It is official. I have been in Madagascar for an entire month. And yet it seems like just yesterday that I was sitting at home, watching Wallace and Gromit with my brother for the 123,210th time. Even though I have been so far away from the people I love for a month, I feel as though you all have been right here beside me the entire time. And I love knowing that I have such an amazing group of people back home thinking about me just as much.
So, anyways, enough with the sappy stuff...
The thurday after our lovely stay with the lemurs, we began studying ethnobotany. This topic mainly covers every way in which the Malagasy people use plants in their daily lives (from medicinal plants to weaving mats and baskets from reeds). After a short lecture, our group travelled to a little village called Mandromondromoto, which stood at the base of the mountains beside Fort Dauphin.
**It is this aspect of studying abroad that I think I enjoy the most. Not only do we learn in a classroom setting, but we also go out into the "field"--if you can call it that--and actually see first hand the things we discuss during lecture.
In Mandromondromoto, we talked with an association of women about their "mat weaving enterprise." Basically, the local mining company, QMM, has helped these women to set up an organization to weave mats, baskets, etc. that they can sell in the market in Fort Dauphin. The association is composed entirely of women from this village, and their craftwork allows them to make a couple of extra dollars throughout the year. We learned the intricate process of gathering the reeds, drying them (and sometimes dying them), and the assembly of the final product.
Afterwards, we walked a little farther into the village to speak with the village's traditional healer. This was one of the most interesting interviews we have had so far. We learned, through a short interview, that the healer learned all of his healing practices through spirits that come to him in his dreams. These spirits tell him what medicinal plants to use, when to perform specific healing rituals, etc. Here are some things that I learned from him:
1) He uses a certain type of seed to identify a person's illness. During the interview, he laid them out in a strategic manner, and proceeded to tell us what each row of seeds signified.
2) He believes that there is a "natural sickness" which can be cured at the hospital. Otherwise, maladies that are "placed" on an individual (perhaps by a curse, demon, or spirit) must be treated traditionally through his practices. (But he did state that he could cure the natural sicknesses as well).
3) The three most prominent illnesses that he treats include 1. mental sickness, 2. seizures and epilepsy, and 3. paralysis (and before treatment, the patient must pay 40,000 ariary--roughly equivalent to $20--and after he is healed, he must give the healer a zebu)
4) Illnesses that are the hardest for him to treat: 1. mental sickness, 2. paralysis, 3. Amboamainty (an STD of sorts--probably herpes).
5) Pregnent women must rub the blood of a black chicken on her stomach to protect her unborn child.
I was so intrigued by the fact that these practices were in no way a joke to the people living in the village. This healer was well respected, and some people had travelled across the country to seek his healing powers. It is interesting to think of how his practices would be received in the states. I plan on independently researching traditional medicine and healers more in the coming weeks.
Friday was mainly a laid back day at Libanona. We had 4 lectures in the morning before lunch, but the main topic of discussion was our upcoming stay in a rural village of southwestern Madagascar. It has been stated by numerous individuals that this village homestay is one of the most challenging parts of the entire semester. Here is a little overview of what is to be expected:
We leave Fort Dauphin Sunday morning for our 9 hour bus ride to Faux Cap, a commune of villages in the southwest. We will spend the night in Faux Cap, and on Monday, we will be "picked up" by our village families. I am staying in the small village of Anjahamboanio, which is about 3km north of Faux Cap. We are split up into groups of two, and I will be sharing my village stay with a girl named Katherine. Two other Malagasy students will join us during the day to facilitate the Malagasy language barrier (although I know our time will mainly consist of a lot of awkward hand motions). Katherine and I will be spending four days and four nights in this village, where we will be assisting in the daily life of the villagers--cultivating the crops, fetching water, killing chickens, etc.
**Most of these villagers have never before seen a white foreigner. Therefore, we will be stared at. A LOT.
I can't lie. I am apprehensive about this rural homestay. It will be difficult to spend four days with people who don't speak my language, with no running water, and where the temperature gets into the hundreds every day. But, it will be an experience that I will NEVER forget, I'm sure. I am looking forward to making the crazy memories! At the end of the stay, we will be dancing (yes dancing) all the way back to Faux Cap for the final feast. Our program, SIT, is going to sacrifice a zebu to show our appreciation for the village homestay. Fun Fun Fun!
**The rural malagasy people regard a lot of things as fady (taboo). Ex: The eastern side of the village is sacred (ie. there is no using the bathroom on the eastern side...too bad I don't have a compass!). I am most nervous about doing something taboo. Because then I will have to pay the villagers with a zebu. I am not joking one bit.
Random Side Note # 1: As I sit here in the internet café, a stike is going on outside. A large procession of Malagasy people are walking down the street in protest of the political problems in the country. The president and the mayor of Tana are still unable to work anything out, and I hope that this situation does not interfere with our upcoming travel plans to Tulear (where we do our marine sciences unit!) and Tana.
Random Side Note #2: Last night was my first experience of being sick in a foreign country. I would have to say that it was my worst experience here so far. I must have eaten something that did not agree with my stomach. I will not go into detail, but just know that I am feeling much better this morning. Oh the benefits of having a doctor for a homestay mother!
So, with all of that being said, I will not be able to check the internet for the next week or so. But, I'm sure I will return with some pretty amazing tails of village life in Madagascar.
until then,
erin elizabeth
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
walking in a lemur wonderland
I am not on regular time here in Madagascar. The time passes before I have the ability to process what is happening around me; and before I know it, I am sitting back in the little cyber café near my house trying to remember every little detail of my past week. It is quite a difficult task, I must say.
This past week has been mind-blowing. I know you are all getting tired of my constant explinations of extreme excitement, but each week just seems to get better and better. So, you will just have to deal with it ;).
Saturday morning marked the beginning of our Lemur Ecology study--one of the coolest "courses" we have had here in Madagascar--not that I can really compare what I am doing here to any classes I have had in the states. In the states I would sit in class and hear about the people doing the studies. Here I actually get to do them.
We left Fort Dauphin around 7:30 am, and we spent most of the day traversing the extremely bumpy roads of Madagascar. About halfway through the trip, we stopped off in a little village called Ranomainty ("black water" in english) to see some rare aloe plants and to discuss the effects of a Japanese NGO project in the area. We arrived in Ifotaka (our destination) in the late afternoon--hot, tired, and dirty (which didn't change the entire span of our stay). Ifotaka is a town located in the Antandroy region of southern Madagascar...this is close to where I will be living for my village stay next week!
**Side note: The Antandroy region is well known for it's extremely hot weather, dusty terrain, and spiny forests. Temperatures got up to about 41°C during the middle of the day. I have never been so hot in my life. The terrian is mainly sandy, dusty dirt and rocks. I stayed covered in a layer of dust the entire trip. Yet even though I was extremely dusty, dirty, and hot for the majority of the stay, it was completely worth it to be able to study the lemurs in their natural habitat!
The next morning, we drove down to a smaller village (Zanavo) just outside of Ifotaka, where we actually performed our studies. Our tents were pitched under a canopy of Euphorbia trees, which provided a lovely source of shade for us during our stay. We spent two days in Zanavo, performing three studies of Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi, more commonly known as a Sifaka lemur. These guys life in the Didieraceae trees of the spiny forest.
**Side note #2: The weren't kidding when they decided to call the forests in Southwest Madagascar "spiny." Almost each and every species of plant growing in these forests are covered in spines. It was super hard to walk through the forest without getting pricked, poked, and stabbed by hundreds of sharp-pointed endemic flora. I was actually able to make it out with only one large cut on my leg!
Through three different experiments, we studied the population density, habitat, and behavior of these crazy little creatures. My favorite of the three was the lemur behavior study--for approximately two hours in the early morning, we sat around in the forest and observed the lemurs in their habitat, taking note of their actions every five minutes. While it seems like a simple task, studing lemurs in the wild is actually quite difficult. We spent most of our time actually walking through the spiny forest trying to locate the sneaky little guys. Overall, I think we walked around in the forest for about 7 hours total. It was amazing :).
Our last night in Zanavo, a couple of us went on a night walk to spot tiny little mouse lemurs. They are the smallest type of lemurs alive, and they are nocturnal. And adorable.
On our last day, we voyaged to Berenty to see even more lemurs!! For those of you who didn't already know, Berenty is a private reserve owned by a french family, the DeHaulmes, for the past two generations. Most behavioral research that has been done on lemurs has taken place in Berenty because the lemurs are habituated to humans and it is much easier to conduct a behavioral study on lemurs that do not run away from you! And the most exciting part: I am most likely going to do a behavioral study on the Ring-Tailed lemurs and Sifakas at Berenty for my ISP!! Oh man, my insides got all tingly walking through Berenty with the lemurs. In no way can I exibit my excitement through this blog.
By the time we returned home, I was in desperate need of a shower. Seriously. I had bathed a couple of times in the Mandrare river, but I still had layers of dust caked to my body. The shower I took when I got back to my house was the most amazing shower I have taken here in Madagascar. It was cold. And I loved it.
It was also great returning home to my homestay family. They were all really excited to see me when I got back home! The whole family rushed out to see me, and it was really nice to feel like I was back home (a little bit). It was really amazing that I felt like I was returning home, even though I have only been calling that house, this town, this coutry my home for a couple of weeks.
So, I do not have enough time to finish, but I will finish my post either tomorrow or Saturday. But, I will leave you with one last comment:
I have received a ton of mail in the past two days: two letters, a card, two picture postcards, and a package. I cannot express how happy it has made me to read the letters from friends and family back home. You guys rock. I just want you to know that. Keep it up ;)
erin elizabeth
This past week has been mind-blowing. I know you are all getting tired of my constant explinations of extreme excitement, but each week just seems to get better and better. So, you will just have to deal with it ;).
Saturday morning marked the beginning of our Lemur Ecology study--one of the coolest "courses" we have had here in Madagascar--not that I can really compare what I am doing here to any classes I have had in the states. In the states I would sit in class and hear about the people doing the studies. Here I actually get to do them.
We left Fort Dauphin around 7:30 am, and we spent most of the day traversing the extremely bumpy roads of Madagascar. About halfway through the trip, we stopped off in a little village called Ranomainty ("black water" in english) to see some rare aloe plants and to discuss the effects of a Japanese NGO project in the area. We arrived in Ifotaka (our destination) in the late afternoon--hot, tired, and dirty (which didn't change the entire span of our stay). Ifotaka is a town located in the Antandroy region of southern Madagascar...this is close to where I will be living for my village stay next week!
**Side note: The Antandroy region is well known for it's extremely hot weather, dusty terrain, and spiny forests. Temperatures got up to about 41°C during the middle of the day. I have never been so hot in my life. The terrian is mainly sandy, dusty dirt and rocks. I stayed covered in a layer of dust the entire trip. Yet even though I was extremely dusty, dirty, and hot for the majority of the stay, it was completely worth it to be able to study the lemurs in their natural habitat!
The next morning, we drove down to a smaller village (Zanavo) just outside of Ifotaka, where we actually performed our studies. Our tents were pitched under a canopy of Euphorbia trees, which provided a lovely source of shade for us during our stay. We spent two days in Zanavo, performing three studies of Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi, more commonly known as a Sifaka lemur. These guys life in the Didieraceae trees of the spiny forest.
**Side note #2: The weren't kidding when they decided to call the forests in Southwest Madagascar "spiny." Almost each and every species of plant growing in these forests are covered in spines. It was super hard to walk through the forest without getting pricked, poked, and stabbed by hundreds of sharp-pointed endemic flora. I was actually able to make it out with only one large cut on my leg!
Through three different experiments, we studied the population density, habitat, and behavior of these crazy little creatures. My favorite of the three was the lemur behavior study--for approximately two hours in the early morning, we sat around in the forest and observed the lemurs in their habitat, taking note of their actions every five minutes. While it seems like a simple task, studing lemurs in the wild is actually quite difficult. We spent most of our time actually walking through the spiny forest trying to locate the sneaky little guys. Overall, I think we walked around in the forest for about 7 hours total. It was amazing :).
Our last night in Zanavo, a couple of us went on a night walk to spot tiny little mouse lemurs. They are the smallest type of lemurs alive, and they are nocturnal. And adorable.
On our last day, we voyaged to Berenty to see even more lemurs!! For those of you who didn't already know, Berenty is a private reserve owned by a french family, the DeHaulmes, for the past two generations. Most behavioral research that has been done on lemurs has taken place in Berenty because the lemurs are habituated to humans and it is much easier to conduct a behavioral study on lemurs that do not run away from you! And the most exciting part: I am most likely going to do a behavioral study on the Ring-Tailed lemurs and Sifakas at Berenty for my ISP!! Oh man, my insides got all tingly walking through Berenty with the lemurs. In no way can I exibit my excitement through this blog.
By the time we returned home, I was in desperate need of a shower. Seriously. I had bathed a couple of times in the Mandrare river, but I still had layers of dust caked to my body. The shower I took when I got back to my house was the most amazing shower I have taken here in Madagascar. It was cold. And I loved it.
It was also great returning home to my homestay family. They were all really excited to see me when I got back home! The whole family rushed out to see me, and it was really nice to feel like I was back home (a little bit). It was really amazing that I felt like I was returning home, even though I have only been calling that house, this town, this coutry my home for a couple of weeks.
So, I do not have enough time to finish, but I will finish my post either tomorrow or Saturday. But, I will leave you with one last comment:
I have received a ton of mail in the past two days: two letters, a card, two picture postcards, and a package. I cannot express how happy it has made me to read the letters from friends and family back home. You guys rock. I just want you to know that. Keep it up ;)
erin elizabeth
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Weeks Fly By
It took me until today to realize that it has almost been a week since I have submitted a post. The schedule is getting so busy here, and it has been hard trying to find any free time at all. So, just for the record, I will be posting as often as I can, even if it isn't a lot.
So here begins the account of my past week...so much has happened!!
After I left you last Saturday, I headed out to Libanona and actually had the most lovely, relaxing day alone. It is almost impossible to get any free time here in Fort Dauphin, and I cherish every moment I can find. I spent most of the afternoon, sitting in a Sky chair on the peninsula of Libanona which overlooks the Indian Ocean. I have started a book entitled "A Walk in the Woods" about a man who hiked the Appalacian trail (a pretty good, easy read...nice for a lazy Saturday). After a couple of hours of snoozing and reading under the pine trees (which I will have you know are not endemic to the island, but provide completely amazing shade), I joined Shoshi and Nick on the beach, where we talked with an Australian (not from Victoria, thank goodness) who is a volunteer for the NGO Azafady (of which I have previously referred). There was a lovely sunset, and we spent most of the evening having random discussions about cultural immersion, the issues with the Malagasy government, and issues of our own.
Monday was a relatively normal (if I can use the word normal here) day. Class was quite long, lasting from 8am until around 5ish.
Tuesday morning, we left Fort Dauphin for our first excursion--a trip to Andohahela National Park. The park is divided into three existing parcels: Parcel 1 (Rainforest), Parcel 2 (Transitional Forest), and Parcel 3 (Dry, Spiny Forest). We travelled to Parcel 2, where we studied the surrounding flora. The Malagasy CEL (centre d'écologie à Libanona) students joined us on our trip! We split up half and half among the vehicles, and I ended up riding with a Malagasy student named Alden. He was a little shy, but we ended up talking for a bit. After a couple of hours of bouncing around in an SUV of sorts, we arrived at our camp. Later in the afternoon, we were split up into groups (again half Malagasy, half SIT) and voyaged into the transitional forest to survey the surrounding vegetation. We were to mark off a 10x10 meter area and basically do an inventory of the flora in our space--identify species type, how many, what size, etc. Long story short, I ran back and forth in a 100 square meter parcel identifing awesome endemic trees, shrubs, and vines. It was really great (and at first difficult) identifying trees and shrubs that have adapted to live in a transitional climate in Madagascar. One species that we identified was known as the Vazaha tree (foreigner tree) because the trunk was white and it's bark peeled off like sunburnt skin (and of course, I was standing there with my peeling sunburn as I was finding out this tid-bit of information).
The evening at Andohahela was lovely, and I got to used my amazing new tent for the very first time. The weather was nice (hot but not rainy), and so I went to sleep watching the stars. The stars here are incredibly awesome. I actually was able to see the milky way and Orien's belt (or Arthur's arrow ;), except it was all upside down!
The next morning, we went on an "eco-tour" of the Parcel and discussed more of the flora and fauna--don't worry, I won't bore you non-nerdy people with more tree talk. At the end of the hike, we went swimming in an awesome natural pool with a large waterfall. It was so hot, and a nice dip in the water was quite refreshing. Although, I was a little worried about the possiblity of parasites.
The next day, back at Libanona, we had to give a presentation of our findings at Andohahela. In french. I must say, it was a little rough, but lunch made it all better! We had spaghetti with red sauce containing squash and zucchini. I have never in my life been so excited about pasta. It was so amazing to eat something other than rice for once!!
After class, a bunch of the SIT students and CEL students met up at a bar for drinks and mingling. If you saw this bar anywhere in the states, it would in no way have met building code. The whole back of the building was non-existant, but look out over the beach and the Indian Ocean. It was so awesome to be sharing a beer with the Malagasy students, looking out over the bright blue sea. It was also really great to spend some time with the students out of class, talking to them about their daily lives. Most of the students have only a year or two left of school. Some of them are already married. It is highly common for people to get married at a young age here in Madagascar. One of the students that I talked to had been married for two years, and her husband works here, in Fort Dauphin, catching lobster. She had to be about 21 years old. It is kind of crazy.
Today has been chill and lovely. We were lectured on Lemur Ecology this morning, had Malagasy class, and were done around 11am. A bunch of us walked down to the beach and ate lunch at a cute little tropical restaurant right on the sand (where I again ate spaghetti and veggies....yum yum yum). It really is amazing how often we discuss food here on this trip. It is a little obsession of ours (if you cannot already tell). I have already decided that when I get home, we will have some sort of fire at the lake, where marshmellows will be roasted, placed on melting chocolate, and smushed between two lovely graham crakers. I think I have a real problem!
There were demonstrations and strikes going on here in Fort Dauphin today, concerning the political situation. Shops were closed and people were standing in the streets. We have been informed that everything is ok, and that it is very unlikely to get out of hand. The mayor of Tana is still in the process of trying to get rid of the President, and he is trying to rally people throughout the country. The president is not doing/saying much at the moment. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
But on a good note, I am heading out on our second excursion for our Lemur ecology unit!! Woot Woot!! We are travelling to a couple of places, but in particular, we are going to be stopping in Berenty (a private reserve in southern Madagascar known for its lemur populations, and probably the site of my independent research project)! I am SO excited to begin working with the little guys!!
...So I hope I covered the high points. It is so hard to recount everything from the past week! But overall, I am staying busy, eating a lot, filling my little brain with lots of knowledge, and having a blast.
off to hand wash some more clothes,
erin elizabeth
So here begins the account of my past week...so much has happened!!
After I left you last Saturday, I headed out to Libanona and actually had the most lovely, relaxing day alone. It is almost impossible to get any free time here in Fort Dauphin, and I cherish every moment I can find. I spent most of the afternoon, sitting in a Sky chair on the peninsula of Libanona which overlooks the Indian Ocean. I have started a book entitled "A Walk in the Woods" about a man who hiked the Appalacian trail (a pretty good, easy read...nice for a lazy Saturday). After a couple of hours of snoozing and reading under the pine trees (which I will have you know are not endemic to the island, but provide completely amazing shade), I joined Shoshi and Nick on the beach, where we talked with an Australian (not from Victoria, thank goodness) who is a volunteer for the NGO Azafady (of which I have previously referred). There was a lovely sunset, and we spent most of the evening having random discussions about cultural immersion, the issues with the Malagasy government, and issues of our own.
Monday was a relatively normal (if I can use the word normal here) day. Class was quite long, lasting from 8am until around 5ish.
Tuesday morning, we left Fort Dauphin for our first excursion--a trip to Andohahela National Park. The park is divided into three existing parcels: Parcel 1 (Rainforest), Parcel 2 (Transitional Forest), and Parcel 3 (Dry, Spiny Forest). We travelled to Parcel 2, where we studied the surrounding flora. The Malagasy CEL (centre d'écologie à Libanona) students joined us on our trip! We split up half and half among the vehicles, and I ended up riding with a Malagasy student named Alden. He was a little shy, but we ended up talking for a bit. After a couple of hours of bouncing around in an SUV of sorts, we arrived at our camp. Later in the afternoon, we were split up into groups (again half Malagasy, half SIT) and voyaged into the transitional forest to survey the surrounding vegetation. We were to mark off a 10x10 meter area and basically do an inventory of the flora in our space--identify species type, how many, what size, etc. Long story short, I ran back and forth in a 100 square meter parcel identifing awesome endemic trees, shrubs, and vines. It was really great (and at first difficult) identifying trees and shrubs that have adapted to live in a transitional climate in Madagascar. One species that we identified was known as the Vazaha tree (foreigner tree) because the trunk was white and it's bark peeled off like sunburnt skin (and of course, I was standing there with my peeling sunburn as I was finding out this tid-bit of information).
The evening at Andohahela was lovely, and I got to used my amazing new tent for the very first time. The weather was nice (hot but not rainy), and so I went to sleep watching the stars. The stars here are incredibly awesome. I actually was able to see the milky way and Orien's belt (or Arthur's arrow ;), except it was all upside down!
The next morning, we went on an "eco-tour" of the Parcel and discussed more of the flora and fauna--don't worry, I won't bore you non-nerdy people with more tree talk. At the end of the hike, we went swimming in an awesome natural pool with a large waterfall. It was so hot, and a nice dip in the water was quite refreshing. Although, I was a little worried about the possiblity of parasites.
The next day, back at Libanona, we had to give a presentation of our findings at Andohahela. In french. I must say, it was a little rough, but lunch made it all better! We had spaghetti with red sauce containing squash and zucchini. I have never in my life been so excited about pasta. It was so amazing to eat something other than rice for once!!
After class, a bunch of the SIT students and CEL students met up at a bar for drinks and mingling. If you saw this bar anywhere in the states, it would in no way have met building code. The whole back of the building was non-existant, but look out over the beach and the Indian Ocean. It was so awesome to be sharing a beer with the Malagasy students, looking out over the bright blue sea. It was also really great to spend some time with the students out of class, talking to them about their daily lives. Most of the students have only a year or two left of school. Some of them are already married. It is highly common for people to get married at a young age here in Madagascar. One of the students that I talked to had been married for two years, and her husband works here, in Fort Dauphin, catching lobster. She had to be about 21 years old. It is kind of crazy.
Today has been chill and lovely. We were lectured on Lemur Ecology this morning, had Malagasy class, and were done around 11am. A bunch of us walked down to the beach and ate lunch at a cute little tropical restaurant right on the sand (where I again ate spaghetti and veggies....yum yum yum). It really is amazing how often we discuss food here on this trip. It is a little obsession of ours (if you cannot already tell). I have already decided that when I get home, we will have some sort of fire at the lake, where marshmellows will be roasted, placed on melting chocolate, and smushed between two lovely graham crakers. I think I have a real problem!
There were demonstrations and strikes going on here in Fort Dauphin today, concerning the political situation. Shops were closed and people were standing in the streets. We have been informed that everything is ok, and that it is very unlikely to get out of hand. The mayor of Tana is still in the process of trying to get rid of the President, and he is trying to rally people throughout the country. The president is not doing/saying much at the moment. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
But on a good note, I am heading out on our second excursion for our Lemur ecology unit!! Woot Woot!! We are travelling to a couple of places, but in particular, we are going to be stopping in Berenty (a private reserve in southern Madagascar known for its lemur populations, and probably the site of my independent research project)! I am SO excited to begin working with the little guys!!
...So I hope I covered the high points. It is so hard to recount everything from the past week! But overall, I am staying busy, eating a lot, filling my little brain with lots of knowledge, and having a blast.
off to hand wash some more clothes,
erin elizabeth
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Gecko Lives Under My Bed.
Under my bed lives a tiny gray-green gecko. Every now and then he scurries up the wall and catches a moth for dinner. I have taken a liking to him; I have named him Ivan. It is the small things like Ivan that bring me happiness here in my small Madagascar wonderland.
The past few days have been absolute bliss (despite the constant rainy mornings). Two days ago, our group travelled a couple of kilometers to a small fishing village known as Lokaro. This destination was supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Fort Dauphin--a small piece a paradise (among the all others surrounding me every day). Unfortunately, it was overcast and a little rainy. Although Lokaro was only about 25km from the city of Fort Dauphin, it took us about and hour and a half to get to our destination. I cannot begin to describe the condition of the roads here. (I thought my father's random drives down curvy dirt roads in the Blue Ridge Mountains were bad. Those car rides don't even compare).
Once we were in the fishing village, we had to wait around for the fishermen to return from their morning fishing trip. I spent my time exploring the rocks lining the beach where I found many beautiful seashells. They are all complete shells here--not like the broken ones found on the beaches of North Carolina. There were also tons of lizards climbing all over the rocks.
When the fishermen arrived, we helped them pull their pirogues (canoes fashioned out of some kind of wood...think Pocahontas) out of the water and up on shore. We then split up into smaller groups and interviewed the fishermen, bombarding them with questions about their daily fishing tasks and their daily lives in general. It was really interesting to hear their responses and to get insight into their cultural mentality. At first, I was a little shocked to hear how much their explinations revolved around God and his control of their destiny. When we asked them if there were any dangers while fishing out in the open ocean waters, they responded "yes, but it is all due to God's will." When we asked why they hadn't caught any fish that day, they responded "because God is punishing us for our wrongdoings." Thinking about it in hindsight, I shouldn't have been so surprised. These people have been living this way for centuries...fishing and living in a tiny, extremely remote part of the world. Why would they think any differently? After the interviews, we travelled to another beach where we relaxed and ate a lovely pic-nic of baguettes, zebu, sweet cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bananas. Yum yum yum.
**Side note: It was during this trip that I got my first terrible sunburn. Ironically, it rained most of the day, and yet the sun still found a way through the clouds and rain to burn me completely. My homestay famiy freaked out a little bit when I returned home as red as a lobster. It was actually kind of comical.
Yesterday was also lovely. Shoshi, a friend of mine from San Francisco, came by my house and we walked through the rain on our 45 minute trek to class. Needless to say, we took a cab after about 10 minutes. Fridays are lovely because we only have morning classes. We began with Malagasy class and sat through two lectures on 1) Andohahela National Park and 2) Marine Protected Areas throughout Madagascar. Most of our lectures are held in french, but the lecture on MPAs was in English, and I must say it was quite refreshing to hear a voice speaking English.
**I must clarify that although it sounds like we are constantly hanging out on beaches and eating delicious food (which is indeed true most of the time) we also do a lot of sitting and listening. In french or malagasy. And it is super hard. Also, I get up around 6 am every day (with the sun and the roosters) and go to sleep around 10. The days are long.
After classes, we all walked a little ways to a restaurant near Lebanona called "Le Stade." We spent most of the early afternoon there eating Malagasy pizzas and various side dishes. The rain cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. A couple of us decided to walk up to the supermarket after lunch which turned out to be the best idea we had had all day. We ended up buying a liter of Mint Chocolate Chip icecream (which was pricey but SO worth it), Madagascar Rum (which cost me all of $1.50), and a liter of Coke each. From there we walked to a beautiful chalet on the beach where we devoured the ice cream in all of two minutes. We spent the next four hours on the beach--drinking rum and coke, playing cards, singing, and watching the sun set over the mountains on a peninsula just beside the beach. I would have to say that it was the most fun and relaxing time I have spent here in Madagascar.
The rest of the evening was spent with my lovely Malagasy family--playing with my "sister and brother" and sharing conversation over rice and veggies. Lova and I played games to help learn numbers (in malagasy for me, in english for her). And I absolutely love my grandmother, Mamy. She is constantly smiling and laughing.
And over these past couple of days, I have come to the realization that I am in a genuinely happy and peaceful state of mind. I'm not sure when the transition took place, but it has. Throughout the crazy Malagasy classes, lectures in french, and awkward homestay moments, my soul is pretty peaceful and any worries that I have seem to dissipate quite quickly. I haven't once felt the agonizing, stomach turning anxiety that I have so often experienced over the past year or two. It is a good feeling, to say the least. I am spending this valentines day truly loving myself for once.
And on that note, Happy Valentines Day to you all. It is, indeed, cliché, but I love you just the same.
wishing you madagascar hugs and kisses,
erin elizabeth
PS: I am in the process of attempting to upload pictures on facebook. If I do indeed get them to post, check them out!! (facebook here in incredibly slow) I have not taken a good picture of my homestay family, so that will have to come later...but I think there is one of my little sister. I hope you enjoy them, even though they do this country no justice.
PSS: I have received word that my lovely UNC basketball boys have defeated Dook. GO HEELS!!!
The past few days have been absolute bliss (despite the constant rainy mornings). Two days ago, our group travelled a couple of kilometers to a small fishing village known as Lokaro. This destination was supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Fort Dauphin--a small piece a paradise (among the all others surrounding me every day). Unfortunately, it was overcast and a little rainy. Although Lokaro was only about 25km from the city of Fort Dauphin, it took us about and hour and a half to get to our destination. I cannot begin to describe the condition of the roads here. (I thought my father's random drives down curvy dirt roads in the Blue Ridge Mountains were bad. Those car rides don't even compare).
Once we were in the fishing village, we had to wait around for the fishermen to return from their morning fishing trip. I spent my time exploring the rocks lining the beach where I found many beautiful seashells. They are all complete shells here--not like the broken ones found on the beaches of North Carolina. There were also tons of lizards climbing all over the rocks.
When the fishermen arrived, we helped them pull their pirogues (canoes fashioned out of some kind of wood...think Pocahontas) out of the water and up on shore. We then split up into smaller groups and interviewed the fishermen, bombarding them with questions about their daily fishing tasks and their daily lives in general. It was really interesting to hear their responses and to get insight into their cultural mentality. At first, I was a little shocked to hear how much their explinations revolved around God and his control of their destiny. When we asked them if there were any dangers while fishing out in the open ocean waters, they responded "yes, but it is all due to God's will." When we asked why they hadn't caught any fish that day, they responded "because God is punishing us for our wrongdoings." Thinking about it in hindsight, I shouldn't have been so surprised. These people have been living this way for centuries...fishing and living in a tiny, extremely remote part of the world. Why would they think any differently? After the interviews, we travelled to another beach where we relaxed and ate a lovely pic-nic of baguettes, zebu, sweet cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bananas. Yum yum yum.
**Side note: It was during this trip that I got my first terrible sunburn. Ironically, it rained most of the day, and yet the sun still found a way through the clouds and rain to burn me completely. My homestay famiy freaked out a little bit when I returned home as red as a lobster. It was actually kind of comical.
Yesterday was also lovely. Shoshi, a friend of mine from San Francisco, came by my house and we walked through the rain on our 45 minute trek to class. Needless to say, we took a cab after about 10 minutes. Fridays are lovely because we only have morning classes. We began with Malagasy class and sat through two lectures on 1) Andohahela National Park and 2) Marine Protected Areas throughout Madagascar. Most of our lectures are held in french, but the lecture on MPAs was in English, and I must say it was quite refreshing to hear a voice speaking English.
**I must clarify that although it sounds like we are constantly hanging out on beaches and eating delicious food (which is indeed true most of the time) we also do a lot of sitting and listening. In french or malagasy. And it is super hard. Also, I get up around 6 am every day (with the sun and the roosters) and go to sleep around 10. The days are long.
After classes, we all walked a little ways to a restaurant near Lebanona called "Le Stade." We spent most of the early afternoon there eating Malagasy pizzas and various side dishes. The rain cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. A couple of us decided to walk up to the supermarket after lunch which turned out to be the best idea we had had all day. We ended up buying a liter of Mint Chocolate Chip icecream (which was pricey but SO worth it), Madagascar Rum (which cost me all of $1.50), and a liter of Coke each. From there we walked to a beautiful chalet on the beach where we devoured the ice cream in all of two minutes. We spent the next four hours on the beach--drinking rum and coke, playing cards, singing, and watching the sun set over the mountains on a peninsula just beside the beach. I would have to say that it was the most fun and relaxing time I have spent here in Madagascar.
The rest of the evening was spent with my lovely Malagasy family--playing with my "sister and brother" and sharing conversation over rice and veggies. Lova and I played games to help learn numbers (in malagasy for me, in english for her). And I absolutely love my grandmother, Mamy. She is constantly smiling and laughing.
And over these past couple of days, I have come to the realization that I am in a genuinely happy and peaceful state of mind. I'm not sure when the transition took place, but it has. Throughout the crazy Malagasy classes, lectures in french, and awkward homestay moments, my soul is pretty peaceful and any worries that I have seem to dissipate quite quickly. I haven't once felt the agonizing, stomach turning anxiety that I have so often experienced over the past year or two. It is a good feeling, to say the least. I am spending this valentines day truly loving myself for once.
And on that note, Happy Valentines Day to you all. It is, indeed, cliché, but I love you just the same.
wishing you madagascar hugs and kisses,
erin elizabeth
PS: I am in the process of attempting to upload pictures on facebook. If I do indeed get them to post, check them out!! (facebook here in incredibly slow) I have not taken a good picture of my homestay family, so that will have to come later...but I think there is one of my little sister. I hope you enjoy them, even though they do this country no justice.
PSS: I have received word that my lovely UNC basketball boys have defeated Dook. GO HEELS!!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
i am turning into vary
So, I don't think I have adequately discussed the food that I have been eating here in Madagascar. Basically, I am soon going to turn into one massive grain of vary (the malagasy term for rice). As much as I am a lover of the fluffy white grain, I am pretty sure I have eaten more rice in the past two weeks than in my entire existance. For both lunch and dinner (and on some occasions breakfast), the meal commences with a huge plate of rice. There is always some portion of meat to accompany this mountain of fluff...zebu, chicken, sardines, shrimp, etc. Most of the time, the meat is served in conjunction with some sort of vegetable...beans, green papaya (which is kind of like spaghetti squash and oh so delicious), cucumbers and avacado, etc. Then, the meal is always topped off with fruit for dessert...pinapple, mango, papaya, guavas, bananas etc.
**disclaimer: Studying abroad does crazy things to people. I am now eating bananas. At my own free will. I am not joking. (For some of you, this may not seem like a big deal. But for those who know me well, I know what you are thinking at this moment. Yes even you Roman ;)...but fear not, I am still NOT eating peanut butter!
At the beginning of this trip, I thought that I might lose some weight (due to the fact that I would be eating healthier foods, etc.) I no longer feel like this is a true statement. While I am definitely eating less processed foods, I am eating A LOT of it! The food here is so tasty.
The past two days have been pretty calm here in Fort Dauphin and Libanona. The weather has calmed down from the cyclone, and the walks along the beach have been quite peaceful. My days have mainly been filled with lots of classes, eating, and hanging out around town with my american loves. We have actually been learning a lot about local NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and their projects throughout Fort Dauphin. We talked with a gentleman who started a local NGO called "Azafady" (which is actually the Malagasy word for "please" or "excuse me" or "not taboo"). His organization spends a lot of their time working with local villagers in a program that teaches health and sanitary practices. Not only does Azafady have to work to create these programs, but they must integrate their knowledge of the local culture, practices, and "taboo." It is easy to go into a village and build an outhouse. It is much harder to explain to a group of rural Malagasy villagers the importance of sanitation and the relevance of a clean living/eating space.
Classes have been getting harder. Malagasy is completely hard to learn. It is like no other language that I have ever encountered, and the structure of sentences, spelling, and pronunciation of words is quite difficult. For example, there are four different words for the term "cousin," depending on the gender of the individual and whether the cousin comes from the mother's side of the family or the father's side. Example #2: There is only one article in the entire language (gny)...I know this seems like it would be easier, but when it comes to translating this fact, is indeed, a bitch. Example #3: To say "see you later", you say: Mandrapihaona, ami-magnaraky koa.
Malagasy homelife has slowly become less and less difficult. The language barrier will always be a problem, but I am beginning to feel more at home.
...and on that note, it is time for me to go handwash some clothes. woot.
until my next adventure,
erin elizabeth
**disclaimer: Studying abroad does crazy things to people. I am now eating bananas. At my own free will. I am not joking. (For some of you, this may not seem like a big deal. But for those who know me well, I know what you are thinking at this moment. Yes even you Roman ;)...but fear not, I am still NOT eating peanut butter!
At the beginning of this trip, I thought that I might lose some weight (due to the fact that I would be eating healthier foods, etc.) I no longer feel like this is a true statement. While I am definitely eating less processed foods, I am eating A LOT of it! The food here is so tasty.
The past two days have been pretty calm here in Fort Dauphin and Libanona. The weather has calmed down from the cyclone, and the walks along the beach have been quite peaceful. My days have mainly been filled with lots of classes, eating, and hanging out around town with my american loves. We have actually been learning a lot about local NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and their projects throughout Fort Dauphin. We talked with a gentleman who started a local NGO called "Azafady" (which is actually the Malagasy word for "please" or "excuse me" or "not taboo"). His organization spends a lot of their time working with local villagers in a program that teaches health and sanitary practices. Not only does Azafady have to work to create these programs, but they must integrate their knowledge of the local culture, practices, and "taboo." It is easy to go into a village and build an outhouse. It is much harder to explain to a group of rural Malagasy villagers the importance of sanitation and the relevance of a clean living/eating space.
Classes have been getting harder. Malagasy is completely hard to learn. It is like no other language that I have ever encountered, and the structure of sentences, spelling, and pronunciation of words is quite difficult. For example, there are four different words for the term "cousin," depending on the gender of the individual and whether the cousin comes from the mother's side of the family or the father's side. Example #2: There is only one article in the entire language (gny)...I know this seems like it would be easier, but when it comes to translating this fact, is indeed, a bitch. Example #3: To say "see you later", you say: Mandrapihaona, ami-magnaraky koa.
Malagasy homelife has slowly become less and less difficult. The language barrier will always be a problem, but I am beginning to feel more at home.
...and on that note, it is time for me to go handwash some clothes. woot.
until my next adventure,
erin elizabeth
Monday, February 9, 2009
Experiential Education
Last night I had some homework reading to do, and I read an interesting article about experiential learning. Obviously, this topic seems pretty self explanitory since I am studing abroad. I always expected that I would have this great experience to learn about another culture (and basically another world) through my experiences living in a Malagasy home. But what I did not expect was that I would also be learning as much about myself as the people I am living around. The author of the article stated that "once a person is stripped of his own cultural identity and his own blanket of security, does he come to find his true self."
This weekend was my first full weekend with my homestay family. Friday night, my homestay father came home from Tana. (He had had a lot of trouble getting a plane home due to the political unrest in Tana--if you don't know about it, google it...people are being killed). But anyways, he got home safetly. He was very welcoming, and we spent the evening looking at the pictures I had brought from home and talking about the situation in Tana.
Saturday was pretty chill. Shoshi (a fellow student) and I got up and walked around Fort Dauphin to discover whatever else we had missed this past week. We bought some postcards and whatnot, but the best part of the day came when we discovered the supermarché (supermarket)!!!! I bought the most amazing ice cream bar in the whole wide world (this is most likely due to the fact that I have been quite limited in refrigerated beverages/tasty treats). After we bought some tasty food, Shoshi and I headed out to Libanona to get our readings and chill on the beach. We all ate lunch at Jenny's (another fellow student) malagasy mothers restaurant. The restaurant was a beautiful little place that looked out over the ocean. We all had a great time discussing our crazy awkward moments from our various homestays. (Ex: One of the girls in the group had to kill a chicken this weekend by slitting its throat. They later ate it for dinner.) Some people have been getting sick and were stuck in bed for a good portion of the weekend. For the most part, I have felt pretty good. My stomach is a beast. (knocks on wood).
On Sunday I attended my first Malagasy Catholic mass service. Mamy, Lova, and I woke up Sunday morning and walked through the ghetto to get to this little catholic church downtown. And the place was packed. I have never been to a church that had so many people in it. And of course it was hella hot. And of course it lasted two hours. And of course it was all in Malagasy. But all in all it was a good experience for me. Throughout the course of my life, I have never felt more like an outsider. I was the only white person in the whole church and EVERYONE was staring at me. Yes it was awkward, but it was a good thing for me to experience.
The rest of Sunday was pretty much a lazy day...filled with lots of napping, reading, postcard writing, etc.
This morning, our group was given a tour of QMM. QMM is a mining company run by Rio Tinto and is based out of Canada. They are working in conjunction with the Malagasy government to extract ilmenite from the soil here at Fort Dauphin. (Rio Tinto gets 80% of the profits, the Malagasy gov gets 20%). The project is quite controversial, due to the fact that they are cutting down precious littoral forests that contain many species of flora and fauna that are endemic to the region. So today, we basically went on a tour to see how the company is planning (or in the process of) restoring the littoral forests. Many Malagasy people think the mines will bring commerce and tourism to the town. I think it is all just stupid (for those of you who didn't know, ilmenite is used to turn your toothpaste and sunscreen white...ugh).
I am still having to adjust to my new life here in Madagascar. The constant hassle of the language barrier is draining, and it is just going to take some time to really get settled in. The process, obviously, is hard. But what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and it is the difficult situations that are, in the end, the most rewarding.
As always, you are all in my heart, and I am thinking about you.
with as much love as you can handle,
erin elizabeth
This weekend was my first full weekend with my homestay family. Friday night, my homestay father came home from Tana. (He had had a lot of trouble getting a plane home due to the political unrest in Tana--if you don't know about it, google it...people are being killed). But anyways, he got home safetly. He was very welcoming, and we spent the evening looking at the pictures I had brought from home and talking about the situation in Tana.
Saturday was pretty chill. Shoshi (a fellow student) and I got up and walked around Fort Dauphin to discover whatever else we had missed this past week. We bought some postcards and whatnot, but the best part of the day came when we discovered the supermarché (supermarket)!!!! I bought the most amazing ice cream bar in the whole wide world (this is most likely due to the fact that I have been quite limited in refrigerated beverages/tasty treats). After we bought some tasty food, Shoshi and I headed out to Libanona to get our readings and chill on the beach. We all ate lunch at Jenny's (another fellow student) malagasy mothers restaurant. The restaurant was a beautiful little place that looked out over the ocean. We all had a great time discussing our crazy awkward moments from our various homestays. (Ex: One of the girls in the group had to kill a chicken this weekend by slitting its throat. They later ate it for dinner.) Some people have been getting sick and were stuck in bed for a good portion of the weekend. For the most part, I have felt pretty good. My stomach is a beast. (knocks on wood).
On Sunday I attended my first Malagasy Catholic mass service. Mamy, Lova, and I woke up Sunday morning and walked through the ghetto to get to this little catholic church downtown. And the place was packed. I have never been to a church that had so many people in it. And of course it was hella hot. And of course it lasted two hours. And of course it was all in Malagasy. But all in all it was a good experience for me. Throughout the course of my life, I have never felt more like an outsider. I was the only white person in the whole church and EVERYONE was staring at me. Yes it was awkward, but it was a good thing for me to experience.
The rest of Sunday was pretty much a lazy day...filled with lots of napping, reading, postcard writing, etc.
This morning, our group was given a tour of QMM. QMM is a mining company run by Rio Tinto and is based out of Canada. They are working in conjunction with the Malagasy government to extract ilmenite from the soil here at Fort Dauphin. (Rio Tinto gets 80% of the profits, the Malagasy gov gets 20%). The project is quite controversial, due to the fact that they are cutting down precious littoral forests that contain many species of flora and fauna that are endemic to the region. So today, we basically went on a tour to see how the company is planning (or in the process of) restoring the littoral forests. Many Malagasy people think the mines will bring commerce and tourism to the town. I think it is all just stupid (for those of you who didn't know, ilmenite is used to turn your toothpaste and sunscreen white...ugh).
I am still having to adjust to my new life here in Madagascar. The constant hassle of the language barrier is draining, and it is just going to take some time to really get settled in. The process, obviously, is hard. But what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and it is the difficult situations that are, in the end, the most rewarding.
As always, you are all in my heart, and I am thinking about you.
with as much love as you can handle,
erin elizabeth
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mora Mora
So, in malagasy, the saying "Mora Mora" is a mix between our sayings of "take it easy" and the swahili saying "hakuna matata." Malagasy culture is centralized around this mentality. In many cases, I love the completely relaxed atmosphere. Sometimes it is a bit irritating (like when I go to the bank to exchange money and there in NO line and no organization at all). But for the most part of this trip, I have been trying to keep this saying in the back of my head. Take it easy. Don't stress. Relax and take it all in as it passes you by.
So Wednesday was the first day that I met my homestay family. All of the families came to our hotel and we had a massive party with a lot of malagasy food, music, and dancing. My Malagasy mother, Madame Solange, is a doctor at a local private clinic, and she ended up being an hour late; but, once everyone got there, we had a really great time. My malagasy family consists of a grandmother who I refer to as "Mamy" (lol, i know), Madam Solange who I refer to as "Maman," a seven year old girl named Lova and a four year old boy named Lalaine. There is also a girl who watches the kids and cooks and cleans (and who I actually share a room with) named Sahalo. My homestay father is working in Tana, so I have not been able to meet him just yet. I was a little intimidated about the whole situation at the time, but like I said, I have been trying to keep the notion of "Mora Mora" in the back of my mind. Even though I have, in my head, the fact that I am going to live with some random family in some random house in some third world country for a month, I am trying to remain peaceful and relaxed. I will never again have an experience like this, and I do not want to waste my time and energy feeling lonely and sad. I am doing my best to keep my head high, and embrace each and every experience that is thrown in my direction.
Yesterday was the first actual day I spent with my homestay family. It was hard being away from all of my American friends, but I had a great time meeting all of the family and getting a little bit aquainted with their ways of living. "Mamy" came to pick me up around 17:00 (yes i am now on military time) and we took a cab to their home. The live in a lovely little house just off of the main street that runs through Fort Dauphin. The only thing that I dislike about it is that all of the houses are super cramped and they do not have any sort of yard. But otherwise, it is a quiant, yellow, two story house with about 6 or 7 rooms (including the small doctors office and waiting area that Dr. Solange uses as her own private clinic--It is actually pretty sweet to be living with a doctor...just in case I ever get ill). Like I said before, I share a room with the femme au ménage. It is on the second floor of the house, and there is a cute little balcony outside of my room. Downstairs is the kitchen, living/dining room and bedroom of Madame Solange. They have a relatively nice house with tile floors, a small refrigerator, and a TV that is nicer than the one I have at home ;). The bathroom facilities are located in a small building just outside the house...and we have running water!! woot!
It is hard sometimes to understand what they are saying to me, and it is SUPER hard to talk to them on the telephone. But we get by. Madame Solange speaks a little bit of english, so we help each other out. She will correct my french and I her english. Sometimes there is awkward silence and mass confusion, but we can usually get things across. The whole family is very sweet and very welcoming, and I look forward to getting to know them better. The kids are really cute as well (although i feel like they could get on my nerves). Lova was teaching me malagasy words yesterday, and I learned that the malagasy word for butterfly is "lolo" (pronounced lulu) :).
On the other hand, classes are really beginning to start up. Today we learned a little bit of the history of Fort Dauphin, and later we had lunch downtown where we talked with our advisor about possible Independent Study Project topics. I am currently trying to decide whether I want to concentrate on lemurs, or work in Tulèar with an NGO who works with the coral reefs. We had conversations with our language professors the other day so we could be divided into groups based on our knowledge of the french language...hopefully that will help me a lot. On Monday, we are travelling to a local mine to learn about their conservation techniques.
We have the weekend off, so tomorrow a bunch of us are going to the beach at Libanona (the beach beside our school) to swim in the beautiful blue water of the Indian Ocean. There is a little pub close by called Los Locos, so we can grab a pineapple, a cold beer and some tasty malagasy cuisine. I am looking forward to the relaxation.
I love and miss you all. And until I talk to you again, Mora Mora.
erin elizabeth
So Wednesday was the first day that I met my homestay family. All of the families came to our hotel and we had a massive party with a lot of malagasy food, music, and dancing. My Malagasy mother, Madame Solange, is a doctor at a local private clinic, and she ended up being an hour late; but, once everyone got there, we had a really great time. My malagasy family consists of a grandmother who I refer to as "Mamy" (lol, i know), Madam Solange who I refer to as "Maman," a seven year old girl named Lova and a four year old boy named Lalaine. There is also a girl who watches the kids and cooks and cleans (and who I actually share a room with) named Sahalo. My homestay father is working in Tana, so I have not been able to meet him just yet. I was a little intimidated about the whole situation at the time, but like I said, I have been trying to keep the notion of "Mora Mora" in the back of my mind. Even though I have, in my head, the fact that I am going to live with some random family in some random house in some third world country for a month, I am trying to remain peaceful and relaxed. I will never again have an experience like this, and I do not want to waste my time and energy feeling lonely and sad. I am doing my best to keep my head high, and embrace each and every experience that is thrown in my direction.
Yesterday was the first actual day I spent with my homestay family. It was hard being away from all of my American friends, but I had a great time meeting all of the family and getting a little bit aquainted with their ways of living. "Mamy" came to pick me up around 17:00 (yes i am now on military time) and we took a cab to their home. The live in a lovely little house just off of the main street that runs through Fort Dauphin. The only thing that I dislike about it is that all of the houses are super cramped and they do not have any sort of yard. But otherwise, it is a quiant, yellow, two story house with about 6 or 7 rooms (including the small doctors office and waiting area that Dr. Solange uses as her own private clinic--It is actually pretty sweet to be living with a doctor...just in case I ever get ill). Like I said before, I share a room with the femme au ménage. It is on the second floor of the house, and there is a cute little balcony outside of my room. Downstairs is the kitchen, living/dining room and bedroom of Madame Solange. They have a relatively nice house with tile floors, a small refrigerator, and a TV that is nicer than the one I have at home ;). The bathroom facilities are located in a small building just outside the house...and we have running water!! woot!
It is hard sometimes to understand what they are saying to me, and it is SUPER hard to talk to them on the telephone. But we get by. Madame Solange speaks a little bit of english, so we help each other out. She will correct my french and I her english. Sometimes there is awkward silence and mass confusion, but we can usually get things across. The whole family is very sweet and very welcoming, and I look forward to getting to know them better. The kids are really cute as well (although i feel like they could get on my nerves). Lova was teaching me malagasy words yesterday, and I learned that the malagasy word for butterfly is "lolo" (pronounced lulu) :).
On the other hand, classes are really beginning to start up. Today we learned a little bit of the history of Fort Dauphin, and later we had lunch downtown where we talked with our advisor about possible Independent Study Project topics. I am currently trying to decide whether I want to concentrate on lemurs, or work in Tulèar with an NGO who works with the coral reefs. We had conversations with our language professors the other day so we could be divided into groups based on our knowledge of the french language...hopefully that will help me a lot. On Monday, we are travelling to a local mine to learn about their conservation techniques.
We have the weekend off, so tomorrow a bunch of us are going to the beach at Libanona (the beach beside our school) to swim in the beautiful blue water of the Indian Ocean. There is a little pub close by called Los Locos, so we can grab a pineapple, a cold beer and some tasty malagasy cuisine. I am looking forward to the relaxation.
I love and miss you all. And until I talk to you again, Mora Mora.
erin elizabeth
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Akôrey Abey!
Hello everyone! I am having the best time of my life!! Wow, I have only been here for 5 days now and I have so much to say...I will try to start from the beginning...
The plane ride was extremely long. We ended up having a 12 hour layover in Paris, so a guy named Nick and I ventured out into the city for the day. I had my first french nutella crepes and café au lait in a little café in the streets of Paris. There was a strike going on with the metro, but we ended up finding our way from the airport and back safely to catch our flight. The back to back overnight plane rides were tough, but I ended up getting some sleep.
Literally the first thing we did when we got to Madagascar was walk around in a little village market in the countryside on the outskirts of Fort Dauphin. Our Malagasy profs handed us a sheet of terms and we walked around lerning the names of fruits and veggies and meats. For the first few days we stayed out in the country, in a place called Manatantely (which means the land where there is honey). It was so beautiful and quaint and we spent a lot of time getting to know our Malagasy profs (Sosoni, Mamy, and Naina) and each other. There was a hole in the ground for the bathrooms and two big barrels of water to shower in...but it was so hot and humid the first couple of days that my bucket baths were so amazing.
We spent the days learning how to introduce ourselves and count in Malagasy. To ask someone his name, we say Iza moa ng'naranoa azafady. The language is actually pretty easy to pick up, and I am more worried about my french language skills. One of the first days we visited and orchard and saw tons of trees...starfruit, grapefruit, macadamia nuts, LIMES, oranges, etc. Mango trees were everywhere and the kids sit around and wait for mangoes to fall to the ground and fight over who gets to eat them. We also hiked a mountain about two kilometers from our "camping area" and the forest was gorgeous. We learned that the locals use the area to cut down trees to grow manioc, casava, etc and the forest is hurting.
The food here is DELICIOUS. Some of the best I have ever had. Mostly rice and vegetables with lots of tasty fruit for dessert!! I don't know what it is, but the food is just so tasty...even the zebu (the madagascar version of cow). I have already had pineapple, mango, papaya, lime, jack fruit, apples, and bananas. YES even the bananas here are delicious. SO GOOD!!
Our days are packed full...one night we learning traditional Malagasy song and dance...which was basically booty dancing for entertaining the local village people. All I am going to say is that we did a fertility dance...hahahahha.
Our first day in Fort Dauphin was yesterday, and the first thing we did was a "Market drop off." Basically our profs gave us ariary (malagasy currency) and in pairs, had to venture into the downtown Malagasy market alone to bargain for food that we will later use for dinner. OH MY GOD!! It was such a crazy experience to use my super limited Malagasy to barter for "vary" (rice in malagasy). Last night we stayed in a hotel that actually had running water and power... my shower was SO freaking amazing. The bay here is so beautiful. I cannot tell you how amazing everything is here. I will try to post pictures soon.
So today, we are in pairs, basically orienting ourselves to the town, exchanging money etc. We have to buy a gift for someone in our group, have lunch on our own, and find Libanona (the site for our classroom) all on our own, and with the help of the local malagasy of course (all of whom are extremely nice and helpful. The ecology center is supposedly located on a peninsula which is surrounded on three sides by the blue Indian Ocean. We have to walk on the beach to get to our classroom!! I can't wait to see it and to show you guys pictures.
To sum up my experience so far, in a nutshell, is quite impossible...but for those who can understand, it is kind of like governors school in a foreign country...times a million. Every single person in my group is amazing...we all have so much in common, yet so much to learn from each other. I have been here for less than a week and I have already learned so much.
There is still so much more to say, but I must be on my way to find some Malagasy cuisine.
I love you guys.
Veloma e!!!! (bye!!!!)
erin elizabeth
The plane ride was extremely long. We ended up having a 12 hour layover in Paris, so a guy named Nick and I ventured out into the city for the day. I had my first french nutella crepes and café au lait in a little café in the streets of Paris. There was a strike going on with the metro, but we ended up finding our way from the airport and back safely to catch our flight. The back to back overnight plane rides were tough, but I ended up getting some sleep.
Literally the first thing we did when we got to Madagascar was walk around in a little village market in the countryside on the outskirts of Fort Dauphin. Our Malagasy profs handed us a sheet of terms and we walked around lerning the names of fruits and veggies and meats. For the first few days we stayed out in the country, in a place called Manatantely (which means the land where there is honey). It was so beautiful and quaint and we spent a lot of time getting to know our Malagasy profs (Sosoni, Mamy, and Naina) and each other. There was a hole in the ground for the bathrooms and two big barrels of water to shower in...but it was so hot and humid the first couple of days that my bucket baths were so amazing.
We spent the days learning how to introduce ourselves and count in Malagasy. To ask someone his name, we say Iza moa ng'naranoa azafady. The language is actually pretty easy to pick up, and I am more worried about my french language skills. One of the first days we visited and orchard and saw tons of trees...starfruit, grapefruit, macadamia nuts, LIMES, oranges, etc. Mango trees were everywhere and the kids sit around and wait for mangoes to fall to the ground and fight over who gets to eat them. We also hiked a mountain about two kilometers from our "camping area" and the forest was gorgeous. We learned that the locals use the area to cut down trees to grow manioc, casava, etc and the forest is hurting.
The food here is DELICIOUS. Some of the best I have ever had. Mostly rice and vegetables with lots of tasty fruit for dessert!! I don't know what it is, but the food is just so tasty...even the zebu (the madagascar version of cow). I have already had pineapple, mango, papaya, lime, jack fruit, apples, and bananas. YES even the bananas here are delicious. SO GOOD!!
Our days are packed full...one night we learning traditional Malagasy song and dance...which was basically booty dancing for entertaining the local village people. All I am going to say is that we did a fertility dance...hahahahha.
Our first day in Fort Dauphin was yesterday, and the first thing we did was a "Market drop off." Basically our profs gave us ariary (malagasy currency) and in pairs, had to venture into the downtown Malagasy market alone to bargain for food that we will later use for dinner. OH MY GOD!! It was such a crazy experience to use my super limited Malagasy to barter for "vary" (rice in malagasy). Last night we stayed in a hotel that actually had running water and power... my shower was SO freaking amazing. The bay here is so beautiful. I cannot tell you how amazing everything is here. I will try to post pictures soon.
So today, we are in pairs, basically orienting ourselves to the town, exchanging money etc. We have to buy a gift for someone in our group, have lunch on our own, and find Libanona (the site for our classroom) all on our own, and with the help of the local malagasy of course (all of whom are extremely nice and helpful. The ecology center is supposedly located on a peninsula which is surrounded on three sides by the blue Indian Ocean. We have to walk on the beach to get to our classroom!! I can't wait to see it and to show you guys pictures.
To sum up my experience so far, in a nutshell, is quite impossible...but for those who can understand, it is kind of like governors school in a foreign country...times a million. Every single person in my group is amazing...we all have so much in common, yet so much to learn from each other. I have been here for less than a week and I have already learned so much.
There is still so much more to say, but I must be on my way to find some Malagasy cuisine.
I love you guys.
Veloma e!!!! (bye!!!!)
erin elizabeth
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