Experiencing my motherland again through my daughter's eyes

I have not written a new post in the past three weeks because I was on my travelling jollies with my daughter. At the beginning of the month, I undertook a trip to my home country, Malawi. The trip was way overdue. I had not been home for nine and a half years, plus my parents and my siblings were yet to meet my daughter who is a “pando baby”, meaning she was born during the pandemic. My family were not able to visit due to my country having been placed on the red list for travel during the pandemic.

As someone who was born in Malawi, and is well versed with the slow rate at which the country develops, I did not have any expectations or high hopes for the trip. But boy was I in for a surprise. Firstly, my opinion of the slow rate of development in many areas stills stand. But what has changed is the way people have embraced things such as listing many of their hospitality services on platforms such as Expedia, Booking.com, Airbnb and many others, which makes it easier for people to book accommodation services.

Secondly, many businesses have now embraced card payments, even many which are in remote areas that I didn’t even think would be able to have such options. And this is all thanks to internet services which have vastly improved over the years. There are also many more upscale restaurants and cafes, which offer great food and services. Although I must say much of their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. They definitely need a few lessons in customer services.

Thirdly and lastly, women seem to be more liberal than they were when I last visited almost a decade ago. They seem to be more vocal about their needs and wants, more educated to the point they are almost surpassing men and even their dressing which used to be more conservative, is now almost up to par with western countries. As a woman myself, this warmed my heart because they seem to be empowered now to live life on their own terms.

But what I wasn’t impressed with was the rate at which things such as education, healthcare, the judicial service, policing, immigration services (experience at the airport) and the transport system seem to be improving at a snails pace. I know that the current president is doing all he can do to advance things in the country, but some old goons with backward mentality seem to want to pull the country back into the gutter. I am not a political expert, but can honestly say that some of those in government at the moment are not fit to serve the country. And the sooner they exit, the better for the development of the country.

Although I was impressed with some changes, the one thing that made me fall back in love with my home country was my daughter’s experience of it. From the moment we landed, she had a smile and a certain energy I have not experienced while living in the UK. It could be because the weather was amazing (28 - 32 degrees) or maybe it was the warmth that Malawian people exuded. Malawi is after all known as the warm heart of Africa due to the friendly nature of the people. She is usually reserved with a lot of people here in the UK. But for some strange reason, she opened up with a lot of people in Malawi. She bonded so easily with my family, adapted so well to the local food (she is a fussy eater in the UK) and did not have the kind of tantrums she usually has here. I actually love this side of her.

This got me thinking, “what caused the shift in my daughter to be a totally different kid in Malawi than the one I have in the UK?” “Did she perhaps sense the atmospheric shift that happens when one arrives in the country?”. I can attest to this shift every time I have gone to my home country. And a few people have also said this to me. As much as Malawi frustrates me in terms of the pace of development, I always feel calm and happy when I am there.

I know I can be critical of Malawi, and that is because I want better for the people of my home country. But one thing I tend to over look are the other great attributes that it has to offer. From the warmth of the people, the great lake and the beautiful beaches it possesses, which my daughter loved swimming in, the local food that is delicious and the many nature reserves the country has to offer. All of these where fascinating to my daughter. The look on her face, and the joy she exuded on the trip upon discovering all the above was beautiful and mesmerising. She saw the country as it was, and loved it. And everyone she came across said she was the loveliest and well adapted toddler they had come across.

And because of her, I fell in love with my country all over again, and for the first since leaving, I saw it for what it was, not what I hope it would be. I was less critical this time. I truly enjoyed this trip. And I am glad my daughter enjoyed herself too.