A Malawian Lesson in Patience

The office was tiny and bare, containing only a desk with a chair on either side of it. Mr. Nyasulu had to shuffle sideways to wiggle past the desk to reach his chair.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. And you?”
“Very fine. You want to rent the car?”
“Yes, please.” Pause. He didn’t seem to know what to do. There was no form in front of him as I would expect. He looked at me. I looked at him. Eventually he rose, squeezed back past his desk, past me and out the door. Returning with a piece of paper, he sat down again, but didn’t look at it.
Another pause. I decided to try to move the transaction along. “I would like to pay in euros. How much is that?”
“Euros? I thought dollars.” We had e-mailed about this, so I knew he was able to take euros.
“No, I’d like to pay in euros.” He pulled a calculator from a drawer and started to figure the euro amount. This had also already been done via e-mail. We agreed an amount and I paid him in cash. He gave me change in Malawian kwachas.
Another pause. I decided not to wait for him to figure out what to do, so I asked him “Is there already petrol in the car?”
“Yes, it is full.”
“Do I need to return it full?”
“Yes, return it full.”
Pause.
“Should I sign something?” He startled and seemed to remember the form in front of him, on which the information was already filled in. He slid it over to me and indicated where I should sign.
Pause.
“Can I have the key?” He fetched it.
“Do you have a map of Malawi?” He handed me a small tourist magazine which had a simple single-page map of major routes.
“And can you point me in the direction of Mangochi?” His explanation was sketchy at best, but at this point I just wanted to be on my way. Welcome to Malawi.

Throughout this whole discussion, what was running through my mind was the recognition, the recollection, that this is how things work in Malawi. Nothing gets done quickly. Things do get done, but I needed to relearn patience. I wanted to get this car and go as soon as possible, but that was a Western thought, and wasn’t appropriate here.
Yet renting a four-wheel drive car is without a doubt the best way to see Malawi. It enabled us to visit the picture-book lakeshore at Monkey Bay, the rolling hills of Nyika Plateau up north, and to drive the dramatic “21 Bends” escarpment road up to colonial-era Livingstonia. We even braved the worst road I’ve ever experienced to reach the rainforest in the Misuku Hills near the Tanzania border. And it was well worth every jolt to my spine.