Laughter

Although the coffin shops are a reminder of death, they only punctuate the colorful smiles that permeate society. Just as the chitenges are colorful, the smiles of the Malawians are radiant and infective.

A few weeks ago Noortje and I jumped in a patient transport  up a very treacherous road to reach a hospital along with a lady who was 42 weeks pregnant. The road was so bad that we are all banging against the sides and roof while holding on for dear life afraid that the road may induce delivery and as medical students, we would be left to deliver a baby on the side of the road. The pregnant lady sandwiched between 14 other people in the back of the Land Rover only smiled and laughed. We smiled back at the hilarity of the situation: a woman almost in labor comfortably bouncing up and down in the overcrowded back of car while we were quite uncomfortable.

The Malawian sense of humor is also apparent- April Fools did not go unnoticed and generally comedy can be found even in very serious matters. The combination of a serious approach and humor to relativize keeps very heavy-hearted matters more bearable.