Too much time to think
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
45
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Likoma Island,
Malawi
Thursday, June 5, 2008
I find myself waking up each morning putting on the same white T-shirt and swim trunks. I love my white shirt. I don't know why. The t-shirt is actually never really white. It is pretty black from all the dirt and sweat. But I don't care and the best part is no one else does either. I'll wash it when it starts smelling. It's also quite rare that I comb my hair. I have probably combed my hair twice during my 5 weeks in Africa. It's nice not to give a shit :). I'll have to start caring when I go to Europe though.
I also find myself in need of a haircut. I want to shave off everything (I will at some point) but at the same time I may appreciate the extra warmth once I climb Kili. Do I cut now or later? These are the "big" decisions I am faced with while I am travelling. The decision is to cut later.
I met a local man who was no more than 25 years old working on the guesthouse deck. All day long, all he did was sand and varnish a deck that was no more than 8 feet by 2 feet. You could see that he was stretching out this task as long as he could as he probably had nothing else to do afterwards. You could tell he was really bored. I started chatting with him and learned how much he earned in one day ($1 US). He then started asking me about Canada and the type of work that was available to a guy like himself. By the type of questions he asked, you could tell he really wanted to leave Malawi so he could have a better life. I can't imagine waking up every morning at the young age of 25 and not have the ability to shape the life you want for yourself. To be young and have 50-60 years in front of you with no ability to fill those years with little meaning must be hard on any person. A sadder thought is growing into an old man and looking back at your life at your life and not having too much to say about it. I can see why having children is so important here. It is the one thing you can look back on say that you created yourself. All these thoughts enter my mind while I talk to this guy. Maybe I am just painting too much of a bad picture.
On top of that, they must also feel that things aren't going to get much better in the future because they have seen such little progress over the years. For the rest of their life, they may be limited to doing the same monotonous work every every single day. Meanwhile, they see us muzungus in front of them each day basking in the sun drinking their Carlsberg beers (that's what I did this afternoon). I can't imagine what goes through their heads when they see that. We are really lucky to live where we do. We were born with opportunity. Here I am on a Round the World trip. I am doing this trip so that when I reach my years of old age, I can say that I did what I wanted out of life. It's pretty sweet that I can get to do this. The people here unfortunately were not born with the same opportunities. Tomorrow I am off to Likoma Island. My new friend Peter will most likely be sanding the same deck.
I think I mentioned this before but when you come to a place like this, it is easy to just bask in the sun and have your nose in a book and not notice what's going on around you. Thankfully I am a restless person so I can't just sit in the sun and do nothing for more than 20 minutes. So I try to see what's going on around me. I did notice one thing while here in Malawi (and in particular this island) and that is how hard the women work here. In fact, I really think it's the women who make this country work. They are such hard workers. I see them working in the fields, selling in the markets, and carrying materials on their heads. Meanwhile, they are carrying their babies on their backs and making sure they are being taken care of. Like the children, the adults are also separated by gender. I don't think I have ever seen men and women working together. I always see women working with women and men working with men. The dynamics are also different between
the groups. The women laugh a lot more together and seem to enjoy each other's company while the men have this depressed side to them and tend to work on their own. I don't see the comraderie that the women have. It's just my observation.
By the end of the day, Peter approached me and asked for my phone number, physicsal address and email address. I gave it to him. I'm not sure he will ever use it but if he does, I am curious to know what he will ask me to do for him. I guess he hopes I can help him one day.The reality is that I won't be able to do much for him.
On another note, I decided to do something unique today. Once I finish my Che Guevara bok, I will trade it for another book with another traveller. I am curious to know how far this book will yravel and whether it will ever make it back to Ottawa. So I put a note in the book asking future owners to email me once they completed it and to let me know which countries they visited while reading the book. Might turn nto a good story. Who knows. It may come across my hands in Canada 10 years from now. Again, these are the things my mind comes up with while laying on the beach.
