Lilongwe meets Blantyre

6 months on from my arrival in Blantyre, my outlook on the city has changed tremendously- almost to the point where I wish I could go back and edit that first entry, in which I thankfully predicted that this would be the case. Some things are still the same though, for example the extreme gap between wealth and poverty that’s in-your-face. Well the thing that got me thinking about this again was a trip to Lilongwe this week where I experienced some déjà-vus of the time of my original arrival there some year and a half ago. I found myself taking the same routes to the hospital from the same guesthouse where I was living then. I was presenting at a conference for the Surgical Association of Malawi this time, where I also joined the faculty of COSECSA for a day teaching orthopaedics. There, I met a lot of the same people I’d met 18months ago, like Dr Muyco, Sven and the Lilongwe OCOs. As a treat, Steve Mannion was also there, organising the orthopaedic training training day, as well as moderating some of the sessions for the conference. All in all, it was a pretty intense week, with an equally intense build up to it, where the presentations and research for it was being undertaken (hence the paucity of blog entries- there’s always a reason!) As you can imagine, once all this hard work was unloaded, I switched straight into “off-work” mode and took the opportunity to maximise my time with Steve and Sven. Nostalgia and anticlimax weren’t long to kick in. I felt the sweet vibes of my first time in Lilongwe, its sweet mix of the terrifying unknown and an all-capturing titillation of the senses. I really felt at home in this city, Lilongwe. It is indeed one of my favourite cities in the world. It is a vast expanse of green with distinct areas strangely numbered in the order in which they were built, as opposed to their geographic location. But that adds to the quirky charm of it. It does not feel the need to be defined by an outsider. It has its own character. Unlike Blantyre, it is the administrative hub of the country. It boasts a different spectrum of the commercialism that somewhat defines Blantyre. For Lilongwe, it manifests itself more in the form of posh hotels, springing up all the time and good eateries- essential exigencies for the host of expats and diplomats released on its streets daily from the country’s major airport. As a result or not, Lilongwe also feels a notch more peaceful. In other words, the constant banging of undisciplined bottle stores and bars with outside speakers doesn’t follow you into every nook and cranny as it does in Blantyre. What better way of demonstrating that than by the greater presence of birds all over Lilongwe. And yes, that is now one of my chief delights in visiting the city. Not that Blantyre doesn’t have them, but in comparison to Lilongwe, that’s a mere fraction. And to exacerbate the difference in greenness further, Lilongwe also boasts a wildlife sanctuary in the very heart of the city. I won’t go on any further lest I be called a tree hugger!

So that’s how it felt being back in the capital, home of the VSO office and guesthouse- my first bases in Malawi. But of course, times have changed and contrary to expectations, my affinity for Blantyre has also grown greatly in my time there. I might not have become immune to its riot of decibels but I certainly have got a feel for the character of the city. And this I owe in large part to one thing I never had at first in Lilongwe- companionship. With Janet here and both of us equipped with bikes, we’ve stroked the asphalt of most streets within a mile radius of our house at least and many more beyond. We’ve come to meet people very different to the stereotypical arrogant rich I’d at first got fixated on. These lot exist in every place in the world, Lilongwe as much as Blantyre as much as Manchester, Port Louis and Bombay! Thankfully they exist less in places like Ntcheu and I guess I’d forgotten what it’s like living alongside them until I got to Blantyre. But now I’m used to them again, I can easily blank them from my field of vision and focus back on the joys of being here: satisfaction from work, culinary discoveries courtesy of Blantyre market and the local spice haunts and the great new joys of gardening. And then also I ask “what more do I need when you’re an hour or less away from such classics as Mulanje, Majete, Thyolo and Zomba plateau?”

It's gonna be hard to leave...

Lilongwe's just too cool!

COSECSA faculty and audience

Tree hugging!

Mousebird