Hello from Lilongwe, Malawi!
My internet finally let me through to this site to create a new blog, just as I was about ready to start tacking onto my blog from my time in Zanzibar in 2009-2010 & 2011. I figured it would be good to start anew, though if anyone's just so keen on checking that blog out, feel free. I suppose like my Znz blog, a recurring theme in this blog will also be my internet connection, or perhaps lack thereof.
In order to not pull any blogging muscles while I'm writing for the first time in two years, I won't write too much.
The Swahili proverb at the top of the blog is one I first heard when recounting to a friend my labyrinthine path through the alleyways in Zanzibar's Stone Town, scarcely taking the route I had planned out from looking at the map. Did I reach my desired destination? Well, kind of. What I anticipated using as clear landmarks weren't what later became part of the constellation of cues that I used to navigate my way throughout my time there. It's okay that this happened, of course, but having your plan not be as useful as hoped can be unsettling in the moment. Depending on the situation, different types of finesse seem to be needed to redirect that discomfort of being a bit lost into adjusting so you can learn what you need to know. For the alleys in Zanzibar, that meant learning which Swahili style doors, which facades of concrete with worn away paint, and often which smells to register to indicate where I was; those alleys didn't have names and were pitifully represented on a map (as I had discovered). I have been reflecting on the adjustments I've made throughout the various settings I've been in these past few years, landing me here in Lilongwe now. I think a better translation for the saying would call for swapping the definite article "the" for the indefinite "a" so it reads, "to lose a way is to know a way." Swahili doesn't generally use in/definite articles the same way English does, so I think my translation still holds water with the linguistically-inclined crowds.
Anyway, what am I up to here in Lilongwe? I'm working on a research study this summer with the University of North Carolina's Project Malawi, a clinical and research site that has been here for about two decades. I'll be here until late July, will swing up to Tanzania for a quick visit, then will get to enjoy a bit of the Maine summer weather before heading back to NC for 2nd year med school classes to start. This summer is certainly not in the running for my summer with the most down time, but I've enjoyed things so far and am looking forward to the next 7ish weeks.
I'll write again soon, I need to go check on my kilo of ginger that I'm attempting to crystallize... and wash my hands, because the ginger juice from peeling & slicing said kilo is burning every finger microabrasion that I apparently have. Hope you're all doing well.
One picture for the road: the outdoor sitting area at the UNC guest house
My internet finally let me through to this site to create a new blog, just as I was about ready to start tacking onto my blog from my time in Zanzibar in 2009-2010 & 2011. I figured it would be good to start anew, though if anyone's just so keen on checking that blog out, feel free. I suppose like my Znz blog, a recurring theme in this blog will also be my internet connection, or perhaps lack thereof.
In order to not pull any blogging muscles while I'm writing for the first time in two years, I won't write too much.
The Swahili proverb at the top of the blog is one I first heard when recounting to a friend my labyrinthine path through the alleyways in Zanzibar's Stone Town, scarcely taking the route I had planned out from looking at the map. Did I reach my desired destination? Well, kind of. What I anticipated using as clear landmarks weren't what later became part of the constellation of cues that I used to navigate my way throughout my time there. It's okay that this happened, of course, but having your plan not be as useful as hoped can be unsettling in the moment. Depending on the situation, different types of finesse seem to be needed to redirect that discomfort of being a bit lost into adjusting so you can learn what you need to know. For the alleys in Zanzibar, that meant learning which Swahili style doors, which facades of concrete with worn away paint, and often which smells to register to indicate where I was; those alleys didn't have names and were pitifully represented on a map (as I had discovered). I have been reflecting on the adjustments I've made throughout the various settings I've been in these past few years, landing me here in Lilongwe now. I think a better translation for the saying would call for swapping the definite article "the" for the indefinite "a" so it reads, "to lose a way is to know a way." Swahili doesn't generally use in/definite articles the same way English does, so I think my translation still holds water with the linguistically-inclined crowds.
Anyway, what am I up to here in Lilongwe? I'm working on a research study this summer with the University of North Carolina's Project Malawi, a clinical and research site that has been here for about two decades. I'll be here until late July, will swing up to Tanzania for a quick visit, then will get to enjoy a bit of the Maine summer weather before heading back to NC for 2nd year med school classes to start. This summer is certainly not in the running for my summer with the most down time, but I've enjoyed things so far and am looking forward to the next 7ish weeks.
I'll write again soon, I need to go check on my kilo of ginger that I'm attempting to crystallize... and wash my hands, because the ginger juice from peeling & slicing said kilo is burning every finger microabrasion that I apparently have. Hope you're all doing well.
One picture for the road: the outdoor sitting area at the UNC guest house
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