Big news! I’ve recently accepted a new position that will be taking me to a new country and part of the world. I will be a working at Art and Global Health Center Africa as a Communications and Resource Mobilization Officer, as one half of a Global Health Corps fellow pair. Next month, I’ll be moving to Zomba, Malawi and per usual, I’ve done a bit of research about my soon to be new home. Here are three things I’m really looking forward to in Zomba.
Hiking the Zomba Plateau
Malawi is situated along the Great Rift Valley, and as such there are sweeping cliffs and valleys. In Zomba, this mostly shows up as the Zomba Plateau.
The Plateau rises about 6000 feet about sea level and is covered in pine forests. There are also a number of waterfalls and viewpoints scattered around. Apparently there is also the opportunity to camp.
hiking was able to do in Portland when I was living there and I’m looking forward to being able to go for weekly hikes again.I really miss all the hiking was able to do in Portland when I was living there and I’m looking forward to being able to go for weekly hikes again.
Strawberries and Produce
Whenever I see Zomba described anywhere as a place to live, there is almost always a mention of the great selection of produce available there. But what I’m most specifically excited about are the strawberries that I keep reading about.
There has been a significant lack of berries in my life while living in Ghana and the strawberries in Thailand are only in the north and aren’t particularly good. However, in Zomba, I’ve been told that the berries are available for much of the year and that sellers will frequently stop by the office.
Learning about a Different Culture
As with any new place that I go, the most exciting thing for me is to learn from and about a new culture. Like most of the countries in Africa, Malawi is made up of a number of different ethnic groups and has a number of different languages. There is a different kind of history for Southern Africa as compared to West Africa, and I’m interested to see how that past informs the present.
One thing that I think is particularly special is that the Global Health Corps model has me paired up with a Malawian co-fellow that I will live and work with throughout the next year. There is a whole cohort of us that are in Malawi, so I’m very much looking foward to learning more from my Malawian co-fellow and cohort members.
Have you been to Malawi before? Any recommendations for my next year?