Beginnings, Ends and Everything In Between!

Our last full week in Tana has come to an end, and as March approaches, we are close to entering the second “module” of our time here in Madagascar. I have never been this shocked to see time fly by so quickly, and one of my biggest struggles with adjustment is actually reconciling that I only have 2 more months left in this country. In order to better reflect on my experience, I have compiled a semi-serious list of the things I have learned or observed while in Tana:

1)      During our first week in Madagascar, some of my friends dubbed the gaping holes in the sidewalk “Vazah Traps”. As you walk along the sidewalk, there will all of the sudden be a massive human sized hole that if you aren’t careful, you will plummet into and crush your legs. I have recently learned that vazah traps are the least of my worries. I, the special Vazah that I am, can’t even manage the normal parts of the road. Just yesterday, I stepped wrong on a totally flat road and almost plummeted head first onto the ground, to the amusement of several street vendors and two of my classmates. New goal of this trip: learn how to walk.

2)      Learning to speak two languages at the same time makes your English worse, which is not necessarily an indicator that you are progressing in the other languages. When I arrived in Madagascar, I felt pretty confident in my ability to communicate in my first language. Now I keep saying things like “I have fear” or “the weather does hot”. Therefore, I am tacking “anglais” onto the end of “miteny Malagasy sy Frantsay kely aho” (I speak only a little Malagasy and French).

3)      I should invest in some sort of inter-tube as a mode of transport. Living in the flat part of Tana means that when it rains, all of the water in the city flows down from the petite mountains, and into my alleyway. I have come home thrice in the past week to a fairly significant flood that I was forced to traverse in utter darkness. And, quite frankly, I don’t want to know what is in that water.

4)      Spiders are actually capable of being a lot larger than I first imagined. Enough said.

5)      Along the same lines, cockroaches tend to be bigger and badder at night. Last night I used to facilities at approximately 3am, and was joined by three rather colossal critters that seemed to observe me with mild interest as they scurried around the bathroom floor and sink. Note to self, a few drinks out on the weekend works not only as a social lubricant, but also as an insect-fear deterrent. Never in my life have I willingly sat a foot away from a creature that would survive the world apocalypse.

6)      Mosquito nets really only work if you don’t seal mosquitos in with you at night. Unfortunately, you are just as likely if not more so to be bitten if you confine yourself in a small space with one or more little bitters. Also, wearing repellent on your arms and legs does not prevent them from biting you through your clothes, or going straight for your neck.

All silliness aside, I am pretty bummed to be leaving Tana, which is surprising given that I usually don’t enjoy capital cities as much as other regions. I am actually considering coming back here for my independent study project, and was happy today when my host family told me they want me to live with them for the last month of the program instead of me renting a room or heading to another part of the country. Thankfully my broken French hasn’t impeded my ability to laugh or be laughed at, which makes for more pleasant company. We all went to the zoo this afternoon and had a great time looking at the lemurs and crocodiles (one of which consumed an employee’s hand last week during feeding time). All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

On a completely different note, there will be a brief hiatus in my blogging this upcoming week, as I am headed out on our groups “village stay.” Basically, each member of our group is placed in a different village that surrounds a town called Tsiromandidy, and we are on our own for 6 days to cope with no electricity, running water, and most likely a “sleeping mat that may or may not be infested with fleas,” as our director Roland described. I am slightly apprehensive the prospect of critters attacking me, but other than that I am quite excited to step out of my comfort zone and live life mora, mora for a few days. We will have no class time for the week, and our only assignment is to observe and understand a different way of life. Most interestingly, our village host families most likely do not speak any French, which means that communication is going to be significantly more challenging than what I am used to. I am hoping that the smattering of Malagasy that I have learned will be enough to convey the basics, but it will certainly be an experience to grow from!

As always, I send my love and best wishes to everyone at home and abroad and will update post-village! Now it’s le temp pour sakafo!

Mora, Mora

While bobbing up and down in the Indian Ocean at midnight this past Thursday, I decided that I can’t actually imagine a better place to study and explore than Madagascar. My experience here has been absolutely incredible, and my group’s 5 day excursion this past week just further convinced me that I made the right decision in packing my bags and heading to the absolute furthest point away from my home in California.

Our excursion began on Tuesday with a 5 hour drive to a small town called Moramonga, where we had a yummy lunch at a restaurant called “Coq d’Or” (if you speak French, you understand why I snicker) followed by a visit to the Musee de la Grendarmerie, where we saw lots of cannons and random confiscated objects including strange love potions deemed dangerous by the police and a picture of a man who weighed 900 pounds. Following Moramonga, we were supposed to head to Andasibe National Park, but a recent cyclone caused the park to temporarily close and we were forced to modify our schedule and head straight to the coastal town of Vatomandry, a further 4 hours of driving. Suffice it to say, I felt car sick for one of the very few times in all my life as we wound our way up and down steep mountain roads to reach our destination, which wasn’t helped by my overeager classmates love of ludicrous riddles with impossibly difficult and implausible answers.

 When we finally reached Vatomandry, our first introduction was a stunning view of the Indian Ocean. Our giant Vazsha Van (“van of foreign white people”) literally drove us onto the beach where we piled out and discovered that we would be staying in bungalows that were literally on the sand. The massive beach was almost completely deserted except for a few locals fishing, and we were all out of our minds with excitement about spending 3 days hanging out and having class in such as incredible location.

Vatomandry is stunningly beautiful, but also so humid at times it feels like there is no air. This, coupled with the distraction of the beach, made it difficult to want to have lessons, but anticipating this, our lovely SIT staff scheduled times for observation and exploration instead of our usual lectures and discussions. We were able to visit the market and buy various trinkets, and also spend a lot of time relaxing and reading in the sun. One of the best parts about Vatomandry from a tourist perspective is that it truly has that feeling of being undiscovered. Until a year or two ago, the roads from Tana to that part of the coast were almost impassible, and therefore little to no tourist infrastructure, especially for international visitors, exists. This is great if you enjoy beach spots that aren’t packed with people (in this case any people), but it is also hard on the local people who want to encourage visitors to take an interest in the region and contribute to their seemingly stagnant economy. Our group paid a visit to the mayor’s office, and the official we spoke with encouraged us to spread the word about Vatomandry and share our experience with others who may want to visit. So here it is, if you ever come to Madagascar, add Vatomandry to your list!

On Friday morning, we all packed our bags again and hopped in the Vazsha Van to head to the now open Andasibe National Park. Because of the restructuring of our itinerary, we were actually lucky enough to arrive in Andasibe Village in time to explore the surrounding area and go for a hike before our official tour of the park on Saturday. Andasibe is at a fairly high elevation, and we all felt relief from the intense sun and actually felt a bit cold for the first time since arriving in Madagascar. We stayed right in the heart of the village, which allowed us to interact a bit more with the local people who live adjacent to the park. Emma, Cassandra, and I met a group of about 20 children who essentially mobbed us after we watched their soccer game demanding to know who we were, where we came from, and if we had cell phone numbers to give them. They were very rambunctious and fun to talk to, and it was one of those times that I wish my Malagasy extended beyond the ability to say “hello, how many teeth does your cat have?”

After exploring the village area, our program director Rolland hired two guides to lead us on a night walk though the public part of the park. Using headlight lamps and our skills of stealth, we spotted a few mouse lemurs high up in the trees jumping around. Out of the 23 lemur species in the park, only 6 are active during the daytime so we were all happy that we got to see some of the other varieties and learn a bit about them.

The next morning, we left bright and early to go on a 3 hour lemur trek through the protected part of the rainforest where our wonderful guides led us off the path and deep into the jungle to locate the Indiri lemur, the largest lemur in existence, sleeping in trees. I spent at least part of the trek sliding down muddy hills in my sneakers because my feet were so covered in mosquito bites that I couldn’t handle my hiking shoes. Nevertheless, my then dirt covered butt was worth it to see the lemurs in their natural habitat, calling out to each other in an eerie tone that carries several hundred feet into the jungle. It was probably the first time that I can recall being in an actual rainforest, and it was really incredible, giant spiders and all.

The only minor glitch this past week besides excessive utilization of my feet by mosquitoes as a buffet, was the announcement by ex-president Ravalomanana, currently in exile in South Africa, that he was planning on returning to Antananarivo on Saturday. As my pacifist director put it, that would be “disruptive”. Rolland, by the way, would also most likely refer to his pants as being on fire as “disruptive”. For those who don’t know, the ex-president was ousted in 2009 for excessive corruption and was replaced by the current president, DJ Andry (the young president was formerly a DJ in Tana before becoming mayor and then president). There is a large divide in opinion over who has the right to rule, both here and internationally. However, my host father informed me upon my return to Tana that the South African government denied Ravolomanana access to the airport and prevented his return, which for now has left all calm here in the city. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that things stay calm, even though I must say it is fascinating to see political upheaval in action!

This next week our group will once again be stationed in Tana, before we head out on our 2 week stay in a rural village in the highlands. I wish everyone luck at home and abroad, and will keep updating! Check facebook for photos if you are interested!

Tsy Vazah Aho!

Given that my last post was such a dense jumble of thoughts, I thought I would keep this simple by offering a string of questionably relevant ideas and commentary on my recent adventures:

1) For the past few days we have consistently lost a member of our group to some sort of mysterious condition with unknown symptoms (so far it could be a cold, stomach or flu sickness). Our program director likes to cheerfully remind us that we will certainly all be ill soon enough, and that we shouldn’t panic when we inevitably find ourselves incapacitated. Every time he reminds us of this fact we all start to experience phantom stomach pains caused by an onslaught of paranoia. Quite frankly we are dropping like flies.

2) I am utterly incapable of walking like a normal person up stairs. In order to most easily describe my journey to our classroom in a neighborhood called Isorak, you have to picture my house at the bottom of a very large hill (or more fittingly, a petite mountain) and our classroom on the summit. The two are connected by a rather steep combination of alleyways, streets and staircases that are a bit strenuous, especially in Tana’s humid weather. Every morning, I walk past the seemingly endless rows of Malagasy people who stare at me, sometimes calling out “Bonjour Vazah!” (“hello white person!”) until I reach a massive set of stairs that bring me up several hundred feet in elevation to the level of my class. Unfortunately, I have tripped and fallen on these stairs every single day since I moved in with my family. Today, I tripped twice. The question remains as to whether I am exceedingly challenged, or the stairs are exceedingly uneven.

3) Yesterday, while waiting outside of a pharmacie with a friend, we were approached by a tiny blonde woman who exclaimed “I never hear that accent! Are you from the United States?!” As it turns out, the women who approached us is an SIT alum who did the exact same program that I am in now and who received a Fullbright scholarship after graduating college. Apparently, Madagascar is so obscure that people from the US don’t come here, hence her surprise. Instead, I would like to introduce you to the people who do come here: the “Adventure French”. The Adventure French is the most commonly found foreigner in Tana, usually wearing some rather chic but grizzled looking clothes, and accompanied by a young Malagasy women. They are usually middle aged men and can generally be spotted either smoking a cigarette at a fancy café or riding a moped at unnecessarily high speeds.

4) Roughly half of my program (okay, I exaggerate) is made up of learning complicated and occasionally embarrassing Malagasy dances. At least once a week, this week two days in a row, well known music groups come to perform for us and teach us how to dance. Yesterday, the fiercest 4’ 10” woman I have ever met came and told us Malagasy fairytales, followed by a dance lesson where she took a lot of joy in going around the room and telling each of us what we were doing wrong. Apparently, I am slightly arrhythmic and am incapable of moving my hands the correct way. Today, a Sakalava dance group from the north came and led us in more dance where at one point I was pulled into the middle of a circle as one of the dancers wildly shimmed in front of me. It was enough to make me blush to say the least.

5) I am finally going to get to see a real, live lemur! Starting Tuesday, our whole group is packing our bags and heading to Andsibe National Park followed by the coastal town of Vatromandry. Our 4 day trip includes a guided tour of the park where we will get to visit lemurs and some other exciting critters, before we take off to enjoy having class near the beach for a few days. The trip will be a nice break from the urbanity of Tana, and it just reminds me how lucky I am to be participating in a program that allows me to experience this country in such a comprehensive and meaningful way!

To wrap up, my trip feels like it is going so fast, and I know that before I know it I am going to be wrapping up my research project and heading home. While walking to lunch today, I was talking to friends about how crazy it is that this is school. Our courses are by no means easy, especially because so much is conducted in French, but this really has made Madagascar an even more exciting destination. We don’t have textbooks because when we have a question about the Malagasy, we just ask them. A standard program, in my opinion, just wouldn’t have worked in a place like this. There is no way to describe how impactful experiences are to understanding, but I feel like in recognizing that, I also have to recognize that learning in this manner is at the height of what it means to be privileged. Especially in countries that struggle like Madagascar does, it becomes even clearer that I am privileged in ways that the majority of people in the world don’t even imagine. I don’t think anyone has the answer to what the implications of that reality are at this point, but out of everything here I think that is what challenges me most.

As always, I wish everyone at home and abroad well, and must now say Valoma! 

Manohona!!!

I couldn’t think of a non-clichéd way to open my blog entry (I was looking for something about being terrible at blogging regularly, and not being able to fit everything into one entry), so instead I am just going to get right into it. Madagascar is beautiful. Not in an exotic, developing country kind of way (although no doubt that is also applicable), but in a ohmygoodness I am surrounded by endless green mountains and valleys kind of way. Although I have seen only the slightest sliver of this humongous island, I really can’t emphasize how appreciative I am to be in such an incredible place. I think it’s safe to say that the 72 plus hours I spent traveling just to get here was well worth it, and I have zero doubt that this is going to be an incredible semester. 

Although there is no way I can possibly fit tens days of experiences into a page, I can summarize a few of the things I have been lucky enough to do and see. A five day orientation was the first step of the program, and that included among other things getting to meet the other 16 participants of my trip. I am happy to say (especially since some of them are blog stalkers) that we have a great group of adventurous 20 somethings, and that we all get along quite well and have a lot in common. Our first days together were filled with not only an onslaught of workshops that introduced us to Malagasy culture, language and customs, but that also to our first experience of “drop offs” which are literally being dropped off somewhere and told to find our way back. This may sound unnecessary, but given the intensity (in every way possible way) of Tana, the capital of Madagascar and our program base, it ended up being a fun and helpful way to practice our French and Malagasy. During orientation we were also taken to the King’s palace outside of Tana, a UNESCO world heritage site, which sits on a massive fortified “mountain” outside of the city. I was especially amused to see a tourist visiting from China straddle the sacred palace trees for a spectacular Kodak moment. In addition to the palace visit, a Malagasy music and dance group performed the Hiro Gasy, a traditional dance, for us and then taught us a simple dance at the end.

After finishing our jammed packed orientation, our group finally headed to Tana to see our classroom and meet our host families for the first leg of the program. Tana has so far been completely different than I was expecting, in the best way possible. One of my biggest concerns coming into the program was that so much time is spent in the capital, and although I enjoyed Kampala when I was in Uganda, I don’t know that I would necessarily choose to spend an extensive period of time there. However, Tana is really unlike any city I have been to. It is built on a series of hills, all of which are connected by crooked and winding staircases. The architecture is heavily French influenced, and many of the buildings are brightly colored with large plantation type shutters, making it one of the more visually stunning capitals, particularly for a country with such a high poverty level, that I have been to. Many of the streets, especially in the neighborhood where I go to school, are narrow with charming cobblestones, although sometimes this adds to the peril of making it safely to your destination. Our program coordinator really wasn’t kidding when he warned us to be wary of gaping holes in the sidewalks, and that getting places is really much more akin to an obstacle course than a leisurely stroll.  Regardless, I am very impressed by this city, and feel comfortable here.

Immediately after arriving in Tana, we not only had to quickly adjust to the urban sprawl, but also to our new host families, most of whom speak no English. Although it has been difficult, our combination of Malagasy, French, charades and an occasion an English phrase or two seems to be enough to get by at home. I have a wonderful host family with the 4 sisters I always wanted (just kidding Brando), who have been very kind and welcoming to me. My host father is especially amusing and tells me about his job as the Police Commissioner of the Drug Trafficking unit in Tana, as well as helps me out with some interesting new Malagasy words. Yesterday, I woke up to him and my host sister playing Tracy Chapman on the electric guitar, and it felt like the weekend was getting off to a good start. Today, it was an Eric Clapton concert. The only real trouble I have run into is facing my three arch enemies- spiders, cockroaches and mice, all three of whom seem to live in my room and enjoy tormenting me. In a faceoff with a mouse yesterday evening, my host sister reminded me that Tom from Tom and Jerry is a very nice mouse and that I should think good things about this one too. So, here’s to positive thinking!

Thankfully, SIT is excellent for people like myself who need to constantly be doing new things, and there are many new things to come. The program is “experience based” which essentially means that despite our permanent classroom in Tana, we are constantly on the move. In a week from Tuesday we are headed on a four day excursion (I believe to the west) followed shortly after by a 5 day “village stay” in the East and eventually a 2 week homestay on the north coast. Because our program is small, our classes come with us, which means that almost everything we do is directly related to our program topic of National Identity and Social Change. All of this preparation is meant to ready us for the final month of our program where we are turned loose with a stipend to complete a field study project on literally anything that interests us that is still relevant (i.e. not researching sea turtles). I am getting excited to work on my project, whatever it may be, and am all around very enthusiastic about the way everything is going.

Although there is much more to say, I shall have to save it for the days to come. The Malagasy like to wake and sleep with the rising and setting of the sun and it is now well past bedtime for everyone in my house, despite the fact that it’s only 9:30pm. I wish everyone luck at home and abroad and send my love! Valoma!

P.S. check facebook for a few photos!!!!