June 22nd to June 27th 2024
Since Malagasy Independence Day was on June 26th, there were numerous celebrations throughout the week that I got to participate in. First, I had a pretty good weekend. I did some more work with the STEM Club, and then Luc helped me teach the ACCESS students about American sports. We played Kahoot, which they really enjoyed. On Sunday, I went out to lunch with Rochel and his girlfriend, which was super sweet. They have been very nice to me since I arrived, and I have appreciated getting to know them.
Monday was the final celebration for the end of the Saint Gabriel school year. Every year, they have a big assembly with all the students from kindergarten to college, which results in about 3000 students. They gather everyone together to congratulate the students who did especially well on their exams and to celebrate an early Malagasy Independence Day. For this assembly, I sat up front with the school director because they wanted to thank me for the work I did this year. I really appreciated it but was also nervous because I had to give a speech in Malagasy to say thank you. I practiced my speech a lot, and it ended up going really well. All the students thought it was funny and were very happy to hear me speaking in Malagasy. I know I made some mistakes, but they were all super supportive. After all the thank-yous and congratulations, the students from different classes put on a performance showing traditional Malagasy dancing. Each class was chosen to represent traditional dance from one of the 18 regions of Madagascar. They were all so good at dancing, and the students were super into it, which made it so fun to watch. I took some videos and put them together if anyone wants to check it out. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OJ0XiB4M2ScNd-8VUPxcr6qNdJpXjV9h/view?usp=sharing
I really enjoyed the entire assembly, and it was a great way to conclude my time teaching at Saint Gabriel. That evening, I also got to participate in a teacher dinner with some dancing. Overall, it was a great way to find closure for all the work I did at the school. Even though some days were hard, I appreciated every moment working there and I know I will miss it.
Later in the week, I got to celebrate actual Malagasy Independence Day. Although Independence Day is on the 26th, the Malagasy people start their celebration the evening of the 25th with fireworks. Fireworks are always cool to see, but they are even better here in Madagascar. Every kid under the age of 12 has a green laser pointer, and after the fireworks go off, they all point the laser at the cloud of smoke that forms. In this way, you get fireworks and a laser show. It’s perfect. Charlie, Saruma, Mbola, and I had a great time watching the show, and we got some drinks to continue celebrating after.
The next day was actual Malagasy Independence Day, and we woke up early to see the parade pass by city hall. The parade featured all the clubs from Mahajanga, ranging from Scouts to Karate to English Clubs. The best way to describe the parade was similar to a club fair at a college, where each club shows off its members to recruit new ones. The parade was nice to see, but we ended up leaving early because it was going on for four hours, and that was too long for us to be out in the sun just standing there. We went back home to rest and then returned to the boardwalk to continue celebrating with everyone. We got some sweet anchor henna tattoos and went on a ship carnival ride that they had set up. Overall, it was a great time, and I felt like I got the full Malagasy Independence Day experience.