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/
Village Recap
10/7 How can I even begin to blog about the past 10 days??? I spent a couple days in a town where our director served as a Peace Corp volunteer back in 1993, then 6 days in a rural village living in the Mayor of the district’s house and then a few days in a hotel to relax before arriving back in Tana. First off, I cannot believe it is October 7th already. And I guess 2nd, I will list some of the things, outside the obvious, that I did for the first time in my life, since I last posted here.
• Took a bucket shower
• Watched a coq-fight (rooster) with 300+ Malagasy people
• Had 21+ straight meals involving rice
• Ate pig stomach, intestines, heart, chicken neck, intestines, liver, beef tongue (okay, I’ve eaten the last two before, but I added them for dramatic effect and they were at least prepared differently) and manioc
• Saw 200+ cockroaches in one confined space (our outhouse)
• Drank beer with a 9 month old baby
• Saved a puppy
As I mentioned, I lived with the mayor and his wife. They have 3 kids, one of whom lives in the capitol with her husband and daughter. Their son’s house is on one side ours with his wife, 2 year old daughter and 8 month old daughter. The mayor’s last daughter lives on the other side of our house with her husband, 8 year old daughter and 3 year old son. It was a big family but only 3 of us plus any grand children spending the night stayed in our house. No student stayed with any of the people who were extremely poor – if they weren’t eating 3 meals a day or didn’t know when their next meal was coming, they probably weren’t going to volunteer and be accepted to host a student – but it was quite a different life in the Bongolava region. My dad spoke French and my brother in law spoke a little bit as well (around my level, maybe less) but the rest of the family only spoke Malagasy. That meant, I did a lot of talking with my hands.
I knew staying in the mayor’s house would be on the upper end of the possibilities but it was quite a strange combination of poverty and riches. We had a big 3 story house and I had a room to myself but we used a bucket shower that was only enclosed on 3 sides and who’s walls covered up to my belly button or so. We also used an outhouse 20 meters away from the house, which is where I saw 200+ cockroaches. The first night, I went there before I went to sleep wearing only my headlamp and opened the door to see cockroaches crawling around every inch of the walls and ceiling. Because I was wearing a headlamp, I could only see about 30-40 at a time but I could certainly hear all of them crawling around. YUCK! But it was what we had. The mayor had a TV in his room but we used candlelight after the sunset, including for meals. We had a separate building that functioned as the kitchen but still all cooking was done over an open flame and by candlelight after dark. I am going to write a separate post just about the mayor himself but I hope you can get my point.
The Malagasy have a term “moramora” which translates as “slowly slowly”. Meaning a laidback, slower paced life, and the village was definitely moramora.. I spent a good majority of my time just sitting around: reading or talking to my family. I also went for a lot of long walks just checking out the village, interacting with people, and taking in the beautiful landscape that surrounded me. Every meal (3x per day) I had rice, which was usually accompanied by eggs or meat or a vegetable. When we had meat, it was all parts of the animal and the mayor would usually tell me which piece to eat so I got the delicacy of intestines and heart a couple times. I visited a couple farms where they grew rice, onions, tomatoes, manioc, bananas and much more. One of them even had a type of fish farm. Sustenance farming was by far the most common work anyone did in the village, most of the people I met and saw were living on less than $1 a day.
The poverty was incredibly evident but it was also interesting that pretty much every single Malagasy person I spoke to mentioned, “this is where poor people live” or something along those lines. I may have been the first American any of them had spoken to and there was a clear inferiority complex amongst the Malagasy to feel as if they had to apologize to me for the village and explain that it was a poor place. As if I hadn’t chosen to come live there with them and experience it, although many people seemed very grateful for that fact and thanked me personally. Multiple students seem to have had similar experiences. Often I would be referred to as rich and each time I wanted to explain otherwise. That the cost of living in the US was high, that I was going to have debt from going to school, that I knew a lot of people who were much wealthier than I but each time, I couldn’t rationalize telling someone without running water or electricity that I wasn’t rich. I mean I had just flown halfway around the world to Madagascar and even that was incomprehensible to these people.
No matter whose house we stayed in, or our living conditions, this was certainly a once in a lifetime experience and I am extremely lucky to have lived it. I have a few more posts that I plan on writing related to the village stay but it is quite difficult to convey what I just did. Hopefully this gets it started!
• Took a bucket shower
• Watched a coq-fight (rooster) with 300+ Malagasy people
• Had 21+ straight meals involving rice
• Ate pig stomach, intestines, heart, chicken neck, intestines, liver, beef tongue (okay, I’ve eaten the last two before, but I added them for dramatic effect and they were at least prepared differently) and manioc
• Saw 200+ cockroaches in one confined space (our outhouse)
• Drank beer with a 9 month old baby
• Saved a puppy
As I mentioned, I lived with the mayor and his wife. They have 3 kids, one of whom lives in the capitol with her husband and daughter. Their son’s house is on one side ours with his wife, 2 year old daughter and 8 month old daughter. The mayor’s last daughter lives on the other side of our house with her husband, 8 year old daughter and 3 year old son. It was a big family but only 3 of us plus any grand children spending the night stayed in our house. No student stayed with any of the people who were extremely poor – if they weren’t eating 3 meals a day or didn’t know when their next meal was coming, they probably weren’t going to volunteer and be accepted to host a student – but it was quite a different life in the Bongolava region. My dad spoke French and my brother in law spoke a little bit as well (around my level, maybe less) but the rest of the family only spoke Malagasy. That meant, I did a lot of talking with my hands.
I knew staying in the mayor’s house would be on the upper end of the possibilities but it was quite a strange combination of poverty and riches. We had a big 3 story house and I had a room to myself but we used a bucket shower that was only enclosed on 3 sides and who’s walls covered up to my belly button or so. We also used an outhouse 20 meters away from the house, which is where I saw 200+ cockroaches. The first night, I went there before I went to sleep wearing only my headlamp and opened the door to see cockroaches crawling around every inch of the walls and ceiling. Because I was wearing a headlamp, I could only see about 30-40 at a time but I could certainly hear all of them crawling around. YUCK! But it was what we had. The mayor had a TV in his room but we used candlelight after the sunset, including for meals. We had a separate building that functioned as the kitchen but still all cooking was done over an open flame and by candlelight after dark. I am going to write a separate post just about the mayor himself but I hope you can get my point.
The Malagasy have a term “moramora” which translates as “slowly slowly”. Meaning a laidback, slower paced life, and the village was definitely moramora.. I spent a good majority of my time just sitting around: reading or talking to my family. I also went for a lot of long walks just checking out the village, interacting with people, and taking in the beautiful landscape that surrounded me. Every meal (3x per day) I had rice, which was usually accompanied by eggs or meat or a vegetable. When we had meat, it was all parts of the animal and the mayor would usually tell me which piece to eat so I got the delicacy of intestines and heart a couple times. I visited a couple farms where they grew rice, onions, tomatoes, manioc, bananas and much more. One of them even had a type of fish farm. Sustenance farming was by far the most common work anyone did in the village, most of the people I met and saw were living on less than $1 a day.
The poverty was incredibly evident but it was also interesting that pretty much every single Malagasy person I spoke to mentioned, “this is where poor people live” or something along those lines. I may have been the first American any of them had spoken to and there was a clear inferiority complex amongst the Malagasy to feel as if they had to apologize to me for the village and explain that it was a poor place. As if I hadn’t chosen to come live there with them and experience it, although many people seemed very grateful for that fact and thanked me personally. Multiple students seem to have had similar experiences. Often I would be referred to as rich and each time I wanted to explain otherwise. That the cost of living in the US was high, that I was going to have debt from going to school, that I knew a lot of people who were much wealthier than I but each time, I couldn’t rationalize telling someone without running water or electricity that I wasn’t rich. I mean I had just flown halfway around the world to Madagascar and even that was incomprehensible to these people.
No matter whose house we stayed in, or our living conditions, this was certainly a once in a lifetime experience and I am extremely lucky to have lived it. I have a few more posts that I plan on writing related to the village stay but it is quite difficult to convey what I just did. Hopefully this gets it started!
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