It’s easy to think of places in Africa as a collection of rural villages based on images portrayed by the media. That’s not to say that it’s an entirely inaccurate image. We’ve driven through numerous villages composed of the mud walls and thatched roofs that perfectly echo any foreigner’s idea of Africa. However, too little credit is given to the burgeoning cities of Africa. Blantyre is the perfect example. It’s a relatively small city in terms of geographical area, but the experiences we’ve had here have showcased the incredible diversity and dynamism of Malawi.
Restaurants
Our group likes to daydream about the delicious food scene of Houston and its diverse offerings. But this is not to say that Blantyre’s restaurants are bland or uninteresting. In fact, we have had some incredible food over the past weeks. There’s been Indian food delivered to our doorstep, Italian food enjoyed at a suave new cafe, burgers devoured while overlooking the track at the Blantyre Sports Club, carrot cake savored in the vibrant gardens of Cafe Mandala, warm mandasi guiltily scarfed down outside the CPAP office, and Ethopian curries shared over warm injera bread along with delicious spiced coffee. The restaurants of Blantyre hint at the numerous cultures and influences that shape the city and the country as a whole.
Religion
I was extremely impressed by the diversity of religions in Blantyre. From churches to mosques to temples, we’ve seen numerous houses of prayer throughout the city. Though Christians make up a majority, there are always hints of other religions. For example, we got a day off for Eid, which was a national holiday. Malawians love to boast about how peaceful and kind their country is, and they’re not wrong. More than just tolerating differences, the people here embrace them whole-heartedly.
Grocery Stores
Our group loved to cook our own food in addition to sampling the restaurants of the city. So we became very familiar with the standard grocery stores. Chipiku: the all-purpose store that is a little like a Kroger or an Albertsons. Superior: the meat market, restaurant, and gourmet foods store (they have Nutella and Magnum bars). Shoprite: the South African megastore that, to quote our taxi driver from Lilongwe, “literally has everything.” Game: the electronics/house supplies/furniture store that we call the Walmart of Malawi. These stores demonstrate Blantyre’s international connections and increasingly cosmopolitan nature.
The Market
It wouldn’t be right to talk about grocery stores and food shopping without mentioning the Blantyre Market. It’s an enormous area filled with stalls and booths that has almost everything you could want for day-to-day life. There’s a giant produce section, electronics vendors, bookstalls, and chitenge sellers (my favorite), just to name a few. It also seems endless. While the produce market is in a wide-open area, Sarah recently introduced me to what I now call the labyrinth. It’s a winding maze of stalls that holds suprises around every corner: you’re never sure if you’re going to run into a fragrant booth selling freshly-fried chips, a wobbling light over a covered-up pool table, a stack of fried rodents, uneasy chickens in a giant cage, or a tailor’s shop with beautiful fabrics. It’s one of my favorite places in Blantyre so far and though I tried to take pictures of it, these photos don’t really do it justice:
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