Back in Mad!
Trip Start
Nov 02, 2003
1
68
70
Trip End
Feb 14, 2006
Tana,
Madagascar
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
I'm traveling with my best friend from Peace Corps, Caitlin, and meeting up with close friends Beth and Wendy. Caitlin and I met at the gate at JFK, and made last-minute calls to parents and grandparents to say goodbye. Flights (via Paris) were uneventful, though Delta sat us separately on both flights and we were shocked by a couple of people who refused to switch seats (to essentially the same window or aisle seat a few rows away) to let us sit together. We eventually worked it out with others, though we lost our window seats on the Paris-Tana flight and couldn't see the Saraharan sand dunes, which was a favorite memory of mine from the last flight. Maybe on the way back.
Anyway... We got into Tana (Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar) last
night and immediately had intense deja vu driving through the streets
to the hotel, which continued today. We're staying at Sakamanga, a cute downtown
hotel where I stayed with visitors during PC service; we slept very well and long. Breakfast in the Sakamanga courtyard this morning, then money -changing and other initial errands (including printing a bunch of photos off
my camera as gifts for folks in my PC site, Betafo.) Went to Akany Avoko girls'
orphanage with Caitlin to drop off a donation she raised and ran into a
current ed PCV (Tammi) who ate fried bananas with us and gave us all
the Peace Corps gossip. Akany Avoko is *amazing* -- I think that one of my entries from early in PC training is about how they take incredibly good care of 120 girls, many of whose families gave them to wealthy people as servants. When the wealthy people don't want the girls anymore, they accuse them of a crime so the police will take them away; fortunately Akany Avoko takes some of them in. They are also among the most environmentally innovative places in Madagascar: solar cookers, solar fruit dryers, rainwater catchment, recycling, organic gardening, composting toilets... it's fantastic. It's especially amazing compared to the orphanage where I used to work (more below), which had 4 caretakers for 60 infants; Akany Avoko has 8 staff taking care of 14.
When we returned to the city, we went briefly to Gasy Walmart (Jumbo Score) but
didn't find the stuff we were looking for (ice packs and cheap watches, since neither
of us wanted to take our nice ones.) Caitlin and I then went to a 'spa' for waxes and massages, picked up the photos, looked at jewelry (Caitlin's passion, which she has largely imparted to me), had a drink at
one of our favorite restaurants and delicious dinner (grouper with
mint crust and garlic green beans = $6) at another. Now we're at an internet bar
next to Sakamanga, thinking about getting some banana-chocolate crepes that my sister became mildly obsessed with when she visited, and waiting for Beth to arrive in a few hours. (Unfortunately for us, Beth is going straight to her PC village tomorrow morning and will stay there the rest of the trip, so we only get to see her tonight.)
Tomorrow
we're heading to Antsirabe (the big city near my PC village) early, meeting up with Wendy and maybe going to
the orphanage where I used to volunteer. The biggest thing I did during PC (and probably during life so far) was saving the life of a ten-pound two-year-old from Betafo by having her put in the orphanage, and I'm very eager to see how she's doing. We're meeting up with local friends, including my ex-boyfriend Poucy, tomorrow afternoon/evening, and probably going to Arche, the bar where we always hung out in Antsirabe. On Friday morning, Caitlin, Wendy, and I will temporarily part ways while Caitlin and I go to our PC sites. My best friend from my village, Natacha, is 9 months pregnant with her first baby, and I *really* hope she gives birth while I'm there!!! I'm excited beyond words to see everyone and give the village kids all the clothes I brought -- much of it worn by Sarah B. and her siblings in their first 10 years of life and generously donated (after I called at the last minute) by her mom Marsha, who lives in New Haven. I'll be in Betafo
through Monday the 31, then New Year's in Antsirabe, then headed back up to
Tana for a night, then flying to the northernmost city, Diego. I've been to Diego twice before; it's beautiful, but I'm much more excited about visiting the surrounding beaches and parks. In particular, one park 4 hours south of Diego, Ankarana, has the most amazing limestone formations -- google "tsingy," or wait for me to post photos. We'll be in the Diego area from the 2nd to
8th, then back to Tana and flying out at 1 am on the 10th. Phew!
I'm overwhelmed with happiness, nostalgia, and deja vu, but basically ecstatic to be back here. Hope you're enjoying the holidays as well!
love, Jess
