We have now finished up our 3rd and final homestay and are moving on to the final part of the semester, the Independent Study Project. I had a great time in Majanga – going to the beach nearly every day, eating fresh mangoes and living with yet another family – all the while finishing up the final assignments for the majority of my courses. Now we are off on our own to work on a 30-40 page project which requires weeks and numerous hours worth of research. I am returning to Tana because that is where the majority of the information is located in this country and will be staying with my first family because I enjoyed them so much! I figured I would post my proposal for the project for anyone who was interested to read about what I will be doing:
Statement of Purpose: (What?/Why? in 1-2 sentences)
I intend to analyze the role of music within the Malagasy society from a more than anthropological perspective – that of an International Political Economist. Through a political, social and economic lens, I plan on researching and presenting music’s importance to the country and the many actors that influence it.
Proposed Study Site(s): (Where?)
Antananarivo
Tamatava
Project Description: (What? in more detail. Include some study questions.)
I haven’t narrowed it down but here are thoughts that I have had. I believe that my research will help narrow the focus and give my paper direction.
Economic: -Formal jobs created comparison to employment rate
-A specific look at informal vs. formal economy as pertaining to piracy
-Existence and role of record labels
-Copy rights/masters and licensing
-Radio and how/if artists are paid for it
-Concert promotion
Social: -How is music used within Malagasy culture ranging from Church
hymns to advertisements? → in addition, traditional vs. modern uses?
social or political commentary?
-The popularity of Malagasy vs. French language vs. English music →
why?
-Malagasy bands that are popular in Madagascar vs. Malagasy bands
known world wide → are they the same?
-Concert promotion/music festivals in Madagascar
Political: -The use of music within politics → campaign songs? Political
opposition through song?
-To what extent is the government involved in the music industry? →
regulate the messages? Regulate the radio? Enforce copyrights? Fight
against piracy? Theory vs. practice.
-Andry Rajoelina was a DJ before his entrance to politics → to what
extent did that help or hurt him?
Methodology: (How?)
Economic: -quantitative research
-Pertaining to jobs created within the music industry → Chamber of
Commerce & Industry
-Finding how many people work at each label or radio station
-How many registered formal labels/music business exists in Tana
-Numbers of albums sold, concert tickets sold etc..
-Qualitative
-Discussing strategies with government officials or record store
employees for fighting piracy
Social: -interviews with music executives and artists about role of music
-interviews with radio personalities and music programmers
-interviews with concert promoters, look at process
Political: -research laws pertaining to music
-possible interview with Rajoelina’s old co-workers
-research political songs of the past
-If division of government for music exists (like FCC), interview
someone there
Project Format: (e.g. academic paper, film, performance, etc.)
The final draft of your proposal will also include the following information. Please mention whatever you are thinking at this stage, no matter how tentative it might be.
A final paper that will include a summary of the questions I set out to answer, my methodology and my findings. I intend to include both graphs to represent my findings as well as written word.
Proposed Itinerary: (Include dates, locations and means of transport)
October 31st through November 14-20: Antananarivo, with my home stay family. Range depends on how quickly I get research finished, allowing myself 2-3 weeks.
November 14-20th through 27th: Tamatavaa, I want to see more of Madagascar, I will need to make sure other site has internet, electricity, printers etc. I will arrive by Taxi-Brousse.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sand Flea
Do not read if you have a weak stomach.
Last week I had picked a sand flea out of my toe that had burrowed itself there! Not sure when exactly it happened but I had a blister on my toe that had been developing for a while and I finally peeled off part of the skin and it left a kind of crator/hole in my toe. The next day I mentioned it to a teach and she said that I had a sand flea burrowed in but that it was still there or at least some of its eggs were left behind. So after school, our cook dug through my toe with a needle for a while but eventually decided that I had already gotten it out on my own. Now I pretty much just have a cut on my toe and it seems to be healing fine. Thanks for your concern!
Last week I had picked a sand flea out of my toe that had burrowed itself there! Not sure when exactly it happened but I had a blister on my toe that had been developing for a while and I finally peeled off part of the skin and it left a kind of crator/hole in my toe. The next day I mentioned it to a teach and she said that I had a sand flea burrowed in but that it was still there or at least some of its eggs were left behind. So after school, our cook dug through my toe with a needle for a while but eventually decided that I had already gotten it out on my own. Now I pretty much just have a cut on my toe and it seems to be healing fine. Thanks for your concern!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Majunga Continued
10/23 Been in Majunga a week now and it is going really well! My first day here, I had to wake up at 5:30 to go to church with my family. It was quite early for me to be up on a Sunday but I was very content to be able to change out of long pants and a dress shirt by 8:30, before the midday heat picked up! It has been really great living on the coast because we have been able to eat a lot of seafood! I love seafood! We also get fresh mangoes everyday and I can’t complain about that.
Throughout the week, we continued our language classes of French and Malagasy and we got to make a few trips around the city as well. We visited a Mosque here where we got to walk around and ask questions to some of the locals. Another day we went to a Doany, which is the place of worship for a more traditional set of religious beliefs here. It was really cool because the Prince who ran the place welcomed us and he sat down to talk with us for a few hours. The following day we met someone who practiced divination who spoke of the practice and how he got started. He even read the future/lives of a few students but wouldn’t tell us too many specifics, like the dates of our death, which he claimed to know.
Now I want you to keep in mind that we are here as students and not tourists, we have “school to do”… Hahaha that being said, last Wednesday after class, because we had a half-day, a bunch of us went to the beach for the afternoon. We hopped on a bus here (same as Taxi-be just different name) with 25 other people and got to the beach within 20 or so minutes. The Indian Ocean is warm and was incredibly beautiful and calm. The beach was lined with umbrellas that cost $1 to rent and so we sat around drinking beer and swimming until we got to watch the sunset over the water. Probably similar to what UCSB students get, but very different from UPS.. But remember, we are students, not tourists ☺
Last Friday we took a small barge across a bay to a small fishing village nearby, the barge was overcrowded (surprise!) and many of the students got crammed into the small bedroom of the captain. We then found out that there are more spacious and quicker motorboats that we took back but the morning barge trip was for the “experience”. In the small village we were met by a Peace Corp volunteer who went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wa – what a small world! It was really cool to get to talk to her because we automatically had a similar background going to small schools in Tacoma and I got to ask some questions about the Peace Corp because I am still strongly considering it.
We just finished up our second to last week of class so things have been pretty busy. Finishing up final papers and homework assignments. After next week, we are splitting up to begin our Independent Study Project. I will be returning to Tana and actually staying with my homestay family there because I really enjoyed them and consider myself lucky to be able to return. I will be there and doing research on music in Madagascar, hopefully meeting some music executives and artists along the way. I think that is all I got to update for now, hope all is well back home!
Here is an excerpt from an email that I sent to my parents, they thought it was funny and asked me to put it on the blog, enjoy!
“We have an outhouse toilet that you dump a bucket of water down to “flush”… The most bizarre thing is that they don’t have toilet paper, just a water spigot and buckets; not sure exactly what I was supposed to do, but I got some TP of my own as soon as possible lol.”
Throughout the week, we continued our language classes of French and Malagasy and we got to make a few trips around the city as well. We visited a Mosque here where we got to walk around and ask questions to some of the locals. Another day we went to a Doany, which is the place of worship for a more traditional set of religious beliefs here. It was really cool because the Prince who ran the place welcomed us and he sat down to talk with us for a few hours. The following day we met someone who practiced divination who spoke of the practice and how he got started. He even read the future/lives of a few students but wouldn’t tell us too many specifics, like the dates of our death, which he claimed to know.
Now I want you to keep in mind that we are here as students and not tourists, we have “school to do”… Hahaha that being said, last Wednesday after class, because we had a half-day, a bunch of us went to the beach for the afternoon. We hopped on a bus here (same as Taxi-be just different name) with 25 other people and got to the beach within 20 or so minutes. The Indian Ocean is warm and was incredibly beautiful and calm. The beach was lined with umbrellas that cost $1 to rent and so we sat around drinking beer and swimming until we got to watch the sunset over the water. Probably similar to what UCSB students get, but very different from UPS.. But remember, we are students, not tourists ☺
Last Friday we took a small barge across a bay to a small fishing village nearby, the barge was overcrowded (surprise!) and many of the students got crammed into the small bedroom of the captain. We then found out that there are more spacious and quicker motorboats that we took back but the morning barge trip was for the “experience”. In the small village we were met by a Peace Corp volunteer who went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wa – what a small world! It was really cool to get to talk to her because we automatically had a similar background going to small schools in Tacoma and I got to ask some questions about the Peace Corp because I am still strongly considering it.
We just finished up our second to last week of class so things have been pretty busy. Finishing up final papers and homework assignments. After next week, we are splitting up to begin our Independent Study Project. I will be returning to Tana and actually staying with my homestay family there because I really enjoyed them and consider myself lucky to be able to return. I will be there and doing research on music in Madagascar, hopefully meeting some music executives and artists along the way. I think that is all I got to update for now, hope all is well back home!
Here is an excerpt from an email that I sent to my parents, they thought it was funny and asked me to put it on the blog, enjoy!
“We have an outhouse toilet that you dump a bucket of water down to “flush”… The most bizarre thing is that they don’t have toilet paper, just a water spigot and buckets; not sure exactly what I was supposed to do, but I got some TP of my own as soon as possible lol.”
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Majunga 1!
10/17 Been settled into Majunga now for a few days. It is hot here.. Hot enough that I sweat no matter what I do, even sit down. Hot enough that you don’t dry off, ever. Hot enough that everything closes at about noon and doesn’t open again until 3:00 in the afternoon so that nobody has to be outside and they can go take a nap.
It is quite beautiful here, located on the Northwest coast of Madagascar, I get to walk along the beach on the way from my house to our program center. I am staying with my largest family yet: my father is an accountant and my mother a seamstress, there are 5 kids in the house between the ages of 12 and 15 (although I think 2 are cousins who live with us) and a house keeper making 9 of us total. In addition, the uncle has spent two nights at our house and his wife and child joined us as well last night. For a single child in the US, it has been quite interesting eating with no less than 6 other people at any given meal but I think I am adjusting pretty well.
Our house is a big courtyard with a large mango tree in it. They put up a basketball hoop on the tree that is only at 8ft with no backboard but we have made good use. On one side of the courtyard there is a cement house that consists of a dining room, my bedroom, my parents’ room and a bedroom for a few of the children. Off of that building, there is a temporary wooden kitchen offshoot and facing both those is another cement building where some people sleep. One of my brother’s has a bed outside where he sleeps, not sure how he handles the mosquitoes though! On the other side of the mango tree is our bucket shower, a few outdoor spigots for sinks and a Turkish style outhouse. The 9 of us (plus guests) live in this compound-esque property where we watch TV occasionally and mostly hang outside in the shade.
One of my favorite parts about Majunga is that we can walk around after dark! In Tana it is too dangerous to be out anywhere but here it is much safer. In addition, on account of the weather, it is much more bearable after the sun goes down and the city is still quite busy until about 8 or so at night. There is a boardwalk with a couple small Ferris wheels (that don’t have motors but are actually pushed by people) and a lot of places to grab a beer and kebobs. The first full day here was a Sunday and my parents and I woke up at 5:30 am in order to get to Church by 6:00. It is so hot, even early in the morning, that wearing a nice shirt and pants would be cruel and unusual if we went to a later service. After church, we went to the house and essentially just sat around doing nothing until the sun began to set and the kids took me on a small tour including the boardwalk.
We are heading into our last week and a half of class before we begin our Independent Study Project. I will post pictures of my house and family when I can. Trying to remember if there were any story worthy things that happened recently but none come to mind. Just living like a Malagasy person, I guess.
Catch some pics above of some of my family and some sunsets.
It is quite beautiful here, located on the Northwest coast of Madagascar, I get to walk along the beach on the way from my house to our program center. I am staying with my largest family yet: my father is an accountant and my mother a seamstress, there are 5 kids in the house between the ages of 12 and 15 (although I think 2 are cousins who live with us) and a house keeper making 9 of us total. In addition, the uncle has spent two nights at our house and his wife and child joined us as well last night. For a single child in the US, it has been quite interesting eating with no less than 6 other people at any given meal but I think I am adjusting pretty well.
Our house is a big courtyard with a large mango tree in it. They put up a basketball hoop on the tree that is only at 8ft with no backboard but we have made good use. On one side of the courtyard there is a cement house that consists of a dining room, my bedroom, my parents’ room and a bedroom for a few of the children. Off of that building, there is a temporary wooden kitchen offshoot and facing both those is another cement building where some people sleep. One of my brother’s has a bed outside where he sleeps, not sure how he handles the mosquitoes though! On the other side of the mango tree is our bucket shower, a few outdoor spigots for sinks and a Turkish style outhouse. The 9 of us (plus guests) live in this compound-esque property where we watch TV occasionally and mostly hang outside in the shade.
One of my favorite parts about Majunga is that we can walk around after dark! In Tana it is too dangerous to be out anywhere but here it is much safer. In addition, on account of the weather, it is much more bearable after the sun goes down and the city is still quite busy until about 8 or so at night. There is a boardwalk with a couple small Ferris wheels (that don’t have motors but are actually pushed by people) and a lot of places to grab a beer and kebobs. The first full day here was a Sunday and my parents and I woke up at 5:30 am in order to get to Church by 6:00. It is so hot, even early in the morning, that wearing a nice shirt and pants would be cruel and unusual if we went to a later service. After church, we went to the house and essentially just sat around doing nothing until the sun began to set and the kids took me on a small tour including the boardwalk.
We are heading into our last week and a half of class before we begin our Independent Study Project. I will post pictures of my house and family when I can. Trying to remember if there were any story worthy things that happened recently but none come to mind. Just living like a Malagasy person, I guess.
Catch some pics above of some of my family and some sunsets.
Wildlife!
10/15 Moved in with my family here in Majunga but more posts coming about that soon.
Since my last post, I spent a few nights “camping” in Ankarafantsika with tents set up under little bungalow esque roofs and bathrooms not too far away. Although we weren’t camping for real, it was enough for this city-boy hahaha. We stayed on the outskirts of a national park that houses 8 types of lemurs, 130+ birds, all kinds of reptiles and numerous plants. I do not know too much about bio-diversity but I do know that Madagascar has a ton of endemic species so I assumed that pretty much everything I saw could only be seen here.. Not too much to say, the pictures – I hope – will speak for me.
We went for a walk during the day and saw 2 types of lemurs, one was a type of sporting lemur, which is nocturnal, but we found a few kind of awake sticking their head out of a tree. I forgot the name of the other but it was the dancing lemur! Unfortunately, all the ones we saw were in the trees so I didn’t get to see any first hand dancing but we saw a bunch of em and even got a few visits to the camp site.
At night we went for another walk where I saw a few types of mouse lemurs also! Overall saw about 4-5 different kinds of lemurs in my two days there. Sometimes they were close enough to see jumping from branch to branch but other times we could only see a pair of glowing orange eyes in the distance. I tried to take pictures of the wildlife that I could find either in the park or our campsite including black-collared iguanas, birds and bugs. It was an awesome experience!
Then we got to visit a part of the park where they were raising tortoises to be released into the wild. They had a bunch of different kinds but by far the cutest were the little tiny ones (see picture). Don’t think I have any specific stories from the last few days. Stay tuned for life in Majunga.
Since my last post, I spent a few nights “camping” in Ankarafantsika with tents set up under little bungalow esque roofs and bathrooms not too far away. Although we weren’t camping for real, it was enough for this city-boy hahaha. We stayed on the outskirts of a national park that houses 8 types of lemurs, 130+ birds, all kinds of reptiles and numerous plants. I do not know too much about bio-diversity but I do know that Madagascar has a ton of endemic species so I assumed that pretty much everything I saw could only be seen here.. Not too much to say, the pictures – I hope – will speak for me.
We went for a walk during the day and saw 2 types of lemurs, one was a type of sporting lemur, which is nocturnal, but we found a few kind of awake sticking their head out of a tree. I forgot the name of the other but it was the dancing lemur! Unfortunately, all the ones we saw were in the trees so I didn’t get to see any first hand dancing but we saw a bunch of em and even got a few visits to the camp site.
At night we went for another walk where I saw a few types of mouse lemurs also! Overall saw about 4-5 different kinds of lemurs in my two days there. Sometimes they were close enough to see jumping from branch to branch but other times we could only see a pair of glowing orange eyes in the distance. I tried to take pictures of the wildlife that I could find either in the park or our campsite including black-collared iguanas, birds and bugs. It was an awesome experience!
Then we got to visit a part of the park where they were raising tortoises to be released into the wild. They had a bunch of different kinds but by far the cutest were the little tiny ones (see picture). Don’t think I have any specific stories from the last few days. Stay tuned for life in Majunga.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Off Again!
On Thursday we are leaving the capitol of Tana to go camping for a few days. We will visit a national park or two where we are expected to see some more lemurs (!) and a few species of baobabs!!! I cannot believe that 2/3 of the home stays are now over.. We are heading to the 3rd and final homestay in the city of Majanga for a few weeks, until the end of October. I’m not sure what my internet access will be like over the next few weeks although I assume that there will be cyber cafes after the camping. We’ll see!
These are a Few...
I have talked to a few people back home and some of them have asked me what my favorite thing about Madagascar was. So I thought it would be cool to make a little post about some things I really like here, having been here for a bit over a month. These are not in strict order and they are just a few things that stood out, there is plenty more I enjoy.
1.Fiavanana. This is the Malagasy term that incorporates a sense of community and the belonging to one group of people as a nation, even as a world. Although it has been tested recently and I am told it is not as evident as it was even just 10 years ago, it is still here. On a large scale, it is the attitude that kept the country from having a Civil War during the political crisis in 2009. On a small scale, it is what allows peoples to share whatever they have even when it is hardly anything at all. If you ever begin to eat something in front of other people, you always offer it to everyone you are with, even if it is only a small candy bar. What’s mine is those’ around me as well. It is an attitude that I have tried to practice and it is really cool to see it function as part of another culture. I think it has a big part to do with why the people here seem so generous and hospitable because they are raised being taught about fiavanana.
2.The music. This is an obvious one for anyone who knows me but I have found a lot of really good Malgasy music during my stay here. It ranges from rap to jazz to what we in the US consider “world music”. The language just seems to flow well in a musical setting and these people definitely have rhythm hahaha. They incorporate instruments I am familiar with and have a variety of traditional instruments that are still used today like the valy. For anyone curious, youtube Raboussa for some cool rhythmic hip hop that incorporates a lot of acoustics and singing as well. Nam Six is a rapper who has a very heavy Reggae influence and I like; he was also named a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF at the age of 15, the youngest at that point. Specialista is one of the “World Music” bands, Samoela plays a kind of folk music and Eric Manana as well.
3.The food. Once you get over eating rice twice a day, if you are lucky, and 3 times on other days, the food here is actually quite good. None of the meet comes from the American industry where animals are treated poorly and science has yet to interfere with the vegetables here. Malagasy culture stems from a wide variety of influences and different dishes reflect different aspects of their heritage. There is a clear Asian influence with the rice and many of the dishes are in the vein of Indian food where you have rice with some sort of meat (again, if you can afford it), and a veggie dish that is probably in some sauce. Although the rice is usually quite bland, the accompanying dish or “loaka” can be seasoned quite well. They also always have a “sakai” dish that is different wherever you go. Sakai is the Malagasy word for “pepper” as they do not differentiate what kind of pepper it is, but the ones I have had here are incredibly spicy and I love it!
4.Moramora. Although the practice of moramora was a bit extreme in the village, the general understanding here in Madagascar is a laidback way of living. In general, I try to be a very punctual person and that is somewhat lost in Madagascar as being late to a meeting is not disrespectful or really even noticed. But that aside, I compare moramora to a West Coast of the US feel. I have not spent too much time on the East Coast but I view moramora as the strolling pace of the West as opposed to head down, must get to where I am going as fast as possible pace of the East.
5.Mahafinaritra. This is the Malagasy word for “magnificent” but is used much much more frequently that one would use the English translation. I find it hilarious, and great, that the general word used to approve of something is to call it “magnificent”.
-How was that bite of rice?
-Mahafinaritra
So those are some of the things I have really enjoyed about the country here. Just trying to figure out ways to give you guys a better idea of what I am doing here although it is quite impossible to truly convey. It’s like taking a picture of the ocean, the picture NEVER looks as good as it did when you saw it with your own eyes, right???
1.Fiavanana. This is the Malagasy term that incorporates a sense of community and the belonging to one group of people as a nation, even as a world. Although it has been tested recently and I am told it is not as evident as it was even just 10 years ago, it is still here. On a large scale, it is the attitude that kept the country from having a Civil War during the political crisis in 2009. On a small scale, it is what allows peoples to share whatever they have even when it is hardly anything at all. If you ever begin to eat something in front of other people, you always offer it to everyone you are with, even if it is only a small candy bar. What’s mine is those’ around me as well. It is an attitude that I have tried to practice and it is really cool to see it function as part of another culture. I think it has a big part to do with why the people here seem so generous and hospitable because they are raised being taught about fiavanana.
2.The music. This is an obvious one for anyone who knows me but I have found a lot of really good Malgasy music during my stay here. It ranges from rap to jazz to what we in the US consider “world music”. The language just seems to flow well in a musical setting and these people definitely have rhythm hahaha. They incorporate instruments I am familiar with and have a variety of traditional instruments that are still used today like the valy. For anyone curious, youtube Raboussa for some cool rhythmic hip hop that incorporates a lot of acoustics and singing as well. Nam Six is a rapper who has a very heavy Reggae influence and I like; he was also named a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF at the age of 15, the youngest at that point. Specialista is one of the “World Music” bands, Samoela plays a kind of folk music and Eric Manana as well.
3.The food. Once you get over eating rice twice a day, if you are lucky, and 3 times on other days, the food here is actually quite good. None of the meet comes from the American industry where animals are treated poorly and science has yet to interfere with the vegetables here. Malagasy culture stems from a wide variety of influences and different dishes reflect different aspects of their heritage. There is a clear Asian influence with the rice and many of the dishes are in the vein of Indian food where you have rice with some sort of meat (again, if you can afford it), and a veggie dish that is probably in some sauce. Although the rice is usually quite bland, the accompanying dish or “loaka” can be seasoned quite well. They also always have a “sakai” dish that is different wherever you go. Sakai is the Malagasy word for “pepper” as they do not differentiate what kind of pepper it is, but the ones I have had here are incredibly spicy and I love it!
4.Moramora. Although the practice of moramora was a bit extreme in the village, the general understanding here in Madagascar is a laidback way of living. In general, I try to be a very punctual person and that is somewhat lost in Madagascar as being late to a meeting is not disrespectful or really even noticed. But that aside, I compare moramora to a West Coast of the US feel. I have not spent too much time on the East Coast but I view moramora as the strolling pace of the West as opposed to head down, must get to where I am going as fast as possible pace of the East.
5.Mahafinaritra. This is the Malagasy word for “magnificent” but is used much much more frequently that one would use the English translation. I find it hilarious, and great, that the general word used to approve of something is to call it “magnificent”.
-How was that bite of rice?
-Mahafinaritra
So those are some of the things I have really enjoyed about the country here. Just trying to figure out ways to give you guys a better idea of what I am doing here although it is quite impossible to truly convey. It’s like taking a picture of the ocean, the picture NEVER looks as good as it did when you saw it with your own eyes, right???
Random Village Stories
I figured I would make a post with a few specific stories that I found interesting or funny or something… They may have been referenced n my last post or may be new.
1.When I first arrived in my village, the mayor was working and so after being introduced me to my mother, she dropped me off in my brother-in-law’s shop where I spent the morning sitting around. There were a few other guys in the shop sitting on rice sacks and drinking rum. I immediately knew that these were the town drunks because it was 9:45 am… Still, in the spirit of Malagasy hospitality, they offered me a few drinks and knowing me, I obliged. My introduction to Tsinjoarivo was drinking Sambo rum with the town drunks!
2.One of the men I met in the village was named Mr. Rasolo; he was incredibly nice, spoke French and had a large farm where he gave me a tour of his chickens, pigs and farm land. One day after walking around the village he invited me to his house where we talked about a lot of things ranging from Malagasy culture to US politics. He was pretty well learned (he knew US history like Benjamin Franklin, so I took that to be learned…) and part of the conversation really struck me. We were talking about the war in the Middle East and the US’ war on terror. His point of view was surprising, he was all for it. I mentioned that we had been there 10 years (Afghanistan) and 8 years (Iraq), that it had costs the US a lot of lives and the occupied countries even more and that none of the countries involved’s citizens really wanted us there. He said, and I quote in English for everyone’s comprehension, “No, it is good that the USA goes out and protects democracy. When countries need help, it is the USA who steps in and helps them out.” I was shocked seeing that the USA has pulled all non-humanitarian aid from Madagascar and refuses to acknowledge the people in power as a real government. It was so contrary to the normal view of America that I receive when I am traveling. Curious as to how much Barrack Obama has to do with this shift – since I haven’t been out of the US since he was elected – or if it is a Malagasy view or just that of Mr. Rasolo.
3.While I was there, my sister had appendicitis and was driving to the first town we stayed in where they had a better equipped hospital. Everything went well but it was crazy that for an appendectomy, she had a cut across the bottom of her entire stomach. She was in the hospital for 5 days and who knows what her recovery time will end up being. Just thankful that in America it is quite a “small” procedure, you can go home same day, maybe next if you want.
4.I saved a puppy! The mayor had a dog that had given birth to 4 puppies about 5 weeks before I got there. They were adorable but covered in fleas so I could mostly only enjoy them from a distance. One day I went to our outhouse and I could hear one of them crying, I searched around and realized he had fallen into one of the old outhouses that hadn’t been used (and had nothing bad inside) but obviously, the puppy couldn’t get out. I went and found the house helper, who was the only one around, and told him in Malagasy that a puppy had fallen in an old toilet. We then tied a sack to a stick and stuck it in the hole where the puppy had fallen. We used another stick to help push the puppy into the sack and lifted it out! YAY US!
5.Tsinjoarivo had a market place on Tuesdays and a few students families had came to town to shop a little bit. I ran into my friend Chris with his host family and invited them over to have a beer and talk. We all had a glass of beer and were talking and his mom began sharing hers with her 9-month-old baby. Well, I thought it was worth noting…
Posting some pictures to accompany these stories as well.
1.When I first arrived in my village, the mayor was working and so after being introduced me to my mother, she dropped me off in my brother-in-law’s shop where I spent the morning sitting around. There were a few other guys in the shop sitting on rice sacks and drinking rum. I immediately knew that these were the town drunks because it was 9:45 am… Still, in the spirit of Malagasy hospitality, they offered me a few drinks and knowing me, I obliged. My introduction to Tsinjoarivo was drinking Sambo rum with the town drunks!
2.One of the men I met in the village was named Mr. Rasolo; he was incredibly nice, spoke French and had a large farm where he gave me a tour of his chickens, pigs and farm land. One day after walking around the village he invited me to his house where we talked about a lot of things ranging from Malagasy culture to US politics. He was pretty well learned (he knew US history like Benjamin Franklin, so I took that to be learned…) and part of the conversation really struck me. We were talking about the war in the Middle East and the US’ war on terror. His point of view was surprising, he was all for it. I mentioned that we had been there 10 years (Afghanistan) and 8 years (Iraq), that it had costs the US a lot of lives and the occupied countries even more and that none of the countries involved’s citizens really wanted us there. He said, and I quote in English for everyone’s comprehension, “No, it is good that the USA goes out and protects democracy. When countries need help, it is the USA who steps in and helps them out.” I was shocked seeing that the USA has pulled all non-humanitarian aid from Madagascar and refuses to acknowledge the people in power as a real government. It was so contrary to the normal view of America that I receive when I am traveling. Curious as to how much Barrack Obama has to do with this shift – since I haven’t been out of the US since he was elected – or if it is a Malagasy view or just that of Mr. Rasolo.
3.While I was there, my sister had appendicitis and was driving to the first town we stayed in where they had a better equipped hospital. Everything went well but it was crazy that for an appendectomy, she had a cut across the bottom of her entire stomach. She was in the hospital for 5 days and who knows what her recovery time will end up being. Just thankful that in America it is quite a “small” procedure, you can go home same day, maybe next if you want.
4.I saved a puppy! The mayor had a dog that had given birth to 4 puppies about 5 weeks before I got there. They were adorable but covered in fleas so I could mostly only enjoy them from a distance. One day I went to our outhouse and I could hear one of them crying, I searched around and realized he had fallen into one of the old outhouses that hadn’t been used (and had nothing bad inside) but obviously, the puppy couldn’t get out. I went and found the house helper, who was the only one around, and told him in Malagasy that a puppy had fallen in an old toilet. We then tied a sack to a stick and stuck it in the hole where the puppy had fallen. We used another stick to help push the puppy into the sack and lifted it out! YAY US!
5.Tsinjoarivo had a market place on Tuesdays and a few students families had came to town to shop a little bit. I ran into my friend Chris with his host family and invited them over to have a beer and talk. We all had a glass of beer and were talking and his mom began sharing hers with her 9-month-old baby. Well, I thought it was worth noting…
Posting some pictures to accompany these stories as well.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Mayor
I thought I would dedicate a full post to my father during my rural homestay, Gérard Rasoloson, Monsignor Le Maire. He was a very interesting guy and hopefully this post just gives most insight into what I did the last week and a half.
Living with the mayor of a large district in Madagascar was surprisingly similar to what you may expect. He wasn’t around to often but our time together was always awesome. He was a very arrogant, proud, sweet family man who enjoyed his job. He was the only one who spoke French in my family and so it is no surprise that he is the one I connected with the most. When I first arrived in Tsinjoarivo, he was off in some other town because he was in the process of opening a new government building in town and needed to go through the proper bureaucratic process. When he finally arrived at home, we spent about 4 hours talking up on his third story balcony about a wide array of topics while watching bocce ball players, zebu herders and the sunset over the mountains. Part way through our discussion, he went a got his bottle of J&B scotch that was a gift brought to him from France that he only drank when he had guests over. Shortly after he pulled out the scotch, a plate of sausage and manioc was brought to accompany. We discussed his family, Malagasy culture and politics, the US and much more.
Gérard was an extremely proud guy, of himself and his accomplishments, of his family, his town, and extending out to Madagascar. He loved it whenever I complemented anything Malagasy. It probably made him feel great to think that anything from Madagascar was good enough for an American, who as far as he knew had every single thing possible. This included anything I saw, ate, did etc… Eventually though, his pride encompassed me as I truly felt welcomed into his household and family in an extremely short period of time. He would do things like tell me to invite my friends over to the house to express to me that the house was mine.
When we would visit my sister in the hospital (you will hear about this later, she’s okay though) he and I would go run errands after an hour or so while the rest of the family stayed with her. It was during these errands/tour of the town that we passed the rooster-fighting stadium and he stopped so that I could watch my first fight. Afterwards, he bought us a couple beers and some meat skewers for a snack. As with the house, he was evidently well off, but it was clearly “rural well off”. He loved to flash any chance he could and so buying things like beer and snacks was a big source of pride for him. He did have quite a bit to be proud of. When he first became the head of his village, there were about 1000 people living there and it was not too developed. Now, part way through his 2nd term as mayor of the district (that includes many villages), the population has risen to between 3,000-4,000. He started two schools in the district, added classrooms in almost every village in his district, started the Tuesday market that has continues to grow in Tsinjoarivo, multiple public water sources throughout and most recently built new government offices which he actually designed the blueprints for. All of this without a college education.
One of our homework assignments while in our home stays was to interview someone for their “life story” for which I, of course, chose Gérard. He was a self made man who started as a cattle herder and then began farming until he raised enough money to buy a car. At 23 he was elected head of his village and began his political career. Afterwards, he used his car to drive crops from his village into Tana and later to bus people from one place to the other. He then served a term as mayor of the district where he began some of the accomplishments listed above. Then in between stints as mayor, he served as president in his district and simultaneously the vice-president for the entire region of the micro-finance institution in Madagascar. Even today, while serving as the mayor, he takes days out of the week to continue his work as a taxi-bus driver and shuttle people around. For all his arrogance, he is very big on his community and while he would drive his family to see his daughter, he still picked people up and dropped them off along the way; although they may have paid him, I never saw any money transferred during those rides.
I don't want to take up more room on my homepage with pics, so click the link below to see pics of him and his family!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benjacohn/sets/72157627735651351/
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