I spent most of my time near Zomba, a beautiful old colonial-style city that used to be Malawi's capital, and still houses the fine arts and humanities college of the University of Malawi. Zomba city lies at the foot of Zomba mountain, which makes it cooler and wetter than lower-lying districts.This is over the border in eastern Zambia, and is very typical of the rural landscape. Maize fields everywhere you look, a soccer field beside every school, and bicycles everywhere.