I wake up, last morning in Tanzania. I and the fund help five kids to an education. I have big problems with the bike and enter Malavi.
The night was ok. I thought I was woken to get robbed at three in the morning by some guy knocking on the door. He said things I did not understand for a minute. At that time I got up and took the fruitknife to the drawing table. I also blocked the door with thesame table. Then I was awake for another half hour. When I allmost fell asleep a rouster starts "Kuuuuukukuuu!!!" Close by. He goes on and when I finally allmost sleep. At five some religion is having a crazy cermoney. It starts at 5.00 am on a saturday!! This must be some other god...woodoo?! Sounds like they are plaing hide and seek. Sounds like they are counting loud and it goes on for allmost an hour. I dont fall asleep. And then the army goes for singing and jogging...
Before 6 I go and do lawndry and wash myself in a cold bucket of water. I get dressed and lay on the bed for a minute when my new friend, Happy, the teacher calls.
They are outside.
So from 7 up until 13 we then keep bussy. We have the twins to start with and later comes three girls. All five have guardians but have lost there parents. There is the twins, Alex and Asa 11 years old (so small maybe because of lack of food).
The twins both want to become teachers. Gantwa and Claudia, 7 and 8 years old who will also become teachers. Magdalena is 9. She seems to be the poorest. She had no shoes and a very dirty torn dress.
She wants to become a doctor.
We get them school uniforms, matresses, school materials for a year, shoes, 12 kg of mais flour for porage each and last all get 4 chickens each. Also the teacher and his friends get 4 chickens together as a thank you for there work theese six hours. We spend something around 240 dollars. It is great fun.
When we finally get the chickens they are explained that theese are to be kept so they can make money and pay there own school uniforms and school materials every year. Actually Happy, the teacher is keeping 100 000 TzS to pay for the chickens when they will be ready and big enough for delivery in april.
A total of 20. I trust him. He also lost his parents when he was very young. He is a teacher but wants to become a doctor. He needs about 600 USD to get his education. Maybe this cyclefundjaro can start micro loans...
Last we pack all including my bicycle in to a car to go buy chickens.
After this we have a mini lunch in the car and a photo session outside the chicken place.
I now go back about 10 km to the village I spent the night in and further. My goal is the border, about 70 km. Views are stunning as I role downhill a lot.
I stop for a great proper lunch and continue down mostly. It gets even more beautiful and now hotter as I get lower but also into the climate zone of Malavi.
Its around five when I start crossing the border.
It takes me some time. I am allowed a short seven day visa for 50 USD but in the end I decide upon getting the longer one for 75 dollars. This is taking a lot of time and expensive exchanging at the border to find all dollars. One guy actually is suppose to exchange five dollars but dissapers with the money. The forex bank guard tells me the bank is closed but he can exchange if we go behind the building...
Anyway I heard it is very nice here in Malavi. And I received info that my big employer will not need me for all month of may so I will probably extend the trip.
Spokes have been playing tunes all day, but as I role out of the border post another two spokes give away. The bike makes an asful sound for every turn of the weel. The back weel is now really croked and I need to stop. Its after six anyway and the sun is setting behind the mountains next to me. So I ask a man, he is a farmer. I ask to put my tent in his yard and he is happy for it.
I eat with him as darkness surounds us. He and his kids and the neighbor kids sit around us as we sit on the ground, eating rice and some fish outside his house. The fish are small but tasty. We eat all. Head, meat and bones. If he eats it this way, I do too. It goes well as I chew the head and the bones thorougly. But one time a bone is sharp enough to pin my gum and then I take that bone out. We talk as we eat. He tells me about his marriage and kids and I tell him why I am not married. We also talk about the cow he gives away when he married his wife as a gift to her parrents. Then the subject goes over to farming and how rain is not coming as it should this time of year and how the president in Tanzania is making his business difficult now. We all go to bed at 8 and I fall asleep soon. It is a beautiful night with many stars and even a few fireflies. But what is not so cozy is the neighbor pub music which is loud and african cheery for another three hours. So when music stops I wake up and write this for an hour.
I have only put the undertent part up since it probably won't rain. So I sit here now, watching the stars. The crickets make the music of this place now and in the distance I hear dogs bark. Every now and then I hear a mosquito outside the tent net walls. Now I will sleep again. Tomorrow I will try and get back on two weels.
