7 quick takes...
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| Hartmut had een speeltje.... |
- Good morning! I would like to
write a blog with happy anecdotes, funny stores and beautiful memories. But
that wouldn’t do justice to the situation we are in. As much as I would like to
forget about it, it’s affecting us all. Many people are asking us of we are OK
here, if we are going to stay or leave, what the plan is and how we feel. So I
will try to write a blog with some inevitable stories but also some funny ones.
- When we are in a public taxi, restaurant or anywhere really there is always music. Sophie loves it and when she hears a song that she likes, she will listen until she catches a phrase from the lyrics. She has learned that with the lyrics you can google for the song. If I can find it, I download it and as a result, Sophie has a super-eclectic playlist with some rap, afri-pop, ballads and gospel music. Two weeks ago we were in a taxi and Sophie found another song that she really liked. The lyrics that she gave me? ‘Should I stay or should I go’. I have been looking for the song but cannot seem to find it. Ironic, as that has been the question that we have been pondering about. Should we stay in Malawi during this corona crisis, or should we go? Here is our home, our routine, lots of space and a definite feeling of calling. Or should we go somewhere closer to family, to better healthcare. But where would that be? The Netherlands was out of the picture as things are worse there than here. We were going to go to Namibia anyway for Easter, perhaps we should change the dates of our flights and go earlier. We made a list with pros en cons, but above all, prayed about it. Borders were closing, flights are being cancelled and Monday we had to make a decision. All Hartmut’s other expat-colleagues decided to leave the country in a ‘now or never’ way. We decided to stay. The story of Esther from the bible is ringing in my head. Esther wasn’t sure if she should go to the king but Mordecai said to her: ‘Maybe you are here, for such a time as this.’ I don’t know what that means, not yet, and maybe we will never know. It’s also not meant to be heroic because the choice was largely based on self-preservation. But it brought peace about our decision. A confirmation that it was the right one. Fur such a time as this…. Ps: I still haven’t found the song. I can only find a song from ‘The Clash’ but that’s definitely not the kind of music that is played in Malawian taxis.
- On my right, monkeys are playing in the trees, to the left my girls are walking behind the ducklings who are growing up very fast. In front of me, I can see the lake. It’s a little rough as the wind is blowing. I hear our rooster crow hoarsely, he has recently learned how to do it and seems to think that he needs to practice a lot! The sun has just come up, casting a lovely warm light on all the plants and trees in our garden. Today I am, more than ever before, grateful for our garden. It will be the reason that we will stay sane when the world is going crazy. Corona isn’t here yet, but we are definitely limiting the amount of people we see and places we go to. Not that we need to drastically change our behaviour. When I see all the measures that governments have put in place, I realise that we have a bit of a hermit life anyway. It’s not that we are in permanent quarantine normally; we enjoy going out, going to the market, seeing people, but we have some weeks that we (the girls and I) hardly leave the gate. I sometimes felt bad about that but now I am grateful that the girls don’t have to get used to a different routine.
- I looked with shock and horror at the pictures of empty shelves in supermarkets that were going around in the media. I could not understand how people could be so selfish. And yet, when we went to Lilongwe to shop, we bought more than usual. We only go once a month anyway, and always shop a lot, but now we got a little more. Why? Well, the people who buy the kind of food we eat is only a small percentage of the population. Most people eat nsima, a kind of maize of cassava porridge anyway, and the good thing is that the maize is just being harvested this month. For all the ‘mzungu food’ and even for petrol, Malawi depends largely on other countries. Small disruptions on our or their side can cause empty shelves. I know that, because I have seen it. Also, I want to limit the amount of times that we need to go to Lilongwe. The more we stay put, the smaller the chance that we bring a virus to our village. Why I am writing this? I don’t know. Maybe to defend myself, even though nobody attacked me. It’s hard to know what is right, to do the right thing. Because what is ‘right’ when everything is so insecure? While we packed the shelves with our food, Hartmut and I promised to hold each other accountable. To share our food when other people need it, if all the food supply gets cut off. That’s the right thing. But I pray that it will never come to that.
- We have many nationalities in our family of four. Besides the heap of admin that that brings, I never saw a problem with that. Until now. I get emails from the Dutch government; calling all Dutch people to come ‘home’. But what does ‘home’ even mean? And they will help me, but will they help my family too? They don’t have Dutch passports. I can’t go to Namibia either, even though I am married to a Namibian for ten years and my kids have Namibian passports, I am not welcome. Countries are closing, flights are cancelled, only people from certain nationalities can leave countries on certain flights. Suddenly Malawi is the only country where we are all welcome, for as long as our permit here lasts (fortunately it’s at least another year.) And that makes me a little nervous. But I have faith that it won’t become a problem. How do people get through this without faith in a Father who knows it all?
- I promised that I would write non corona related stories too. But it turns out that I had a lot to write. Sorry, people, this blog is also kinda like my diary where I write about the things I don’t want to forget. But here’s a funny story. Remember the little limping chick that we adopted a few months ago? I thought he would die because he was so weak. But to our surprise, he survived and not just that; he has grown into the biggest rooster in the village. Everybody who sees him is amazed by his size. Tryson, the housekeeper, saw in him a good opportunity to get big chicks himself, so he asked if one of his hens could ‘move in’ with our rooster for a few days to give him strong and healthy eggs. The girls thought it was a ridiculous plan. ‘It will never work’ they said. ‘First they have to get to know each other, then they have to fall in love and only then they can get married and have eggs. It’s going to take weeks.’ It looked as if they were right. Our rooster, who seems to think he is a duck, because he grew up with them, was very agitated with the hen who was constantly following him. It caused the hen to run away into the village but fortunately Tryson found him back. To make sure that it would be easier to find her the next time he decorated the hen with some green paint. But that doesn’t seem necessary. The rooster and the hen have found each other. He is no longer annoyed with her and even allows her to hang out with him… the big rooster and the green-legged hen. It must be true love ;-)
- Well, that’s that for today. I have some work to do, an article to write and the girls want to do school. Have a good week. Stay safe, stay strong, stay inside your own house/garden and be a hero! Lots of love…
