The Troll Bridge Toll Bridge

Today I went to town to get some materials for my classroom.  This was my second time to town, but first time guided by a Malawian.  We rode the mini-bus into town.  These are a type of public transportation.  They are basically 12 passenger vans that they try to squeeze 20 + people into.  Plus everyone’s stuff! (See photo below.)

Well, once we rode into town and got off of the mini-bus (they will drop you anywhere along there route).  We walked about 30 minutes to the fabric shop.  This shop is located in an area of town they call “Over the bridge.”  This is a densely populated area of town with tons of shops. 

We stopped at this Galaxy Textile shop to get some fabric.  Outside the shop and on many streets you will see tailors working to make clothes.  (Look closely at the picture and you will see them!)  It costs just a few dollars to get anything made here!

Inside the shop, I met the owner’s family.  His kids are actually starting at our school this year, and one of them may be in my class!  We will have to wait and see though.

Well, after we stopped at the shop we were going to take a short cut back to the mini-bus stop.  So we went through the market.  The markets here are similar to flea-markets back home.  Everything is used! (Except the food)  Yet, that is where everyone shops.  There are very few shops that sell new clothes.  Most clothes are used clothes shipped over to be “given” to Africa.  African merchants just go and buy one of these bags of clothes, and then resale’s whatever he gets.  It is kind of funny.

My Malawian guide, Pempho (pronounced Pimpo), also told me that the market (sometimes referred to as the “bend-over boutique” since you have to bend over to see what kind of stuff they have) has really good shoes.  Apparently the people get shoes in and then take them down to the river to wash them and resale them. 

The funniest thing about the shoes was that she was telling me about the TOMS shoes that she bought there.  I told her how expensive they are in the USA because they are giving a pair to Africa for every pair that people buy.  She thought that this was a great idea, but all I could think of was, “Hey, you live in Africa, why don’t they give you a pair?!” 

Yet, despite the humor I found in it all, she did tell me that in one village she went to she saw many people wearing TOM shoes, so she was assuming that they got them for free.  (HOPEFULLY!)

Well, after we conversed about the shoes we had to cross the bridge.  But not just any bridge, but a Toll bridge!  Oh, and this bridge is what you must imagine when you think of TROLL bridges.  It was wobbly, made of sticks, and had big holes in the middle.  One wrong step, or too many people, and you could end up in the river below . . . maybe with a spare shoe!

So, we inched across the bridge and at the end we paid the troll, I mean the toll. And then we had a yummy pizza lunch!

See, even in Africa they have pizza!  Yet, the funny thing is that the Troll bridge is literally just a little bit behind the modern pizza place.