Just Another Day in Paradise...er...Malawi

Today I waited for more than 2 hours in a cue (line) to get fuel!  There has been a petrol shortage a little over a week now.  We were stuck on campus all weekend because we weren't sure how long our tank would last us - thanks to our broken gauge that claims we are always full.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I spotted a fuel truck at the BP in town on my way back to work from the bank.  I quickly made a B-line for the pumps making second in line!  At the same time this mini bus comes barreling up in the lane next to me and parks itself about 1 foot away from my back bumper.  The driver immediately throws the van in park and swings open his door right into the side of my car.  He just looked at me for a second and walked away.  The nerve!

It was only 10 in the morning and the sun was already blazing hot so I was tempted to leave the car running with the AC cranked up but I was trying to be responsible and conserve gas.  The first hour went by and I started getting antsy because I was supposed to be back at school for a meeting with the superintendent.  I started looking around for any sign of what was taking so long but everyone was just hanging out, like this happened all the time or something (which in their lifetimes it probably has - but not for me)!  Another 45 minutes went by and I was ready to forget the petrol and get back to work but I was blocked in by a line of cars from my bumper to - no lie - several kilometers down the road.  By that time I was hot, hungry, and stuck.  Fortunately, I had just bought some strawberries from a guy on the side of the road!  Strawberries are a tricky thing here.  The guys selling them run around with cardboard trays full of these amazing looking strawberries.  I don't know what they do to them, the sun must hit the strawberries just right so you think you've never seen a better looking strawberry.  You can't resist them but you should.  This is the 3rd time I've bought strawberries and every time I tell myself it's the last time. I say that because at some point between agreeing to buy them and actually being handed your bag of strawberries 2/3 of them are slimy with big nasty chunks taken out of them that you swear weren't there a minute ago!  Every time.  Without fail.  It is a mystery to me!  So anyway, I salvaged the 10 good strawberries left out of my bag and roll down the window to rinse them off with water from my water bottle.  I'm sure the Malawians who happened to see this thought I was a weirdo.  30 minutes later the pumps were up and running and I was on my way :)

[Moral of the story: in case you are ever in Malawi, save yourself a lot of trouble by always keeping a full tank of petrol and think twice before you buy the strawberries]