It's when they throw you in the deep end that you realise how deep that place really is.

So I considered waiting until the end of the week to make a structured analysis about my first week at work. I'm half way there and I've definately seen enough to blog about it.

If being told that you are the Lead Physio of a hospital 2 days into your job isn't the scariest thing, that's worrying. Let me place you all in the same page as me: I just graduated, this is my first job, I have never seen most of the paediatric conditions I am currently treating, in fact I have never treated a child in my life and I am living in a country very different to back home. Oh, did I mention that none of my patients speak A WORD OF ENGLISH? I have never mimed so much in my life. I have never relied so much on a little piece of paper as the one I have in my pocket with some life-saving words I have picked up.

Nevertheless, I have never had so much fun in a room with people who don't understand me and I don't understand them! Although it gets very tough trying to get your message across it is extremely rewarding when you succeed. Not only do the mothers of the children appreciate the effort I'm making at speaking their language, I also manage to crack a smile from most children because of how ridiculous my Chichewa is. Having a flexible timetable is also a great help, because it means I can take my sweet time with anyone I want- UK's NHS, you and your limited-15mins-with-patients SUCK.

It's unbelievable how much these patients rely on the hospital. These are people who will not eat to be able to get a bus to come to the appointment. A bus which costs 50cents or less. They sometimes may not even attend because of lack of money to travel (let me point out that Cure Hospital charges adults but treats every child for free. At the moment, most of my work is with these children that visit me in morning with their parents.) Some live in villages up to 4hours away, but will make the effort because they trust us. It's a pretty big deal, and this is an incredible motivation for me to do my best while I'm out here.

Ofcourse I feel lost, I'm still trying to find my feet. I complained to my Malawian friend at the hospital who just smiled and said "Palipevuto Laura. That means, No Worries."

Welcome to Cure International

Today I had my first day (half day, really) in the hospital where I will be working in during the next following months- Cure International.

7.30am: Brief chat with my supervisor, who informed me that the physio team consists of herself and me(!)

8.00am: The Chapel, a gymnasium with chairs, is where we meet every morning with our group of 9 or 10 collegues. By collegues, I mean doctors, nurses, cleaning ladies, pharmacist, receptionist and cooks. We meet for "Prayers time"- there is nothing like a bit of dancing and Gospel singing to break the ice between strangers! The first 30 seconds were slightly awkward whereby I stood there taking this all in. Nevertheless, in no time I was partying it up to "THERE'S NO ONE LIKE JESUS".

8.30am: During my 15min tour of the hospital I was warmly greeted by everyone I met, which was practically everybody working there. A lot of smiles, "Hello's" and "Muli Bwanji?" ("How are you?" To which initially I answered with a bit of a puzzled face).

9.00am: As I waited in the physio consulting room on my own, two Malawian ladies walk in carrying a baby, 3 days old, and kneel down in front of me. I had no clue what to do. At this moment I decided that I must learn some Chichewa, the other language spoken in Blantyre. Oh, just realised that I hadn't yet explained the name of my blog- well there ya go.

9.00am-12.00: Chatting to the very nice Executive Director of the hospital for 1.5hours (even invited me to go to chill in his pool with his family this weekend).

Meeting another volunteer girl who is working for the media department. She started working there recently, and when I suggested that I could hang out with her she said "Yes! I need a friend!" to which I replied "Me too!" You see, when you're "alone" there is not time to be shy or to be picky with your bff's.

Found a tennis buddy, chatted to an italian physio who has also just arrived in the city, got an email account for the hospital (no turning back now!), going jogging on Monday with a group of people I don't really know and got an assistant to give me some quick Chichewa lessons.

Overall, a pretty good day and a brilliant way to start my experience.

IT'S OFFICIAL.

After dodging several goats on the road I finally arrived in my new home in Blantyre, Malawi. For those that are not aware, I am staying with a very warm and kind family that I already knew from my uni years in London. The couple have 3 kids, Martim (11), Mariana (8) and Mafalda (7). Upon seeing my ridiculously large amount of luggage one of them exclaimed "Oh yay! Did you bring presents?!" Nobody likes to crush a happy childs spirit, but unfortunately I did. Nevertheless, they started playing with my laptop and were soon happily dancing away to my tunes (thank GOD I never deleted those High School Musical songs).

I have a beautiful bed with wooden frames with hanging linen cloths. Although the structure is actually designed to save me from getting Malaria, its nicer to think that its purpose is to make me feel like a princess. I have now fully unpacked and although my suitcase got rummaged through (I know I didn't throw everything around and leave things open and rip things up when I packed in Maputo) I didn't actually get anything stolen off me. Thanks for that South African Airlines, I hope you enjoyed having a look through my underwear and socks.

I have not been around town yet, so for now I leave you with the only photos I have taken so far:

Blantyre airport. Seriously, that is all there is to it. Behind those green cloths there is a balcony where people wave their goodbye's and hello's.

Ghecco from the Ghetto. Laura: OMG, THAT IS DISGUSTING. Mafalda: That one is cute, but I preffer the bigger ones that are usually in your room.

Getting intimate with Maputo

It's only when you start talking to those who have lived here that you start hearing undesirable stories. Living somewhere like Maputo you never feel safe leaving the house, yet at the back of your mind you might think "it's ok, there's policeman around". Is there though?

Scenario 1: Police stops a car. Owner of the car starts getting the documents out and as he hands them to the police he says "I'm not interested in your documents or driving license. Can you give me some change so I can go have breakfast?"

Scenario 2: Mr A walking down the street speaking on the phone. From behind a fellow grabs it off him and starts running. 10mins later Mr A's wife receives a phone call from the police informing that they have his mobile phone at the police station. Upon arrival, Mr A has to pay 1000Meticais (approximately 20-30€) in order to get his phone back. Nice little business going on between the police and the rude boys in the street.

I leave you with some photos from Maputo:

Kapulana, typical fabric from Mozambique

Feira do Artesanato

Xicalene, local's market

Quick stop in Maputo

On my way to Blantyre, Malawi, I had to make an (un)fortunate stop in Mozambique. Unfortunate because it delayed my arrival, fortunate because, well, why not. Maputo has good potential. Is it beautiful? Debatable. By the sea, warm weather, nice people, an African city that is actually growing economically. Yet 80% of the city's population live in slums without basic human needs (thank you Wikipedia.)

Stepping out of the airport and witnessing a kid getting arrested by the police was just a small "Welcome!" to this country. To be fair the main roads are not too bad to be walking around in. You feel mildly safe despite the fact that every guard is chilling in the shade playing snake on their phone (yes, everyone owns a phone here. Some may not even have shoes, but they will have phones). So where is the real poverty in Maputo? It was only after a drive around Xicalene that I was taken back. A market for the locals, selling everything from empty water bottles to one paired shoes. This also happens to be nearby their slums, truly favela-like.

Although it is still Winter here, the humid 27º don't go amiss. I considered going to the beach, but apparently after 11am it gets too packed.