It’s funny how much the world seems to revolve around America, especially during this election time. One of my youths (one who finished secondary school last year!) named “United States of America” as one of the continents! (Don’t tell me that wasn’t funny!)
All eyes are truly on America though. BBC wasn’t joking when they called this election an “international affair”. There’s this tension in the air (Malawian air at least) that this election will either make or break Malawi’s future. I thought it a bit petty (though clearly disguising it), but they think the world of America, sometimes for the wrong reason. For the most part, people love America because of money. Almost unanimously, Malawians are rooting for Barack Obama. Why? “Because he’s a African man, so of course he give money to his people!”, though they forget that he wasn’t actually born in Kenya. (The only one who was for McCain was my neighbor simply because he’s a conservative, even though he wouldn’t vote for his own country’s election.)
Speaking of which, Malawi’s election is coming up next year! This is campaign year, so I’ve been hearing a lot about elections, use of “non-violence” during elections, and the likes. Also a bipartisan government, the showdown is between two contestants: ex-president Muluzi and current president Bingu. Since Malawi first defeated the British imperialism in 1964, Malawians have been promoting democracy since. But like every other countries struggling for a free democracy, Malawi had its issues. The first was said to have ruled with an iron fist for over a decade, imprisoning anyone who dared speak malice against him or his government. But the good he brought was education and development, especially infrastructure development. Then came the second president in 1994, who opened the doors to foreign aid and made primary education free, but was said to have brought corruption into the government and flaunted the money at the local villagers. After maximizing his service limit (two terms), he is still attempting to run again for presidency. In 2004, the current president finally took his place as leader. According to Malawians, he was actually Muluzi’s protégé but turned his back once he took office. With his doctorate in economics from USA, he brought development into Malawi and fought against corruption, but people have complained that too much of the money is going into the towns and not the villages, thus increasing the disparity between the rich and poor. However, many of the people I’ve talked to have expressed favor for the current president because of the economic development in Malawi.
Since my service ends in July, I’ll have the fortunate opportunity to witness this election in May 2009! (Though sadly, I won’t be able to witness our monumental election with my fellow Americans! L)
Anyway, since it’s prime season for pumpkins for you pumpkin lovers, here’s a special (and simple!) recipe I use when our fields are rife with pumpkins.
Pumpkin Soup
-1 pumpkin
-1 beef (or chicken or ham) stock cube for 2 people
-1 onion
-other vegetables
1. Wash and cut up the pumpkin into edible sizes and dispose of seeds (or roast them!)
2. Place the pumpkin pieces in a pot and barely cover with water
3. Boil for 20 minutes, then add stock, onions, and vegetables. (I only add onions because I don’t really have a lot of other vegetables to work with, like carrots.)
We volunteers also have tried making pumpkin curry, which I heard is good! I’ve also tried stir-fry pumpkin… but it didn’t come out that great. Bon appetit!
In a few days, I’ll send an update about my past month’s work. Until then, have a happy halloween and election day!
Love,
Elaine
