(Bill) Some Malawi Sounds

I was thinking about some of the unique sounds of Malawi in our time here so far.  Here are a few....

Kool and the Gang!
  Yes, it's true.  We didn't bring any CD's with us from Seattle and now I've inherited from the previous car owner of Black Mamba  Get Down On It:  Kool and the Gang's Greatest Hits.  It was in the glove box and he firmly insisted we keep it.  So, as I have been driving around Blantyre and I want to be transported to a completely other world, I push in the disc and...."If it's ladies night,  and the feeling's right,...  if it's ladies night, oh what a night....."

Church choirs on the air
  There are a few churches across the ravine from our house.  As I type, there is a beautiful song being sung on the sound system and it drifts through our open, screened windows.

Islamic calls to prayer
  At 4:45AM, I will often hear the calls to prayer from our local mosque.  I might be getting better at blocking these out as I haven't heart them the past several nights.  (=

Rats
  Our rodent friends have been a bit quiet the past few nights, but "If it's ladies night, and the feeling's right..."  I swear, there are the occasional parties (fights?) that sound as loud as a WWF bout.  There's no insulation in the attics of these homes and so as the rats do their thing, it reverberates through the panels that make up our ceiling.  There were a few holes in these panels and we quickly covered them with duct tape our first few days here.  Still a bit disconcerting.

The talk of the guards and the gardeners
  Most residences have guards 24/7.  Our guards are not an intimidating lot.  Most often, we have Brenda, mother of 4, who keeps an eye on things during the day.  Daridso shows up at 4:30pm and stays until 7am when he swaps out with Brenda.  Daridso is maybe 16 and not much taller than Liam.  These guards are paid for by the hospital and along with the neighboring guards and gardeners, there is a loose community of shared food and conversation.  Often the first thing I hear when I wake up is the chatter of morning greetings and people walking past our property on their way to work and school.

Mosquitos
  Unfortunately, Blantyre is not at high enough elevation to loose the mosquitos.  Our house is not perfectly sealed, so we have adjusted to the sound of these cursed creatures buzzing around.  Even with our sleeping net, I sometimes hear them indicating their bad intentions from a few feet distance.  I HATE them.  Before I hit the lights, I conduct a thorough seek and destroy mission flushing out the winged evil from the cool corners of the bedroom and smashing them if I can.  Elizabeth is a bit concerned with my obsession kill all mosquitos.

Accents
  It's almost jarring to hear the flatness of an American or Canadian talking anymore.  Especially at the boys' school, North Americans are a small minority and I've enjoyed all the different accents of spoken English:  Malawian, South African, British, Australian, Dutch, Brazilian, to name a few.

Sobbing
  One of the most difficult moments that I've ever witnessed is Blessings (our gardener/friend) receiving news of his sister's death.  I was outside with Blessings when his brother, Pearson, walked out of the darkness to share that their older sister, Mary, had died that afternoon.  I went inside the house to give them space and could still hear the heaving cries of Pearson.  I looked out the window and Blessings stood as if in shock while holding his younger brother.  Later, I sat with Blessings and we talked about his sister.  She was 31 and had 3 children.  She had basically taken the role of mother after Blessings' mother had died when he was 7.  He called her his legs to stand on and also his head, for the formation she brought to his life.  Finally, after some of the shock abated, he too began weeping.