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Living in a European Village

If you follow this blog, you might have realised that I really try hard to write about Malawi but through a series of events, I have been away from home for a while now. I have returned there for several months at a time but I haven't been a permanent resident at home for about 7 years, wow! It's been that long. Time flies whether or not we're having fun right?

Two things quickly, first with Malawi. Fellow citizens, we have WAY too many facebook groups, lol! I belong to several, I must confess. I like to think they are all practical but judging by the amount of time I spend on them....I think practicality has gone to the dogs. These are just social-networking tools which happen to have handy ideas on how members can improve their lives whether it be in the kitchen, how to invest, how to look and and how to be, in general, particularly in light of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In between the handy ideas, a lot of intereeeeeeesting life stories. Yes, you are right, I need to cap the amount of time I spend in these black holes of social media. Rule of thumb: when you find yourself actively protecting yourself from being removed from a facebook group, spend more time outside! 

Second thing, it's been seven whole years! I have bumped around different cities and I'm glad to report that I have a new "home" where my better half and I can now take our traveling shoes off, breathe in and out and enjoy not having moving plans.

It's a village. Main difference between a Malawian village and a village most places in Western Europe? I'd say villagers in Malawi tend to spend a lot of time outdoors: farming, gardening, fishing, socialising, travelling, working, sometimes even schooling and of course, my favourite, basking in the sun. There are rumours that at night too, a number of villagers spend a lot of time outdoors..... Here, however,  it's too cold to do so many things outside on a regular basis.  So on the plus side, the house sizes are substantial in the village and shop/s and other amenities are within walking distance. However, the money-spinning people-grabbing entertainment spots like stadia, cinemas, malls tend to be closer to bigger villages and cities so one has to content themselves with either gravitating back to those regularly or finding other ways to live and be.  Here is where the "real" life pursuits have to come in: having time to go to the library, getting to know people outside of your circle of friends and family, growing new interests and hobbies and indeed, having enough time to face your giants.  

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very interesting and so true to the word. There is a stark contrast between living in Western Europe and Malawi. Although the western world is considered to be civilised I often wonder who really is more civilised..

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Thandi Soko said…
Thank you for the feedback!
its true some Malawian villagers do spend a lot of time outdoors at night not just for aviation related pursuits but for all night dance parties too especially in summer. Who needs a disco when you have the starry sky, gentle cool breeze and talented drummers who can go all night?
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