Malawians have no respect for personal space. They will push or cut in front of anyone in a line. They don’t seem to mind being squeezed into a packed mini bus. They will walk along the street behind a stranger at a very close distance.

I went to the bank to open an account. When I walked in I saw people sprawled on the floor and on chairs as if they were having a sit-in. Knowing that this was in fact the bank was the only reason I stayed otherwise I’d have been sure I was in the wrong place. It was much like a doctor’s waiting room. Beyond this initial room was a room with desks. I saw some people hovering near the entrance to that room so I too went to hover. I observed that there seemed to be no logic to who was being served in what order. It seemed to be that the person who was most alert and aggressive would move quickly to a desk as soon as a space opened. Some bank employees had two individuals at their desk at one time both of whom were able to see and hear the other’s information.

This has not only been true in banks. Often I’ve been at the cell phone company or at other service centres when people have just come up and started talking to the worker who is assisting me. The worker’s attention always goes to the intruder.

My Malawian friends rarely call me or respond to my texts. I only see them if I initiate it, otherwise I’m sure I’d never see them. Sometimes I have the need to give my number to someone I just met on the street. This person could be a driver or may work at a place I’d like to visit. These people will call me at least a few times before they realize there’s nothing for us to talk about.

Pre-payment is often the way things are done here. My cell phone and my electric are paid for in advance. I get a PIN which I punch into either the phone or the hydro box and I’m given units. I tend to spend about $12 a week or more on the cell phone. So far I’ve put in about $16 for electricity. I may have to put in about $8 which should take me through the month.

There is some insect that bites me in my house. I have three of its bites on me. I never see it. The bites are very sharp and painful when they happen and they leave a small, dark read bump. I wonder if they are tics.

Malawians tend not to be good problem solvers or good communicators. Yesterday I was supposed to go to town with a parent. She is a tailor and was going to help me pick out fabric. She came to pick up her child but drove away without me. Today I asked if she’d forgotten me. She said she hadn’t forgotten and then asked me if it had been raining. It had not. It was dark and looked as if it might but it wasn’t raining until the evening. She has a nice vehicle so I’m not sure why the impending rain would keep her from going to the fabric shops. She seemed to think this was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Sometimes the driver doesn’t show up to take me to school. He doesn’t call and he doesn’t explain the next day.

Malawians are notoriously bad at time management. I don’t know any Malawian except Azikiwe who can actually do things in the time allotted. He is also the only one I know who is punctual. Depending on the situation you can depend on a Malawian to be anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours late. Sometimes they won’t even show up at all and again, no explanation is expected.

These are just some of the not-so-positive observations I have made thus far. I’m sure some positive ones will come to me.

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