Learning the ways of Mora Mora

Beautiful rice patties and homes while heading to the airport

Today was a great day, mostly because at the end of the day my fellow mushroom adventurer, Danny Newman, arrived in country safely. Yay! Before we, Rocky and I, picked Danny and my beloved luggage up from the airport we ran around Tana to complete some errands and to just see the city. In the city, Madagascar is not the safest place in the world, so I do not have many pictures from today. I was advised to keep my camera and my phone in my bag. I feel like I would enjoy describing the day anyhow. Allow me to start from the beginning...

But first, a random thought...my new favorite thing is lychee infused honey...to die for. I mixed some with my yogurt this morning, and I swear it knocked the headache I had right out of me...

Traffic times

Once Rocky arrived at the station, we headed out for a fun day of errands. The first stop was to the National Park administration building to finalize our permits for collecting in the parks. I was honestly surprised at how quickly the whole process was, all due to Rocky. What a swell man! After we got our permits, we headed to the city center in full traffic mode. The traffic in Tana is crazy.There are no lines, no lights, no people directing you, and everyone drives like they are boats on a river rather than cars on a road. I'm not even remotely worried as Rocky weaves in and out of people, dogs, bikes, and other cars. This picture I took was not even close to how packed these roads were, but it gives an idea.

One exciting part of my day today was eating my first Malagasy meal. As you know by now rice is life, so of course I had rice, but it's what you pair with the rice that makes it unique. Rocky ordered some zebu tongue while I stuck to good ol' fashion zebu meat. Typically I do not eat meat often, but when I travel my regular eating habits are traded in for local customs to enhance my overall experience of the country. The tongue was amazing! If you've never had tongue slow-cooked and seasoned with fresh black pepper, I suggest you go do that right now. It was incredible! You are given a big bowl of delicious rice and a separate bowl of broth and the meat (mine had some potatoes in the broth as well). You spoon some of the broth on the rice (like buttermilk on cous cous for my fellow RPCVs from Morocco) and mix it with the meat and potatoes. We also had a side salad of shredded carrots in vinegar. For dessert a small cup of sweet yogurt. YUM! Honestly, it was great and it kept me full the whole day. Rice is really super that way.

After lunch, we headed to the airport for what normally should be a 45 minute drive took us two hours in the insane Tana traffic. I had no problem with that though as I entertained myself with asking Rocky a million questions about the culture. I'd like to share some of those teachings little by little.

The idea of destiny is a valued tradition in Malagasy culture. People consult astrology readers and the orientation of the stars and planets matter on a daily basis. There are certain things that are better to do on certain days. For example, today was Thursday and I noticed as we drove by a documentation office (a place to get birth certificate, marriage licenses, etc.) it was very busy. When I asked Rocky why he said it was because people get married on Thursdays. Funerals can be held on any day except Tuesday, in general it's best not to start anything on a Tuesday, it's bad luck. Monday is a patriotic day where students look smart in their grey pants and white shirts, while other days they were their blue smocks. It's all very fascinating.

As we drove home from the airport, with Danny asking all the same questions I had been asking and more, I glanced out the window and took a minute to think about how different this country is from any other, and how it is also a melting pot of so many older cultures. Madagascar is unique to say the least, and I've only seen one city! The true identify of this country reveals itself in nature. Mada is a natural lab, a place begging to be understood, and I am ready and giddy to get to know it better and better...little by little. ;)