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!!!