Arrival

The Check-in for the flight included reassurance that all the bags were headed to Malawi.  There were many Americans on the flight.  Met a clergyman who had been fishing in Alaska and a farmer who grows macadamia nuts, coffee and tobacco.  The farmer seemed a bit embarrassed that he was telling a doctor he grew tobacco but when I told him I was from North Carolina he knew I understood. The uneventful flight (the best kind), landed in Blantyre and exiting the plane at high noon revealed tropical temperatures on the tarmac.  This was supposed to still be winter.  They had snow a few days ago in South Africa but Malawi is warm. Malawi, the warm heart of Africa.

In-processing was easy.  We were close to the end of the line but we had lots of stuff.  All ten parcels arrived and we were met by a big vehicle with a wonderful driver who took us to the guest house.  We got unloaded into our rooms and felt safe.

The guest house runs like a Bed and Breakfast.  The staff is friendly and hard-working and seem open to the many questions from people far away.  Acclimating to a different culture is challenging.  It can be shocking for some people, some folks can’t do it.