Adventure's End

Manda, Salva, and me

Tuesday, 15 August 2023 (183)

Long ride to Tana with little air circulation but it was a nicer Soatrans bus. Rindra came and picked me up at the Soatrans station. She negotiated a lower fee with a taxi to take me to the hub, but of course, I paid him more.

Later, we had lunch, where else but KFC I gave her a box of my cooking things and my Sony Z1 camera. I could have kept it (it was brand new), but I wouldn't use it as I have so many other cameras. She would never be able to buy it and may find it tremendously useful, whereas I may just put it away and never use it. We can be stingy or selfish with what we have or give it all away and hope that others are better blessed by it.

I signed up to be a 12-step program moderator back home and wrote an email to the bishop letting him know I'm coming back. I can't sleep; I still can't put it all together yet. I know it will take time to process and see this all more clearly once I've put it behind me.

Dr. Clertant and I

Wednesday, 16 August 2023 (184)

Very busy day starting with a medical review just outside my door at the medical offices here at the hub. Doctor Tahiry went over about 20 items, including medications I need to take, insurance issues, getting the real physical, chest x-ray, and blood tests back in the states, and the vouchers for those. I have to continue on my meds for a while and he added more to combat any possible Malaria, Shisto and other issues.

I started handing out American candy bars (Mars and Snickers) here and continued at the Peace Corps HQ. About 18 so far. I want to go out with a bang and let them know how appreciative and thankful I am for all their efforts. I get to write up my own history of what I did here as well as for the "Black Book," which is a write-up about my community and its strengths, weaknesses, and resources.

I still have a few people to talk with, including the Country Director. 

My flight leaves at 11:55pm and they will come and get me at 8:30. I'm excited and realistically feel detached about saying goodbye. I'd be a wreck if and when it does hit me. My days of helping here are ended. I know I did little, I know I could have done more, I know I tried but I could have tried more.

It's been an adventure and the adventure continues but with different people in different places.

So they did arrive on time. It was just a 20 minute ride to the airport maybe 15 kilos out of town. My driver stayed with me as I got my ticket and headed to security. I gave him the last of my unspent money - maybe 50,000 ariary ($10). The airport was a lot larger than I imagined. Arrivals are very small, but departures are very big. There were a lot of people on a few late-night flights. The gift shop was charging 13 euros for a Madagascar chocolate bar I could buy elsewhere for $2. I sat in a middle seat between two French women. I think the one on my left would have liked to spend more time with me as we both had long layovers. She delayed getting off the plane with me as I was in no hurry. Fortunately, I lost her at the airport's lavatories.

Dobby's Last Photo

Thursday, 17 August 2023
(185 - let's make this the last day of the Peace Corps Madagascar Adventure)

Paris is closer to the real world as I remember it. Everything is so expensive. A banana costs ten times more in Madagascar than it does in Madagascar. I'm also at a loss as to what language to speak. I've been defaulting to Malagasy for so long. It doesn't work here, and I'm struggling to think of the appropriate French words. Any thoughts or conversation seems to be a mix of three languages, with some French thrown in. 

Before boarding, I met a Dutch family, and I think I spoke better Dutch than any Malagasy I would have previously spoken. Except for throwing a Malagasy word or two in the mix. I guess I won't be using Malagasy anymore. Nice to put it on a list of languages I know (ha), but the reality is I know it so poorly that it shouldn't count. I have no idea how the Peace Corps thinks we are at an intermediate level.

A three-hour layover before I board a flight to Atlanta. On the tram to the new terminal and gate, there was a little black kid with his family. I still had some small chocolate candies in my fanny pack. I gave him one and don't feel guilty as Amanda suggested I should.

The Atlanta leg is only nine hours long, while the Paris leg is ten and a half hours. On the Paris flight, I sat next to two girls headed to the Amazon in Brazil. Again, my Dutch was still with me.

This marks the end of the Madagascar Adventure. By the way, I applied for two positions with the Peace Corps in Samoa. Both were for 6-month stints as a communications expert. Perhaps the adventure will continue after all.