Malawi: The Warm Heart Of Africa

January 2020

Mangos, fresh fish hanging from cars and butchered goats dangling from stores, dust music, hustle, children playing, all day, farming, freshwater lakes, Malawi Gold, swimming, bilharzia, laundry in the lake, mountains, markets, mosquitos, more hustling, green, lush, chaotic and welcoming. Landlocked in the southeast of Africa, Malawi is one the poorest countries in the world yet it is deemed the “Warm Heart of Africa”, and for good reason.

Truthfully, until a few years ago I didn’t know Malawi existed...until 6 months ago I couldn’t place it on a map. Growing up I learnt about other African countries; Kenya because of the Lion King, South Africa because of Nelson Mandela, Sierra Leone sadly from the movie Blood Diamond; and this is how I began to perceive the countries that seemed a world away from me, through the movies, news and media provided to us in the west. Kenya, was the exotic country of Hakunana Matata, giraffes and safari sunsets, Hotel Rwanda depicted the tragedy of the Rwandan genocide and although it is now one of the safest countries to visit in Africa, people in the west still associate Rwanda with danger. We often learn one narrative about a place, good or bad, and carry the perception with us through life.

To me, Africa is a unique case as it is often portrayed in the media as a single entity. One country of poverty, one country of corruption, aid and development, when in reality, Africa is made up of 53 countries that have their own deep rooted histories, challenges, strengths and assets. 53 countries, not one, and it was really special to have the opportunity to take a glimpse into what the Warm Heart of Africa is all about.

But putting the warm heart aside for a second, Malawi and I didn’t start off on the best foot. For that matter, we started off with someone else’s blood and torn skin on my foot. We had a long, intense day of travel from Zanzibar, Tanzania to the border of Tanzania/ Malawi to our first stop in Karonga, Malawi (18 hours of joy!). Because we are students (the budget life) and have been on 4 month unpaid internships (the broke life) we are doing mostly land travel, border to border, long bus ride to long bus ride, no clown car with chickens sitting next to you left behind. After a full day of travel, we got to the border 10 minutes before closing to find that I had to pay an unexpected visa...we didn’t have enough money...we were yelled at by the immigration officer...we finally got through to find there was no transportation, no way to get to our next destination (cue breakdown). It was a MESS, but then the warm heart of Africa kicked in and the same immigration officer who yelled at us 30 minutes before was our smiling friend, offering to drive us in his car for 1 hour to our destination, helping us find an accommodation and take out money. Riding in style with the officer, we finally got to Karonga (hallelujah!) and hailed motorcycle taxis to get food. On our way back, my driver toppled off his bike and scrapped up his leg, we walked the rest of the way but he still wanted to charge us for flinging us into the street (boy bye). We got back to our room, it was infested with cockroaches, we fumigated the room, it was still infested with cockroaches. And after 18 hours of a day that felt like it would never end, I finally hopped into the shower to find the moto drivers blood and peeled skin all over my foot. My first day in Malawi, many ups and down, highs and lows and ending with a true blood brother, but we made entrance.

The day after a long day of travel is always the “glory day”, you puff out your chest a little bit more and feel like you accomplished the world (when in reality all you did was move from taxi, to ferry, to bus, to taxi, to bus sitting on your ass all day). Nevertheless, we felt like absolute queens, the world was ours and we were finally in Malawi! As we made our way through the country it didn’t take long to realize why Malawi is called the Warm Heart of Africa. It has a very relaxed and warm vibe with friendly people eager to help you out or just have a chat; we immediately felt welcomed.

Malawi is known for its massive fresh water lake, Lake Malawi, that spans most of the eastern border. Not only is the lake clear and beautiful, it’s a source of life for thousands with an abundance of fish and fresh water. We were able to see how important the lake is and how it surrounds daily life from bathing to washing clothes, dishes, fishing and of course lots of swimming! The kids really reminded me of my sisters and I, playing in the water for hours, pushing each other, pretending to be dolphins and the crazy thing is, that the expansive lake actually feels like an ocean with big waves that splash against the shore at night.

From north to south we met lovely people, hiked the lush mountains of Livingstonia, swam in cold waterfalls, woke up to the view of mountains, climbed the rocks of Monkey Bay, ate delicious fish, visited a few clinics for our infected wounds (side problem!) and swam in the fresh waters of the lake. And of course we faced the challenges of being foreigners in a country that is not our own; receiving conflicting information, language barriers, intense transportation and constantly getting ripped off because of the color of our skin. We experienced things that don’t happen at home, things that surprised us, made us smile, made us laugh and sometimes pissed us off, and as we continued to explore the country it reinforced the notion that Malawi is not “Africa”, it is its own vibrant piece of the patchwork.

On December 31st, I brought in the new decade in the place that a few years ago I had never heard of and most definitely could not place on a map. I kicked off my shoes and counted down to midnight in a local bar surrounded with old friends and new faces and as the clock struck 12am and we all yelled “happy New Yearsss”, I danced my way into 2020 completely myself in the Warm Heart of Africa.