marary 3.0!

April 26, 2019 We had plenty of time in the morning to do a work out on the balcony, go buy some bread and fruit (a rather difficult mission, not much is in season), shower, and eat a leisurely breakfast before hailing a bajaj to take us to the airport. To my surprise, he charged …

mampalahelo

mampalahelo = makes me sad April 23, 2019 Meghan and I had to give presentations about our projects at CNRO in the morning. The Malagasy education system seems to be based entirely on the French system. Students are all expected to use the same format for all essays and presentations, which in an American view …

mitsangatsangana

mitsangatsangana= to walk or hike or stroll April 16, 2019 Meghan and I drank coffee and typed on James’s computer in the morning at the hostel. At some point in the afternoon, we were all passing through the house at the same time, all five of the twenty-something’s living in Gisèle’s house, the SIT students …

marary 2.0: in which I get typhoid for my birthday

Marary = sick April 12, 2019 When Katherine and Gisèle got back from the FAD, much later than expected (of course), we packed up a lunch Gisèle had made and got into a large pirogue with an outboard engine driven by a friend of Sisy’s. Sisy came along too. The driver pointed us across the …

Tsitsiku

tsiku= air, tsitsiku= wind, tsiku tsiku= gossip April 5, 2019 I went back to CNRO in the morning and interviewed another of the young female researchers. In the afternoon, I interviewed the director of Tanihely National Park in her office. The day was no hotter than any other, but the second I sat in the …

amboa

amboa = dog April 2, 2019 My alarm woke me up at 5:20 a.m. and again at 5:28. It took me another couple minutes to pull myself up and slip into Meghan and Katherine’s room to wake Meghan up to run. We ran through the main streets, amid colonial buildings shaded by palm trees, and …

kata kata/ fontsy

kata kata (Sakalava dialect), fontsy (Betsimsaraka dialect) = banana March 30, 2019 My alarm was set for 4:30 a.m. to give me time to make it to the Chambre de Commerce by 5:00, but I woke up at 3:37 and knew I would not be able to get back to sleep. At 5:00, the bus …

mampafaly, mampalahelo

mampafaly = to make happy; mampalahelo = to make sad March 25, 2019 It was Monday and we had our Malagasy final and our ISP proposals due. I woke up at 5:00 and worked on the five-minute speech I had to give for Malagasy. I rambled on about the importance of nature in the most …

masoandro mipousaka

masoandro mipousaka = sunrise (or literally, the eyes of the day wake up) March 22, 2019 I felt better in the morning, less tired than the past days in a noticeable way. Katherine even mentioned that I was chatty again at school and did not feel the need to nap. My body just seems to …

marary

marary = sick March 16, 2019 In the morning, Meghan and I met up and walked along the beach from Momo to Belle Rose. We were supposed to have a picnic with Katie’s family, but she texted to say that her mom was sick. We cast about for other lunch invites, since we both had …