Sunday 29 August: safari part one

One year ago on this day I was specifically not in Malawi because I was at Chris and Kerin's wedding. I am so glad I could be part of that wonderful day, and everything seems to have worked out for me, too.


My congratulations for these two continue. I love you both so much!

Like August 29, 2009, I spent the morning in a church.



The pastor at the Sakata CCAP reminded us all a lot of the old man in the Six Flags commercials, except tinier and more cartoony. I really wonder how old he is. I'd guess 80s, honestly. He was really kind and actually kind of funny, but he had this twitch around his mouth and these huge glasses that reminded me a lot of Uncle Don's in the Marines:



Anyway. Church was a short two and a half hours-- the sermon came about an hour and forty minutes in but we were all kind of surprised that we had been sitting there so long. This included a lot of singing and also time for translations (which we hadn't gone in expecting but were certainly happy to receive from Mwalabu). The pastor began his sermon talking about how having lots of different colored flowers makes for a more beautiful garden (even if people in the village couldn't tell the white flowers apart). It was actually very sweet. We presented him with a stole with the PCUSA cross on it. He was very excited because stoles aren't very commonly worn in Malawi, or in Africa. He was excited because it would strike his academic colleagues with fear that he is better educated. That kind of amused me, since I definitely dress a particular way when I teach in hopes that my students will believe I'm actually qualified (and not still in high school, as I know my face suggests). We also gave him Bibles and hymn books in Chichewa and English, as well as a blue hymnal from my church (more a ceremonial gift-- I did not meet a single person who could read music during my entire stay in Malawi). They were very excited.

After the service, we shared a light meal and spent a bit of time with the youth choir. Then, three of the women and I left for an overnight safari in Liwonde National Park along the Shire River (pronounced shee-ree), while Liz, Bob and Charlie stayed behind for some more serious logistical meetings for VIP.

Because everything in Malawi is on Malawi time (read: late), we arrived after our first safari drive was scheduled to depart, which it did, without us. But we settled in quickly and were taken out to meet our guide, "Danger by name, not by nature." Seriously. His given name was Danger. "That is the name my mother gave me at birth." Seriously.

We saw some amazing and beautiful things as the sun set.

Tree of the day #1: Candelabra Tree. Not a cactus. Really cool looking!

Tree of the day #2: Mopani. I did not get a good photo of this. Mopani is Chichewa for butterfly, which the leaves resemble.


Tree of the day #3: baobab, which is sort of the stereotypical African tree. There are some on the continent that are thousands of years old. We didn't see any that old, we mostly saw them with some massive scars from elephants colliding with them (sometimes accidental, sometimes as a scratching post).


Water buck having a drink


It was so beautiful. The air was fresh and the weather was perfect. And when everyone would stop talking about how silent it was... it was so peaceful. It was incredible. I loved hearing the sounds of branches snapping as different creatures had their dinners, and the far off groan/burp/call of the hippos. It was really awesome.

We did see some elephants! They were off in the distance, munching on some trees. Danger held up a filtered light-- red light is the only color that doesn't wreck night vision in animals (including humans).

You can kind of make them out-- it's a big one in the middle, facing left, and some babies hanging out with her.

Since we were with the church, drinking was not really acceptable in the villages, nor in the city because we were always with other people from the church. However, on safari, that rule could be overlooked. Beer of the day: Kuche Kuche, which is somehow Chichewa for "you can drink this from night till dawn without getting drunk." Three different Malawians told me this, so I guess that's really what it means. Such a fascinating language. And such a plain beer with low alcohol content that you probably really could drink all night without noticing. This beer is brewed by Carlsberg, whose first brewery outside of Denmark was actually in Malawi near the city of Blantyre.

All in all, a very cool day. We went to bed early. I was kept up for a little while by the sounds of the wind and the hippos and other critters, but I really didn't mind it. It was so serene, and I was excited to see more of it the next day...