Dec 10. 2014. HOME

I came back home. Flight duration was 2 hrs 30 mins (Lilongwe, Malawi to Johnnesburg, South Africa) + 13 hrs (Johannesburg, South Africa to Hong Kong, China) + 3 hrs 20 mins (Hong Kong, China to Incheon, South Korea) = 18 hrs 50 mins flight. The travel was not done yet. I took the bus to go home, it took another 5 hrs. It took whole one day to come back to my home from Africa.

I have never imagined I would be able to go several African countries. Of course, I have always dreamed of going all African countries, but I did not realize I would do that this year. Though there was Ebola, I went to Sierra Leone. During the two months in the epicenter of Ebola, I had to fight with my fear that “What if I get Ebola?” The most dreadful enemy was not deadly virus; it was me, myself. I learned how to fight against human being’s fate. Though I had to evacuate from Sierra Leone, I did not give up staying in Africa. Relocating to East Africa, Tanzania was another good fortune to me because I was able to appreciate East African’s life and culture. Going to Southern African region, Zambia and Malawi, was a great chance for me to realize how I was blessed that I had always access to clean water. I also want to say before I forget that I met wonderful Korean people in Malawi who have been working for Malawians several years. Staff from KFHI (Food For the Hungry International) and Milal NGO came to Malawi to provide water resource, food, nutrition, relief and rehabilitation for people in need. Comparing to their spirit of sacrifice, I have done only a small thing so far. I appreciate their service, and I am proud that people from my home country are willing to come to Africa to share their pure love.

Blue sky in Malawi. Can I see it again?

Surprisingly, my will naturally came true without even noticing. I am tunneling my way as I have thought. There was no wide and clean road in front of me, and it was hard. Yes, it was not easy to realize my goal, spending my time with people in Africa to understand their true life by eating local food, staying in the lodge, following their own culture, and so on. I am not still free from sufferings that I had, but I just want to applaud to myself for a few seconds that I broke through all difficulties wherever I go.

Pioneer spirit! To be honest, it is apprehended that there would be some danger. I am even fearful of airplane accident whenever I go on board. Through three airplanes and many transportations, I came back “safely”! I always have fears in mind, and those feelings make me shrink, but I cannot just stay calm and do nothing. I believe my destiny, and I know what I can do the best is to go the field and do on-the-ground work.

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home! But I am not done yet. My Africa story will be continued in Mozambique and in the U.S. as well. 

Nov 29. 2014. II. Lake Malawi

It’s about time to feel the real nature of Malawi. I went to Lake Malawi, one-hour and 40 minutes distance from the capital city, Lilongwe. I was supposed to go at noon, the departure was delayed to 3pm. I was there about only one hour, but it was good amount of time to take a picture and enjoyed the scenery. 

Lake Malawi is 560-580 km length with maximum width of 75km. It is pretty long and clean lake, and looks just like the ocean. It is interesting to know there was name dispute to say “Lake Malawi,” because other countries also border on the lake. Tanzania and Mozambique claimed that the name should be “Lake Nysasa.” There is still ongoing Tanzania-Malawi dispute for the partition of the lake’s surface area; Tanzania wanted the international border should run through the middle of the lake whereas Malawi wanted the whole surface of the lake. In 1954, the British and the Portuguese signed an agreement of “making the middle of the lake their boundary,” but there is conflict occasionally between Malawi and Tanzania. 

The nickname of Lake Malawi is “the Lake of Starts” because there is the lantern lights rom the distance looks starts in the sky. It is also called “the Lake of Storms” because there are unpredictable gales that can sweep the area. There are many kinds of fish, invertebrates, and even hippos, and the beautiful beaches and islands attract local and international tourists to visit this place. If I would have more time to spend in Lake Malawi next time, I would swim and take a boat!