By now, most things in 'Malawi-everyday-life' don’t surprise me anymore - people carrying pretty much ANYTHING on their heads, backs or shoulders (from 2m diameter baskets... to whole bed frames!) - transporting pretty much ANYTHING on their pushbikes (incl. live goats and chickens) - calling me ‘madam’ or ‘sister (achemwali)’ when I go past - transporting quite an overload of people on the open back of their trucks or pick-ups... Alright, that’s all cool!... However, there are a couple of things that I would probably never get used to, such as... mbewa on a stick!!! (Yep, that's right - mice!!!)
Now, after three months living on mabatat (sweet potato / kumara), carrots, bananas, phala (porridge) and black tea, I decided to add a couple more things to my diet and try eating a bit more healthily... even if bran flakes cost about 4 EUR / 7.4 NZD / 3.4 GBP a box!
AND, I’ve actually started eating ‘real lunch’ as well... meaning, instead of fritters (that is, flour-sugar-oil ‘fat balls’ [not very nutritious, very yummy though!]) I would have noodles, rice, cooked chinangwa (cassava), bread (well, THEY call it bread, I call it TOAST/SANDWICH-bread [which is, in fact, NOT BREAD] - kinda reminds me of New Zealand, um, sorry guys… but, German bread is the only REAL BREAD ;-P) and mtedza (groundnuts) that I would roast myself - the ‘modern’ way... in a fry pan :) AND, 1-2 glasses/day of 100% (that’s right!) fruit juice - apple, orange, mango, guava, litchi, tropical, cranberry... you pick! Still, I might actually also dig into a bit of American culture from time to time ;-) - Chris, my housemate, can make the most amazing apple pie ever! And every time I see Jen, my other housemate, eating apples with peanut butter... mmmh, peeeeeaaaaanut butter. I mean, what would be the alternative? Vegemite??? => no kiddin, you actually get it here in the supermarket! But, well, um... No thanks!
So, about twice a week I go to the local market - taking the minibus (50 MKW bus fare = 0.25 EUR / 0.45 NZD / 0.2 GBP) from work to town (regular distances cost 100 MKW => or you walk and, for the same price, get a Malawian finger food mice stick!!!)… and walking back in this HEAT (meaning the weather has changed from hot to HOT-HOT... and besides, basically, we only have two seasons: wet and dry :)) But, I figured that I seriously need a bit of exercise ;-)
At the market I’ve already learned to move quickly in order to avoid getting caught up into conversations for too long - this can make the difference between a 15 min. and a 1.5 hr stay - meaning I’m trying to more or less ignore the voices coming from my right and left: “Hello madam! Here, nice cabbage“ and the same goes for potatoes, tomatoes, onions etc.... most of them neatly put together in small piles of approx. six pieces each (unlike the peas and beans - obviously, that would be rather odd: “well, I have six peas today” - of course, those are sold in big weaved baskets ;-)) it’s really kinda artful...
Though, my absolute favourite is and shall remain the 'berry-guys' who move around with their little trays, literally following you, repeatedly(!) asking: “Madam, strawberries!... Madam, please, nice strawberries, I give you cheap price”... Well, admittedly, it really is only a fraction of what we would pay back home (i.e. Europe/Australasia) - for roughly 750g-1kg strawberries I paid 200 MKW (approx. 1 EUR / 1.8 NZD / 0.8 GBP). Still, in 3 months I actually bought strawberries only twice, have them with my overpriced bran flakes, thinking: I might better switch to cornflakes now (and hey, they do have Kellogg’s here!)... or, carrots for breakfast? Though, I really don’t need an extra dose beta-carotene… the sun is quite enough to get a fast natural tan!
Even though the vendors can be quite persistent (keep in mind: they do this for a living!) I kinda like going to the market. It’s very lively and colourful, there’s always someone you can chat with (if you’ve got a bit of spare time :)) and you get all sorts of fresh vegetables and fruits for a cheaper price than in the supermarkets.
And just to briefly get back to the ‘mice snack’ - they actually call it ‘African sausage’... people are selling pretty much anything as they are standing right next to the long dusty roads, waiting for cars to stop by. So, what would you like today? A kitten? A puppy? A pigeon? A chicken? [NOTE: Apart from the mice, these are all alive!] Or, a sling shot? Chains?... I still haven’t quite figured out what these are for(??).
Chabwino, despite looking at those pics I’m actually a bit hungry... so I might have some strawberries... so that next time someone approaches me “Madam…” I’ll be able to brighten his day a little :)
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