Whoa. A lot has happened!
SO MUCH has happened since the last post! Whoa – I really need better internet connection. And I type that….as I’m about to literally have none for the next 3 weeks.
So we’ve left the capital and all of its cancer promoting glory from tons of exhaust filling your lungs
daily. Leaving was an experience. We drove to a part of town where there are rows of buses that can take you to Tamatave which was our next destination. Zach and Claudien (our fantastic translator who we know from living here previously) start “negotiating” with the many many drivers who want to take us there. This goes on for over an hour. Why?? I have no idea. That is my answer for a lot of what happens in Madagascar. As they all debate the best price and what time the bus should leave the rest of us are surrounded by people selling sunglasses, usb drives, cookies, bananas, oranges, pillows, crackers, and more sunglasses. The students are learning quickly what “no thank you” means in Malagasy.
At one point a drunken older man began harassing us and asking for a rain jacket and simply would not go away. He kept sticking around and getting braver. Finally he focused on Fletcher and his jacket and took a few steps toward him when Olie jumped in between the two and them and starting yelling “tsy! Tsy! Tsy!” which means “no! no! no!” in Malagasy. Hahaha. It was a very proud moment for me. I think probably for Fletcher too.
We finally get on the bus. We ended up hiring a private bus for about $15 more because the driver said he would leave now. I mean like right now. Not we’ll leave in 2 hours….and then we actually leave in 4 which is quite typical – but now! The Malagasy went nuts. For one, they can’t believe we would pay $15 more just to leave 3 hours earlier, and they can’t imagine hiring a private taxi bus – that’s so much extra room! We all had our own seat! No one had to sit on laps or next to a chicken and everyone had a seat belt. Good times.
The ride was beautiful. So incredibly beautiful. Madagascar is unlike any other place. And the people are unlike any other people. Everyone is a friend and everyone is happy. The smiles are bigger and brighter. The happiness is pure genuine.
We began my data collection in Adasibe. My team is fantastic. Keely and Rachel (nutrition students)
love the people and are totally embracing the experience (at least they seem to be!). My translator Claudien is perfect. Not only is his English good – he is simply just wonderful interacting with the people. If a child is crying, he magically pulls candy from his pocket, if the mom is apprehensive, he quickly makes her comfortable. He puts their needs above ours which is exactly what I want him to do without even needing to communicate that.
Thankfully – we haven’t had anyone turn us away yet. They are all so curious to see what we are doing they usually end up coming to us while we are with a
different family or simply walking through the village. To recap – we are looking at diet diversity, food beliefs, and crop usage (via a questionnaire and market surveys) while also taking measurements of weight, height, and mid-arm circumference to assess nutrition status. Everyone wants to be weighed and measured whether they are part of the study or not! And the stadiometer especially gathers a lot of curiosity. Most researchers who come to these remote villages are looking at conservation, or they are tourists wanting to see the lemurs. Both however are spending time in the forest. I’m sure we have caused quite the stir in the village – 3 white women plus Claudien carrying around weird equipment and only wanting to speak with women and children – going into
their homes and crowding around sitting on the floor or chairs. It’s been great! We also got to see some lemurs while in Andasibe and some other really cool animals!
The first thing we do when we arrive in the village is find the mayor. How do you find the mayor? Just ask random people on the street? We find him in a building at the highest point in the village wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, and….snow boots. It’s 70 degrees. All the Malagasy are wearing pants, sweaters, jackets, and those who can – wear snow boots.
We have now left Andasibe (more almost vomiting on the most winding road I’ve ever been on in my life) and are in Tamatave – waiting to leave for Betampona where we will spend the next 3 weeks. We have a 2 hour drive, 3 hour hike, and several river crossings in dug-out canoes ahead of us before we get there – boys as well. I think we’ve hired 25 porters to get all the food, equipment, and luggage there? Porters = people in case you were confused. And yes….food for 9 people for the next 3 weeks. Where we are going is so remote, we will not be able to access more food except maybe rice and bananas. Vitamins, anyone? Fletcher has been eating the heck out of some rice and Oliver has been eating the heck out of some beans....so I suppose together they make a Malagasy person.
On this day though (after purchasing provisions for the next 3 weeks) we spent some time at the gorgeous and peaceful Indian Ocean where some things never change. The boys played in the waves just like they did 3 years ago and we just enjoyed life.
