Sunday, July 24, 2016

Some new things I have learned about Malawi

Lake Malawi is a big lake. I knew that but it really is huge and beautiful when you see it in person. I was surprised to see people in the lake stand up paddle boarding, riding the ferry, canoeing in dugouts, and snorkeling as it is winter here. A few questions and a short bit of research told me that lake Malawi is the 9th biggest freshwater lake in the world. It is known for being deep and temperature stratified and having a diverse fish population. Most notable of the fish are many varieties of cichlids which are very colorful. Because of these plentiful fish Malawi is a very popular fresh water snorkeling sight.
Today I attended church at St. Andrew's a large CCAP church, meaning it is African Presbyterian. I am told what I heard today is common but when the congregation was in full agreement with the pastor's preaching they made a moderately high pitched KKKKK sound that seemed quite like a bird. Jane my companion for the morning said this is common across Africa but I have not heard this where I have been and I have been at churches with more dancing and loud worship then was the case in this church.
We met Delisa at the gate. I am not sure of her position here in the village. We visited momentarily. I expressed my impression of how beautiful Malawi is and how friendly I have found the people I have met. Her response was yes and it is very poor. The Malawian currency is the Kwatcha and the exchange rate is 700 Kwatcha to one U. S. dollar. Most things I buy here are similar in price to what I would pay at home considering the exchange and weight difference. 5500 kawatch bought me a full English breakfast, toast, sausage, bacon, a nice sized omelet, beans of some sort, grilled tomatoes and tea. That was under $8 including a tip in what would be considered a better then average restaurant for the area.
Enjoying my time here and keeping very busy. Tried to upload a couple photos of the area but the internet here is not supporting that.

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