In case you haven’t caught on there are quite a few cultural differences between Malawi and the United States.  Evelyn taught me some more.  I am very soft spoken and relatively shy.  I sat next to Evelyn in the back of the bus on the way to the village one day.  She is also soft spoken.  She would talk to me and I’d have to lean in and put my ear closer to her mouth just to hear her over the noise from the bus. 

She is studying business at college.  She wants to start her own business and help others.  “Do you live near the college?” “No,  I live a long ways away.”  “Where is that?”  This is where I pull out my phone with a map.  Have you ever found someone that doesn’t understand a map?

This is where the wheels start spinning, but she points out the obvious.  How does this bus driver know where he’s going?  Every once in a while the driver will stop on a dirt road and ask what direction he should take to the college students.  We had a few instances where they backed up and turned around.  How is the driver navigating?  I never once saw a cell phone mount.  I never once saw anyone local looking up places on the map.   Oh… that’s a cultural difference. 

So I tried a different tactic.  “How long did it take you to get from your home town to the college?”  This also seems like an easy question to me but she stopped to consider.  “More than 15 hours!”  Wait… more than 10 hours.  How far away is she??? She’s from Malawi. I got from Ethiopia to Malawi on a 3 hour flight.  She explained that she wasn’t even paying attention to the time because she had to make multiple stops.  Finally she said she can make the trip in 3.5 hours. 

Pivot again… “How did you get to college?  Did you parents bring you?”  “No.”  “No…..so, you took a taxi?”  Some thoughtful consideration… “Yes.”  “How did you know where you were going?”  “I didn’t know.”   (In my head… and your parents didn’t bring you??).  “Did someone come with you?” “No.  I paid a driver to take me to the next city, then I found another driver for the next city, until I arrived at the college.  It is a bicycle with a seat on the back for passengers.  It’s quite easy to get a ride from one city to the next.”  All my pauses and lack of connecting gave her time to think how to explain this to someone who knows nothing about Malawi.  It took a long time to get here.   I can understand.  I don’t know how she will get back home, but I’m sure she can manage. 

She asked me “Do you know how to speak Chichewa?”  “No, it’s very difficult for me.”  “Well, you should learn because you’re going to be here for a while.”  “Ok, I have a cheat sheet from Paul.  Is that good enough?”  I showed it to her on my phone.  “Yes, that’s fine.  The next time you see me I want you to greet me in Chichewa.”  Ok… maybe I shouldn’t have asked so many questions.  Now she is challenging me. 

I tried to practice that day and evening, but by the morning had forgotten everything.  “Hi Evelyn”. “Hi Josh. Where is my Chichewa getting?” Doh… keep practicing.  She didn’t forget.  The next morning I didn’t see her.  One of the days I got it right… maybe.  She smiled. 

She also talked to my kids throughout the trip.  One of the last days we were together.  She was asking Nathan about his plans for college.  He was staying engaged and answering all her questions.  “Nathan,  I want you to have a real conversation with me!”  “I’m asking you many questions, but you haven’t asked me anything yet”.  She is still using her soft spoken voice and Nathan didn’t fully understand.  What do you want to know about her? She wants you to come up with some questions.  Then he understood the assignment.  

She is soft spoken, but she knows how to make a difference and get things done.  I think she will be a strong business leader.