"Building skyscrapers by hand."

Something I forgot to talk about in that last post. . .

My second to last day in Ranomafana I was invited by Pat Wright to ascend the ramp to the top of the new building that has been undergoing construction throughout our time in Madagascar.

For a few days prior the workers had begun the task of pouring the cement for the roof of the building. The thing is, it's Madagascar, which means that the whole building was being built by hand. The cement was mixed along the side of the road in two large cement mixers. There were piles of some sort of dirt, sacks of cement, piles of gravel-like rocks, and tons of Malagasy men hard at work shoveling various substances into wheelbarrows, scooping buckets of different materials into the mixers.

The machines would produce the wet cement and men would be waiting with wheelbarrows to be filled and wheeled up the 40 meter ramp to the top of the building where they'd navigate across plywood paths to the edge of the newly laid cement where other workers were waiting, with tools to flatten and smooth over the surface of the cement (as well as a hose-like thing which I can only assume was sucking out the excess water from the mixture). The whole process was pretty incredible to watch, even though much of what they were doing was beyond my understanding.

While we were atop the building we looked out across the roof and noticed an astounding number of moths had collected on the scaffolding and around the lights that had been blaring the whole night long (because the workers worked overnight every night until the cement was completely laid for the roof). A total of 5 comet moths and an uncountable number of other moths were just chilling around the roof. Pat Wright, the architect of the building, Noel (another primatologist), and I made our way across the roof - doing our best to not get in the way of the workers - to gape at the numbers and incredible variation in moths that had all been drawn to the light.

The work that the construction team had done on the new building over the 3 months that I spent in Madagascar is truly amazing. I believe in our brief time there they constructed a full floor and roof of the building. And it's a big building; one floor is a lot of area. They had to build the scaffolding by hand as they went, had very little machinery - aside from the cement mixing material I believe I saw only one electric saw which they used to not only to cut through metal bars but also to sharpen their hand axes - that was cool.

I distinctly remember one occasion during our program when the power was out in Ranomafana for the day - I believe the hydro-electric plant had a schedule of rolling black-outs for all of the areas which it provided electricity to -the construction continued. There were metal support beams which needed to be cut and so out came the hand saws and elbow grease, and the job got done.

Watching these men work, and just seeing the Malagasy people and culture as we drove cross country continually impressed me. It illustrated to me just how incredible the human body is, the things we are physically capable of are far beyond the capacities for which we use our bodies here in the states.

An example: The porters. On two occasions I hiked out to the primary forest. The first time to Vato, the second time a few kilometers farther to Valo. Each time porters were sent out to the campsite with supplies that we would be needing during our stay there - food, wood for the fire, the tents (ValBio provided us with large tents so we wouldn't all how to bring our own 1-3 person tents), and likely other things I hadn't even realized we were using. So the first time I hiked with the faster group out to Vato, it took us approximately an hour and 20 minutes to get there with our packs -designed for hiking and not completely full - hiking boots, and full waterbottles. We were surpassed by the porters, who were nearly (or in some cases were) running - often with bare feet - along the trails, large sacks of various supplies held above their heads. Wow.

For them it was no big deal. It was a morning's work and a quick way to make some extra money. Again: Wow.

Another example: On our cross country trip we passed tons of rice paddies (obviously) but also several brick-farms (I don't know what to call them, really - places where there were making bricks). The absolutely incredible thing we observed while passing these farms were the women who were working at them. On several occasions we'd watch as a woman casually loaded 6, 8, 12, I think up to 14 (maybe more) bricks on top of her head, and then walked - no big deal - along a narrow path between rice paddies. We were stunned, but for them, it's just what they do. Had it not seen it myself I would have had trouble believing they could actually do it, but as I did see it, I am instead just amazed.

Mbola tsy vonona mandeha. Betsaka.

I can't believe its my final night here. I just don't want to. I'm not as sad as I was the first time I was preparing to depart, but I still am not ready to go.

I came to Madagascar in September, and in less than three months I fell in love. I love the landscape, I love the culture, I love the people, I love the nature, I love the sky, I love the weather, I love this country. It's hard for me to leave, knowing that I won't be making a particularly hasty return, although at the moment that's pretty much all I want. I have no doubt, however, that this will not be my last time here. I have formed too many friendships here to have them continue only via emails and facebook, and have come to care too much about the country to not return and do something for its benefit. Alas, I have an education to complete first.

Even so, I did extend my stay here for an additional 2 weeks, and those two weeks were wonderful. The only negative thing I can say of my extra time here was, of course, that it was not long enough.

My travels started with a taxi brousse ride to Fianarantsoa. The thing I've learned over the past two weeks about taxi brousses is that you can never be sure what your ride will entail. This first experience was quite comfortable. I sat between Dadah and another English speaking Malagasy man in the back row of the bus. It wasn't a crowded bus, but it was full; I believe all four rows of seats had three people in them. In front of Dadah, however, was an old and potentially drunk man who for about an hour and a half of the ride decided to talk with us.

At first we were all entertained. He was old, he had stories, and some sort of wisdom to impart. He had lived for 5 years in Russia (apparently Madagascar used to have some ties with Russia. . . ) and so had opened the conversation by asking me (via translation by Dadah) if I spoke Russian. I do not. I also do not speak French or Malagasy, yet this did not dissuade him from speaking to and about me for an extended period of time.

He talked of how life in the States is very fast and requires that you rush everywhere, while life in Madagascar is calmer and more slow paced. With this I agreed. He then continued to talk about some things that I didn't understand (ahh language barriers). And eventually told the story of how many years prior he had been paid by a Vazaha to get married so that she could remain in Madagascar. He then told me that I was only in the country to exploit their resources. With this I did not agree.

He continued to talk about love, I believe, and many times told me that love requires loyalty, only to follow up this lesson with a story about an English speaking teacher he once either had or met, who he loved. Yet this was not the same Vazaha who paid him to get married as far as I could tell. His very one-sided conversation with the three of us continued for some time more, and eventually both boys got sick of translating, or didn't want to translate - I was told much of what he said was rather offensive.

After around 40 minutes I thought I started hearing some repeats in what had come to be his monologue. I raised an eyebrow to my companion to the left who had been more recently translating and he confirmed my suspicions that the old man was now repeating himself. He was back on the pace of life in America versus Madagascar.

At this point pretty much all exchange of dialog had ended and it was just the old man talking, but when he came full circle for the third time the iPod came out. It wasn't a very subtle way to end the conversation, unfortunately, but subtlety had clearly not been working.

The rest of that ride was spent mostly in silence, listening to music or napping, with periodic bouts of Dadah trying to help me learn some Malagasy. It was about a 9 hour drive, however, and aside from a break for the bathroom and break in a village for lunch was mostly uneventful.

My time in Fianar was fantastic. I stayed with Dadah at his Aunt and Uncle's house, that evening and consequently met his family that night. Although I wasn't able to discern the vast majority of the conversation that ensued throughout the evening, I throughly enjoyed the opportunity to experience an evening in a Malagasy household, as well as the opportunity to listen to and try and decipher bits of their conversation.

The next morning Dadah and I met up with his two best friends and headed down to roam about Fianar. He showed me where his school was and I was able to meet some of his other classmates, and then we headed uphill towards a Belle Vue, where our trek was rewarded by a fantastic view of the city.

That afternoon I was to take another taxi brousse on to Ranomafana, so around noon we headed back to Dadah's house for lunch, and then made our way back down to the bus station where we were immediately mobbed by people trying to persuade us which taxi would be best for a lone female vazaha to take for the hour and a half journey.

To me, it didn't really matter, I'm fairly confident that I would have arrived at my destination regardless of which bus I boarded, and in fact, that is what happened. I was dropped off back at the entrance of Centre Valbio around 5:00 just as Tolotra, one of the students from University of Fianar was returning from the forest. I couldn't stop smiling as I made my way up to the Giet where I rented a bed for the night (The Giet has 3 hostel style-rooms). I was back!

I had one roommate at the Giet, an American named Eric, who was about half way through a 3 month vacation across Madagascar, we talked for a while about our respective stays in the country, and eventually he headed out for a hike, and after a shower I made my way down to ValBio, where I was warmly greeted by several of the researchers we had left behind at CVB a week before.

So that first week at Ranomafana passed quickly, but happily. I spent my days wandering some of the less traveled trails around the park and campsite, lazily following the river that runs past ValBio, had a trip to town, read a few books, bothered the Malagasy researchers in an attempt to learn their language, and just hung out with friends in a place I love.

Thursday saw the return of the Finnish (Helsinky) study abroad group from their trip to the Primary forest Vatorahana (I actually have no idea how the full title of that area of forest is spelled or pronounced, I just threw some letters onto the end of Vato-). It was strange having ValBio be full of vazaha again, yet having those vazaha not be my American friends.

On Friday afternoon I packed up my backpack and, accompanied by Staff (as the Malagasy researchers have named themselves) to the side of the road where Temba and I were to catch a taxi brousse back to Fianar.

Our destination was Manakara, an East coast beach where Temba grew up. He had agreed to accompany me on my travels and show me around, a huge relief for me, as I would have been fairly lost attempting to navigate the bus stations and a new village on my own.

So our plan was to bus the hour and a half back to Fianar, and then take a bus from there to Manakara that same day. The entertaining thing about this plan was the fact that the bus from Fianar to Manakara goes straight past the driveway to ValBio, unfortunately buses are always full by the time they reach Ranomafana, and so Temba though we'd have better luck just doubling back.

The journey was long, and fairly uncomfortable (we left Fianar at around 8:30pm, seated 4 to a row, with 8 hours of hot car and curving roads ahead of us), but got us to our destination before the sun rose the following day. We waited around for about an hour until the sun rose and people began stirring, then found a bungalow to rent in Manakara and napped until around 1.

Once we were up and rested we headed out to see the area. We walked along a beach in Manakarabe (I believe), and then followed an inlet to a small port where we were able to sit in the shade and watch people swimming and going about their business. Manakara is beautiful. It's drastically different from Ifaty, the West coast beach that we visited with Study Abroad during our cross country trip; there is very little tourism, and the water looked distinctly aggressive, with continually pounding waves that I'd be sincerely frightened to try and swim in.

After a relaxing visit at the shore we headed through town, meandered amidst the crowds in the market, and eventually ended up in a residential area where Temba was raised and much of his family still lived. We had a brief but pleasant visit with his sister, and then walked a short ways to meet the rest of his family. It was during this visit that I had my first encounter with Madagascar leechee. Having only had leechee from street vendors in NYC prior to this, I was initially hesitant. Only to realize that these hesitations were nothing but foolish, as Madagascar leechee (from Manakara at least) are absolutely delicious.

The plan was to meet his family again the next day for lunch, so we said our farewells and headed back to the bungalow, as night was fast approaching.

The next day included a visit to a different Manakara beach, some more meandering though the area, and of course, lunch with Temba's family. Again, most of the conversation was beyond my comprehension, but I loved being surrounded by the culture and language that I've come to so fully adore. We spent the afternoon avoiding the heat by sticking to the shade (aloka!) and teaching each other vocab (and in my case basic grammar) of our respective languages. Around 6 we made our way back to the bus station to return to Ranomafana.

Our fortunes turned for this second bus ride, as we ended up only two to our row, and therefore had ample space to spread out and nap for a large portion of the trip (well, I slept at least. . . ). 1:30 the next morning saw us return to the gates of ValBio where we eagerly made our way up to the campsite to pass out until the sun woke us the next morning.

The rest of that week I spent happily in what I've come to consider my Madagascar home - Ranomafana. There's honestly no where that I've been which I could honestly say I enjoy more. While I found that I was often without an agenda, just the serene ambiance of the forested surroundings, the fresh air, and the (unseasonably) warm sun beating down on the area was enough to keep me content for any period of time. Again my time was split between walks in different forests (a trip back into Talatakaley to retrieve the flags I had set out during my research project), along the river, and down to town, all the while gazing around like an awestruck tourist - which I suppose I sort of still was, despite my having been in the area for over 2 months.

My camera is full of new pictures: many birds - I took to learning the common names of the most prevalent birds of the area - insects, people, and of course landscapes that I hoped would capture some of the spirit of the forest and town that I love so dearly.

In town that second week I ran into Jose, a familiar face from Study Abroad, not to mention a fluent English speaker (a pretty big deal when down in town). He took me to a huge waterfall that was around a kilometer from the center of town and the source of the second largest Hydro-electric power plant in Madagascar. It was gorgeous (and I was quite surprised that in my 2.5 months with Study Abroad in Ranomafana I never even knew it existed), but he explained to me that usually in December this waterfall was roaring, a foaming white cascade over the entire rock face. Yet that day we were able to walk straight up to the water and cool off beneath its meager stream.

When Friday rolled around I once again had to pack up my bags and wait on the side of the road for a bus back to Fianar. The trip was pretty hitch free, I arrived in Fianar and was more or less mobbed by people offering me a taxi ride and telling me which was the best bus to reserve a seat on for my trip to Tana the following day. Luckily Dadah was on his way to meet me at the station and it gave me a legitimate excuse to deny all offers for taxi's and immediate departures to other parts of the country.

I spent the evening again with Dadah and his family, it was great to get to see all of them again, and we spent a pleasant evening watching a Malagasy comedy and talking about environmental issues in Madagascar. The next morning my bus was to leave at 7am, so I called it a night fairly early.

The ride back to Tana seemed by far the longest bus ride I had yet traveled. Perhaps it was the lack of company in addition to the forlorn knowledge that I'd not be passing across the rolling countryside again for a long time, but the time seemed to go far too fast, yet tediously slow at the same time.

I arrived in Tana in the evening, where I met up with a friend of Dadah's who was a taxi driver. He took me to the MICET office where I had stored much of my luggage before departing 2 weeks earlier. Herman, the other Malagasy student from our Study Abroad program met me there, and helped me sort out my accommodations for the evening and following day.

That night I spent back in the Hotel Saint Laurent - the same hotel that housed all of study abroad both at the beginning and end of our program. It was again very surreal being back, only this time entirely alone. I spent the evening going through pictures, listening to my Malagasy music, and eating fresh mango's which I had purchased during the bus ride from Fianar. It was a bittersweet night, and I found sleep hard to come by when I finally settled into bed. This would be my last night here in Madagascar, and there were no bugs humming, no frogs chirpping. I had already left behind my Ranomafana home, and was now just awaiting my return to the bustling United States. How did time pass so fast.

Which brings me to today. I'm currently sitting in the MICET office, reflecting upon the last two weeks and writing this. Surprise.

Mike got back from Fort Dauphin this morning, but has been feeling ill and is therefore resting in hopes of overcoming whatever he's come down with before we board our plane for 20+ hours of travel back to the cold biting wind of New York.

It still doesn't feel like it's time to go. I'm not sure that it's really hit met yet, but within 48 hours I will be half way across the world, surrounded by vazaha in their winter coats, busy with their lives and surrounded by concrete skyscrapers.

I love you all back home, and I'm terribly eager to see you all. But gosh, I don't want that. Life here is simpler. Life here is peaceful. Life here is far more in perspective. I'm eager for the holidays, for my friends and family, and for the comfort in which I was raised. But I'm sure that as soon as I step off Flight AF6 in the JFK airport I will be far more eager to return here.

No offense.

Anyway, I may do some contemplative follow up posts. Perhaps if I feel inspired I'll transcribe some vignettes of memorable stories and adventures of my time here. But this is it for my Madagascar Vaovao. I board the plane tonight, and will then only have American News, which doesn't meet the criteria of this blog.

So veloma dear readers (Hah, I think I'm more tired that I realize). I'll see you all back in the North-Western Hemisphere. Please crank up the heat (or preferably stoke the fireplace), I'm sure I'll be freezing upon my return.

Chapter 2

21.11.2010 I’m not sure what to think. Or rather, I have too many contradicting feelings right now to fully comprehend.

So my plans have changed a bit; as it turns out, I didn’t leave Madagascar. And you all thought I was joking about hiding in the woods. . .

But really, I just didn’t get on the plane. In 17 minutes the flight that is to take Stony Brook’s Study Abroad 2010 out of Madagascar is scheduled to lift off. At 20:00 I loaded onto the bus with the rest of the students who I’ve grown to know and love so well and off we headed to the Antananarivo airport. We spent some time having one last look through the various Madagascar merchandise for sale in the inevitably over-priced airport souvenir shops, waited in lines to check baggage, and then said our goodbyes. 12 people in total, boarding passes out and carry-on luggage in hand, made their way around, giving hugs and exchanging wishes for safe travels and talk of future interactions. I gave them each a hug, and sadly watched as they made their way through the frosted glass doors toward the (only?) gate in the Tana airport.

After that it was my turn to turn away and accompany the group of Malagasy who had been such an integral part of our study abroad back out into the not-so-fresh Tana air.

And now Mike and I are the only two Study Abroad vazaha remaining. Since that moment I left the airport I’ve been in a strange surreal daze of disbelief. Study abroad is over, but here I am, in the hotel in Tana, eagerly awaiting the begin of a new adventure.

So some clarifications are probably in order at this point: I’m staying in Madagascar. Surprise! About 4 days ago, while we were in the secondary rainforest in Andasibe, I realized that I wasn’t ready to leave. It wasn’t much of an epiphany, but the significant realization that I made at that same point was that I really didn’t have to. I had allotted myself 10 days to adventure in Paris, but had no specific agenda holding me to that country.

Before we had even departed from Stony Brook was back in September Mike had been planning on staying in Madagascar for a while after our study abroad program ended. I knew that he had changed his flight out of Tana to a later date, and was suddenly very aware of the complete feasibility of my doing the same thing. And so I decided that if at all possible, that is what I would do.

Of course I procrastinated a lot, and the travel agent who had booked our flights into Madagascar was terribly unresponsive (I’ve still not received a response from her, in fact), but luckily Tiff is a do-something-about-it kind of person, and she skype called Airfrance and got my flight changed. I don’t know what I’d have done without her, it’s likely that I’d be waiting around in the Tana airport for a flight to France right now.

However, I’m not. So instead my plan is to revisit several locations in Madagascar over the next 2 weeks. Tomorrow morning I’m boarding a taxi-brousse with Dadah and we’re headed out on a 9 hour crowded public bus ride back to Fianarotsa. From there I’m either headed out to Isalo to explore the national park some more, back to Ranomafana to hopefully accompany some of the researchers into the field and get a sense of what their studies involve, or I may be headed aboard a train to Manakara, a village on Madagascar’s east coast.

My plans are still pretty up in the air, but the important part is that they don’t involve my departing from this country for another 14 days. Having never traveled on my own before, I’m terribly apprehensive, a feeling which is largely intensified because I speak neither French nor Malagasy, the two main languages of Madagascar. I have, however, purchased an English-Malagasy dictionary, and have been persistently bothering the Malagasy students here about nuances of the language, and am fairly confident that if need be I can mash together some terribly pronounced statement that will hopefully convey the basics of whatever I need to communicate.

Despite my inexplicable excitement about my upcoming adventure, I feel it’s absolutely necessary for me to mention the happenings of our final week of Madagascar Study Abroad 2010.

Our final weekend at ValBio was certainly bittersweet, I spent as much time as I could with all of the people there I’d grown to love, and realized I’d be leaving behind. The on a few occasions the Malagasy all got together and just sang songs that I couldn’t understand, accompanied by a single guitar and perhaps a shaker-thing. Despite my lack of comprehension I must have sat there and listened to them sing for at least 2 hours, enjoying every syllable.

What really impressed me was the number of songs they all seemed to know. 2 hours is a lot of songs, but generally, as someone started strumming a rhythm and announced a few words in Malagasy there’d be a momentary babble soon replaced by all of their voices, singing (nearly) all of the words of whatever songs had been chosen.

The last two nights in Ranomafana were incredible, albeit not particularly restful. About 4 days prior to our leaving ValBio for the last time I convinced myself that sleep was a waste of the little time I had left, and therefore opted to just not sleep more than 4 hours a night. Those last two nights I never even made it back into my tent but rather found that the top of the water filtration building (The Box, as it became known as) was a fantastic place to drift to sleep, as it allowed me to watch the stars until slumber arrives and disturbs my vision. The top picture on the previous post is a photo of our pilot night (though actually the following morning) sleeping atop The Box.

Farewells at ValBio were brief but still sad and once completed, the 15^th of November faced us with about 13 hours of travel northward to Andasibe, another national park. The ride passed with surprising ease, however and before too long or too much boredom we were moving out stuff into bungalows which looked out over the lemur infested forest of Andasibe.

We spent 2 days in there, seeking out lemurs in the forest by day and being awoken to the Indri indri’s haunting wails as the sun rose each morning. My time in the forests there are really what confirmed my decision to remain in Madagascar, and although I don’t for a moment believe that this will be my last experience in this country, I simply couldn’t bear the thought of parting with the warm fresh air, the beautiful friendly people, or the majestic (dare I say magical) wilderness in order to travel through industrialized Europe.

After our 2 days in Andasibe we retraced The Road back to Antananarivo where we had a few days to chill, fix our presentations, and do some souvenir shopping. Some political turmoil here had us cooped up in the hotel the first night, but we were never faced with any imminent danger. Thank goodness for that. It certainly was exciting, however, knowing that we were in Madagascar's capital city as their history was being made.

The 19^th found us in an Indian restaurant for dinner, we were all presented with awesome straw hats from our two Malagasy students and I was graced with 2 birthday cakes and several highly entertaining Bollywood birthday music videos (who knew Old McDonald Had a Farm could be so fluently merged with Happy Birthday).

Yesterday we presented our research projects to the President and Vice president of the University of Antananarivo (among some other spectators), and then had a cocktail like party in celebration of our completion of presentations. That evening we headed out to a karaoke bar/restaurant for some fun on our last night in Madagascar.

Now I need to sleep, however, as we leave in 6 hours to travel to Fianar. My return to the states has been postponed 4 days with the change of plans, but I’m not very upset about it. I’m preemptively asking for forgiveness for the severe nostalgia which I’m sure I’ll fall susceptible to upon my return. But until then I’ll be frolicking about in the sun, drinking in the spirit of Madagascar.

Pictures:

1. A majority of us crowded around the small TV in the lobby, trying to decode the Malagasy vaovao (News) about the current political situation and potential turmoil in the center of Antananarivo.

2. Tana has a Hollywood-like white sign on a hillside. It's pretty neat.

3. The bungalows in Andasibe, taken from our back porch (which looks out over the forest). Gorgeous: Yes.

4. Our whole group (sans Franck, our Malagasy TA) after presentations at the University of Antananarivo.

Also: Happy Thanksgiving!

Some Pictures

1. Where we slept under the stars on The (water filtration) box. Cold, but awesome.

2. Tess, Dede, Michaela, and Franck dancing to Afindrafindrao, Madagascar's national dance.

3. My tent at the campsite in Ranomafana.

4. Hiking back from the canyons on the first day in Isalo National Park.

5. The view from the ValBio Balcony; the day we arrived; foggy.

6. The part of the kitchen set up at the Valo campsite.

7. Jethro and Tiff, photographing and drawing a comet moth on the wall.

No time to write now. But visuals are nice.

I can't believe I forgot my time-turner.

11/11/2010 Our days here are passing at a disgracefully constant pace, much to my dismay, and so now I’m sitting outside, gazing around me and trying to slow down time with sheer brain power and want. Unfortunately, I seem to be failing.

The past week has been pretty busy with busy work and preparation for the presentations of our research results. It’s taken a lot more brain power than I had expected, but come tomorrow morning when it’s time to dress up in our smart outfits and explain our projects to the mayor of Ranomafana I think we’ll all be prepared.

Last night a few of us ended up pulling an all-nighter trying to complete our statistics and powerpoint presentations. At around 4:30 we all called it quits and stepped outside to realize the sun was rising.

I, personally, immediately forgot that I was tired, grabbed my camera and tried my best to capture the mist rolling over the forested hills in the slanted rays of early light. Despite my 100+ tries I don’t think I’d ever be able to do the beauty of it justice, as I imagine my preemptive nostalgia boosted it gorgeous rating by an additional 12 (out of 20, perhaps? Arbitrary numbers are fantastic). Tiff and I both decided to hang around for the sunset and eventually made our way to the top of a water filtration building where we had a fairly spectacular view of the surrounding forest and were able to await the sun’s arrival as it slowly rose above the nearby hills.

As the morning crept on we greeted the various ValBio residents as they made their way down to breakfast from the campsite. It was a morning I hadn’t expected, but one that I hope to never forget. I’m taking the end of my time here pretty hard, already.

More interesting that the sunrise (for it happens every morning, generally), however was the 5 days a group of us spent in the primary forest Valohoaka (Valo) completing the second half of our independent research. It was exactly the experience I was hoping to gain from our independent research project, and one I will always hope for a chance to repeat.

The Tuesday (Nov. 2) we were to depart for Valo we aimed to leave around 7:30; this of course means we were headed up the ValBio driveway around 8:45, packs on our back with 5 days of clothes, our sleeping pads and bags, and various other generally unnecessary items snugly packed away. The hike took us about 4 hours to get there, though we stopped several times for breaks and scenic appreciation.

The campsite at Valo is simply terrific. It’s on a mildly steep hill, which consequently tends to be mildly treacherous when wet, but everyone managed to keep their footing the first 2 nights when it was very wet. The great thing about the campsite’s being situated on a hill was the view that it allowed. The bottom of the campsite (was still about 2/3 of the way up the hill we were situated on) was terraced and cleared in about a 4x20 meter area, providing space for a clothes line on which we could dry laundry and the dining tent. The clearing also provided us with a brilliant view of the hill looming up the other side of the ravine, at the bottom of which was the stream from which we got our drinking water, and for anyone who wanted to shower (which none of us found time to do while we were there) a waterfall.

The dining tent I feel absolutely inclined to mention and describe, simply because I adored it more than any other place I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy a meal, almost certainly in Madagascar, maybe even ever. So the word ‘tent’ is a bit misleading in this circumstance. It was actually just a collection of tarps, set up to provide a roof and 2 walls, stretching length of the area where the food was prepared and consumed. The front and back were both open, though the back of the tent was largely blocked off by the cooking fire, a quaint set up with rocks arranged to hold an iron pot over the fire in which they cooked rice, beans, vegetables, eggs, and even smoked zebu.

There was a single hand crafted bench along one wall of the tent, and a long uneven table which about 5 people could sit at comfortably. We had 13 people including the Malagasy guides and cooks, so meal times were crowded but cozy. My last comment on the food and dinging circumstances in Valo: Never, in my life, have I so thoroughly enjoyed a small tin cup of plain boiled water. As was mentioned several times during our stay there, consumables are always better when you’re camping, and maybe it was just knowing that they retrieved the water from the very stream in which I was studying for my independent research, but come the end of the day the scorching water which they set out for us was quite likely the most enjoyable beverage I’ve had since I’ve been in Madagascar.

The only real hesitation I had with our stay in the primary forest was the leeches. Yet despite my long standing distaste for the blood-sucking slugs it was surprisingly easy to get over my absolute repulsion for them. Fortunately, after the second day the sun came out and finally decided to stick around. As the ground dried out the leeches retreated to where ever leeches hide and we spent a delightful few
days in the sunshine-lit primary forest, nearly entirely leech free.

The other 5 students staying in Valo were all doing their research projects on the behavior of a group of Propithecus edwardsii, Sifaka lemurs. Sadly, the second day we were there word got back to Hannah and I at the campsite that one of the babies was missing. It was assumed to be dead, likely the victim of an infanticide. That evening after dinner someone procured a bottle of whiskey and we all took a swig and Will, the student who had been studying the 2 infant lemurs, poured out a shot for poor little Jameson, the late lemur infant. It was a touching moment, though inevitably tainted with the bitterness of a young life lost.

Our last day there found us with a morning in the primary forest, free to do with as we pleased. I decided to accompany the group that was going to continue following the Sifakas. I’d yet to be presented with the opportunity to spend any extended period of time following and watching the lemurs, so I eagerly grabbed my camera and headed off into the woods to romp and stumble up and down hillsides,chasing after the arboreally inclined primates. The day was beautiful and I took an obscene number of pictures (of course) and managed to deplete my entire battery about half way through our time in the forest.

Something I’ve failed to mention until now; every day the students following the Props had to follow them from essentially sunrise to sunset. The group they were following was one which had been studied for years prior, one of individuals in the group had a radio collar which usually allowed for the guides and researchers to find them in the forest each day. Unfortunately there was some difficulty acquiring permits to re-capture and replace the radio collars, and consequently the only way for them to ensure they’d find the lemurs each day was to follow them until the lemurs had settled into a tree for the night, and rise early enough to catch up with them before they strayed far from their resting spot the next morning. I got to witness some really intense science in action, and it was an experience I had never expected, but yet another memory I’m certain I’ll never forget.

That afternoon we made the hike back through the forest to ValBio. We were greeted by the rest of our group as well as 3 new Malagasy students from the University of Fianar, here for internship-like work, and 2 new researchers.

It’s been an enjoyable and relaxing though busy week here since our return; I’ve been doing my best to learn as much Malagasy as I can while I’m here around native speakers. Unfortunately that’s still not a lot. More than anything, I’ve just been doing my best to enjoy every moment I have left in Ranomafana. The weather’s been sunny and warm for the last few days, and I’ve had spent a fairly impressive amount of time procrastinating by simply staring off the balcony of ValBio, trying to memorize every leaf and shadow in view.

Last night we were talking about Christmas for about an hour after dinner. Christmas carols mid-November in Madagascar just aren’t quite the same, but it certainly didn’t prevent “They’re singing deck the halls, but it’s not like Christmas at all” from imbedding itself in all of our heads for a few hours. It’s strange to recognize that it will likely (hopefully) be snowing when I return, but the Christmas season is certainly something I’m excited come home to.

Tomorrow night we’re having a party here in honor of the completion of our independent research, as well as the birthday of one of the researchers. It should be fun. Photo and music swaps have begun, and talk of home has been growing more and more prevalent. Hannah and I have been conferencing about plans for my time in Europe (I’m planning to visit her in England!) before returning to the states, but I’m trying not to think too much about being anywhere aside from Madagascar for the rest of my time here.


11.13.2010 So I didn’t make it to town to post that last entry after I wrote it, and now I’ve more to write. Joy!

Yesterday morning we descended the hill to ValBio for breakfast and found nearly all of the tables cleared out of the main dining room. Breakfast was a (more) casual affair than usual, and then it was time for our smart outfits and last minute run throughs of our presentations. The first student was to present 8:30, because Patricia Wright had to leave at noon and wanted to see all of our presentations before she departed. With 14 of us each doing 10-15 minute long presentations it took the better part of the morning, but it was pretty interesting and was great to see what everyone took away from their 2 weeks of research.

After presentations we had most of the day until dinner time to do what we wanted. Most of us headed up the Gite for a drink and just to hang out. We were accompanied by 2 of the students from the University of Fianar which allowed for some hilarity as a result of language barriers and foolish games requiring rhyming.

We returned to ValBio a few hours before dinner, met with our resident coordinator for feedback on our presentations, and just lounged around, enjoying the company and the warm weather. Eventually we made our way into the dining hall which had once again been re-arranged; only this time it was arranged for the going away party that they were throwing to celebrate the conclusion of our time here.

All of the guides were invited, of course the researchers and students staying at ValBio, and pretty much anyone else we had interacted with during our time here. Upon realization that this would be the last time I saw a lot of these people, I started tearing up, honestly this surprised me (I usually don’t cry until I’ve left), but then I realized that Jethro (another study abroad student), was playing what may be the most depressing German song I’ve ever heard in my right ear, and partially attribute my overactive tear ducts to that. . .

Dinner was accompanied by a party – which meant a ton of delicious, buffet-style, Malagasy food. They made us miniature zebu-burgers, samosas, bean pies (which are brilliant), and Malagasy pizza, among an assortment of other sensational food, carbonated beverages (I refuse to generalize with either the word soda or pop), fresh squeezed mango juice, and THB to drink, finished off with fresh bananas and mangos, and a while later chocolate cake. So much food, so little stomach capacity. . .

After we had finished eating the music came on. Malagasy love to dance, and are just so good at it, I’ve mentioned that before, but it’s true and it’s phenomenal. It was a blast as always, trying to keep up with their crazy footwork and generally jumping around like a fool to the music. It was particularly exciting to periodically realize that we had all started to recognize some of the Malagasy music and knew some of the dances that went along.

The night lasted a while, it was great to see everyone and enjoy a final night with all the people we’ve grown so familiar with. Yet it was also a distinctly bittersweet evening. There were so many people I’ve grown to know well and love, so many people I’ve only recently met and want the chance to get to know better, and so little time to express my appreciation for everything everyone there has done for us.
The night carried on with a jovial atmosphere, however, and we have tons of pictures and videos that I can’t wait to revisit upon my return to the states. By the end of the night it was nearly only study abroad still hanging out and dancing. At some point the two decorative wicker giraffes made their way onto the dance floor to take part in the dancing.

Now all we’ve really got to do is make a few final changes to our presentations for when we present them in Tana a week from today, and pack up our stuff. I’m distraught at the thought, and am reluctant to even begin packing – so instead I wrote this up and am headed down into town, probably for the last time. . .

We’re headed out early Monday morning to visit one last national park in Andasibe, but I think I’m going to hide in the woods until the bus leaves. Aw shucks, I guess I’d just have to stick around here for a while more.

The length of this post is fairly ridiculous

I tried to upload some pictures, but the internet here is far too slow to allow for any success.

30/10/2010 To those of you who’ve been awaiting news from Madagascar, my sincerest apologies for the delay in posts. We’ve been pretty busy lately, and quite frankly, whenever I’ve had down time for the last week or so I’ve had other things I’d rather do than prepare a blog entry. But now here I am, typing away and trying to remember everything I’ve wanted to write about over the last 20 days.

So to start, our ten day trip was fantastic. We made it pretty hitch free to the beach at Ifaty, we only had to get out of the bus and push it out of a sand dune once; our driver, Duda, was outstanding. The place we stayed was called the Bamboo Club, and was just a scattering of bungalows across the shore. The west coast beach of Madagascar is nothing like any other beach I’ve been to. When we arrived at the beach, we all jumped out of the bus and ran off to check out the bungalows, put on our swim suits, and then dashed towards the ocean (a full 50 meters away from the most distant bungalow). Having just spent around 3 hours in a sweltering hot van with 18 other people I was eagerly expecting to dive into a refreshingly cool expanse of ocean water.

I was, however, surprised. By the time I reached the water 4 of our group was already about 25 meters out, thigh-deep in the almost disconcertingly warm ocean. I went out and inquired as to whether it got deeper further out, and was responded by the return of 2 other students who’d already walked another 50 meters out to sea only to find the depth had reached around waste level. We eventually decided to venture away from the shore and see what there was to see. Mostly, we discovered a ton more warm ocean water, but also came across a massive sea slug that took about 8 attempts by 3 different people to actually pick up (because slugs are gross and no one really wants to touch them). It was pretty neat though, and despite my initial surprise the warm water ended up being fantastic in contrast to the cooler temperature of the hotel pool.

That first night, our English TA Hannah enlightened me to the presence of bioluminescent organisms in the water that will light up if you kick the water around. It was incredible being 5 meters out into the ocean, ankle deep in comfortably warm water, with a clear sky and incredible stars overhead, and a kick of your feet bringing to view spots of light in the surrounding water.

The next 3 days were spent at the beach doing beach things and generally having a great time. Day 1 we all went snorkeling along Madagascar’s west coast barrier reef which was great. We had that afternoon free and all dispersed to try out various activities. It was a tough decision; spear fishing, horseback riding, wind surfing, diving for those who had their license, or another trip out to the reef for more snorkeling. I eventually opted for a second round of snorkeling along the reef.

The second day went to learn about the dry forests of the area and about native tortoises that are being hunted and illegally exported. We managed to fit both stops into the morning and were once again given the afternoon free to do with as we pleased.

The third and final day’s activity was a boat ride to a fishing village about 10 km down the shore, but it took about an hour to get there by boat. We spent most of the day there exploring that stretch of the beach, climbing the awesome mangrove trees – honestly the best climbing tress I’ve seen, maybe ever – and general tomfoolery in the water. They cooked fresh fish and lobster for us for lunch, in addition to a huge pot each of rice, stewed veggies, and a bean mush sauce (which was actually pretty good despite that thoroughly unappealing description).

Each day we also had ample down time, to just hang out around the bungalows, swim, and get persistently harassed by the local people who were trying to sell us various souvenirs. It was fairly entertaining if you weren’t the one getting mobbed by 6 women trying to sell you lambas. “Good price! Good Price! Dix mille ariary!” which, it turns out, is absolutely not a good price.

Side note: Franck, one of our TAs is awesome. He’s hilarious, loves Tupac and rice, and just caught a fly off of the wall with his bare hand and crushed it (they’re present in aggravating abundance). Who knew we had a “Malagasy Jedi” as a TA.

After our fourth night at the beach we regretfully packed up and loaded back onto the bus. Aside from a stop to check out a mangrove forest, a stop to try (but fail) to help out another bus that had gotten stuck in the sand dunes (I failed to mention, the roads in Ifaty are mostly just beaten sand paths which may have been paved of some sort at some time), a stop to push our own bus out of a sand dune, and a stop for a roadside picnic lunch of bread, canned meats and veggies, and cheese we spent the whole day traveling back East to Isalo National Park.

We spent 3 nights at our hotel in Isalo. Each day we hiked into the park and learned about the biodiversity and culture, and were generally awestruck by the incredible canyons and massifs. No words are adequate to describe the majesty of Isalo park, but as we rounded a particularly memorable corner and were faced with a view of kilometers of rock formations and flame-resistant trees I was overcome by an urge to just run off and explore the park forever (a bit of a hyperbole, but it was awesome in the most literal definition of the word).

The first day we were taken into two canyons and over a few expanses of desert. The contrast between the desert and the gallery forests (oases) along the streams was astounding. The second day took us over some really incredible rock formations and to a natural pool oasis where we went swimming there (it was so refreshing after hiking over an hour up and down giant granite and sandstone massifs) and had a picnic lunch in the park.

That evening we went to “the window” which is a huge tourist destination, but understandably, because it’s absolutely beautiful. The main attraction there is a natural rock formation that has a hole in rock face which frames the sun as it sets, so we watched the sunset there – though not through the window, there were so many vahaza (Malagasy for “visitors” – as a white person in Madagascar you get used to hearing this word as you pass, especially as you pass children) taking pictures. Instead we all scattered and climbed various rock outcrops to watch - and it was spectacular.

While the window and hikes were incredible, the first two nights in Isalo I found to have been the most memorable of our time there.

The first night – the night we arrived – was unreal. The whole situation was simply absurd. We were standing in the middle of the desert in Madagascar, on the side of The road where there was no artificial light within 500 meters of us. The skies overhead were clear and the stars were unbelievable but kilometers in the distance we could see the lightening and dark foreboding clouds of a thunderstorm blowing in across the desert. The wind was doing its best to blow us over and while it failed on that front, it did manage to blow a massive tumble weed right past us where it got lodged in a roadside shrubbery. Following some investigation I discovered that the branches of tumble weed are entirely covered in thorns and not good to grab with your bare hands in the dark.

The second night the storm arrived. According to Dede, our Malagasy trip coordinator, it rains in Isalo once every three months, – it’s a desert, right – that’s four times a year. The whole evening prior we watched as the clouds rolled in and the sky darkened. There were two storm fronts that seemed to be converging on our hotel, around 6:20 the horizon was obscured by the approaching storm and the skies were periodically ignited with cracks and flashes of lightening. And then the rain began. Within 30 seconds it was literally a torrential downpour. We all darted inside to grab our raincoats and close the windows and then returned to stand in awe of the storm which raged on around us.

A few of us put our rain gear to the test and stood out in the storm, simply loving the experience and fully engrossed in the power of the rain storm as it pelted down all around us and against our rain coats. Thunder and lightning threatened to tear apart the sky with their ferocity, but my favorite part was hearing each fresh torrent of rain before it arrived. The sound of pounding raindrops would suddenly grow louder and we’d look out into the darkness, expecting to see it approaching like a herd of zebu (I don’t know if zebu travel in herds in the wild, but oh well), and a few moments later we’d feel it, the drops would grow larger and fall harder, it was like Zeus had turned up the water pressure.

The truly spectacular thing was the duration of the storm. In temperate Pittsburgh we certainly have our fair share of thunderstorms, but they never last. After half an hour of standing in the rain it was time for dinner, hail had made a presence mingled in with the raindrops, and it didn’t seem likely that the rain would let up any time soon. We headed into the dining room (our rain gear had been mostly successful) and truly appreciated the electricity and roof over head. For at least an hour during dinner we heard the rain pummeling the roof above us, saw lightning flashing out the windows, and heard claps of thunder as the storm raged on. By around 9:00 when we had finished dinner the rain had receded to a persistent drizzle and the previously hard dirt ground had transformed to mud. Storms in the desert are fantastic.

The third night in Isalo was overcast with lightning illuminating the sky with startling frequency, however the rains didn’t return. It was fantastic to watch, and despite several attempts of long exposure photos it was just not something that could be captured on film (by an amateur such as myself, at least).

The final day of our 10 day trip was spent traveling. We stopped back in Fianar for a meal and to briefly use the internet, and then made our way back to Ranomafana and ValBio. It was great to be back at our rainforest home, though the cool air was a bit shocking, as we’d been graced with 80+ degree weather for our entire trip. The contrast between the East and West coast of Madagascar is astounding; the mountain range which runs North-South down the island creates a distinct rainshadow which was fantastically apparent as we traveled across the country.

A few days later we were to start our Independent Projects, so we spent the time winding down from our trip and getting our methods ready and guides sorted out for our research exploits into the forest. That Friday 3 students and one of the TA’s left for Valo, the primary forest where they would be following a group of Propithecus edwardsi (Sifaka lemurs) for their research projects. Two days later 2 of the people who’d been at ValBio researching mouse lemurs headed home (to Finland) and suddenly ValBio seemed very empty.

It was incredibly different from the rest of the time we’ve spent in Ranomafana; in fact it was the first time since we all met at the airport on September 10th that we haven’t all been in the same general vicinity. In addition to our decreased numbers people always seemed to be missing since everyone’s independent work had us on different schedules and in different places around Ranomafana. The general atmosphere and ambiance was certainly different, things were far quieter than I’d ever experienced in ValBio, but it was an enjoyable change of pace.

Another side note: Writing this blog is taking all morning, so I’ll inform y’all of entertaining happenings. Primarily that Tiff (another student here) and I recently decided that y’all is actually an extremely useful contraction, and it’s a shame that it’s not more widely used and is generally looked down upon.

On Tuesday Pat Wright, the founder of Ranomafana National Park and Centre Valbio, arrived. She is fantastic. With her, she brought several copies of a book “Madagascar, The Forest of Our Ancestors” which she, someone named Cryil Girard (who illustrated the text), and photographer Frédéric Larrey just recently completed creating. It’s a really incredible book, and I’m terribly eager to purchase one for myself.

Anyway, 2 nights ago (Friday, the 28th) we had a party at ValBio to celebrate the completion of her book, the news of several large grants coming through for Ranomafana, and a successful reproductive year for the critically endangered Prolemur simus (Greater bamboo lemurs) in Ivato – a nearby and worrisomely fragmented forest. We ate dinner by candle light – though only because the power went out for the beginning of the meal– had a brief intermission whilst everyone present was proved themselves science geeks and crowded around a parasitic worm that had just emerged from a cricket, and then had live music performed by the ValBio chef Solo. I intend to spread his music around when I get home, it’s pretty awesome.

The music eventually changed to Malagasy dance music played from someone’s computer, and we all got up to be sufficiently shown up by the Malagasy’s incredible dancing skills. It was tons of fun. I personally had to be a party-pooper and go to bed early because I had a sunrise transect to do the next morning which required that I wake up at 3 am in order to get to the stream before the sun rose. Ouch.

Yesterday the students who’d been doing their research in Valo returned, they were all tired and pretty disgusting (they hadn’t showered since they left a week prior), but it was great to have everyone back again. Today most of us have the day off from research, and tonight there’s a huge ball/party in town. It’s apparently the yearly big party in Ranomafana and so tonight we’re all getting dressed up in our “smart outfits” as Hannah, our English TA, put it and heading down to town for the ball.

Tomorrow we’re having another party here at ValBio because it’s Halloween (so many parties!). We’re all really excited and have been brainstorming feasible costume ideas for weeks. Pat Wright invited around 70 Malagasy locals to the party, which is fantastic, I’m really eager to see what costume ideas they come up with. Apparently they were fairly baffled by the concept of Halloween, which from an objective perspective is a completely sensible reaction to a holiday which the purpose is to dress up like a fool and give candy to children lest they try and trick you.

Monday is the Day of the Dead, a national holiday in Madagascar, so we’ve got the day off to catch up on data entry and whatever else we may need to do. Come Tuesday we’re to get back to work on our independent research projects. We have another week to collect data, then a week to work out our statistics and prepare the presentations of our results. This week I’m headed out to Valo with 5 other students and will be doing a transect of a different stream out in the primary forest. I’m hoping to see some really cool things while we’re there, in addition to getting some really good data, of course.

On the 15th we leave Ranomafana for the last time, drive 14 hours through and beyond the capital city Antananarivo (where the airport is) for a couple days exploring a national park in Northern Madagascar. The plan is to return to Tana on the 18th, present our research presentations on the 19th, have a day and a half to be Vahaza in the capital city, and the night of the 21st we’re headed back to the airport to catch our flight that leaves at 1am. But I’m not thinking about any of that now. Madagascar’s great. I’m never leaving. . .

2 of 10 days.

10/10/2010. So today is day 2 of our ten day trip across Madagascar. Yesterday we hit the road at 6:30 am, had a brief stop in the nearby town of Fianaratsoa (Fianar) and then continued on towards our first destination. We stopped in a dry (semi-natural) forest to see some ring-tailed lemurs, (scientifically known as lemurcota, but preferably referred to as lemurcutea. Har har.) climb up some giant boulders, see some awesome caves where people used to live, and see some awesome tombs where their bodies still reside.

We made one more stop at a local paper factory where they showed us how Malagasy paper was made and decorated with local flowers. The results of their work were beautiful, and several of our group spent a good amount on souvenirs and gifts for family and friends. From there we drove on to our resting destination, had a great meal at our hotely (restaurant+hotel) and a fun night hanging out after dinner. Most importantly, we had beds. After a month+ of "bed" referring to a 2 inch thick inflatable mattress pad it was like sleeping on a cloud. It seems like we're getting spoiled on this trip.

Today was mostly just a ton of driving. We left early in the morning again, and 8 hours of driving and a few notable sights-seen later we arrived here in Tulear. The air smells of saltwater (among the other smells of a Madagascar city. . .) and sand is strewn about the edges of the streets - we've all be eagerly awaiting the chance to hang out on a beach and swim.

But first sights seen:
-Boabab trees! Awesome; some fun facts - store water in their massive sized trunk; can reach 25 meters tall; 10 meters diameter; have no means of seed dispersal - likely used to be dispersed by now extinct megafauna.
-Dust Devils. Less exciting, still cool.
-Dry spiny forest. Pretty crazy, largely because it was extremely isolated in an otherwise desolate desert landscape.
-Crazy plateau ridge. This was just neat looking.
-Some forest fires. . . Actually not cool. But worth mentioning, I suppose.

So the rest of our trip is spent mostly in 2 locations. Tomorrow we're actually arriving at the beach where we'll be spending 3 days. We've apparently got really nice bungalow's rented for our stay in Ifaty, and lots of opportunity to view and learn about the dry spiny forests of Madagascar. After our stay at the beach, the plan is to (reluctantly) pack up and head back on the road (which we drove on all day today) to our destination in Isalo. We'll be spending 3 days there hiking around the granite outcrops and dry forests.

Day 10 is spent in transit back to Centre ValBio in Ranomafana, and then we're off to the races performing our independent research projects.

This past week blew by as a result of a full schedule and anticipation for this trip. Monday and Tuesday included a hike up to the primary forest - which was incredible- and the rest of the week was spent writing up our research proposals.

There's a group of people studying lemurs, a few people are doing cultural projects, and a few of us are doing transects. My plan is to take some surveys of the riparian zones in the forest, comparing the levels of animal activity during different times of day. But I'm mostly thrilled for the chance to spend so much time in the forest.

Time for dinner here though. Headed to a beach-side restaurant! Veloma!