Instead we attended a mass given by John in a tiny village of one hundred people located way out in the bush. As the first “visitors” in over a decade we were treated like kings and queens. The mass was of course pretty lengthy, and nearly every prayer was celebrated through song and dance. Well worth the journey, even if it was an hour and a half on dirt tracks in the back of a pick-up truck.
The villagers are for the most part farmers, growing tobacco and maize. A bail of tobacco will bring a farmer Kw25,000, and a hard-working family can produce maybe fifteen of those a year. John tells us that around 80% of the 12 million populations live in similar conditions. Although in many cases quite isolated from the more densely populated city areas, these villages do not escape AIDS. Jamie noticed one boy with a swollen belly – I guess his father hasn’t been working hard enough on the land. Or perhaps his mother was HIV positive, and isn’t around any longer to feed him.
This evening Jamie had arranged a trip to a nearby bar with Macneil and some of the other University students. We played a few games of pool and watched Turkey execute an amazing comeback against The Czech Republic. A cracking match, but I was wrecked and failed to make much conversation with the lads. I think they were pretty happy to get a few free beers.
Jamie and I have been wondering what we should do when we start travelling. The trip to Nkhata Bay this weekend should throw up some ideas. Jamie’s driving license would be a huge asset in that it would allow us to rent a car, but right now it’s sitting on his desk in Cork! Hopefully we can get it posted over.
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