The Modern Age has reached Malawi

I am sitting here, in Mchinji district, a VERY rural area near the border between Malawi and Zambia, on the district hospital, picking up wireless internet. If you could just see my surroundings, how rustic, how traditional, how rural, you would understand how wierd that is. One thing that continually suprises me here is just how connected to the world of communications technology even the most remote areas are here in africa. A LOT of people have cell phones (but only very few have televisions). Even people without running water have cell phones. And people out here do have a sense of the global culture, of the West and East and everything in between, that continually takes me off guard. Globalization is for real.
Unfortunately, though, the connection still isn't quite fast enough to post photos, which I had so much wanted to do. So those will have to wait.
Work is starting to pick up here, which is good, and I am more busy than I have been the past two weeks. I am here in Mchinji, at a beautiful and peaceful inn, working on a project where we interview locals who work as HIV testing counselors, asking them about their experiences and attitudes toward testing. In two weeks, I go to Likoma Island, where we are doing actual testing and network mapping on the island. I have heard that Likoma, especially is beautiful; but I have to say, this country has everything when it comes to landscape. Rolling, flourescent green tea plantations; mountains towering into the clouds; wide, grassy spaces dotted with sculptural trees; hardwood forests of towering trees with ivory-colored bark; and lush vegetation in all colors everywhere. And I still haven't been to the lake, the crowning jewel of this small country.

Now, don't you wish I could've posted some pictures??