First month in Malawi

It is exactly one month since I came here. Before coming here I was preparing myself that the first month might be difficult. I was thinking about everything that would happened. I would have a new job. We all know how lost you are on your first day. I would have a new house but no friends. I wouldn’t know how things work and where to go. But I have survived the first month. So far it has been very good. At the beginning it was a bit lonely but slowly I'm getting to know some people and to move around. Work is very good so far. I like the fact that I need to be on top tof a lot of things; procurement, staff guidelines, admininstration, vehicles management, accounting, IT, etc. I actually think I would have had done a much better work in Sweden if I knew what I know now just after one month here. But at the same time I think I wouldn’t have been able to contribute much if I didn’t have had the experience I have from Sweden.

My impression of Malawi is still that it is a very friendly and beautiful country. People always greet you and help you whenever you need it. My colleagues have been very helpful and are always ready to guide me right. The security is not a big problem. Of course I have the guards at the house but in general I feel safe. Yesterday someone told me, when driving at night I need to lock the doors and not stop at the traffic lights. I would never do that in Sweden even if there were no car as far as I could see.

As I have said before, Lilongwe feels like a very small city. Even Stockholm feels like a big city compared to Lilongwe. But Lilongwe has a very nice charm. I’m starting to find my way around in the city. In one way I feel life is easier when you don’t have a lot of options. Every day is dedicated to something. It is jazz on Sundays, movies and Hash on Mondays, poetry on Wednesday, etc.

So far so good. I’m looking forward to see what the next month will bring.