June 15th to June 21st 2024
This past week in Madagascar was another good one, though it was filled with a lot of emotions. The week began with a wonderful surprise: an early goodbye party for me. On Saturday, all the Peace Corps people were in town, and Natalie organized a goodbye party for me. Even though I still have about a month left here, I hadn’t realized that this past weekend would be our last time all together. While I’ll still see some of the Peace Corps people a few more times, Natalie and Abi are returning to the U.S. this week to visit family and won’t be back in Madagascar before I leave. The last dinner together was great, and they gave me a traditional Malagasy game as gift along with a nice Malagasy shirt. It made me sad to realize that it was our last time together, but I am very grateful to have met these amazing people. Oh, also on top of all of it, the priest at the church that I go to has been in Madagascar for the past 52 years, and this Saturday was his last service before retiring to Paris. It’s crazy how everything seems to be ending around the same time.
On Monday, I had an adventure day without having to say any goodbyes. I went with Mbola and another friend to Katsepy, the town across the bay with a lighthouse. We began our journey with a 40-minute ride on a small motorboat. Once we arrived, a local offered to drive us to the lighthouse, but we decided to walk the five miles instead. We had to do a bit of bushwhacking, but it was peaceful, and I’m glad we chose to hike. When we reached the lighthouse, the person there offered to take us on a nature walk. It turned out to be the best nature walk I’ve ever been on. We saw lemurs, and since we had brought bits of banana with us, the lemurs were jumping on our shoulders and heads to get them. They were so soft and cute. Although I know it’s illegal, if I could have an exotic pet, I would want a lemur.
After seeing all the lemurs, we climbed to the top of the lighthouse. The view was spectacular, and it was cool to see Mahajanga in the distance. By this time, we were pretty hungry, but fortunately, we had called ahead to a small restaurant that had caught and prepared fresh shrimp for us. The meal was really good, and after eating, we relaxed in some comfortable chairs and took a nap to recharge for our hike back. When we woke up, we decided to continue our amazing day by walking back along the beach instead of taking our original path. While this sounded like a good idea, it turned out to be a mistake.
We walked along the beach for a while, but it soon ended, leaving us facing rocky cliffs. At first, it was okay, but then we reached a section where the water was too deep and there was no clear path forward. We tried to climb up, but that only made things more difficult. As we climbed back down, I remember thinking that if I fell or injured myself on a rock, it would be highly unlikely that I could get proper medical help. Fortunately, I did not fall, and we safely navigated through the difficult section and made it back to the boat. Overall, it was a great day with the perfect amount of adventure and fun.
Another significant event this week was our Juneteenth celebration at the American Corner on Wednesday. All the Peace Corps people were there, and we hosted a film festival featuring movies related to Black history in America, covering topics such as slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration. The most powerful film we watched was “13th,” which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8 At the American Corner, we often receive questions about police brutality and racism in the U.S. While discussing these topics was difficult and emotional, I believe everyone who attended the session, including myself, benefited from it.