dressing (also kept in the fridge) for when I make salads. I also keep canned good such as chick-peas, corn, and baked beans. I have crackers, crisps, biscuits, instant noodles, and sometimes Mac and Cheese. I keep ketchup, mayo, hot sauce, lemon juice, etc. along with many spices. I even attempted to make an apple crumble in my oven.
I buy goods from large grocery stores mostly but for vegetables, fruits, rice and legumes I go to the market to bargain with vendors on prices for heaps of these goods. Close to my house there is a smaller market where I can readily get eggs, tomatoes, relish, and onions. And just to treat my self, about once every 2 weeks I eat out getting a pizza, burger, or quesadilla.
7. What is your house like?
- My house is ranch style town home. It's connected on one side to another house. There's 8 total flats in my compound which is gated with a high wall and has panic buttons and security guards 24/7. The inside is all tile and is similar to any American flat having a joint living/dining room, kitchen, pantry, master suite, and guest bedrooms.
8. What is your social life like?
- Undoubtedly in the city interactions with people are very different. On weekdays by the time I am home from work I'm exhausted and no one really goes out. On weekends though I meet up with people in town for lunch, invite people over to the house, or go out sometimes to hear live music and socialize. The best way to get around at night is to hire a taxi (although expensive at night) or beg a friend with a car to pick you up. If you share a taxi with other passengers it can help mitigate the cost.
9. How expensive are things?
Life in the city is much more expensive than in the village. I use to bike to all essential places (food, friends, work, etc.). But now I pay whenever I go out and the cost for food is much higher. Some of my spending habits have increase by choice and some not so much which has given me a need to really start budgeting again. So I have started making monthly budgets on paper since there's no easy online banking here as in the states. It's a very much cash-only society.
Now you understand a little more how my life has changed and a little how it has stayed the same. You can see the diversity that exists between living in a rural area vs a more urban one. And it's not just foreign people living this way in the city- many Malawians also have this lifestyle in the urban areas. Many of my co-workers drive nice cars! So while I don't have everyone one might consider "necessary" if living in the States, I am blessed beyond measure and am thankful for all the blessings I know I have received. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I pray to keep a humble heart that remains joyful even if all my new found blessings were one day taken away. I'm not owed this life but I'm blessed to have it.
8. What is your social life like?
- Undoubtedly in the city interactions with people are very different. On weekdays by the time I am home from work I'm exhausted and no one really goes out. On weekends though I meet up with people in town for lunch, invite people over to the house, or go out sometimes to hear live music and socialize. The best way to get around at night is to hire a taxi (although expensive at night) or beg a friend with a car to pick you up. If you share a taxi with other passengers it can help mitigate the cost.
9. How expensive are things?
Life in the city is much more expensive than in the village. I use to bike to all essential places (food, friends, work, etc.). But now I pay whenever I go out and the cost for food is much higher. Some of my spending habits have increase by choice and some not so much which has given me a need to really start budgeting again. So I have started making monthly budgets on paper since there's no easy online banking here as in the states. It's a very much cash-only society.
Now you understand a little more how my life has changed and a little how it has stayed the same. You can see the diversity that exists between living in a rural area vs a more urban one. And it's not just foreign people living this way in the city- many Malawians also have this lifestyle in the urban areas. Many of my co-workers drive nice cars! So while I don't have everyone one might consider "necessary" if living in the States, I am blessed beyond measure and am thankful for all the blessings I know I have received. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I pray to keep a humble heart that remains joyful even if all my new found blessings were one day taken away. I'm not owed this life but I'm blessed to have it.
City Centre- my office is the building behind the trees.
My house.
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