On Thursday morning we had to get up so early. We needed to be at the SIT center at 6:15 so that we could theoretically leave at 7. I got up at 5:15 to do some quick last minute packing (I did most of it Wednesday night) and then had a quick breakfast before saying a few hurried goodbyes. My dad drove me to the center because I have so much stuff with me. We didn’t actually end up leaving until about 7:30 (not a surprise at all). A little while into the drive, Candy (who came with us!) gave me and Ely an apple (we had seen her eating one before and commented on it) which was super exciting! We stopped around noon for a picnic and literally ate in the middle of a river. It was so good (of course, we had rice and chicken and pineapple, what else would you ever bring on a picnic?)!
We finally arrived at the Ankarifantsika national park right after sundown. It was super pretty. We were staying in tents so we had to set everything up. Somehow I ended up in a 3 person tent by myself the first night, but I have no idea how that actually happened, not that I’m complaining. I had a ton of space and wasn’t burning hot unlike literally everyone else.
On Friday morning we went on a walk through the park after breakfast. At first we saw some indigenous birds and plants, and then some lizards. Finally, we saw some nocturnal lemurs hiding in trees. They were really cute with huge eyes. Then we kept going on and at one point the guide stopped us and we looked and there were literally 3 lemurs just hanging out in a tree right there. We watched them for a while playing and we took a lot of pictures. They were so cute! After lunch (such amazing coconut curry chicken) we went and visited a turtle sanctuary. The guide went in and would pick up turtles to show us, and twice when he did that the turtle he had picked up peed a lot. It was actually sort of strange. Then we went to visit women who make things out of raffia. One woman did a demonstration for us and it was really cool. (The girl who lived with my host family last term actually did her ISP here and learned from these women how to make things out of raffia). Then we had the afternoon free so we just hung out and showered (it was so disgustingly hot).
Right before dinner was a night walk. We saw a few really tiny nocturnal lemurs, a bird, and a bunch of lizards and chameleons and whatnot. After dinner we had a special dessert! (We also have been having fresh mango with every meal and it is literally the best mango of my life. I have been in heaven!) Hanta bought us things to make smores!!! We roasted the marshmallows (which were funny colors – some were solid and some were twisted white, pink, and yellow) over a charcoal fire but they still tasted amazing. Then after dinner we sat around as a group and sang songs and then told scary stories. It was really fun. On Friday night Sophia decided to come into my tent because she thought it would be cooler and there was extra room, both of which were true, so I wasn’t alone.
On Saturday morning I got up around 6 (we needed to start putting away tents by 6:30) and when I went over to the bathrooms, I saw some people standing near a tree. There were lemurs right there! I went to get my camera and took a ton of pictures. There were 5 lemurs in total, 2 of which were at times literally only 6 or 7 feet away from us in a little tree eating leaves! Although I didn’t hold any, I do have a picture of me next to a lemur which is still pretty darn cool. After breakfast we were ready to get on the road! We stopped once to look at the biggest rice paddy area in western Madagascar, and another time to look at some signs talking about dinosaur fossil excavation (this was also snack time). Then we finally made it into Majunga! This town is super gorgeous. We drove past a huge baobob tree (Roland said that it is over 400 years old) and then made it to the guest house which we are using as a program center. It is literally on the water, although we can’t swim on that beach (it is right next to the port). We went on a quick walk down the road before lunch (we had amazing mango again!) and then I went to the pool with a few people. The pool is down the road and filled with sea water (which was sort of weird at first) but it was huge and felt amazing because we were so gross and sweaty after the car ride in this heat. We got a special rate of 8000 ar per person, instead of 10000, which is expensive for here, but honestly, it is only $4 and it felt so amazing, so I’m glad that I went.
We were all told to be back at the “new” SIT center by 4:30 because the families were going to start arriving shortly thereafter for our 5:00 meeting. We all hung out in 2 of the bedrooms (our center is a guest house and has 3 bedrooms with a total of 5 twin beds and a king size bed) waiting until they invited the families to come upstairs and had us stand in a line at the back of the room so that we could be paired. As each family came in, the student living with them was called forward and the family would give the student a lamba. I was one of the last people called and was met by my host dad, 2 of my host sisters, my host brother, and a girl who I think was my host brother’s girlfriend.
My parents have 4 kids in total: Joelle (24), Fabien (23), Stephanie (18), and Miangaly (9). Stephanie recently left to go to the university in Tana (which is my host mom was there on Wednesday) so I live with my parents and the 3 others. I share a room with Joelle, but I feel bad because I have a comfortable bed and she is sleeping on a foam pad on the ground.
After meeting the families, we all hung around at the SIT Center until Roland gave his little schpiel (like he did in Tana as well) and then it was time to go. We got all of my bags and went to find Joelle’s boyfriend, Zack, who was waiting for us in his car. We loaded up all my stuff and went to a pharmacy (poor Joelle isn’t feeling well and is taking 3 different types of medication at the moment). After that we went to the post office to wait for my host mom who was arriving on a taxi-brousse from Tana.
After she arrived, we drove around the center of town a little before heading home. When we got home we brought in all of my stuff and sat around for a while talking, and then I showered and when I came out Joelle was sleeping and everyone else was doing random things, so I did Sudoku for a while, thinking that dinner would follow shortly. Boy was I wrong! Yesterday was a weird schedule for the family so we didn’t actually end up sitting down to dinner until 10, which felt super late to me, but whatever, we finally ate which was good because I was hungry.
After dinner I went to bed and fell asleep pretty quickly, but I woke up fairly early on Sunday morning. I don’t know what time it actually was, but I would guess around 6 probably, although I didn’t actually get out of bed until 7:30ish because Joelle was still asleep and I wanted her to stay that way because of how bad she is feeling. Not a whole lot happened on Sunday morning. After breakfast Fabien went to church and I hung around and did a little Sudoku until Miangaly came out with a thing of rice to sort through for rocks and bad grains. I helped her do that, and then we went inside and peeled garlic (I showed her the easy way to do it by applying a little pressure with a knife) and then took the stems off of some strawberries.
Today is apparently my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary so they are treating it as a special day (at least according to them although we haven’t really done anything super out of the ordinary so who knows). Lunch was rice (of course) as well as cucumbers and onions in a vinaigrette as well as meat with veggies (peas, cauliflower [which I am really starting to like], and a little tomato). The only thing a little out of the ordinary was that they bought 2 bottles of soda, and even that isn’t super weird, so who knows.
The afternoon was pretty boring. Joelle was still sick so she laid on the bed in front of the tv the whole time while I read in our room. Around 4 or so she finally got up so I thought we maybe were going to do something, but then she showered, put on some real clothes, and got back in bed. I ended up watching Miangaly paint and then she went with me to go buy some water. When we got back Zack was there (which explains why Joelle had gotten up). The 2 of them tried to fix the 2 broken lights, but to no avail, so Soary (my host mom) is going to buy new lightbulbs today and then either Fabien (my host dad, yes the dad and brother have the same name) or Zack if he is around will put them in. I talked with them and my parents for a little while before the 2 of them left for the night. Dinner was leftovers from lunch, and I ate with my parents and Miangaly and then went to bed. This time I was sharing the room with Miangaly. Who knows who will be next? Both of them perhaps?
Monday - 10/17
This morning I got up at 5:45 because we had decided yesterday to leave at 6:30. We ended up leaving the house at 6:15 and got off the bus (well, the 2nd one) around 6:50. We went up to the center at 7 and were the first ones there. I am with the new professor, Olga, for both French and Malagasy. She is nice, but she only talks to us in Malagasy during Malagasy class which is intimidating and hard, although I know that it is really helpful and I am realizing that I can understand more than I originally thought. On Monday afternoon we were free after lunch until 4 so I went and got ice cream with some other students, and then walked around for a little while before going to a cyber café. Monday night I had dinner at home with my family and then went to bed (I was alone in the room?).
Tuesday – 10/18
Tuesday was a typical day at first. Language classes in the morning and then snack. After snack we went to visit a mosque. We were supposed to be meeting a guide there but he never showed up, but there were a few nice men there who invited us in and answered all of our questions, so it all worked out in the end. We again had the afternoon free so I hung out at the SIT center and did some homework and then went on a walk and shopped in a little artisan market and then went to Score, a supermarket (it is sort of like being in the US for a while). While there an Italian man came up to us and gave us his business card incase we are ever in Italy and need wine.
That night I went back on the taxi-be with 2 other students and we sat on the back bench, just the 3 of us. When dinner time came around my whole family was there and in good health, for the first time since I have been with this family. We had a good dinner with lots of nice conversation/random English songs that my sister and brother would start to sing in unison.
Wednesday Morning 10/19
This morning I had another ISP meeting with Roland before language classes. After the classes, we went to visit a doany, a Sakalava prayer site. The Sakalava prince of the Boen region of Madagascar met us there to talk with us which was cool.
After lunch Roland came in to share some sad news with us. Madame Jo, one of our Tana language teachers, who I had for Malagasy at the beginning, passed away yesterday from complications with hypertension. The entire room was silent besides the sounds of Hanta crying. It was a very sad moment to hear about because she was so nice and cared about us all. Hanta is going to return to Tana for the funeral, but for us; classes must continue so we are going to send along a letter of our condolences with her.
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