Day 2 At The Hotel
We conduct a workshop session identifying roadblocks for local Malawi communities.
— 6 min read
Table of Contents
Getting Breakfast
I woke up about 8 am or so and went down to the lobby floor. On this floor existed a big dining room kinda looking like a restaurant type stuff and also, at the opposite side, a bar with a bunch of tables and that long long table I mentioned in my previous entry.
As I walked down the stairs, I was greeted by Bryce and Moi. They informed me about the continental breakfast that was being had at the restaurant room. I felt grateful for their inclusive attitude because I'm honestly clueless about a lot of stuff. I just kinda full send things and hope for the best.
I entered the spacious dining area. I noticed that I could look out into the side of the building facing the roads. The entire wall was made of glass, or I should say windows.
Walking around the corner was kind of like a buffet type display where you pick and choose what you want. There was a lot of options. I picked up Danish bread because I thought it had chocolate, but looking back now I'm not entirely sure what that was. Along with the bread, there were chicken sausages and chicken barbecue which I happily stole.
I am very blind so I couldn't really recognize anyone else. I found a table where I could sit by myself. But then, I heard my name called out. It was Keisha, an integrative health and wellness student. She offered for me to sit with her and Keisha. Feeling the considerate atmosphere from them, I eagerly walked over.
Both Jenifer and Keisha have got to be one of the most approachable people that you can meet in one's lifetime. We ate and chatted and I got to know them better. Later on, Drew joined us. These people made me feel like I belonged.
I thought to myself a little bit and realized that I honestly just don't like being in big groups—really anything that resembled a party of like more than 5+ people. I'm sure everyone is kind and welcoming, but I suppose I like to keep to myself more.
But, at the same time, I wanted to feel like I wasn't left out. I don't really know what to make of these contradicting feelings: feeling like I belonged and avoiding big groups.
This situation was different though with Jenifer, Keisha, and Drew. It was no wonder that they got accepted into the program especially considering that they weren't even seniors. They definitely were more than capable enough to be here in Africa considering their inclusive attitudes.
Most people don't have that, and that's not necessarily bad. It just takes a certain level of empathy to be that warm towards others. I hope I can replicate such admirable qualities.
Workshop Session
After we had breakfast, we made our way to the opposite side of the building towards the bar. The faculty were holding a meeting to talk about some activities that they had planned.
The first activity had us split into groups and each group was given a story about a character Mary who heard an ice cream truck. The interesting part was that, for each group, the story was twisted a little bit differently. Our group's version had an AR-15. Another had a russian sounding gun. And another had no weapons at all.
We were tasked to do some worldbuilding constructing who this Mary character was and what she was doing with the plot devices we were given.
Our group approached it from the perspective of trying to avoid negativity because there are a lot of implications that can be made given a character Mary, and the sound of an ice cream truck nearing her, and her reaching over to get her AR-15.
We said that Mary has schizophrenia or something like that and as a way to find comfort, she grabs the AR-15 stored in her safe when she hears the sound of an ice cream truck. Realizing that there were no threats, she relaxed and let her guard down.
After discussing our story, we grouped back up and got to hear other people's stories. We noticed, strangely, that some people's were different, but we didn't know why. We found out later that we were given slightly different information.
This was all to point out the fact that one word is all it takes to define a story. I loved it. It made me realize the subtle yet significant effects that words have on people especially across different languages.
Absolutely splendid.
Karonga, Malawi Community Presentation
We took a break afterwards for about 20 minutes. I immediately went to my room, hopped on my bed, and took a nap.
Later, everyone joined together for another activity. But first, Martin did a presentation on the local communities of Malawi. He discussed the various problems that were present in the community and the ways in which solutions were thought of, failed, and succeeded.
If I could summarize it, it was a systematic future-oriented approach to problem solving where multiple projects were ideated, but each project needed to have a previous project to be completed before it can begin. This helped identify root problems that are easily looked over when brainstorming solutions—solutions that don't address the bigger picture and are short term.
After the presentation, we were split into two groups and were tasked to brainstorm some of the roadblocks that we personally were facing. Specifically, we identified the roadblocks that were present during about 4 years ago, now, and 4 years into the future. Then, out of the roadblocks we identified, we tallied up the ones which were highly uncertain and highly impactful to us personally.
It was a cool experience.
Lunch and Dinner
Then, we had lunch. I asked for super spicy crispy chicken and egg fried rice.
It wasn't that spicy tbh. But dam was it good.
And then we took another break and we were set to meet at 7pm.
I went to my bed, took my malaria pill, and took a long ass nap.
Feeling well-rested, I joined the group again downstairs to have dinner. You know, I think this is one of the only times, in my entire life, I've had 3 meals in one day. I'm on food stamps so I try to live within my means and I only really get to cook one meal a day. I felt full bro. But I still wanted to partake in the ritual of eating together with people.
I chose chicken noodle clear soup this time around. It was a nice change of pace from the rice-filled diet I have. It slapped.