Tonga Soa!

(Welcome)

Arriving back in Madagascar I had a wonderful Malagasy welcome. After 24 hours of traveling I sat down to a bottle of Fresh and local zebu (local beef cow) samosas outside the airport.

The petrol station outside Antananarivo airport is a great place to drink fresh, eat samosas and wait for a lift.

I was picked up and driven to a school that teaches local children in the medium of English. I’ve wanted to see it since I met Gavin, an enthusiastic South African in Tamatave a few months earlier. Much of what happens in Madagascar is Mora Mora (slowly slowly), but this school had been built in 20 weeks and the first day had just finished. Construction wasn’t quite finished but the school is very functional and the buildings will be superb in a few weeks. Seeing the familiar faces of Gavin and Lindsay was a wonderful welcome to Madagascar. Read about the school at http://visionvalleyschool.com/

After a few hours there we drove to the night bus to Tamatave. Traffic in the capital is bad, it took well over an hour to go a few kilometers to the bus station.

The main road between the main port in the country and the capital is usually well maintained and I’d planned to arrive about 1:30am. Unfortunately the the road has developed lots of holes over the rainy season which made it a slow journey arriving at 3:30am.

Since arriving here I’ve been settling in to my accommodation and unpacking. Teaching starts next week. Some things you may be interested in about land life.

View from my house. Tamatave has a lot of trees

My washing lady hand washes clothes and then uses a metal iron heated over a charcoal fire for ironing. The price you agree is without the cost of soap and charcoal…I had to buy that for her for £0.25.

I love that I can ride around on a battered old bicycle with stuff tied to it and nobody looks at me funny. One bicycle mechanic told me I have a ‘tsara be’ (very good) bicycle… I would be embarrassed to be seen with it any UK mountain bike centre now. What does that say about our consumer culture in the UK?

Western and local luggage

You also need to pay tax to ride your bicycle on the roads. A tax ‘disc’ (vignette) costs 1000 Ar (£0.25) for the year. If stopped by the traffic cops, you need to have this or be very charming, pay a bribe or pay a fine. Obtaining it was fun, in the town hall you go to a little window and show your purchase receipt and pay your money. The council staff member fills it in. After you have to go downstairs to the police department and a studious man fills in the details in a big thick book before adding another signature and stamps to your vignette and purchase receipt.

Vignette-tax for my bicycle

The town hall is a nice new building that is pleasant to visit. The city has a population about 300,000 and you can see it in the picture below. What is remarkable is the goat herders with their goats on a muddy track right next to the town hall. For most green areas, instead of paying grass cutters people graze their animals.

Goat herders and the town hall

I love local shopping here. Just outside my house is a tiny kiosk which sells fresh baguettes in the morning and a few other odds and ends. Within a few minute walk are numerous stalls selling vegetables, meat and fish. My favourite beach in Tamatave is five minutes walk away and I can sit and eat delicious deep fried cakes at a local stall while watching the fishermen.

Street view in Tamatave. Cycle rickshaws (pousse pousse), moto (similar to mine), and beautiful old ‘giant’ bicycle

I have 3G internet here that costs more than the monthly wage of a labourer.

I have a dog for company for the first 6 weeks. I’ll not get lonely, and enjoy her company. However she tried to chew through an electric cable today so I have to kick her out when I’m working and can’t watch her. I feel bad…

My new companion. She has learnt to play ball very well!

Next week is all about getting the teacher training project off the ground. I’ve already met with a few key people and it looks ready to go:

• More than half of the schools have reconfirmed the courses. Not all schools are back from their holidays which means we will have to confirm with them next week. I have extra schools I can squeeze in any gaps in the program.
• Next week I hope to start with 3 afternoons of training teachers at the local SOS childrens’ village. they have been on holiday so hopefully they are still interested in a course!
• I’ve been asked to run two short (2 day) courses in local bush shcools and in Antananarivo.
• The teaching book is finished, read copy here. Note this not quite the published version and may contain a few errors or instructions for the translator. Please let me know if you see any errors or typos. The malagasy version will be available shortly too. Make a donation if you find it useful – I suggest the cost of a couple of coffees – this will support the project.
• I’m incredibly grateful for all the encouragement I have received over the summer since my last blog post.  Thanks for being in touch, messages and calls etc… Also thanks for those who have been able to give…, I’m about halfway to my projected cost!

If you’d like to help out in any way:

• Offer to take a chapter or three and proof-read the English version. (Contact me to coordinate!)
• Consider fund raising or a donation towards this project. Donate via paypal http://www.paypal.me/RobertMacGregor or save the transfer fees and ask for my bank account details.
• If you fancy visiting in the next 3 months…get in touch. Flights around £600, low cost once you arrive.
• If you like to pray, please pray for continued success, safety and good health. So far my health has been excellent, and as I enjoy cooking the diet is brilliant here.

I’ll post again soon with more details of the teacher training project once it has properly started.

Veloma! (Bye!)