Last time? in Kabindiza

Last weekend was an interesting weekend. Both happy, sad, and interesting. I won't tell you all of it, but I'll tell you some.

I headed out to Kabindiza village to see the family that I had stayed with. I had been gone for a very long time, so they were skeptical that I would ever show up again. I brought my bicycle with me, as I figured it would be a nice gesture to leave it there.

I got to the minibus in Lilongwe and asked if I could bring the bike. They agreed but for MK350. I knew I was getting ripped off, but i really didn't care. I just wanted to transport the bike. I jumped on the back of the bus. On the way there, the conductor tried to collect the MK350 from me, but there was such an uproar from the other passengers, all shocked that he would charge me that much that we settled for MK100. Beauty!

The minibus stops in Nkhoma. The bike ride from Nkhoma to Kabindiza was absolutely beautiful. Whizzing by small farms on a dirt road, with the mountains in the distance was amazing. I enjoyed waving to people, old men and women sitting on the door steps of their mud houses, men working in the field, women carrying goods from the market on their heads, the children running to the road to stare at the white dude on the bike, all of them crying out, "Azungu!" It was a lot of fun.

In Kabindiza, I was greeted warmly, as usual. I stayed with Barrack and his family again, and we had nsima for dinner, with some pumpkin leaves for relish. It was great. There have been some changes since I last left. Little Mphatso no longer runs his store, apparently, he ate his capital. Same for the guys who sell chips on the side of the road. Across from Barrack, a new mud house has gone up, apparently a new tea room. The house is built slightly askew, and with the thatching looks a bit ominous, almost like a haunted ghost.

That night, the most amazing thunderstorm took place. Lightning flashes in the distance, and from 3 different sides (270 degrees). The flashes were so bright, you were temporarily blinded. It was pretty cool. Then the clouds hit us and it rained hard, for about 20 - 30 minutes. Everybody was happy. The first rains of the season. My friend Gift remarked, "You've brought the rains." We spent the weekend visiting in the village, talking about farming, about Canada, about Malawi, about life. Its funny how quickly a place becomes home.

Although everyone was asking me to stay longer, I knew my welcome was wearing thin. The fertilizer subsidy is upon us. Some in the villages get coupons so they can buy fertilizer for a much cheaper price. Tomorrow was the day when they would go to the trading centre to pick some up. Unfortunately, there aren't enough coupons for every family in the village (31 coupons for 85 families) so people have to share them. Don't believe the hype in the newspapers. I woke up from my vacation reverie when I saw how Regina, my host mom, and her sister in law each struggled to put MK800 together so they could each buy a bag of subsidized fertilizer. MK800 is about US$5.50

The next day, I left early because I knew both Barrack and Gift wanted to get back their fertilizer. I pondered if I should stay longer and help them get the fertilizer. The night before, I got word that my neighbour in Lilongwe had died, so I decided I should head back for the funeral.

As I was walking to Nkhoma (about 7 km from Kabindiza), Barrack and Gift fell into step determined to walk me the way. I protested but new it was futile, that's Malawian hospitality. Luckily a bus came by. A bus came by? when does that happen? A quick handshake and a hug and on my way home to Lilongwe.