Chicken scratch

Quick question - who stereotypically has the worst handwriting? Doctors right? Who has the second worst handwriting? I believe it belongs to immigration agents. Today, I went to the immigration office for a visa extension. Traveler visas are free for 30 days. When I entered Malawi, I was processed as a transit rather than a traveler. While also free, a transit visa is only valid for three days. The writing on my passport, while English, could be read as either 3 or 30 days. Basically, the agent informed me I have been an illegal alien in Malawi for three and a half weeks, then had walked straight into the immigration agency and turned myself into the authorities. After lots of arguing and liberal application of the "dumb American" technique, they let me off the hook and extended my visa. Amazingly, they didn't use their half of the "dumb American" technique, a large sum of money to bolster their pockets. They did warn me to not do it again or I would be arrested. I left repeating "zikomo" (thank you).

On the way into Blantyre, Wes and I saw a local whom we knew. He, his name is Kenneth, was hitchhiking/walking to Thyolo (pronounced cheeo-lo although usually slurred to cholo) from Makwasa (where Malamulo is located). It's a distance of about 20 km each direction. The reason? He was headed to the hospital there in an attempt to get medicine for his 5 month old daughter who is ill. He had no money for the minibus (it would have cost less than $2 round trip) and no money for the medicine, which he said he could get for free. Did he ever get some? I don't know but I do hope so. Wes and I even tried to read what his daughter needed. Guess which profession wrote it and how legible it was.

While not everyone did this, many people asked me if I were going to live in a sod hut with a thatched roof here in Africa. I have some disappointing news for you. I live in a house with lots of things that might make you jealous. Today, I have been mentally compiling a list and here are some of them. First of all, brick-paved driveways. Yeah, asphalt exists but rarely on driveways. Bricks are cheaper and labor is also cheap. Speaking of labor, hired help here is affordable. We have a part time gardener Albert and a part time indoor house assistant Yanjinani. They are paid what's expected, but even that is affordable on a missionaries' budget. Some people complain about cold floors but here, any sort of cool is appreciated. Concrete is much cooler than my bed and I'm tempted to sleep on it. Temperature sensitive automatic closing windows. You say such things don't exist? Well they do here! Open your windows before going to sleep. They let the room cool until late in the night when the temperature really starts to drop. The wind picks up and closes the windows for you. Viola! Now your room stays about that temperature. Fruit such as mangos, bananas, papayas, as well as other stuff like avocados grow plentifully and are dirt cheap yet very tasty. The occasional candlelit dinner, a discourtesy of the power company. Canopy beds, with mosquito netting being your canopy (so far I have only used mine once but malaria season is coming). Tea fields are very common around here, are manicured like golf courses, and are at least as green as the courses, even at the end of the dry season. A visible police presence whose primary aim is safety, not budget bolstering by speeding tickets. An Internet connection that is sufficient enough to get done what you need but annoying enough to make sure you don't waste your life away on sites like YouTube or even Facebook during work hours. And so, some of you may think life is rough, in which case you would be absolutely right. But how many of you can honestly say that your life is a walk in the park?

Posted from my iPod