15 June 2007: The Mzungu Is Going to the Toilet!

I arrived safely in Mchinji on Thursday afternoon and was met by the project manager for one of the research arms going on here. He ferried me to a bank to get some kwacha (1 kwacha ~ $140 U.S.) and to purchase a cell phone for use while here. 9,000 kwacha for the phone and another 5,000 to “top up” (add pre-paid minutes to the phone) and I was in business for communication both domestically and internationally. I discovered I can text anyone back home for pennies and calls are fairly cheap as well. I settled into the Kayesa Inn in Mchinji, much like where Serge and I stayed in Deschapelles, Haiti at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS).

http://www.hashaiti.org/

Here however, the concrete floors are washed and waxed every day to a dangerous shine and I’ve almost bit it 10 times over. I’m not sure I will ever get used to the electric shower head, yes ELECTRIC. A mini-heater is attached to the top of the shower head and plugs into the wall; the water travels into the shower head and is heated by the electric coils. There is something very disturbing about standing under a stream of water connected to an electric appliance…………….

This morning we headed to the boma where the markets and the hospital complex are. The office the research project works out a building located on the grounds of the Mchinji District Hospital, and is the headquarters of the Invest in Knowledge Initiative, an NGO that promotes education endeavors in Mchinji. IKI was founded by members of the MDICP research team and has created a research center, funding kids to go to school, the started a public library, and offer professional seminars for community members.

http://www.ikimalawi.org/

IKI headquarters and my working home for the next few weeks.

Unfortunately the internet has been down and I haven’t been able to email/blog yet…….we may try to go pirate the hospital’s signal tomorrow so I can post. I figure after a few days of hard core withdrawal, I will adjust to not checking my email multiple times a day and having any bit of information I desire at my fingertips within seconds. I hoping I get to the point where its liberating, although not banking on it as my online addiction is perhaps as bad as my caffeine one (oh how I miss the Green Line!).

We look like we are working but we are really obsessively checking for an internet signal and cursing the access gods.

The highlight of the day came when a group of us (Americans and Malawians) were working on the survey in the office and Emily (an NP, almost MPH and my comrade from Penn) got up to use the bathroom. This triggered shouts from the group of kids gathered at the doorway watching us and corresponding laughter from the Malawians we were working with. All we could understand was Mzungu or white person. When we asked what was so funny they told us the kids shouted: the Mzungu is going to the toilet! Anything and everything is fair game for the kids to be fascinated/amazed with when it comes to the Mzungus!