Week 35 - Madagascar
Madagascar is a learning curve, as we knew it would be. We are so fortunate to have found a great place to stay with really nice people who are constantly going above and beyond to help us out. I've figured out (with a lot of guidance) how to meet all our shopping needs on foot. I'm still getting lost walking, because the streets kind of wind around and the ocean on three sides makes it confusing, but I'm learning. Google doesn't help much here, not for maps, translate, or just looking up information about places to go, so I'm really glad we're not reliant on it. That's why staying with folks who have a wealth of information and share it freely is really priceless.
S is still delighted with his new friends, but because it's been so long since he's had friends he needs alone time to recover and hasn't figured that out so he just falls apart at the end of the day sometimes. C has some frustration about not really having friends since these kids are more S's age. He wants to play with them too, but then gets frustrated because whatever game he wants to play doesn't hold anyone else's interest. So this week has mostly been about figuring out routines and how to meet all the various needs.
People are friendly here, but similarly to Kenya, it's hard to know when someone just wants to make conversation versus wanting to sell something. Mostly, though, they're just saying hello and if they do offer something or ask for money they're accepting of a no.
I've made a fool of myself many times. One good one was trying to buy mosquito coils. I didn't see them on the shelf so I typed into Google translate set on Malagasy, "Do you have mosquito coils?" The woman at the desk read the Malagasy words aloud, then repeated them to me incredulously. I nodded, uncertainly. Then she read the English words aloud, "Oh, you want mosquito coils!" Then we both laughed. I haven't tried to use Google translate since, but I'm going to try to learn a few basic Malagasy phrases. French is also spoken quite a bit and I can muddle through with that if I have to. As usual, most people here are much more accomplished linguistically than we are.
There is definitely poverty here. People seem to be pretty adept at making the most of everything. For example, when I buy a little bunch of fresh herbs, they're tied together with a little piece of grass. I love seeing the ingenuity. It's a very friendly culture, lots of smiles. The weather is nice. We had one really rainy day, but other than that it's been sunny, breezy, and not too hot. We're on the very southern tip, so I guess it's fall. There are a lot less mosquitoes than in Mauritius and Reunion. We're taking the malaria prophylaxis to be safe, but if I'd realized how few mosquitoes we'd actually encounter I wouldn't have worried about it. The kids didn't get out much the first part of the week, partly because I have been letting them play with their friends and partly because I'm still figuring out how to navigate myself. Overall, though, I really love it here. More than I thought I would. We came for S, but it was a great choice for all of us.
Tuesday was a holiday, Martyr's Day, commemorating a failed rebellion against the French which eventually paved the way to independence. S's friends were off school so we had a holiday as well. S, his friends, their mom, and I went out for pastries for breakfast. The kids played most of the day, then in the afternoon we tried to go to Fort Flacort museum, but the guide had decided to take the afternoon off, so we went for ice cream. Wednesday, the three younger kids and I went back. J and C were doing algebra and the other kids' mom was working so it was just me and the three 6/7-year-olds. I was nervous about crossing the street, but everyone listened really well and we were fine. It's a beautiful view, though just about everywhere in Fort Dauphin is beautiful. The guide spoke good English. I couldn't take many pictures because it's inside a military base, but she let me take a few of the kids. The first thing she showed us were some wood spikes that the little ring clipped off during a circumcision gets put on. She then went on to say that sometimes the uncle that's the mother's brother eats it with banana. We went on to see the original fort, built in 1643, and the museum which has neat exhibits showing the history and culture of the area. The kids were most interested in the farming tools, traps, and snares. I was interested in a series of pictures showing women's hairstyles. Many women here wear beautiful and intricate braids and I learned at the museum that the different styles, many of which I had seen worn by women I pass in the streets, signify stages of a woman's life; girlhood, courtship, marriage, pregnancy, and old age. I thought that was pretty interesting. Of course the cannons were popular, and we got ice cream again on the way home.
Thursday we did morning lessons and went to the beach. It's one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. We found some tide pools and did some biology, then some rocks and did some geology, so lots of good science work. And of course some fun playing in the sand.
Friday we went to Nahampoana, which is a colonial estate founded in 1870 as a reserve for native and imported plants. The ride there was part of the adventure since the road literally had water-filled potholes bigger than the car. Four different types of lemurs live at Nahampoana, and we got to see three — ring-tailed, brown, and sifaka. We didn't see the southern bamboo lemur; they're hard to spot because they're small, but we did see one here last week. The sifaka is one the kids had really wanted to see, so I'm glad we got to.
We got to take a little rowboat down a river which was really beautiful.
There was a little bamboo circle that was really cool to go inside of.
The kids had a great science day and learned lots about plants and animals.
Saturday was another fun and pretty day. Our host family mom and kids took us on a boat ride through two lakes and a river to a beach.
We played and had a picnic. The three younger kids had a great time together, C mostly chatted with the adults, but did play some.
It was very windy and sunny, and we enjoyed that, but the boat was late coming back to pick us up and we all got just a bit too much sun. It was a beautiful spot to be stuck, but everyone was pretty tired by the end.
We're relaxing on Sunday, and have more adventures planned for next week.