Roadtrip to the south!

Last Wednsday after some struggle with Nyaina's car, we finally got on the road to go to Toliara, a city in the south of Madagascar. But the road there was not an easy task, it was a lot of turns and bumps in the road, so you couldn't drive that fast; and also there is always people walking by the street that you have to watch out for. We stopped at a hotel in Fianarantsoa on the way to have some lunch, and in the bathroom in that hotel there was alot of things that wasn't allowed to do..

When it was beginning to get dark, we were on a really nice road that was just straight ahead, with no bumps at all; and we were happy. But when we least expected it, there was a sharp stone in the middle of the road, we hit it and it maked a huge hole in the tire. So then Nyaina had to show his skills and change it out.

After 15 hours in the car we finally get to Toliara and there it was a really cute dog that was waiting for us.. He was one of the most cuddly dogs I have ever met!

For going to the beach in Ifaty you have to have a four-wheel drive, because the roads there are just sand and stones. But to get that without paying a lot of money you have to look for a long time, but at last we found one, and the morning after we left for the beach. I was so lucky that one of Nyaina's friends wanted to go there with a motorcross-bike so I could join, that was really fun; even though I broke his tires because I ran over a cactus. but of course I forgot to take a picture of it..

The beach was really beautiful! Here you can see a picture taken from the water and up to our hotel:

Like a dream, or what?

We slept at the hotel for one night, and the day after we went back to Toliara, slept there for one night and then we drove to Isalo, a nationalpark in the south, there they had natural waterfalls and of course Lemurs! But this time the lemurs were living in the wild, so we didn't get to pet them; but we got to go pretty close to them because they were used to people.

A picture of the magnificent nature in Isalo:

Julie and me in the waterfall:

A lemur with her baby:

We slept one night in Isalo and then we left and drove for 5 hours, then we were in Fianarantsoa again, slept there and went home in the morning.

- Mary Ann

Mermaids in a strange land!

Today we have been with the Connect-students and our new friends Thimba and Nyaina at a hotel called Term, and there we have been swimming and just relaxing. We absolutely needed that after one week of language-class.. Now I actually feel that it has been some time since I had to learn a new language, and it is quite hard. But I'm going on strong, and are ready for two more weeks!

Just some pictures from the last couple of days:

Working hard with a task in class:

It is good with some breaks in between the four hours of class:

Teammates in the pool:

The boys thought it was a little cold..

Me in the pool:

After a couple of hours in the pool it was good with some lunch, and even dessert!

- Mary Ann

Good morning sunshine!

Today I woke up two hours before my alarm was going to wake me up at 9. For those of you who know me well, that is something that rarely happen! I actually don't think it has happened to me ever.. But here in Madagascar everything is possible!

Now it is some time since the last entry.. Part of the reason is that this weekend we haven't had any internet, and another part of the reason is that I haven't had a lot of time to find internet someplace else either.

Since the last time I have:
- Had birthday, finally I am 19 years old!
- Taken a taxi for the first time alone in Antananarivo
- Have been with our friends Gloria and Nyaina
- Been to another park with lemurs, and one of them was really cute and liked to be petted on his belly.
- Moved! We now live at the Norwegian School in Antsirabe (We have a really nice house)
- Had a whole weekend off to be with our friends.
- Learned how to wash clothes by hand
- Started Malagasy-class here at the Norwegian School
- And visited Tombontsoa, where we are going to work after some weeks with language-class

I haven't taken so many pictures since last time, but here you have some of the few I have taken:

My two beautiful birthdaycakes:

To get to the park we had to ride a boat:

Here are me and my friends Tsanta and Gloria:

Here is a picture of me washing clothes:



- Mary Ann

I like to move it, move it!

Today we have had so much fun! At the first of the day we were in a zoo, and both me and Julie are both BIG anamal-lovers, and when we were allowed to get into a house and meet some lemurs, we were ecstatic! We got some honey to give to them, and they licked it off our fingers, while we were taking pictures and enjoying the time we had with the sweetest animals alive. We both just wanted to take them home with us, but unfortunatly that is not allowed..

After lunch we visited a crocodilefarm, and Julie almost got killed by a crocodile! It was her own fault though, she irritated him with a stick, and he just snapped! Had there not been a fence between them she would probably have gotten killed.. And we saw another crocodile killing a bird who just happened to walk by, but hey; that's how nature works.

We made a friend there too though, a 100-years old turtle, that liked to be petted on his neck.. He was really sweet, and if he hadn't been so heavy I probably would have taken him home with me as well

                                       Julie and I in love with these amazing animals:

Julie with one of her new friends.. He was a lazy one:

Me and my new friends:

Some lemurs who lived on an island in the park:

A crocodile; unfortunatly we didn't get on tape that Julie almost got killed by one..

Crocodiles are some lazy animals!

                                                            Me and my friend Mr. Turtle

                                             And this is my impression of the day

- Mary Ann

Sprinkle of pictures

Julie and I have gotten sick.. Not the sick that you think would happen when you move to a country across the globe, but actually we have a cold.. So today we are just relaxing in our room, and are watching lots of episodes of "Big bang theory." But we have seen so much the last couple of days, so I will put out some pictures, with an explanation of what it is you see in the picture.

 This is the dog that lives in the hotel we live in, she is a nice old lady

This is a vegetable-market that we saw on our way to the Introduction course

Here we are with the Connect students at the Introduction course, eating lunch                                            

Here are some women doing the laundry, this is how we also will do our laundry when that is needed..

Julie and me on a tour in Antananarivo, you can see a part of the city behind us

This is a normal house in Antananarivo, the stones on the roof is there because of syclones; so that the roof don't blow away.

We were at a museum outside Antananarivo, and earlier that day there had been sacrificed a duck, a chicken and a cow outside the museum, and here you can see the head of the duck, beside a sacred stone



- Mary Ann

Arrived!

The first impression I had of Madagascar last night was darkness.. When the plane was right over Antananarivo we saw only the lights from the airport and nothing else. We got out of the plane, and the feeling of actually being in Madagascar was amazing! The air was warm and I was really happy to finally be at the destination. After waiting at the airport for 3 hours to buy a visa, we finally got to meet our contact-person and drove to the hotel. It was no people in the streets, and everything was really quiet.

Today we have been going through the program for our stay, went out to buy some English-Malagasy dictionaries, and got to see some of the city.. I said that it was quiet when we arrived, not anymore! At daytime it is people everywhere! and the traffic is really mindblowing! I don't think there are any rules in the traffic, and kids are running in the middle of the road where there are cars and buses driving really fast.  It is so different from Norway, and I am really glad we had a great guide that could show us how things work here. Our guide was a former Green Network participant, and her name is Mirana.

I have been here less than 24 hours, and already I have a lot of impressions; but I think I have written enough of them now, and I will get back to some of them later..

This is our room, six beds for two girls..

This is the view from the door of our room:

This is a picture of a part of Antananarivo, taken from a moving taxi:

Julie and our great guide:

Leaving!

Now Julie and I have said goodbye to our families and now we are waiting at the airport! This is the last hour in Norway in over 6 months! It's really weird to think about..

Here is a picture of us right after we have said goodbye to our families!

Next entry will be from another part of the world!

- Mary Ann