As I am nearing the end of my time in Malawi, I have been fitting in all my “bucket list” items! First on the list was to visit the Satemwa Tea and Coffee Estate. The estate is located a little over an hour away from Blantyre, and is HUGE. They produce tea and coffee for local supermarkets but also exported to specialty international suppliers. We took a tour around the plantation, learning about tea production and processing. We learned that all different types of tea come from the SAME plant. Black, green, white, earl grey, etc. etc. come from the same exact plant! MIND. BLOWN. We then walked to the tea factory and learned more about this particular plantation, that was opened in the early 1900’s by a person from Scotland. At the factory we did my kind of tasting, TEA! I am now a newly taught tea connoisseur 🤓 Of course we had to try some of the famous iced tea and chocolate cake!
Also wanted to do a small hike to a point overlooking Blantyre. We took the wrong way, and ended up at the Michiru Nature Reserve, and ended up doing a two hour hike through the forest. Relying on a basic map and some slightly off trail markers, we made it back safely. Go us (and me with the terrible sense of direction)!
We also made our second trip to the lake. We were able to make it to the lake in under 4 hours, unlike last time when we got a flat tire and it took us 6…Still no water contact for me (no parasites hitching a ride back home with me, no way) but our research coordinator rented us all a catamaran for sunset. Talk about living the life! We stayed at the Funky Cichlid hostel this time, which ended up having more people and energy than our previous accommodations. Overall, this trip was even better than last, probably because I was healthy this time 😅
Clinic update: If anyone remembers Cathereen (the young girl from Chamba clinic who had HIV/TB/pneumonia/severe acute malnutrition) I am happy to report that she made it through the last couple of weeks and attended clinic. It is truly a miracle that she survived, though it is still incredibly frustrating to tolerate her mother who chooses to sell the RUTF instead of feeding her child. All in all, good news!
Though I have been behind on blogging, today was my last day at clinic. Clinic is by far the best part of my work here in Malawi, and is what I will miss the most when I leave on Sunday. Prague, Austria and Switzerland are next on my list, then home!
✌🏼
Project Postgrad 