In case anyone wants to know, it is currently gecko mating season. I know this because the gecko or geckos that run around on my walls are now making a strange chirping noise. Apparently that is their mating call. I’ve not seen them in the act but I’m not really watching for that.

The other day as I opened my door to leave, something dropped onto my arm. I only felt a soft rubbery feeling and saw a flash of light brown. I assume it was one of my gecko friends.

It is presently raining outside. Once again the rain is so hard that watching tv is impossible. The other day it honestly sounded like the tunnel under Niagra Falls in here. The rain comes down very hard and is coming more frequently now. Last night it rained from about 1:00 until about 6:00. I put cotton in my ears to drown out the noise.

I went to the bank to transfer some money over to the day care. First I had to fill out withdrawal and deposit slips. Sounds easy doesn’t it? It will be next time but this time the bank was very crowded. People were huddled around the post where the slips are kept such that there was no way to squeeze in to write on a flat surface. Next, I had to find the right slips. There are slips for cash deposits and cheque deposits and some other slips that I didn’t quite understand. Some people partially fill out slips but make mistakes. Rather than putting these slips into the trash or even leaving them on the counter, they just put them back into the pile of blank slips.

The line up was long because it was the beginning of the month and most people are paid at the end of the month. I got in the line for withdrawls. There are about 3 tellers for withdrawls, one teller for deposits and one teller for foreign currency. The term line is somewhat misleading because as you get to the front there seems to be no order and it’s the one with the quickest reflex that gets to the teller next.

When I got to the teller she told me I had to write the date in full and sign on another line to make the withdrawl and I had to complete the date and write the bills I wanted to deposit. She told me to correct these things and then come back to her. I said, “No, I’ll sign and date the first form now and I’ll complete the second form while you process the first request.” Imagine, after standing in line for 20 minutes she wated me to go back and try again? Where is the logic in that? Maybe Malawians take a really long time to write and she thought I would too. I don’t know.

As I stood in line a woman came and stood in front of me. There were about 6 people in front of us and at least 10 behind us. I asked if she was with the man who had been in front of me. Her answer was to suck her teeth and move behind me. I was irritated so I pointed to the back of the line. Her response to this was simply, “Ah, no.”

In the variety store today a lady was paying for her items and I was next. A young man came in and stepped between us and asked for some cigarettes. The cashier gave them to him and made change for him. There was no apology or excuse me.

I asked my friend what Malawians think of this behaviour. He said they think it is rude but generally they tolerate it. He thinks the shopkeepers see it so often that they are too tired of trying to correct it so they just give in to it. I’ve never heard a Malawian complain about it.

I see a lot of babies on their mother’s backs and it makes me want to be around babies. They are so sweet and innocent looking. I can’t wait to go to the orphanage and find out if I can help out.

No real news from the day care. The cooks asked for a raise but unfortunately the cost of food is rising and our budget is stretched as much as we can afford to stretch it. I feel bad because they really are making very little money. Oh well, maybe some day.

That’s all for now.

Tags: itatu, itatu orphan care, jennifer douma, malawi

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