Disclaimer: the views expressed in this blog are my own and do not represent the views of the Peace Corps or the United States Government

Last week I went on “site visit.” This is essentially where we go to our community for several days just to scope things out and get a feel for the place before we actually go for real in late August.

I also got my first taste of more extensive travel in Malawi. On the way down we traveled with our supervisors, who we had just met. Our minibus got a flat tire so we switched and there wasn’t enough room so we had to split up into different buses. The driver of my bus told us he would take us to the bus depot in Zomba but when we got to the edge of the city he told us he wasn’t going to the depot. Our supervisors argued with him for a while before giving up and finding another bus to take us to the depot. On the way back (I traveled alone), I found a bus quickly which said he was going straight to Lilongwe, when he was actually going just a few districts over and I had to wait in a different bus for two hours. Buses in Malawi don’t leave until they’re full, so it’s wise to get on buses that are already somewhat full. So people don’t usually get on empty buses. My driver had made an arrangement with another driver that he’d give him his passengers to Lilongwe. Even though I didn’t have to pay again (I was also overcharged), the wait time was still frustrating. Then buses stop and drop off and pick up more people, chickens, maize and bags than you’d think humanly possible. Plus the condition of the roads are not great. And then, at markets, buses stop and often the driver gets out and waits so that the people selling snacks can come to the windows to sell things. All in all, a journey that takes 2 hours in the states might take anywhere from 3-7 hours in Malawi.