Hello all! I wish I could say that a lot has happened since the last post, but that’s not really the case. Hopefully I can make the little things sound very interesting though.
I have now been to the Catholic Church here at site. I was told it should last an hour and a half or so. It was actually 3 hours. Now I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. But all I do is sit there for 3 hours with my own thoughts, because let’s be honest, it hurts my head if I try to listen and understand the language for too long. It was long that week because a nun was celebrating her 25th year of service. Many people gave multiple speeches, there were a lot of happy people. And a lot of dancing. Anytime anyone walked down the aisle, they were preceded by no less than 6 people dancing their way to the front. After some of the last speeches, it was the nun’s turn to dance. She was solo for a couple of minutes then the other nuns joined, followed by every other woman in the church who was over the age of 50. Lots of clapping and happiness; it was fun.
The mystery of Land O Lakes has been solved. Apparently they work with Food Security, quality, natural resource management, and disaster preparedness/deal with catastrophes when they happen. Specifically during cyclone season. Which by the way will be very interesting. There was a storm the other night where it rained from 5pm to 5 am. It must have been sideways rain because a lot of water came in through the slat windows. During rainy season/cyclone season I’ve been told I may not be able to leave my house for several days at a time. We must be coming into the 2nd rainy season sometime soon because I think everyone within a 50 km radius came into town to get gas the next day. I made a small effort to buy food that will keep, like cans of tomato paste; actually that’s all that lasted. The cookies did not last very long…figures. I’ve got some time before it actually hits though. No worries about cyclone season either though.
So, I have noticed that a lot of times when I talk with people back home I complain. Sometimes it just feels good to complain, but that is when I should journal; everything is going pretty well. I will also try to not sound too chipper, because if I’m talking it up too much, I realize that may not seem genuine. But that is just self-reassurance that everything will be fine. Some days I have a moment or two, but for the most part I am very content. It’s a little frustrating that things aren’t going faster here/I haven’t gotten more done and don’t have more progress after being here a month and a half. I’m trying to get a routine down. I think I do better when there is structure or when I can create structure. Whether it is structure in a work place, or just a schedule for certain things during the day; even if a large part of it is labeled “talk to people” or “stop by bread stand and drink coffee”. What is considered work here is quite different than what is considered work back home. Shoot, its work to just leave the house and walk down the street. So, needless to say, I need to find a new gage for measuring the amount of work/success I have.
So quite a few of the volunteers have/are getting cats. Now, this is very tempting for me. Especially since the hotel people asked me if I wanted one…I would love nothing more than a little kitten. But I know I won’t get one because my logical side has won this argument. Everyone in this country feed their cats people food, usually rice and what not. But ever since Buckwheat died from eating too much of it, I just cannot let myself do that. I don’t want to give my key to anyone, so if I were to leave town I would need to take it with me. It would break my heart to leave an animal behind when I do leave here, so I would either need to bring it home with me or I would have to give it away to a friend or something. Malagasy people are not known for their gentle hearts and compassion for animals. That animal would be spoiled rotten by me, so it would no doubt feel completely abandoned, especially when it were treated like an actual animal. So, the verdict stands at no. I can hope that the resident hotel cats have kittens so I can play with them.
Sunday is Madagascar’s Independence Day. I think in the larger towns they usually have huge blowout parties with fireworks and what not. Now, I’m hoping I misunderstood the conversation I’m about to tell you about, but I’m afraid I didn’t. There is going to be a boat race (canoes) type thing on the river that runs parallel to the ocean. Apparently during the race people will be throwing/dropping ducks from the bridge that crosses the river. It’s actually kind of a high bridge. The boats will then compete to see how many each boat can grab. Sometimes the people cheat and jump out of the boats to swim and catch the ducks. I asked if it hurts the ducks to be tossed from such a high bridge and they said yes. I really don’t understand why they will be doing this. But good news is, I have been invited to watch it from a restaurant by the bridge overlooking the river. This will be very interesting and I think I will take video with my camera fo sho.
Ok, finally our holiday pique nique (picnic for those English speakers). It was a couple of Mondays ago, it was Pentecost and everyone had the day off. We drove to this hotel about 20km north of Manakara. It was a dirt road that ran along the ocean the entire time; it was very pretty. Three of us rode in the back of a Samurai. I must say that I had never noticed Samurai’s until Mark brought them to my attention. I was a little unsure about them, but after seeing so many here, I have really come around. And I mean, it’s strange to go a full day without seeing one. This hotel had bungalows and was right on the beach. They also had several animals for tourists’ sake. This is where I saw ring-tailed lemurs! On an off-note, I went home that night and watched Madagascar; and they are a spittin’ image of them in the movie. They were pretty friendly and really enjoyed bananas. They also had these alligator things. Now, when I first got to Manakara I had heard there were alligators in the river and it made me a little nervous. But seeing those at the hotel, those fears were not warranted at all. They only get to be about 10 inches long; so I think the only thing to be worried about is losing a toe. For lunch we had misao with beef, which is pasta with some veggies in it and an oily sauce. We also had langoste, which are small lobster! Soooo good. This was accompanied by cassava and rice and an amazing sauce. I was stuffed to the brim when we left there. After lunch we all took a nap on mats on the grass then played in the ocean and walked up the coast for a little while. It was a very nice day. And to top it all off, there were enough leftovers for us to have the same amazing meal for dinner.
This week there has been a small artisan’s festival at the commune. Not too many people there, but some pretty cool handicrafts and a lot of jams and jellies. I bought some earrings, mainly because I did not bring any with me to Madagascar and I didn’t want the holes to grow in. I also bought some pineapple jam, some honey, a bottle of red wine, and 4 baskets for clothes, because those are a lot cheaper than having an armoire or dresser built. I splurged a little, but I figured it was ok because they don’t have fairs here that often. I realize now that I should have bought things that aren’t edible so I have something to show. I know what you’re thinking, and no, the earrings and baskets are not edible.
It is time for me to go back to the fair today for lunch, because a friend of mine makes actual hamburgers (with mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and buns) and sells them. I figure I might as well take advantage of them now. Luckily she told me she could make them for me if I wanted them. Actually she said just tell her what I want and she would make it. Things are going to start happening to me now.
