Chasing containers and pondering possibilities

There has been a flurry of emails over the past few days between the removalists in Australia and Malawi and the shipping agents in Mozambique.

We have gone from, 'we don't know where it is;' we 'do know where it is;' 'it is on its way;' 'it is not on its way;' ' it left yesterday;' 'it did not leave' and 'we don't know where it is.'

Somewhere, in a pile of containers, like those in the photo above, is ours. It might arrive within a week or it might not. The container chase goes on and we continue to ponder the possibilities of actually getting things organised here.

LEFT: Beira is in the centre of Mozambique's coast and due south pretty much from Lilongwe.

Such is the way of things in Africa as often as not. It is an exercise in 'trusting the process' and 'trusting the process' and reminding myself it is 'things and stuff.'

I am eternally grateful for the fact that we are very comfortably set up in the company guesthouse and not in a hotel room!

I have spent months living in hotels with Bombay being the longest stint of a year and while one does what needs to be done it is a challenging exercise.

But far less challenging than a lot of things with which people have to contend. Perspective is all and remaining grateful for the positives is important.

Counting blessings I think it is called. Greg drove five hours each way to attend a funeral yesterday and that is a reminder enough of how fortunate we are.

Barely 31, married a matter of weeks and now lying in the red earth of his village. It seems it is the women who have to place the flowers on the coffin and it is the women who sit in the dirt around the coffin while the men sit on comfortable chairs.

I am sure there are all sorts of spiritual reasons why women sit in the dirt but I am sure there are all sorts of misogynistic reasons why men don't sit in the dirt. Africa is always a reminder, as was and is India, of how far women have not come in the world.

It has been a week of funerals. I asked Limited if it was his younger or older brother who had died and he said it was his younger brother. He left three small children as is so often the way. One can only hope, as is also so often the way, that the children do not also lose their mother. Malawi is a place of orphans. The possibility of losing a container as opposed to losing one or both parents pales into insignificance.

Otherwise there is no progress on a variety of fronts. I am assuming, having heard that Peggy has collected the fabric that the curtains are underway. And Lawrence, who will set up the DSTV when our television set arrives did call to ask if it was here. He is the only one who calls back to check; on every other count we have to make the call.

Mr Das the electrician, as affable as he seemed to be, doesn't seem very interested in doing the work. He was asked to prepare a quote for an air conditioner and I have been chasing him since. Three times he said he would drop it off and didn't so Greg sourced them elsewhere.

When I rang to say he only had to do the power points he said: 'But I have done a quote for the air conditioner and the power points.'

'Yes but you did not bring it to us," I replied.

'But now I will have to do another quote for the power points.'

'Yes, you will. Can you bring it tomorrow?'

'I will do that,' he said. But of course he didn't anymore than he delivered the mythical quote for the air conditioners. We are now hunting up another electrician. But we do seem to have sourced someone who will supply and fit air conditioners. At least I think we have!

So, five weeks on no container, no air conditioners, no curtains, no DSTV and no generator. That's what I call progress!

I probably care mostly about the container and have pondered our attachement to material things. Would it matter if it disappeared? Well, there are some paintings I really love and some of my own paintings and pottery but otherwise everything is replaceable.

Not that I really think it won't turn up but it is interesting to ponder one's reactions to its disappearance... because it has, for the moment disappeared. Or rather, it has not yet been found amongst the thousands of containers littering the Port of Beira, see pic below,  in Mozambique.

Or is it on a truck winding its way up from Mozambique to Malawi?

 The journey is said to take two to three days and then we will have another couple of days to clear the goods.

Apparently the agents here have someone at the border who can let us know when the truck crosses into Malawi. But first we have to find the container!

And the wet season is on its way so dry roads will always be better than wet ones.

And in four weeks we will be on our way heading out of Lilongwe. The plan was and is to be set up in the house before we go. However, as the saying goes:

'Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.'

It doesn't pay to be too fixed in regard to plans in this part of the world. It probably doesn't pay to be too fixed in regard to plans in any part of the world. Making the most of the bit you are in is the best we can do.

And I think I do that. The tomato chutney turned out well yesterday and I made another batch of strawberry jam this morning along with a fruit slice with lemon icing. In between power cuts of course.

N.B. This morning we received an email saying the container had been located and was on a truck heading for Malawi and is expected to arrive Monday! Here's hoping.