Hotel Le Cactus Vert Antananarivo

... Luke then took us out top the big crafts market on the way to the airport. OMG! This place is huge!!!!! A row of shops about a kilometer long along the river road. Tons of wood carvings, textiles, vanilla pods and other stuff. Bought some wooden carvings and inlaid wood picture of a "flight to the moon". Things were very inexpensive but of course you had to bargain for things. I had to ...

... we were soaked that night. I need to thank Phil for that poncho I stole from him back in August, it has saved me numerous times this trip. That night we has a party back at camp with this amazing rum punch our local guide created, we only found out later that he ratios the rum and orange juice 1:1...a good time was had by all. - From Isalo we spent one night in Tulear before heading to Anako by speed boat. We ...

... is dealing with being poor. I head back to the hotel but only to shower before taking the advice from the card players of going to a bar to watch the African Nations Cup final between Egypt and Cameroon. On my way out, I run into no one else but Mr. Florent!!! He's been waiting in the lobby for me for about 2 hours. He says something about marijuana as well and I have to ask because this is getting ridiculous. Turns out, people have been ...

... where we inquire. We have almost nothing clean left! Street numbers are none existing, so you really have to look for everything. The fist one cannot do it in 3 days and the second one is in fact a dry cleaner, between 1 and 2 Euro a piece, If you have a luggage FULL of dirty clothes, the bill would be huge. There is a beautiful station at the end of the street. No passenger's trains, unfortunately, only goods. We go back to the hotel. I have a ...

... and drinks and kindly listened to all our uncouth dinner discussions. Physical ailments, bodily functions, and newly discovered edible animal parts are popular topics. I didn't realize how much they dominated conversation until my dad got here. He wants us all to go through a cultural re-entry program where we can be educated on basic manners again. It's a good idea; I try to stay as high maintance and etiquette ...

... north of ours. They needed to make sure we were okay. The storm was a little stronger than they had expected. We stayed at a hotel for the weekend, but returned to our town for the day on Saturday to go through our things. Everything was mildewing, especially my suitcase of clothes I had carefully packed away. Glad I had the foresight to do that. My parents did raise me to know better, I just disregard it at very inoppurtune ...

... at markets, being herded down the road, being chased by a young herder in the hills. I think more than anything, the poverty is starting to get to me. It is something I have been wading through for alot on this trip. Sometimes it seems okay, people seem to be managing somehow with a smile on their face... but the other day it hit me hard, maybe there is something a little otherwordly about this place that ...

... vocational skills like making paper and crafts AND I got to hold the cutest Malagasy babies :) I will send the info. over about donations and sponsoring a child there because it is SUCH an amazing place that is really making a difference here in Madagascar. I hope to volunteer there once a month when I come in for banking. Sometimes you just need kids to play with and be silly with! The couple that runs it ...

... their schedule was written on the board and it was quite clear that they had English class at the time I was there. The children just looked at me wide-eyed and then one little girl quietly told me they already went home for lunch. I was ******. I went to the servion, the guy in charge of discipline and he just shrugged his shoulders and told me to go home, too. I didn't teach them again till Friday, but the next day I went by their class and they all ...

... are French! We heard there is an Education volunteer coming to our town in about 3 months so it will be nice to have another PCV in town. Life is crazy! Sometimes Aaron and I look at each other and say "can you believe we are living in Madagascar!" Here is our new address: (please write us- we do have email occasionally but it is slow and it took us 6 minutes just to log into our email account!- we would love to hear from you) Hope all is well! Aaron and Jenny