December 16th to December 22nd 2023
Compared to last week, this week was less eventful. I celebrated my birthday in Madagascar, rode on the Cotisse (public) bus, and stayed at the U.S. ambassador’s house. I am also feeling very excited because there is only one more week left until my family comes to visit me.
My birthday was on Sunday, but I kept it very lowkey. I went to mass and then took some time to talk to my family and Sophie. Even though I couldn’t be with any of them it was still nice to hear and talk to them. It was nice that everyone thought of me, and I also got a chance to tell them about my time in Madagascar so far. I also had dinner with Pastor Miguel, Natalie, and Abi which was really good. They even made me a little birthday cake. I also received a little birthday surprise. I had sent a Diplomatic Pouch package before I left home, and it finally got to me. The package weighed about 90 pounds, and I had filled it with different school supplies, from scholastic news articles to teaching books, which I had gotten from some of the teachers back in Potsdam. The box was pretty beat up once it got to me but everything inside was fine.
The box definitely went on a journey to get to Majunga. First, it went from Potsdam to Washington DC. In Washington DC the box got put on a boat and came to Madagascar. In Madagascar it was delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Tana. Tana is a 13-hour drive away from Majunga, so I had to figure out how to get my package from the embassy. The mailing system in Madagascar is very different than the one we have in the US. In fact, I don’t even have an exact address for my apartment. In Madagascar, packages are placed on the public bus and then everyone has to meet the bus at its final destination to receive their packages. To get my package, I had to hire a driver to go pick it up at the embassy. He then put the package on the public bus, where it traveled on top of the bus to get to Majunga. It was a process but I’m glad that I was able to receive my package and all the school supplies inside.
On Thursday, I left for Tana, where my family met me once they arrived in Madagascar. Essentially, I had to be ready for the same journey as my package… 13 hours on the Cotisse (public) bus. It was a long ride, but I made it. I left around 6pm and got to Tana at around 7:30am the next day. We only stopped a couple of time, so everyone could get out of the bus and pee on the side of the road before we kept going. The women would pee on one side and the men peed on the other. It was a weird and long drive, but I did it and I guess it could have been worse.
Once I made it to Tana, I had the privilege of staying at the ambassador’s house. I thought the ambassador was nice, when I first met her, but I really enjoyed getting to know her more this time. Her two sons were visiting for the holidays, so it was good to talk with them too and feel included in their family. Her house is incredible. There is a pool, a tennis court, and a big yard. Even though, I was only there for one night and didn’t use the pool or the tennis court, I really enjoyed staying there.
My parents and brother are arriving on Saturday the 23rd. At the time of writing this they are all already here. It’s been really amazing to have them so far, but I’ll write about what we did in next week’s blog. Until I get to that, I wish everyone a happy holidays!