March 24, 2012

I have successfully survived, and actually thrived in the village stay. I am now back in Tana for one week, and then it's already time for ISP! I can't believe how quickly this semester has flown by. We're now over half way done with the semester, and I am convinced that with my research, the next half will go by even faster than the first. But I'm quite excited to start learning about Sakalava wedding ceremonies, even if it does mean that I have to write a 40 page paper soon.

As far as the village goes, it was a small piece of paradise. I had two brothers, who are 14 and 27, and a sister who is 17. My parents worked at home on the farm, where we had rice, corn, some other vegetables, in addition to zebu, pigs, ducks, geese, dogs, a cat, and chickens. It was great to be "back on the farm" and I realized how much I actually love living in the country. My family was great, and I fit in flawlessly like a missing puzzle piece. It was really sad to leave. In some perfect dream world, if I didn't have my past, and my immediate future of finishing school, I would melt away into the Malagasy country side and it would be perfect.

While I was there, I went with my sister and her fiance to visit a beautiful lake, and as we got there, it started to downpour and it was freezing cold (which was actually really common in this area, especially since it's the beginning of winter here now), and we tried hiding behind rocks but ended up soaking wet and dirty. Then we found these small stores along the lake where people sold precious stones, and we stayed there with them and waited for the rain to pass. My sister and her fiance bought me a beautiful bracelet and necklace, and then we headed on our way. When I got back home, drenched, my academic director was sitting in my living room waiting to check in and see how the village stay was going. I was so excited to tell him everything (after I changed into a dry lamba, of course), and told him that I had been in good health since getting there (finally my parasite left me), and had fallen in love with my family and my village.

It was possibly the best 5 days of my time here in Madagascar, and unfortunately also the most removed my my actual life and reality back in the states. But perhaps someday, I'll find myself back there in a different context. We'll see what the future holds for me. I hope it I get to see my family there again, and it wasn't just a short five day stay, that will seem like a dream once I'm back in the US and will certainly fade away in my memories.

But for now, the next week holds a lot of work. I have to wrap up all of my assignments and write a thematic seminar paper and have everything turned in by Friday, because Saturday, I'm headed back to Mahajanga for a month to do my research! Send good thoughts and prayers my way everyone, I'll definitely need them!