Random interesting things i've learnt

1. Love is in the hands here. Hugs are rare. But a handshake can show the level of friendship or love. If you hold onto the handshake for a long time, this means you are close to the person, and are showing your sign of respect, friendship and love.

2. Public displays of affection in any type of relationahip beyond friendship just don’t happen.

3. Two guys walking down the street holding hands is very normal (and they are just friends)

4. Homosexuality and abortions are illegal in Malawi

5. Up until 7 years ago it was against the law for women to wear trousers – this has well and truly gone now.

6. There really isn’t any such thing as personal space here.

7. Malaria is the biggest killer in Malawi, Aids the second (Malawi has just been declared the worst figures on aids, and death rate in Africa). In lilongwe 1 in 5 people are HIV positive.

8. There are over 1 million orphans in Malawi alone

9. The average life expectancy is 44

10. Average monthly wage (for those that are priveledged enough to actually be employed is 1500 kwacha – the equivalent of $15 per month)

11. The Kwacha is worth a very small amount, with the largest note being only the equivalent of our $5 dollars, the smallest coin is a 1 tambala which is 1 hundreth of a a cent (its useless)

12. Aprox 80% of the population profess Christianity, 20% are muslims.

13. On Fridays the streets are always full of people with disabilities who line the streets begging. Why Fridays? Muslims are required to give to the disabled on Fridays – literally that’s what it says in the Koran…. Why it is not everyday I wouldn’t know. But then again, I wonder if people of other faiths would actually give as much without such specific rules?? I wonder!!?! The biggest concern is of course that anyone who employs someone can rarely get them to work on a Friday, as it is far more profitable to go begging on Fridays than actually work.

14. There is a village near nkamenia that is currently having a very high number of murders, mainly due to illegal sale of body parts. Mutilated bodies are being found, as people are being killed for their eyes, hearts, hands, breasts, penis, etc. you can purchase all sorts of random body parts on the black market. Havn’t yet figured out if it’s a whaky form of plastic surgery, or for more medical purposes. Anyway…it clearly doesn’t work, and its also pretty horrific as people are being killed very unecassarily. This doesn’t put me in any danger… two reasons… they don’t want white peoples body parts, and statistically you are at a higher risk of being murdered in Australia than in Malawi.

15. It is not uncommon to see people eating directly out of rubbish bins.

16. Boab trees, it is believed that God was angry one day, he picked up all the trees, turned them upside down and shoved them back in the ground again. Cream of Tartar is made from sap from Boab trees. They eat the sap stuff as a snack, it looks a little like honey comb...BUT DEFINATELY DOESN"T TASTE LIKE IT

17. The majority of houses are made from home made bricks, the roofs are made from straw. This doesn’t stop the rain, and houses a large number of breeding mozzies.

18. There are few road signs. Tin ones would be stolen for people to make roofs for their houses, and wooden ones would be burnt for fuel to cook.

19. Eating true Malawian style does not include any cutlery

20. Telling the truth is not common place here. They are the biggest form of people pleasers, survival of the fittest I guess. Especially for orphans.

21. The staple food here is nsima, which is maize flour cooked in water until it makes a thick paste which looks a bit like mashed potato…but certainly doesn’t taste the same. They eat with their hands here, using the nsima rolled into balls to soak up whatever is accompanying it, either veggies (which is actually just cooked leaves and cabbage) or beans and tomatoes, or meat (which you want to stay right away from cos they eat the whole animal of whatever they eat… like chicken necks, heads, feet and gizzards…. Oh quick question… who knows what aussie staple food is? Asian – rice?, Indian – curries?, Italian – pasta? And what about us?? Meat and three veggies? BBQ? Pavlova? Vegemite? Anyway, it’s a question I get asked a lot.

22. Maize is the biggest farming export, in addition to tea in the south and coffee in the north.

23. A 12 seater minibus usually holds 26+


24. Matola is the back of a ute, or truck. This can hold as many as can squeeze in

25. Its not uncommon for a wedding to start at 6:30 am and go all day

26. Life starts much earlier here. Better to get more done before the heat of the day really hits. Once the sun goes down most people are at home. 8:00am is a giant sleep in for me now.

27. Hippo’s eat people (and they kill more people world wide than crocodiles do)

28. Mozzie nets keep mozzies out, but they also keep them in!

29. There are only so many ways you can cook an egg.

30. Running water is really really nice


31. With some people you have to say no to walking with them along the street, as they sneakily pretend they are showing you where to go, then request money for being your guide.

33. Female circumcision does still happen in some remote communities.

34. From a list of teachers printed in 2001 their were a total of 1,700 teeachers in Malawi, that same list is now at 900, all the others from that list have died since then.

35. Misconceptions about HIV aids – some people believe that condoms cause HIV aids, and horrifically, the rate of child molestation and insest is frighteningly high, sadly because some people believe that having sex with a “pure” baby will cure Aids.

36. Someone is away on leave nearly 2-3 times a week from our medical centre to attend a funeral.

37. Three children peed on the floor in our therapy room today

38. oops i missed 32

39. Fast food in Malawi includes the following

o Mandasi
o Roasted corn
o Rats on a stick
o Boiled eggs – they carry trays of eggs with a packet of salt for seasoning


40. The chitenji for all occasions - this is a piece of material. A chitenji is used for everything, it is a skirt, a dress, a suit, a shawl, a hat, a pad on your head to carry heavy things, sanitarty products and nappies, it is a tissue, a face washer, a dishcloth, a blanket, a bed sheet, a mop, a towel, a rug, a sling to carry babies with, a bag to wrap everything in and then carry on your head, an umbrella, it is used for everything, and not necessarily one for each job, but sometimes the same one would be used for each separate purpose.