We finished off our road trip in Tana, the capital where we spent some time working on one of our few large assignments and preparing for "ISP's"- independent study projects. Being back in Tana was an interesting experience, from the point of view, seeing different parts than we had initially, but also from the perspective of having been throughout other parts of Madagascar for the last month compared to our first impressions when we first came here. In some ways, Tana is hard to reconcile that its the same country with rural villages, rice fields and zebu- but at the same time going through certain parts of Tana you see just that. We stayed in a more urban area, so there was actually traffic, street lights and sidewalks. Seeing fashion boutiques, nightclubs, expensive restaurants, and a lot of other "vazahas" (foreigners) added to the strangeness of the experience. All in all though, being in Tana was fun, I wish we had had more time there without papers and projects looming overhead. I did get a chance to explore a bit and visit one of the big street markets, selling everything from produce to wedding dresses, and managed to avoid any mishaps with pickpockets.
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Powered by Orange in Madagascar? Not really, but an
"Orange" (cell phone provider) building |
We also got the chance to visit this restaurant called the "Cookie Shop", which was basically like a U.S. coffee shop- bagel sandwiches, hot chocolate and blended coffee drinks, and of course cookies and desserts. It was a neat little place not to mention delicious. Being at the cookie shop was another of those moments reconciling between cultures, where there's something of lingering suprise that this exists in Madagascar.
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| The group |
My last day in Tana we had a rainstorm, that was pretty dramatic with thunder and lightning, not to mention some enbankment that had washed out, so that there was something of a landslide coming down into the road and then running down the street. Our last day we also visited a "ShopRite" which pretty much emulated a U.S. grocery store- it was a bizarre experience realizing that this exist in Madagscar. All the same, got stocked up on some dark chocolate to prepare for my ISP.
Rainstorm and mudslide
By the way I didn't finish the road trip chronicles between Anjy and Tana, for which I apoligize- but I felt to need to catch up to recent events, if I have a chance to go back and post more there's probably 2-3 more posts in the making. I flew back to Fort Dauphin yesterday, I'm going to be leaving tomorrow to start my ISP which is going to be in villages near Andohahela National Park, so I don't know what the update situation will be like. Until next time, Veloma!
Yeah, it must have been interesting to return to Tana after your first brief stop there and all the other places you've been. The wide variety of your photos are appreciated - from the natural world to the man-made world. Your write-ups are great too! Strange that the 'Cookie Shop' sign is in English; I guess that makes it trendy. It must have been bizarre to go in a US-like grocery and then come out to an obviously not US street. I hope your ISP is a good experience.
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