June 1st to June 7th 2024
Since I didn’t have any teaching this week, it gave me time to do some more fun things around the Majunga area. I was able to visit a few places in the countryside and relax a little bit.
On Monday, Rochel and I went to look at a farm near the Majunga airport. I had asked him to go because last week I was telling him that I haven’t seen any cows in all of Madagascar, and he told me there were some there. I was surprised because I was under the impression that all the dairy products were imported. However, when we went to the farm, I was happy to see that they had 11 dairy cows, 1 bull, and 2 baby calves. Most people don’t normally do a tour, so they were really kind to us, and we were able to ask a bunch of questions. I learned that the farm was set up by the Catholic church and that the cows produce about 50 L of milk a day. I also learned that they had a bunch of American looking chickens here. It is important to note that they were American looking because Malagasy chickens here only lay one egg a month and they are normally just used for meat. The farm here had egg-laying chickens and was able to collect 450 eggs a day, which is something else that I was not aware of happening here in Majunga. Anyway, it was a great day of learning and spending time outside.
The other part of the week I got to spend time visiting the countryside. My Peace Corps friend, Charlie was back in Majunga after being in Tana for the last month. He originally went there for a seed training, but while he was there, he learned that his house had burned down. Upon learning this news and telling Peace Corps, he had to wait in Tana as they did an investigation and decided what they should do with him. They eventually decided that he would be moved to a new site that was close to his old one. He stayed with me at my apartment, and then Peace Corps sent up a car to help install him in his new site. I was able to get special permission to go with him to the new site and see everything in the countryside. Before we went to the new site, we first went to his old site, Betsako, to see if there was anything that could be salvaged from his house. Once we got there, it was clear that nothing could be salvaged. The only thing that remained of his house was the concrete wall/foundation part; everything else was burnt to a crisp. He was positive about it, but it still sucks to see all your possessions completely gone.
We returned to my apartment that evening and got ready to install him in his new site the next day. His new site, which also happens to be Saruma’s current site, was about a two-hour drive away. This town was much quieter compared to his original town. The original town could be described as aggressively social, and the new town was considered the quiet town in the Majunga area. Charlie moved into his house, and then we headed to a larger city, Moravay, for him to check in with the police. Saruma came with us too, and we had a little field trip to explore a larger city in area. Moravay is like Majunga except it was dirtier and there was no ocean. While Charlie was checking in with the police, Saruma and I went on a walk through the market in search of cold drinks. After a couple stops, we finally found one and I ordered an orange soda. I went to walk away, but they stopped because I apparently, I had to finish the entire drink there since it was in a glass bottle. I finished most of it, and then this random guy came up and asked me for a drink. I think he wanted toaka gasy, Malagasy moonshine, but instead, I just gave him the rest of my orange soda. He didn’t say anything, but instead guzzled it down as fast as possible instead of sipping it like most people do. Saruma, the store seller, and I were all laughing, but hey, things just happen in Madagascar. It’s never a dull moment here, and I’ll miss the small adventures once I’m back in the U.S.