From Malawi to minus twenty

Tekst: Hannah Christin Lerfaldet. Oversatt av: Kjersti Litleskare

Early in January six Malawian music students arrived in Norway, three of whom will be living in Trondheim for the next six months. They have been picked out from around 60 applicants through the student exchange program MOVE to come to Norway to play music, learn about Norwegian culture and to teach Norwegians about their own Malawian culture.

Time to warm up

After just a few weeks in Norway the three Malawians have already begun noticing some of the differences between the Norwegian culture and their own.

– We have already seen that Norwegians can seem a little angry on the outside, said Clement.

The cold Norwegian stereotype is clearly not a myth.

– People on the bus are completely absorbed in their cell phones. It seems as if everyone would rather sit by themselves, said Gracious.

Clement has especially noticed how particular Norwegians are with time, in contrast to Malawi, where the concept of time is more laidback. One of the students’ goals is therefore to teach Norwegians to relax more and to get out of their comfort zones more often. Their plan is to achieve this through traditional African dance.

– We want to teach Norwegians to be happier, said Clement.

Building a career

The main reason behind their decision to come to Norway is to develop their musical skills, so that they one day can become music teachers. Phalyce, who is a member of a local girl’s band in Malawi called The Daughters Band, has a clear idea of how she wants to influence the music culture in Malawi.

– I want to motivate young people to focus more on music, and especially to inspire girls to become more confident in musical settings, she said.

The students’ work with the MOVE project gives them valuable working experience, making them good resources for the music center in Malawi. It could also give their own bands more recognition.

Busy musicians

Latinfestival, UKM in Trondheim and Workshop at Barnas Verdensdager and the World Cup in Granåsen are some of the events Clement, Phalyce and Gracious will be working with towards the summer. They will mainly be working with young adults, but also children and elders. Through these activities they hope to learn more about the many aspects of Norwegian society.

– I’m looking forward to learning about Norwegian culture and language, said Phalyce.

Musical opportunities

The musical environment in Norway has not experienced the kind of censorship that has existed in Malawi. During Malawian president Kamuzu Bandas rule from 1961 to 1994 there was strict music censorship in the country. In this period any music that did not praise the president, deviated from the current political ideology or was considered controversial was banned. However, after 1994 the musical landscape of Malawi has flourished.

– It has been an inspiring factor for the music, said Clement.

The MOVE project is a cooperation between Kulturenheten ved Festival- og arrangementskontoret and Music Crossroads Malawi, and it is the first purely cultural developmental project hosted by Fredskorpset Ung.