Veloma Madagasikara

So long...farwell...goodbye Madgascar. Counting today (June 6th), I have 10 days left here. So I've started this post, and everyday I'm going to write about something I'm going to miss about Madagascar and some of the things I won't so much miss.

1- June 6th:
I will desperately miss my apartment. Not only is it probably the nicest apartment I will ever live in, but it's the first place I've lived by myself, and when I look back and think about my last 9 months here, I will always fondly picture my "penthouse" with the nearly 360 degree view of Tana, in the center of town. So added to that, is my neighborhood, with my gardiens, shopowners, taxi drivers and prostitutes. It has been an unique community to live in and I wouldn't have changed my experience for the world!
I will not miss constantly being asked for money by clearly homeless, parentless children. It truly breaks my heart to see them, and it has only gotten more difficult the longer I've been here, because I've learned how difficult and miserable their lives truly are. I wish I could have done more for them, than give them money or food. However, in truth, they are very poignant, visible examples of the poverty in this country, and their haunting faces will be a constant reminder of that to me and in a strange way I appreciate the reality of that fact. Madagascar is not just sunshine and cute lemurs!

2- June 7th:
I will miss the people I've met and made friends with here. The Malagasy are incredibly generous and welcoming people, and I've learned so much from them in my short time here. I will particularly miss my colleagues at work, who I've become used to seeing everyday and talking about everyday things. They were also the first to welcome and accept me, and without their help, I would never have been able to finish my work, or more importantly, feel at home here.
I will not miss taxi brousses, or more particularly, the people associated with taxi brousses. I always feel like they are trying to cheat me out of money, or they drive the slowest one could imagine possible. I guess it is part of the experience, and god knows, I've experienced them enough. I guess maybe one day I will look back fondly and laugh about them, and it's true that Greyhound now seems like luxury traveling, but for the moment, they are still too fresh in my mind.

3- June 8th:
I will miss the landscape here. Madagascar is unlike any other country I've seen, with such unique and beautiful mountains, forests, beaches, deserts... I love the red earth of the high plateau, with the tall red, brick houses, surrounded by rice paddies. Or the lush, fertile rainforests that cover the mountainsides of the east coast and surpass all my expectations for what I had imagined the tropical rainforests of Madagascar to be like. I've taken many a road trip (most in the dreaded taxi brousse) and the best entertainment is just to watch the surrounding area and see how it changes and reflects the diversity of this country.
I will not miss the terrible exhaust that seems to be produced by any and every vehicule found in Madagascar. The cheapest fuel here is diesel, and so most of the cars, trucks, taxis/taxi be/taxi brousse have diesel engines that badly need some serious work. Virtual rain clouds are produced by these things and I'm seriously concerned that I may get lung cancer just by being forced to breath this stuff while walking in tana or riding in a car with it's windows open.

4- June 9th:
I will miss the light, clouds, and sunsets. The sky is amazingly vast and blue here nearly everyday, and I've never seen such beautiful clouds before or extraordinary sunsets. Literally everday, the sky and clouds would turn these amazing colors of red, pink, orange, gold, that one would be lucky to see once a year in America. I know you think I'm exaggerating, but I feel like I can't do justice to the beauty I've seen here, so I'll stop trying.
I won't miss Malagasy food. I love rice and eat it about twice a day now and I'm sure will eat it a lot more in the States. However, the Malagasy sauces (or loaka) that go with the rice are some of the most bland and boring things I've ever eaten, and usually with way too much salt. They also eat strange things like eel, turtle and even lemurs (though it's illegal), which I never tried and hopefully never will. Needless to say, I can't wait for some good Mexican food and my mom's cooking.

5- June 10th:
So, it's my last weekend in Tana, and my miss thing for today is quite appropriate. I will miss Malagasy music and dancing at clubs/family gatherings/in the car (okay, so that's just me, and I do that even in the States, but I'll still miss doing it to Malagasy music). As you've read on my blog, I have had many fun memories of trying to shake my booty Malagasy style. I'm still no good at it, but I'm bringing home music with which to practice with. Sadly though, it's not the same as the carefree and jovial atmosphere of live music at Glacier, or blasting it from my tiny speakers at parties at my apartment. It truly is one of my favorite things about Malagasy culture.
This part is getting harder, because there is much more that I will miss than what I won't. But I know I won't miss the difficulty of store hours. The majority of stores are open from 8:30 am - noon and 2:00 pm - 5:30 or 6pm. For someone who has a job and responsibilities, this time table poses many problems, and I can't tell you how many times, I've tried to go shopping during lunchtime or in the evening and the stores I want to go are closed. It's amazing they make any money really. I think I will be shocked to go to Target at 9 pm now, not to mention Meijering at 2 am (always Tabitha's idea).

6- June 11th:
I will miss bargaining. I've gotten to be quite an expert and I'm now used to bargaining in almost every situation that involves money. I'm often forced just to laugh at the high price and walk away, and then they will run after me, cutting the prices down enormously. Sometimes the guilt factor does get in the way though, because I know these people desperately need this money in order to eat, so I'm not completely stingy, and try to go to children or mother's with infants, when I'm shopping in the street. It will be very interesting shopping in the States now, and someone says "That'll be $20," and I'll probably naturally respond, "How about $10?"
I will not miss the bugs here. I've gotten better about it, and I'm pretty good at killing most of them now, but I'm still sick of it. Even sleeping with a mosquito net, I'm often woken up by the buzzing of a mosquito in my ear, and then I'm forced to find it and kill it, before I can get any rest. And don't even get me started on cockroaches or the spiders. I think the largest in the world probably exist here in Madagascar, and even though they are not poisonous or dangerous, they still scare the shit out of me.

7- June 12th:
It's Sunday here and I'll definitely miss the laziness of Sunday's here. Nothing is open, except a few restaurants. And so my tradition on Sunday was to sleep in, read my book, enjoy my apartment, and eat a good meal. I will definitely miss that, though it is true that I can do that (and have done that many times in the past) on Sunday's in the States. However, there is just something about the emptiness and calmness of the streets on Sundays, that makes me feel more relaxed and calm myself.
I won't miss the pollution here. I know I already discussed the exhaust, which truly is terrible, but on top of that people litter here more than anywhere else I've seen. People throw trash out of car windows everywhere in madagascar, and the effect is that trash is strewn everywhere and really takes away from the natural beauty of the country. It's particularly bad in Tana, and it makes life here seem more sad and depressing because of it.

8- June 13th:
I'll miss my Peace Corps friends that i've made here. Tabitha is a given and is more like family than a friend. But I've met other people here who are truly wonderful, most especially Roxy. They've formed my American community here, and though they are few, and I did not get to see them often, it was wonderful to have them here to commiserate with and share experiences. We have a certain bond now, because we understand what it is like to live here, and I'm looking forward to continuing those friendships in the future. Plus practicing my Malagasy, which is still at the level of a two-year old child... but I've improved enormously!!

And the last thing I will miss (at least that I can think of for now) are my plants. The flora here is extraordinary and I'm looking forward to continuing my research in grad school this Sept. I'm exceptionally lucky to have had the opportunity to work here, and I'm excited about doing my thesis on a Malagasy topic!!!

Now I have to stop, because I can't think of anymore things I'll miss (or won't miss) and I'm getting very busy packing, and won't have time to write before I leave. Wednesday, June 15th, I have to be at the airport by 10 pm, and my flight leaves at 1 am. Then it's a week in Paris (to do work), before finally making it back to the US, 9 months after I first left in September 2004. My experience in Madagascar has been life-changing and more profound than I could have ever imagined. I wish my powers of description were more accurate, so that you all would be able to understand what my life had been like for the past 9 months. However, at the very least, I hope that you've enjoyed reading my blog, and maybe even consider traveling here for your own adventures. In any case, I'm sure I'll come back to Madagascar to continue my adventures and I can't wait for my next installments!!!