{"id":354,"date":"2012-04-16T21:27:48","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T01:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/?page_id=354"},"modified":"2012-05-03T18:09:12","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T22:09:12","slug":"mannerisms-to-be-aware-of","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/mannerisms-to-be-aware-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Mannerisms To Be Aware Of"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Greetings are one of the most important aspects of culture in Malawi. There are many procedures and they differ depending on the situation, individuals present, context, and purpose of meeting. Don&#8217;t worry about offending anyone, just try to show respect to those of a higher status\/age than you by clasping your right forearm with your left hand and looking at the ground. When someone does this to you, accept it is respect and not necessarily gender dynamics at play.<\/p>\n<p>Greeting, as a Woman<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Woman of a higher status\/age: Extend your right hand, grip your forearm with your left hand, cast your eyes toward the ground. Greet formally with,\u00a0<em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Woman of an equal status\/age: If she is a friend, <em>Bo!<\/em>\u00a0or <em>Muli bwa?<\/em>\u00a0are both find greetings. You may hug her or shake her hand. If you don&#8217;t know her, shake her right hand and ask, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Woman of a lower status\/age: She will bend down and shake your hand. Shake her right hand and ask, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Man of a higher status\/age: Bend from your waist or at the knees, extend your right hand to shake while gripping your forearm with your left hand. Cast your eyes toward the ground. Greet him formally with, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Man of an equal status\/age: If you are friends, <em>Muli bwa?<\/em>\u00a0is a fine greeting. Shake his hand or give him a high five that turns into a handshake.<\/li>\n<li>Man of a lower status\/age: He will crouch down to shake your hand. Greet with,\u00a0<em>Muli bwa?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;line-height: 26px\">Greeting, as a Man<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_517\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/395664_1723472801731_1085670239_31727020_674910898_n.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-517\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-517\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/395664_1723472801731_1085670239_31727020_674910898_n-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/395664_1723472801731_1085670239_31727020_674910898_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/395664_1723472801731_1085670239_31727020_674910898_n.jpeg 604w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-517\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lameck and Chadika members<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Man of a higher status\/age: Extend your right hand to shake his and grip your forearm with your left hand<\/li>\n<li>Man of an equal status\/age: Shake his hand and say <em>Bo! <\/em>or <em>Muli bwa?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Man of a lower status\/age: He will crouch to shake your hand. Greet with, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Woman who are older: She will bend her knees and shake your hand. If you wish to show respect, clasp your right forearm with your left hand. Greet her with, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Woman of the same age: If she is a friend, <em>Bo!<\/em>\u00a0or <em>Muli Bwa?<\/em>\u00a0are fine greetings. Shake her hand or give her a high five that turns into a loose handshake. If you do not know her, shake her hand and greet with, <em>Muli bwanji?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Woman who is younger: She will bow down to shake your hand, or will not shake your hand at all. Greet wtih, <em>Muli bwa?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 15px;line-height: 26px\">If your right (shaking) hand is dirty, extend your arm while curling your right hand at the wrist. This is a symbol of respect for whomever you are greeting, you are showing them you do not want to dirty their hand as well. They will grab your wrist and shake it normally. If someone extends their wrist to you, don&#8217;t worry, just hold their arm and lightly shake it up and down.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Using <em>Please <\/em>and <em>Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Chichewa, please is <em>chonde<\/em>. It&#8217;s rarely used, however, because respect is shown by accepting gifts\/requests\/materials with both hands.<\/li>\n<li><em>Zikomo<\/em>, or thank you, is the single most useful word you will learn in Malawi. In addition\u00a0to being\u00a0the\u00a0perfect word when\u00a0receiving\u00a0anything from another, it can mean <em>excuse me<\/em>,\u00a0<em>pardon<\/em>, <em>please<\/em>, <em>hello<\/em>\u00a0when passing someone you will not stop to formally greet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Receiving Things from Others<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anytime you are accepting anything from anyone of a higher status or age than yourself, you should use two hands. It shows respect and acknowledges their presence. If someone of a much higher status is giving a woman something, she (the receiver) may bend her knees slightly. And of course, it&#8217;s always great to say <em>Zikomo!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Eating Nsima<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nsima, the staple dish similar to\u00a0grits, is eaten for lunch and dinner in Malawi. Nsima doesn&#8217;t have much taste itself, but it&#8217;s matched with various relishes to add variety and some nutrition &#8211; greens, beans, and chicken are the most popular. Ask your host for a demonstration on how to eat nsima, because you won&#8217;t guess by looking. Here&#8217;s a quick\u00a0explanation: snatch off a small (about the size of half of a bite) section of nsima from the blob on your plate. Ball it up in your fist and use your thumb to make an indentation. Scoop up some greens and hold the combination together with your thumb. Enjoy! You&#8217;ll know you&#8217;re good when you can keep your hands clean! If you&#8217;d rather use a fork, just ask your host, they&#8217;ll be happy to\u00a0accommodate.\n<p><div id=\"attachment_519\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/424496_1723466041562_1085670239_31726973_746699668_n.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-519\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-519\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/424496_1723466041562_1085670239_31726973_746699668_n-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/424496_1723466041562_1085670239_31726973_746699668_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/files\/2012\/04\/424496_1723466041562_1085670239_31726973_746699668_n.jpeg 604w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-519\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A house near Chadika CBO<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Eating &amp; Refusing Food<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Before eating any meal, you&#8217;ll rinse your hands at the table. Someone, most likely a young child, will walk around the table with a pitcher of warm water and an empty bowl. Hold your hands over the bowl and (s)he will pour water over your hands. Rub them together to get all the dirt off and air dry them before you eat.<\/li>\n<li>Although it is rude to refuse food or tea when offered, Malawians will understand if you refuse uncooked food. It is much more difficult to refuse food they have already prepared. Feel free to accept what is offered to you, while keeping in mind you probably have more than they do and you do not want to use their limited resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Personal Space<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Malawians tend to stand closer to one another than students do at Colby. This applies to standing in line, sitting on a bus, or walking down the street. You should always maintain space for your own comfort, but realize that people will probably stand and sit closer than you&#8217;re used to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;line-height: 26px\">Cell Phones<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is generally not considered rude to use or answer a cell phone during conversation or a meeting. Don&#8217;t be alarmed if you are interrupted for a ringing phone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a title=\"Getting Around Socially\" href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/getting-around-socially\/\">\u2190Back<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greetings are one of the most important aspects of culture in Malawi. There are many procedures and they differ depending on the situation, individuals present, context, and purpose of meeting. Don&#8217;t worry about offending anyone, just try to show respect &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/mannerisms-to-be-aware-of\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1841,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1841"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":660,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/354\/revisions\/660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/colbyinmalawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}