It’s my second afternoon in Lilongwe. I am halfway through reviewing a document. My stomach rumbles to remind me for the nth time that it needs food. The plan was to finish the document review before having lunch, but this nth reminder isn’t a gentle one. Accordingly, I grab my purse and phone and head to the restaurant.
At the restaurant, I ask for mango juice. I decided in the morning to have Chambo and Nsima, a recommendation from my Southampton classmate, who is Malawian. But with the menu in hand, the beef shin smiles at me. And suddenly, memories of our meeting yesterday evening pour in, reminding me of the good time we had. I begin to draw to it, but then I hear Chambo and Nsima shouting, “Remember the recommendation.” For this reason, I order Chambo and Nsima.
I begin sipping my mango juice, wondering if my hunger can wait for 35 minutes and thinking about food across Africa.
Food across Africa differs, only slightly. Corn seems to be a staple, just cooked in different ways. West Africa seems to have a tongue for pepper and does North Africa, I think, based on what I gathered from my Floormate in Soton, who is Egyptian. East and Southern Africa, do little to no pepper according to my West African ‘pepper tongue’. Whenever I am in these regions of Africa, I put my West African ‘pepper tongue’ in check.
It’s 17 minutes now, and the mango juice is keeping the hunger at bay. My mind wanders off to the meeting in the morning. I begin to reflect on it, but I do that for 30 seconds as a gentleman, speaking Chichewa, interrupts. Awesome! I don’t look non Malawian. Now, all I need is to learn Chichewa.
I let him know that I neither speak nor understand Chichewa, and with that, he switches to English. He is selling books that I can use to raise my children in the Lord. He reminds me of the importance of not just providing physical food but also spiritual food for my children. “It sustains them and keeps them when we are not with them,” he says, as he ends his sales pitch. I decline to buy, but we start a nice conversation to get to know each other.
His name is John, and he is an evangelist. He sells books to fund his ministry. “Well done, John! You’re not exploiting anyone in the name of evangelism,” I say in my head. John is divorced with 5 children; 3 are working, and 2 are in school. He would like to marry again, but he is taking his time as he doesn’t want to go through another divorce. In his own words, “as a man of the gospel, I need to set good examples. “I like you, John,” I say in my head again. After a brief conversation, we say goodbye as John moves to his next potential customer. Of course, not without John asking me when he should come back in order for me to buy the books. In that brief conversation, John gives me a tip on selling and protecting brands that I represent.
The 35 minutes have passed. I go back to my thoughts, but not for long as my Chambo and Nsima are in…