The way that the windows and doors are set up in the guesthouse, some of the doors bang when there is a gust of wind. The banging is not in a set pattern: sometimes the doors will bang back and forth for 10 seconds, and then there might be one bang every 30 seconds for an hour. The simple opening and closing of a door brings out so much frustration to me. Last night, I had to move a dresser in front of my door so that it would finally stop and I could fall asleep.
The thing is, of all the people living in Lilongwe, I should be the last to complain. My friends who live across town came over the other night to shower because they hadn’t had water for days, and they still live in very nice conditions compared to the vast majority of people in this country. We lost power once, but it was in the middle of the day so no one really noticed. We’ve never run out of our backup tub of water and our WiFi is apparently the best in Malawi.
I’ve admitted to myself that my biggest complaint about the guesthouse is the banging of the doors. It’s pretty embarrassing to even admit how much it annoys me, though, because my situation could be so much harder. To me, the banging of the doors is a good symbol of the need to adapt to the conditions of this chapter of my life in Malawi.
My problem is that I tend to notice the little things. I’m better at adapting to big cultural changes: what is appropriate to wear, to say, etc. I’ve even gotten better at arriving at 7:30 for a show that is set to start at 7:00, because inevitably it’ll actually operate on “Malawian time.” The banging doors, though, can still annoy me until no end. I’ve also noticed that there is almost never a rod in any toilet paper holder I’ve seen, making the contraption on the wall completely useless. I tried to find a stick of appropriate size to use for our bathroom, but sadly it was too flimsy, so the toilet paper is back at home on the floor.
I didn’t choose to move across the world for life to be easy, though. I know that with some extra patience I’ll learn to ignore the banging of the door and not be bothered that the toilet paper holder isn’t functional. I don’t want to stop noticing the little differences, but I want to spend this year learning to be more open to different ways of doing things. The toilet paper holder doesn’t need to be fixed.
The thing is, of all the people living in Lilongwe, I should be the last to complain. My friends who live across town came over the other night to shower because they hadn’t had water for days, and they still live in very nice conditions compared to the vast majority of people in this country. We lost power once, but it was in the middle of the day so no one really noticed. We’ve never run out of our backup tub of water and our WiFi is apparently the best in Malawi.
I’ve admitted to myself that my biggest complaint about the guesthouse is the banging of the doors. It’s pretty embarrassing to even admit how much it annoys me, though, because my situation could be so much harder. To me, the banging of the doors is a good symbol of the need to adapt to the conditions of this chapter of my life in Malawi.
My problem is that I tend to notice the little things. I’m better at adapting to big cultural changes: what is appropriate to wear, to say, etc. I’ve even gotten better at arriving at 7:30 for a show that is set to start at 7:00, because inevitably it’ll actually operate on “Malawian time.” The banging doors, though, can still annoy me until no end. I’ve also noticed that there is almost never a rod in any toilet paper holder I’ve seen, making the contraption on the wall completely useless. I tried to find a stick of appropriate size to use for our bathroom, but sadly it was too flimsy, so the toilet paper is back at home on the floor.
I didn’t choose to move across the world for life to be easy, though. I know that with some extra patience I’ll learn to ignore the banging of the door and not be bothered that the toilet paper holder isn’t functional. I don’t want to stop noticing the little differences, but I want to spend this year learning to be more open to different ways of doing things. The toilet paper holder doesn’t need to be fixed.