July 22, 2011

I’ve now been in Madagascar for over a week, though it feels like I’ve been here for several. I’m typing in my bedroom in my host family’s house in Mantasoa, near the PC Training Center here. Here’s a quick rundown of my PC adventure thus far:

Flew to Philly the 10^th and lost my MP3 player en route (Chicago-Midway). Staging in Philly was pretty uneventful, other than being given $120 each and one last free night in the US (beer was involved). Left the hotel at 2:30 AM, got to JFK airport about 2 hours before the check-in counter people did. Thanks PC. Lost my appetite about this time and didn’t get it back until I had already been in country for a couple of days. Don’t know why, but the lack of sleep didn’t help.

And then there was the flight to Johannesburg: 15h20m… couldn’t really sleep or eat so it sucked. I will say that South African Airways is an awesome airline though. Transferred in Jburg (ran to our connecting flight) and made it to Antananarivo (Tana) with only four bags lost of the 50-plus the 27 of us checked.

We drove from Tana to Mantasoa right away, and the three hour ride was amazing for me. I felt right at home, and felt like I was back in West Africa. French words were mixed in with Malagasy ones on signs along the way. Rice paddies replaced millet fields, though, and the Malagasy people are a diverse group which is ethnically both African and Asian.

Unfortunately, this taste of Madagascar was the only bit I got for the next few days, as we stayed semi-trapped at the training center until that Saturday. The staff (all Malagasy except a few higher-ups) are amazing here: friendly, helpful and patient. I can’t imagine how much work they put into making our training go smoothly. I could go on and on about it.

Saturday the 16^th we all moved from the training center to our host families, which was an anxious experience for everyone. We all knew some basic information about our families beforehand, but actually meeting them and moving in with them was completely different.

I got really lucky with my family for a few reasons. My host dad is an electrician, so we have electricity and a comfortable house. Also, two other trainees and I live right next to each other. And most importantly, my family is awesome.

My neny (mom) is very nice, helpful, patient, a great cook, and an awesome singer. I have a brother, Tsimbina (19), who is technically a cousin but living with us for the summer and learning how to be an electrician with my dad. They’re in the next room taking apart and fixing old (by American standards) computer monitors right now. The oldest daughter of my parents goes by Oni (13), and she helps run the little family store, does housework, and loves Justin Bieber. A lot of people here love Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson…

Then we have Nomena (4). She is a scream. She only has two moods, and if she weren’t four she might be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In a good mood she laughs, screams, sings at the top of her lungs, plays with her food, and runs away when I chase her. But in a bad mood she ignores me (and most people), pouts, and can cry loudly. Today, I was hanging out in the backyard (which has chickens, two cows [omby in Malagasy and hereafter, since omby is a fun word], and borders on a small river. The female omby (who is also pregnant and due in 10 weeks if I understood my uncle correctly) was tied up to a stake, but kind of acted like it was going to charge at Nomena, who immediately ran away and burst into tears. Oh and female omby have horns and are big so I don’t really blame her. But anyway that’s Nomena. Tiako be aho! ( I love her!)

My days here are pretty chill (very nice!). I wake up with the roosters around 5:30, when Oni starts the charcoal fire for breakfast. Then I pretty much just kick it until 6:45 or so when we eat breakfast. I guess I could sleep in more, but I’m on the early schedule and I don’t wanna mess that up lol. Breakfast is some sort of bread, something sugary to put on it, and coffee or tea. This is NOT typical of Malagasy, who generally eat rice at all three meals.

Ah the rice (“vary” in Malagasy).  When we do eat rice, we pile it on our plates, then add a little of whatever side dish is on the menu. Like, rice is the main course and the meat/vegetables is the side dish lol. Imagine eating Thai food, but with twice as much rice and a third as much other stuff. We don’t drink anything until the end of the meal, when they bust out the ranon’ampango. Ranon’ampango is made by boiling water with a little burned rice in the pan after the rice is finished cooking. It tastes like hot water with a hint of burned popcorn and I think it’s pretty good. It was crucial at the training center when I didn’t have an appetite.

But the digestive problems I was expecting have not materialized (literally). Let’s just say there’s a lack of fiber in my diet. Not sure if the whole losing ten pounds during training thing is going to happen.

This weekend, my uncle (dadatoa)’s son’s fiancé is coming for a visit, so we are eating dinner there Sunday. The word fete (party) was also mentioned, and my neny said we will be dancing under a temporary wooden roof structure outside (awesome). So I’m pretty excited. And my trainee neighbors Samuel and Eric (Sam and Anders to us- language mix-up lol) were both asked by their nenys last night if they like dancing, so I hope they’re invited.

Overall, I’m loving it here. The people are awesome and the country is beautiful. Pictures to come when I have a chance!