Looking back nearly 3 years, it is difficult to remember our first impressions of Blantyre. The city is concrete grey, with few historical buildings and little ancient charm. The roads are full of cars and lorries that would not pass their MOT back home. On every small trip you pass broken down vehicles, abandoned at a junction or on the highway. Usually instead of red warning triangles, branches are laid in the road.
However, I do remember being pleasantly surprised by our first trip to Chichiri Mall; not that it is a ‘mall’ in the way that most people would understand the word, but the supermarket did have most of the things you would hope for – not cheap, mind, but at least we would be able to get hold of most things. We were taken to two fabulous oases early on: Caffe Grazia and La Caverna @ Mandala House – both serving yummy Italian treats in very scenic surroundings. I had no idea before moving here that there would so many European communities; 4th generation Italian and Greek families.
Similarly, most of the small shops on the main roads (Haile Selassie Avenue, Glyn Jones Road and Victoria Avenue) are run by Indian families; families who have been here for decades; some have come here via the UK and have ties to all three countries. A huge advantage of this for expatriates is the presence of 2 good Indian restaurants in town…we were looking forward to trying them out. It’s hard to describe the little shops in the town centre – they are not always recognisable by the shop name and the eclectic mix of goods inside do not always help decipher the nature of the business. Much of their wares appear to come from China and very few brands are familiar to us. Yet, some of these businesses are invaluable – Citipharm is indispensable to us already and certain goods we could old purchase from Citi Boutique.
A down side of shopping in Blantyre centre is the prevalence of beggars and the ethical dilemmas posed by them. There were beggars on the pavements, beggars by the cars at major junctions and hawkers everywhere trying to sell everything from mops to oranges to sunglasses and car chargers. It seemed there is no limit to the number of times you can say, ‘No, thank you’ in the space between the car and the shop door (I desperately wanted to learn to say these things in Chichewa)!
I say, ‘the car’ and not, ‘our car’ because we did not yet have a car and were busy hunting for the right vehicle. In the meantime, we were dependent on colleagues and neighbours who could squeeze us into their car or lend us their car when they were not using it. It was understandably frustrating not being able to get around under our own steam. I’ve since discovered an amazing taxi driver, who I use whenever our car is with the mechanic – I wish I’d had his number back in 2015! But friends really were very kind and helpful.
I’ve mentioned wanting to learn the language, but it was also amazing to realise that everywhere we went in Blantyre people were perfectly able to communicate with us in English; Malawi really does have a very high standard of English and comes top 10 in Africa every year for the quality of English spoken. We felt very lucky in that regard.
On my second Sunday here, I got the chance to climb Ndirande mountain with some of the SAIntS teachers. We set off early to avoid the midday sun. It was a great morning; partly because I got to know some lovely colleagues better; partly because I always think that climbing a mountain helps you to orientate. There is no better way to gain perspective than seeing the landscape change and the city below become smaller as you climb. There were a few tricky rocks to clamber over (with help from a young DT teacher) but the view from the summit was well worth the effort. And I’ve enjoyed the view of Ndirande from the school all the more for knowing that I have conquered it!
Our final significant experience as part of our orientation was the day trip to Majete National Park; we drove down the escarpment down into the Chikwawa valley, descending around 1000 metres, feeling the sun get hotter as we approached Majete. No sooner than we were through the gates, than we began to see antelope – antelope that feel very familiar to me now but whose names I had never even heard until that eye-opening day in August. We saw little impala, bigger nyala and waterbuck, impressive sable and kudu, along with the ever comical warthog and guinea fowl. The big question on our lips was, “will we see elephant?” We needn’t have worried – down by the Shire (pronounced Shi-ree) river, early in the day, we spotted a family of five elephant, one a baby. I was surprised by my reaction; my eyes filled to see elephant in the wild for the first time – so big, so majestic – I was speechless. That was the first but not the last time elephant have moved me to the core. They really are very special creatures – a wonder to behold. What a privilege!
It would be fair to say that our first impressions were many and varied. Blantyre was many different things at different times, in different places and with different people. We knew already that Malawi held a charm that would captivate us for years to come. There would be struggles along the way, but the benefits already becoming perceptible to us, we felt sure, would make every uphill climb worth its effort.
Out of Africa: Yorkshire adventure 