thought I’d give you a short update. I am not going to do this regularly but when there is an option for it…and Tana offers that right now.
I have now been in Mad for a week+ and I still enjoy it. Sure, I am quite tired of all the noise and all the cars and the pollution but it is still a nice place. My colleagues came Fri, Sat and Sun, so we finally talked about our agenda and will see the organisation tomorrow. It will be good to finally know exactly what I will do the next four month.
Kristina and I went for a daytrip yesterday, to Ambohimanga (or Ambooimang as the malagasy say)…a castle, still intact, with a cliff where they used to throw slaves down…semmed to be a popular sport here, there are more cliffs like that…the best thing was that is was really quiet. We weren’t even apporached by a guide or anything. Had lunch a local hotely, small dark place where you immediealty expect to get diarrhoea, but we are still fine. I had soupe chinoise (soup with egg noodles) and is was tasty and really hot, which was good.
Today we went on running errands, taking photos and stuff for the visa exntension (all off you who thought that I was done with that stuff are wrong….Kristinas guide books says it is done overnight…that is also wrong. The latest is that we have to do it in Toliara…) and buying som stuff for Brett, who’s luggage was lost on the way here from San Diego. So no surfboards here yet…but he is all eager to leave immediealty for the beach. Or well, he was, until an hour ago when he realised he hadnt slept for two days and just practically went to sleep standing.
Otherwise, I spent many lonely nights in my room before my colleagues arrived. I actually studied a lot, and also read three books and slept a lot…seemed like a holiday to me and that was nice. I didnt mind being alone, it is quite nice for a change actually. And the weather is cold anyway, so it is not like I would have went outside anyway. I heard that Toliara is really warm and I long for that..surely going to miss the coldness, but this is not really ‘Africa’ to me. :)
We are thinking of hiring a car and go down to Toliara ourselves, car inclunding driver of course, cause we wouldnt find our way our of Tana and not even close to Toliara. When Bretts surfboards arrive he will lead the luggage-league with 70 kg…I am right in the last place with only 18 kg + 12 kg + 5,5 kg…it is more than I ever had before, but I willleave most of the stuff anyway and buy stuff here. There are not really any cool plastic things to buy, most of you know my love for simple plastics, but a lot of souvenirs made out of raffia or old cans…I will surely fill my weight max on the way home.
So, that is all from me. Doenst seem like I have much to write abput yet, mostly want to say that I am alright. Take care!