UFO

UFO

Ok, so everything operates on African time here. Which means
everything is always late. The only way on and off Chizumulu island is
basically this boat called the Ilala. Smaller boats owned by locals can be rented to go between Chizumulu and the larger Lakoma.

Our trip for New Years is over and we are waiting to leave. The Ilala is scheduled to pick us up
New Years day, 12pm... well, so I guess that means the day after new
years? hm... I dunno. Anyway.

SO since Adam and I were tenting we packed everything up and decided to stay awake waiting for the boat.
midnights not too far right?

SO we wait and wait.

We end up waiting for the boat to come till 2:30am. Lets just say we did not sleep for
about two days straight. You can decide if that lessens our credibility or not. At least we were not drinking. So while we are waiting for the boat, Adam, Yoel (volunteer in livingstonia), Greg (older volunteer in Nkhatabay) who is temporarily running the lodge, Wakwenda, on the island) and I are all waiting at
the beach front/bar area. Some mellow music is playing and Greg and
Yoel are chilling out on the lower deck, heatedly discussing something. Their strong personalities combine for loud, amuzing conversation.

Adam and I climb the ladder to the top deck and are just looking at the stars. We look out over the
dark water where fishing canoes with hurricane lanterns bob like lighted buoys dotting the bay. I catch a light from the corner of my eye simultaneously as Adam goes "Do u see that?"

As we look this teardrop/ ball of light green fire with a deeper emeraldish green center appears in
the sky. As we watch it sinks/falls slowly towards the horizon before abruptly disappearing. It was at least 50 times bigger than the  pin prick of light a shooting star is and about 20 times slower. it was surreal. We ran down the wodden ladder/steps and told the others. They were fasinated. Boys being Boys they wanted to check it out, even though it was gone. SO up they went to the upper deck. They sat serching while Adam rel\told the story.

The image of that flamming, slow-motion, ball of fire decending over the lack into the distant hills of Mozambique will forever be burned into my mind.

Mob Mentality

Ok, this is my first time blogging, and my first blog. Rainy season in Africa will do that to you. So this will mainly be some adventures I have had that I find noteworthy. Happy, Sad, Scary, and Strange all entwined...Enjoy?

Mob Mentality

I went to Chizumulu island on Lake Malawi with my boy friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Adam and volunteer Yoel for new years. The only way on and off the island is a boat called the Ilala. Now, the thing about the Ilala is that it is like everything else in Africa, unreliable. It has a 'schedule' of when it should leave Nkhata bay and 'protocol' about the amount of warnings blown on the horn. Sometimes it gives no warning before it leaves, sometimes it comes back, sometimes not. Sometimes its days late. Sometimes not. The important thing to know however is that this is alot of peoples only chance to get where they are going for a week.

The boat is supposed to leave at 8pm so Adam and I decided we will go for 7pm and just hang out on the boat.Yoel wants to go for six. SO we go for six.  I tell them I have to use the bathroom so Yoel busts out his guutar and starts play. He does not realize how fast I am. HA. Now YOEL is the one 'making us late.' We meander around the cove, we bought supplies earlier and among out Katundu is a bag of bread. We know its going to be expensive on the island. The boat ride is like five hours long so I know im going to be hungry. On the way to the dock I stop and buy some fried corn from a street-side vender. I have to haggle because he gave me and 'azungu price'. Finally we get in line and buy our tickets. They have no change so are writing IOU's and jipping people out of change. I get out exact change for me and Adam. It takes a while. Thunder rumbles, the sky is blackening and the wind is starting to pick up. A storm is rolling in. Yoel decides to put the rain fly on his bag.  

BUUUUUU BUUUUUUUU BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!

The Ilala horn blast frantically 3 times. Thats strange cause that means its going to leave now now.  The was no one beep 1/2 hour warning, no 2 beep 15 minutes warning. The wind starts to whip and the Ilala is going to leave.

"Good thing were at the dock" I say.

Good thing...

Since were right there on the dock, we were not worried about getting left behind. We shoulder our packs, walk to the dock and get in line. The gangway is flimsy and not attached to either boat or dock. We shuffle slowly in line, occasionally yelling in Chitumbuka at the women who keep ducking under the rail and cutting in line. We try to hold our spots. Suddenly it happens.

Panic hits.

Were the only white people around. Yoel is on the threshold in front of Adam, me bringing up the rear. People start shoving. We try to buck up and hold our ground as the thunder rumbles. Its harder to hear now cause of the wind whipping around. People begin hurling their goods at the boat. A group of people start flooding onto the boat in the back where the wall dips down to load goods, climbing over each other in a massive human flood. I grab a hand onto Adam's bag trying not to get separated. Yoel manages to get into the boat.

Congestion and panic increase because were not moving, a woman has fallen over some maize sacks in front of Adam and is getting crushed by the panicked people trying to get on the boat. Men are scaling up the sides of the boat, climbing the railings to the 2nd and 3rd decks. The horn blares insanely, the sky is black with pregnant storm clouds, thunder is rumbling. The wind is howling, whipping my loose hair around my face, tugging on my skirt. A man squeezes beside me and starts pushing me into the railing on my right side. People behind me are pulling me backward by my pack, trying to lever in front of me. I feel like my ribs are cracking as im precariously pulled and pushed off balance till im looking over the side of the gangway.

So many people are pushing on the boat that the gangway slips and catycorners. I vividly remember feeling the lurch, then seeing the tipping gangplank inches in front of Adam's merrel hiking boots. I glance up and see Yoel looking back at me over Adam's shoulder, a look of horror on his face.

I realize the horror is for me.

I give up calling Adam's name, he is helpless, he cant turn around. One hand clutching his back, the other clutching a tiny rail of the boat in front of me with my other hand, im being pushed and pulled and crushed, the gangway is slipping...I start screaming.

My ribs are bursting. The dark water is churning violently. If im pushed or pulled over...i could be crushed between the boat and the dock, or drowned by my pack...if the gangway falls, I will drown...because of my pack and the flood of people that will fall on top of me.

Apparently my screams rally the boat staff. A screaming white woman on a slipping gangway getting crushed by a mob of Malawians...yeah the staff came running.

A malawian captain, dressed in his white navy uniform scales down the side of the boat. Clinging one handed to the rail on the side of the boat, feet propped against the boat, he uses his other hand to punch the man crushing me in the face. Then he grabs my pack shoulder and tries to lift me yelling "come on!"

A staffer on the inside is crouched like a zulu warrior, grabbing people and hurling them into the boat out of the way. He grabs my arm and pulls me in, people are stepping on my skirt and pulling me backwards. as soon as im in i collapse on a sack of maize, my legs shaking uncontrollably.

Yoel yells to Adam that he lost the bread bag. Adam sees it and starts throwing people out of the way. Fighting his way to the bag he stops the man standing directly over it, grabs his shirt, points and shouts at him to grab the bag. Adam gets the bag. 

I feel like im going to throw up from being so scared. it starts to rain and the boat pulls away from the dock. people are hurling their stuff aboard then getting a running leap and hurling themselves super man style over the water to the boat. MOst Malawian's cant and dont swim. Others are hurling stuff off the boat because their owners are shrieking from the dock. We get into the choppy cove.

We are safe

But if any of these less that 2 minutes things would not have happened, we would have missed the crushing mob.
1. I went pee
2. yoel played a song on his guitar waiting for me not realizing im so fast
3. i stopped to buy a cob of corn.
4. yoel put a rain fly on his pack
3. i had to give adam and yoel exact change for the boat.

...worst part was. we were wrong place wrong time, could not escape the mob, could not get in the boat...the boat only pulled away for the storm to pass cause it cant weather on the dock. 1/2 later we pulled back up to the dock and everyone got on nice and easy...

wrong place, wrong time.

I tremebled most of the boat ride to the island.