Before college, I had never travelled beyond the United States and Canada. During college, I have been blessed to travel internationally to an array of new places. In all of my international trips: China, Costa Rica, Qatar, and Venezuela, however, I rarely ventured outside cities. My time thus far at St. Gabriel’s has given me a better understanding of the challenges—and the joys—of living in a low-resource rural setting.

When we first arrived in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, we rode back to St. Gabriel’s on M-12, the paved two-lane “highway” that runs from Lilongwe west to the town of Mchinji, at the Zambian border. As we drove west, the city fades into the distance almost immediately. For the duration of the 50 km drive, we saw pedestrians and bicyclists along the barren sides of the road, an apt reminder that cars are truly a luxury item here. At ~$2(USD) per liter, driving is prohibitively expensive for most Malawians. In our four weeks here, we have only ridden in a car five times.

Along the road, there are several trading centers. On the once-weekly market days, the markets come alive with vendors of a diverse array of goods, from foods to beautiful cloth to clothing. These trading centers truly come alive as a commercial and social center for locals from all surrounding areas. Namitete is another trading center, albeit somewhat larger than the others. We have not yet attended Namitete’s market day on Monday, though we hope to go next week.

The hospital grounds sit about 4.5 km north of Namitete, just several hundred meters from a smaller village called Namitondo. We buy much of our produce in Namitondo, in addition to cell phone credits and the occasional street food. As we walk to Namitondo, we pass by a well from which locals draw water. As I pass symbols like the well, I recognize the luxuries provided to the St. Gabriel’s community. Additionally, on the hospital campus, we have electricity, another luxury inaccessible to most Malawians.

While we are geographically isolated here, I am grateful for the company of the hospital staff and volunteers. As I sit here, posting this blog on the internet, I am more aware than ever of the resources that I take for granted at home—reliable utilities, geographical mobility, constant access to media, and wide accessibility of food and other products. And yet, I cannot imagine being anywhere else now: I learn and experience so many new things each day here. I am very fortunate to spend the summer in such a wonderful place.