I almost didn't even have beer in Malawi. Apparently only lowlifes really drink, and since I was staying in the city with a well off Christian family and in the village at a Presbyterian agricultural center... yeah. No beer.
But then I went on safari for 24 hours! And my inner lowlife came out.
After seeing beautiful things as pictured above, we had dinner at the resort in Liwonde National Park. I ordered a Kuche Kuche, which is somehow Chichewa for "you can drink this from night till dawn without getting drunk." Three different Malawians told me this, so I guess that's really what it means. Such a fascinating language. And such a plain beer with low alcohol content that you probably really could drink all night without noticing. This beer is brewed by Carlsberg, whose first brewery outside of Denmark was actually in Malawi near the city of Blantyre. I passed it many times, but didn't take a picture. I didn't want people to think I was a lowlife.
The next day I saw a lot of awesome things.
And then I had lunch and ordered a Carlsberg Extra Special for two reasons:
1. It's technically Malawian
2. I couldn't remember if I'd had the green one or not and didn't want to repeat a beer if I could avoid it!
And it was about the same as the Kuche Kuche except stronger. If given the choice between the two, I'd stick with the Kuche Kuche because it's more Malawian. And it's a third of the alcohol content. I wasn't trying to get messed up here.
And then I did some more amazing things before the long trip home. I mean, there was over 19 hours of flying, plus 3 and a half hours of layover, plus sundry driving to be done to get to and from airports. It was legitimately long. However, it was made longer by this incident in which I didn't get a proper meal for a long, long time (from Blantyre to Johannesburg to Dakar to New York City to home-- I had a lame sandwich at O.R. Tambo International Airport but otherwise survived on crackers and small salads). I get frustrated when I don't get fed. Redeeming moment: the president of the organization I was travelling with bought my mission team beer.
Castle Lager: a South African beer under the Miller family. (The Earp men should be proud?) Not particularly exciting but probably my favorite of the three. I'm not sure if it's because it was actually better, or because it was just nice to kick back with the team during our layover and enjoy a drink together instead of dwelling on my forced hunger strike. It certainly lifted my mood, and the people working on the flight did their best to help me out and give me extra snacks, and I did get home safely after an awesome adventure, so I guess in the end I win.
And I still am winning!
Colleen: 278
Paul: 270
This weekend I'll be attending a wedding in Fredericksburg and will be staying with Paul, so look for a staff meeting update, or at least me trying a few new beers as I catch up with various college friends!
PS: I don't really think I'm a lowlife. I was there doing mission work!
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