January 30th

We have now been here in Tana, the capital city of Madagscar, for about a day. We got here yesterday afternoon, and are staying in another hotel. It is much smaller than the last hotel that was outside of the city. The hallways are much more narrow, and the bathroom situation is a little more of a challenge that at our last hotel. Beofre, we all had our own bathrooms in our rooms, like most hotels in the US, but at this one (which is really more of a guest house than hotel I guess), we have one bathroom for all 14 of us, with two showers and two toilets. The bathroom is VERY narrow. There's a little path way in the middle, with the showers on one side and the toilets on the other, and you sort of have to turn sideways to make it down the path. Using the toilets is a bit of challenge becasue often times they don't flush, so you have to fill up a bucket of water and dump it down the toilet which flushes it. And we're not allowed to put toilet paper in the toilets because it creates problems, so we have a basket to put the toilet paper in. Definitely a new experience. When showering, it's to be expected that the water can get very hot or very cold at any given moment, so that's always great.

Today we had our first day at our program center where we will have our classes. We had breakfast there, which consisted of baguette and jam, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, eggs, and some odd sort of rice porridge that tastes sort of like what I would imagine the earth would taste like. We then talked about some different things concerning the semester, and how the academic program will work. After that, we had our Malagasy and French activites, had lunch, went for a walk, talked about hopes and fears for the upcoming semester, learned who our host families are and where they live (I have a mom, a dad, and three brothers!), and we had a reception with an Academic Dean for the programs in our region from Morocco, along with professors from the university here in Tana. It was a great day. We're getting ready to go out to dinner soon with the Academic Dean. We're eating at a malagasy/reunion type restaurant, where I'll be having coconut chicken with rice. :) So I'm off to go get ready!

January 28th

So I've been here in Madagascar for just over 2 days now, and it's amazing thus far. When we first arrived, we got off the plane to what seemed to be a bunch of reporters with cameras, because apparently there was somebody important on our plane who they were waiting for. We tried to figure out who it was, but it was too much of a challenge, and I'm convinved that even if someone told us who it was, we wouldn't have recognized or understood the name anyway. Then we went into the airport, got our passports stamped, picked up our bags, went through customs and met up with our academic director who was waiting for us. We had our stuff loaded on top of our bus and headed to our hotel, where we have been staying for the last few days. The drive to our hotel was fascinating. We saw rice paddies, zebu cattle, super skinny chickens, stray dogs, a beautiful landscape, gas stations, hair salons, signs for different things like play stations, the laughing cow cheese, and some sort of soap for babies. There was meat hanging in little shop windows, which definitely didn't look appetizing with all of the flies over it, there were interesting public buses with the back door open because that's how people get on and off, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle going on around us because it was basically around a rush hour time. The traffic was crazy, and the driving rules, or lack there of were definitely a surprise. Something else that was a little surprising was when our driver turned on the radio, and most of the music was American. Some of the songs had different verses but the same choruses that our current top 40 type songs have. Then a strange Christmasy rap song to the tune of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" came on, and since Christmas was a month ago, we all had a good laugh about that one. We leave our hotel tomorrow afternoon and will then be staying in a hotel in Antananarivo, the capital city which we have been staying just outside of. We'll be there for three nights and then we start our homestays. The way that our program is structured, our Academic Director and other staff have been easing us into the culture of Madagascar, which I think in the long run will have been great. I feel like it gives us a better chance of being successful here and really enjoying our stay, instead of just being dumped into independence. We've so far mostly been in our American bubble with each other, speaking mostly English, while practicing some French in discussions, eating Malagasy food, and trying to pick up on some Malagasy. We had our first lesson this morning and it wasn't too bad, but it will definitely be a bit of a challenge. After our lesson this morning we went to the market where we were able to buy some things and practice our Malagasy that we had learned prior to going. We were taught how to barter, and get some basic communication across. It was an amazing experience. The best word I can use to describe how it felt going there is overwhelming. We were partnered up, so there were seven pairs of us students walking around the market. I was lucky enough to find an awesome pink watch that has a cartoony hippo on it, that appears to be holding a fishing pole. Quite interesting. I also bought a pineapple and some coconut cookies. It was interesting to be such a minority and for that to be acknowledged by them. In the US, you'd never call somebody out by the way that they looked like they do here. It was normal for us to hear "Bonjour Vazaha" or "Manahoana Vazaha,"  which both basically mean "Hello person of European descent." My partner and I actually had a drunk man follow us around the market for a while talking to us in Malagasy first, then switching to French. He was trying to get us to let him be our driver somewhere or something, but we tried to ignore him. He stuck with us for a while, and it definitely made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. After a while of not saying anything, I turned to him and said "non, merci. tsy mila." which means "No thank you, I don't need it." and he made a nasty face and repeated what I had said, mocking me, and then just kept following us. But even though that was a challenge for me, there were a lot of rewarding experiences, like when I was in somebody's way and said excuse me in Malagasy, they seemed to be quite excited that I was speaking their language. There was so much at the market to take in. All five of my senses were on a bit of an overload. There were pigs hooves hanging at one person's booth, there were smelly dried fish at someone elses, and a lot of raw meat at some. Those were all difficult things for my sense of smell to handle. But overall, for a first real introduction to life here in Madagascar, it was an amazing experience. Most of the people were very kind, and patient with my struggling Malagasy. It was definitely encouraging that I did have French to fall back on, and it is nice to know that I'm now comfortable enough with French to be excited to have it to fall back on. One of the biggest language challenges at the market was being able to initiate a conversation/transaction in Malagasy, but not being able to finish it because of our extremely limited vocabulary. For instance, we can ask how much something costs, but we don't know numbers, so if they didn't respond to us with French numbers for the prices (which they usually did), then we were totally lost and confused and had to ask them to repeat, or to say it in French. The money situation made it challenging too because once they told us how much something was, we had to relate it to our understanding of the value of things, particularly in US dollars, which required a bit of math before we could respond. But in the end, I found everything I wanted to buy, and I had some conversations along the way, so I'd say is was a definite success.

I still can't believe I'm here. It's such a beatiful country with beautiful people, whose lives I cannot wait to learn more about. I'm looking forward to the day where I feel comfortable with daily life here, whereas at this point, I haven't really even been introduced to daily life here. I'm  excited to start my homestay and get to know my family, as I'm sure they'll be an integral part of my understanding of things here. Well, for now I should probably go to bed. It's been a real challenge to adjust to the eight hour time change here, and it's already 10:17, so I should try to get some rest, since last night I layed in bed for over two hours before falling asleep.

I'll add photos later! :)

Less than 72 hours!

So, I'm leaving the house in 2 days, 5 hours and, 29 minutes (not that I'm counting or anything) and heading to Boston to start the first leg of my trip ! I can't wait. I'll be landing in Antananarivo the next day, where I'll be met by my program director, and all 14 of us students will head off to orientation for five days. Then our first home stay will begin on February 1st, in the capital, Antananarivo (aka Tana). The next day, we'll start our classes, which consist of French, Malagasy, a field study seminar and a national identity and social change seminar. Throughout the next two months, we'll have a village home stay, which I've been told can be pretty rough, and a home stay in Mahajanga, along with some different excursions. Then the last month of the program, I'll have to do an independent study project where I'm given a stipend to cover living costs and I'll go do my field work and write my 40 page paper. Then the last few days in Madagascar, we will all come back together in Tana where we'll present our work and say our goodbyes. Then I'll be back in the states just in time to celebrate my 19th birthday! Woohoo!

The last few days I've been gathering everything together and packing, making sure that I have everything I need. It seems like there's so much to do, and I'm afraid that I'm going to forget something important. I had to get doctors notes for my prescriptions, I have to make sure I have a list of important phone numbers, my International SOS card, my money, debit card, homework, WHO card, copies of everything, etc... Just my luck, I'm going to forget something silly like my passport. So for those of you reading this, please send good thoughts my way that I'll have a good enough memory and keep everything together! :)

Here are a few pictures of what I've been packing so far:

Razors, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, sun screen, bug spray, beachy hair spray (since my hair probably won't do any other look with the humidity over there), more sun screen, wet wipes, deodorant, more sunscreen, body wash, hand sanitizer, and make up remover. :)

As much as I'd like to ignore the fact that I will be in classes while I'm over there, and doing field work, I have to acknowledge it at some point and make sure to pack school supplies! I have two books that I'm supposed to have read, and I've only read one....I still have this whole book to read, but I'm hoping that maybe over my 30ish hours of travelling, I'll find some reading time. :) I also need to scrummage through all of my school supplies from last semester that are still packed away and pack those for my trip too.

These are all of the gifts I got for my home stay families. :) Calenders, playing cards, mints, beanie babies, string for macrame, pencils, stickers, jump rope, mascara, eye shadow and eyeliner (for my host sisters), caramels, pop rocks, foot ball, bouncy ball, little alien things, weird cat and dog that grow when you put them in water, three onesies for any babies I met along the way (Thanks to Jeannine!), and a couple of other odds and ends.

Most importantly, my medications!! I've got a little bit of everything, a few prescriptions, a lot of over the counters, with some bandaids, tissues, and cough drops too. I've got stuff for allergies, colds, flus, food poisoning, my awful knee issues, and more. I also had to get doctors notes, and a medic alert bracelet for my amoxicillin/penicillin allergy. Hopefully I have everything that I need! :) 

Shoes!! :) Plus one of my lovely pair of orthotics that should hopefully help with the knee pain I have been experiencing lately. I went to the doctor about it a few days ago, and apparently my x-rays show that I have something on top of my tibia in my knee joint that is some how an indication of some chronic knee condition, so that's always good. I'm taking arthritis meds, ibuprofen, some medicated joint rub, and glucosamine in addition to the orthotics and a stretching and strengthening routine. Hopefully it doesn't flare up too much while I'm gone.

And some of my favorites, a few gifts from Dad. An awesome crank flashlight, and a wonderful pink knife set. Thanks Daddy! :)

I might do another post before I go, or this could be my last update from here in Maine! The next one might just be from Madagascar! I'm certainly going to miss it here, but I sure am ready to do get this trip started. Not much longer!

Update

I got so many great things on Christmas day to prepare me for my travels! I got a gorgeous 3rd travel journal, so I think I'm getting the hint that my family and friends want me to journal while I'm gone. :) And I got an awesome small little mp3 player from my brother, that does recordings too, so I'll be able to hopefully use it when I'm working on my independent study project during the last four weeks of my studies in Madagascar. I'll use it for interviews and the like so that I can write my 40 page paper that's due before I leave. Oh joy. I usually try to convince myself to overlook the fact that studying abroad actually includes studying, but then I'm so quickly reminded by things like the voice recorder, and two books that my parents got me that are reading assignments for my program. I have to read them before I leave, which will be a challenge for me, because I'm not a huge fan of reading. I suppose I'll have to squeeze it in some time in the next month.

I also got a nice tiny camera that was relatively inexpensive so that if it gets stolen, I won't be losing a whole lot (although I am very hopeful that it won't get stolen). And my mom gave me a bunch of summery clothes that we got on sale from Old Navy that will be great for the warm weather that I'm about to enjoy. :)

My Dad got me a pink pocket knife and a pink swiss army knife. He knows me so well. <3 And my brother also gave me an adapter so I can actually use the electricity there. And he gave me bug spray and sun block. My poor fair sensitive skin will not do well with the sun or bugs, so that was very kind of him. :) I got a money belt from my mom, and I was given some money from some family members, which I will put towards buying myself a pair of Tom's shoes. I think they'll be pretty comfortable to do a lot of walking in, and a smaller option than taking a pair of hiking boots, which my program said were optional.

Earlier today, Mom took me to the hair dresser to get my last hair cut here in the US. I got a nice little bob that will hopefully grow out well, since I don't plan on getting it cut in the next six months or so (which is probably longer than I've ever gone without a hair cut....uh oh). I really like it and I'm hoping that having it short will make it a lot easier to take care of while I'm gone. Here's what it looks like:

And the last update for now, I've officially taken all of my typhoid vaccine pills, so I should be relatively safe from getting typhoid fever while I'm gone. Woohoo! :) 

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! One month from today I'll be heading south to Boston, and flying out the next morning, bright and early for a trip that will last me 24 hours. I fly from Boston to JFK to Johannesburg, to Antananarivo, which is the capital of Madagascar. I found out the other day that there are a few other students in my program who are on my flights from JFK to Johannesburg, and from Johannesburg to Antananarivo, so at least maybe others will help me from getting lost in an airport, because that is something that would definitely happen to me.

I'm excited to see what an international flight is like since I'm used to flying on really small planes to and from Portland, ME, where only one side of the plane has storage for carry on luggage. They are so small that I have to duck my head while walking down the center aisle, and they even make me start to feel mildly claustrophobic.

So it should be an interesting experience to fly in this instead:

Unfortunately, on my way home from Madagascar, I have a 7 hour layover in JFK before flying into Boston, and then I still have a 3 hour drive home. And then maybe I'll be lucky enough to get showered with presents, since my 19th birthday is three days after I get home. Or maybe I'll be thankful enough just to take a shower after my 30 hours of traveling. And then I'll probably pig out on Reese's and make Mom make lobster and haddock for dinner. Oh the joys of Maine that I will certainly miss while I'm gone. Or maybe I'll even ask her to make me German Apple Pancakes. We have them every year on Christmas morning, and they are AMAZING. Seriously, if you haven't had them, you have to try them.  

Doesn't this just look scrumptious?

Although I suppose that before I start planning on what I'm going to eat when I come home, I should think about my last meal here in the States and what I want it to be. :) I'll probably settle on brownies. I seriously have a chocolate problem.

Anyway, enough about food. I'll have to do a post within the next few days showing everyone some of the treats I get for Christmas in preparation for my trip. Honestly, I hope my stocking is full of sunscreen, bug spray, and all kinds of different medicines that could prepare me for anything. Unfortunately, I've always been the kid who always caught all of the colds and flus, so I have a feeling I'm going to be one of the sicker ones on our trip, and I want to make sure I'm prepared for anything. :) I just hope I don't have any skin problems, because they gross me out more than anything. Speaking of medicine and health, I'm half way through my typhoid vaccine pills, so I'll be done with them in four more days! Other than that, I have to find a medical alert bracelet for my amoxicillin allergy and take malaria pills right before I leave, while I'm in Madagascar, and a week after I get home (although I did find out that even if you take malaria pills, you can still get malaria, and even though I'm taking the vaccine pills for typhoid fever, I can still get typhoid fever, so those are a few fun facts.).

That's it for now! To all of my friends and family (with a special shout out to Lily Hofstra for being awesome), have a very Merry Christmas!! <3

So I'm officially all packed to go home for Christmas break, except for the last of the bedding for my last night here in DC. It's sad to leave it behind, but I'm definitely going to try to come visit DC for a week or so this summer after I get back from Madagascar. I'm starting to get antsy about my trip and it isn't even Christmas yet. I have gotten two beautiful travel journals as Christmas gifts, and I've already started using both of them. :) My goal is to fill them both with drawings and writings by the time I come home (which is definitely going to be a challenge since I've always been terrible at keeping a journal.). I drew a picture of my visa in one of the journals, with colored pencils and all, so I'm off to a good start.

One of the journals I got was from my bestie Kate Brendel. She filled the front page of the journal with a bunch of sayings in Malagasy. Let's just say this looks like it's going to be a challenging language. She said that these phrases are the only ones that I'll need to know:

• Hi! - Manao ahoana e!
• Good Bye! - Veloma!
• Cheers! - Mirary fahasalamana e!
• Sorry! - Mifona!
• I'm lost :( - Very Aho :(
• Theif! - Mpangalatra o!
• Are you married? - Manam-bady ve lanao?
• I'm single- Tsy manam-bady aho
• Can I have your number? - Azoko raisina ve ny laharana findainao?
• Would you marry me? - Hanam-bady ahy ve lanao?
• I'm just kidding. - Mananihany aho
• I'm hungry! - Noana aho!

So it looks like I'll be leaving Madagascar with a husband. Thanks Kate! <3 I'm glad someone is looking out for me here. I'm sure all of these phrases will come in handy, especially "Would you marry me?" :)

And on top of these wonderful phrases, my other bestie Gabbi wrote me a beautiful card with some great pieces of advice, my favorites being the following:

• If it's moving, don't eat it. 
• Know that, even when it's tough, you're where you should be and you'll come out all the better for it. 
• Follow your gut!
• Remember all those back home who believe in and love you. Never forget them- though they are thousands of miles away, they can still provide comfort when you need it most. 
• Smile at least three times a day- even if you're curled over a toilet
• Don't be afraid to try new things
• Don't be afraid to fall in love- with anyone or anything. In fact, try to find something new to love everyday

I will definitely be trying to follow all of this advice, so all of you back home, I'll be calling on you for comfort! Thank you all for supporting me, even though a lot of you think I'm crazy. :) 

Well that's all for now! I'm off to have my last dinner in DC for a while! 

In one month and ten days, I'll be starting my trip from Warren, Maine all the way to Antananarivo, Madagascar, and I cannot wait. I'm studying abroad on what is sometimes called "the eighth continent," since 80% of the species found on the island aren't found anywhere else in the world, and yes, some of those species are lemurs! :)

Right now I'm sitting in my dorm room at GW, and I've just packed up most of my stuff because my mom is on her way down here to help me move out. The last day or so has definitely been hard. I'm having a lot of mixed emotions. I've left a job that I loved and co-workers who had become like family to me, and now I'm in the process of wrapping up finals and saying goodbye to my besties, which is definitely hard. Knowing that I won't see them for possibly a year (because I'm planning on studying abroad in France in the fall) makes saying goodbye really hard. But even though I'm sad to leave DC, I am so excited to start an amazing adventure. I'm hoping that studying in a country so different from mine will help open my eyes to different experiences. I know that parts of the trip will be difficult, like dealing with sickness, and fleas, and cockroaches...ugh. But I hope that in the end it is all worth it and that I will have made wonderful friends and learned more than I can imagine.

So those are just a few of my thoughts for now, but after packing everything up, I think I need a nap. Keep checking back though, because I'll be posting all about my adventure, the good, bad and ugly, for the next five months! :)