Day's Diary

March 15 , 2007 ~ The Internet Saga

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Today is March 15, the Ides of March, for Shakespeare fans. For Julius Caesar, it was a disaster. For me it has been a blessing. I finally got internet connection in my home. It is a long story, but I will try and condense it. Some things are better left unsaid.

As you may have read, I have been having difficulty getting an Internet connection in Zomba. Part of the problem is that I wanted a high-speed Internet connection because the phone lines are so unreliable, because I want to be able to send pictures which is slow and costly with dial-up service, and because I have been spoiled in the U.S., I’ll be honest. Before I left the US, I contacted all the internet providers in Malawi, telling them where I would be living and all three of them responded that they could provide high speed service in Zomba. It is available in Zomba, but on a very limited basis. Only one company really provides the service, and it has not been easy to deal with. In fact, it has not worked. I am sending this via dial-up and am grateful to have it!

After realizing that the fellow I was dealing with at the high speed server, Globe Internet, had taken my check and left the area, (check out the February 12 diary entry!) I had a phone conversation with a fellow from Globe who called me to get more details. He told me his name was Jeffery but didn’t give me his title or his last name. He just said that he would do what he could from his end. He would report it to the police and try to retrieve the money from the fellow. I said I would provide him with a copy of the cancelled check. On Tuesday I went to the bank to get a copy of the cancelled check, only to discover, to my delight and relief, that the check had not yet cleared the bank – the man hadn’t tried to cash it, yet – so I put a “Stop Payment” on the check and breathed a sigh of relief. God does protect the gullible and the foolish.

On Wednesday, February 15, (yes a month ago), Silas had to go to Blantyre for a meeting at TVM (TV Malawi), where he is chairman of the board. The Land Rover was still not working, so I offered to go with him in the Isuzu, with the idea of trying to do something about the Internet service. While he went to his meeting, Margaret and I went shopping (always great fun to do in “the city” when you live out in the bush, so to speak). After his meeting, Silas went with me to track down the offices and try to settle this matter. We found the two fellows we had met in Zomba, two Indian gentlemen who worked with the technical aspects of the Internet. One had come to my house to see if the connection were possible and had said he thought it was, when the money matter was cleared up. They did not look particularly happy to see us when we arrived late in the day on Wednesday, and they said that they could not tell us anything until we had spoken again to Jeffery. Silas insisted that they contact him so we could speak to him while we were there. They called him. He was in his office and would meet with us, so a fellow lead us to another building and up three flights of stairs to meet with Jeffery, Silas in the lead and me dutifully following behind. He was standing outside the office on the landing when we arrived. He had a startled look on his face as he asked if we were the ones from Zomba, and Silas said yes. They both laughed. Jeffery led us into his office where I was let in on the “joke.” Jeffery is the director of TVM as well as the managing director of Globe Internet. Silas is his boss at TVM. Neither knew that the other was involved in this, and I had no way of knowing who Jeffery was, since I didn’t have a last name or a title. Both Silas and I thought that the Jeffery we were to meet with was an accountant or legal person for the company, not the managing director, and certainly not someone who worked with Silas. With all of this, we thought that everything would be quickly settled. Jeffery assured us that it would be. He would send someone the next day to confirm everything. We came back to Zomba feeling elated and expectant.

We waited for the person to come from Globe – and waited and waited and waited – for two weeks. Silas emailed Jeffery and he responded, explaining that they were having “internal difficulties,” not something that builds confidence with a potential customer. In the meantime, I have been making dutiful trips to the internet café to “file reports” to all of you and to try and keep in touch with the rest of the world. This is a challenge because the internet café is popular, (sometimes I wait an hour to get a computer.) and undependable, (sometimes it is down for a day or two or three at a time – part of the Globe Internet system).

Finally last week, I had had it. My patience was exhausted. Silas had to go to Blantyre and I decided to go with him and track down all internet provider information. We started at Chancellor College, since they are just down the road and do provide internet service. That was a dead end. The director of their program is also the clerk of session at Zomba CCAP and he was honest enough with us to tell us that they were having significant problems and had suspended high speed service. He suggested Globe. We just laughed. On to Blantyre.

First we went to Africa-Online. They were helpful and encouraging and ready to sign me up, until they realized I meant in Zomba. The truth is that they don’t have service there, yet, but if I were willing to wait… I said no, but did ask about their dial-up service. I was getting desperate. From there we went to Malawi.net. They had told us in January that they would be offering service in Zomba in February. Well, they aren’t yet. The girl there remembered us and just smiled. No not yet, she said. She gave us the prices for dial-up, as well. We headed back to Zomba to consider the alternatives to high speed. This was all the time there was for that that week. I had Day of Spiritual Reflection and three meetings and preaching on Sunday, as well as classes to teach. The Internet would have to wait until Monday.

Monday I realized that the phone I had had installed was not set for dialling out. That took a special trip to the phone company to have them switch it over. You have to request that service. They don’t do it when they install the phone. I didn’t even want to know why that was as it is. I just wanted the phone switched on. Then I couldn’t reach Africa-online on the phone. The call wouldn’t go through and Silas couldn’t get them on his phone either. This was getting really frustrating. We had meetings Wednesday afternoon, so Silas suggested a trip to Blantyre today (Thursday) to get things settled. He felt that doing it in person would be the best and the fastest. I agreed, so after classes, we set off with great determination and my laptop in hand.

Africa-online was our first choice because of consumer reports, so we went there directly. The fellow who greeted us recognized us from last week. He was eager to be helpful. We explained what I wanted and he said he could help me immediately. He explained the service, took all my information, filled out the forms and even offered to print my check. He came back quickly with a receipt and then offered to configure my computer and be certain that everything was working well. I was stunned. After two and a half months, I had internet service in 15 minutes, and service with a smile. It is dial-up, but it is service. I could hardly wait to get home and get online. I felt like a kid on Christmas.

On the drive back to Zomba, I asked Silas to help me understand why everyone we had spoken to had said yes they could provide high speed internet service, when in fact, none of them could. I smiled and said, “It’s Malawian. We always say yes.” My question was why say it if you can’t do it. His response was that they never want to disappoint you, so they will always say yes. It doesn’t mean they can do what ever it is; it just means that they want to. More of the cultural differences! At this point I am thankful for the cultural lesson, and I am elated to have internet access in my very own home! No more internet café!

For your information and use, my email address is: mkayday@africa-online.net. I hope to hear from you, as you are led and I delight in being able to respond promptly. The saga is ended! Praise God!