A series of Culture shocks

I’m currently in Tananarive, the capital city recently arrived from going to Reunion Island for a few days in order to get a second 3-month visa for Madagascar.

Before we left Anosimparihy, the general English class was still going strong, and as a result I would be greeted by a series of “Hello, how are you?” when walking through the village to buy rice or oil at one of the village “epiceries.”

Also, as a result of our conversations in Anosimparihy, it sounds like Hope for Madagascar will be taking on Anosimparihy as another village for their projects, which will include putting in a couple of wells before the rainy season arrives.

Going from rural village in the Southeast to Antananarivo the largest urban center in the country, is needless to say, something of a change. Now instead of mango and lychee trees, banana plantations and rice fields, the landscape is full of buildings, cars, motorcycles, and people. The traditional lamba hoany worn by almost all women in the village are a rare occurrence found among a few street merchants. While I still get a fair number of greetings directed at me because I’m a vazaha, it’s a far cry different from the tradition of greeting every passer-by with the exchange, “akory aby!” “tsara be” that was exercised in the village.  And then the sheer size of Antananarivo is always astonishing to me. The trip to the airport takes a good half hour, and the paysage alternates between roundabouts, street side markets, tall buildings and stretches of rice fields.

Going to Reunion was another culture shock in of itself, altogether more drastically different from Madagascar than I would have guessed. In fact, having never visited Europe, I was reminded much more of the United States than the island that was a mere 2 hour flight away. Reunion’s population draws a strong base from Malagasy people, in addition to French, Chinese, Arabic backgrounds. I was told that the island takes only a few hours to drive around its circumference, and it’s possible to hike from one coast to the other in a full day randonee (although didn’t get a chance to attempt either of these trips during my stay). Saint-Denis, where I stayed, was full of high-rise apartment buildings, roundabouts, with a gravelly coastline. Going further inland on the island, takes you straight uphill, among expanses of fields of sugar-cane, and you can almost always see the ocean. 

Sugarcane fields of Reunion

After my brief sojourn, I was eager to get back to Madagascar, even if that means I’m taking cold bucket showers, drawing water from a well, and that the nearest ice cream is a good 15-20 minute walk. Being in the city is a good change from the village, having constant access to a fully charged battery and a strong cell phone signal in all locations. Not sure when exactly we’re heading back to the village, but enjoying the change of scenery and “civilization” while it lasts. 

Parc Zoologique in Tana