Madagascar!

So 2 months ago I came up with a great idea. I decided that on my days off I would write down what happened in the last week. That way, when I got to somewhere with internet I would just copy-paste and my blog post would be done. It would also ensure that I didn't forget anything in the two months between access to internet. Genius idea right? Well the one flaw is that in order for that to work, you have to make sure you bring the posts with you. Which I didn't do.

So instead you get a recap of the past week, and then a massive post in February when I get internet again. But it was a relatively interesting week.

So lets begin this story on Boxing day, we just finished a wonderful day of turkey, beef and potatoes which is essentially all it takes to make it feel like a really really special day anymore. We had the day off and decided to go for a hike out to a Canyon that was about 3 km away. The hike was great, we got to see further out past the local village that I have ever gone, and the actual valley was really impressive. But on the way I realized that my tooth was hurting a bit. Well over the next week that little bit of pain got to the point where I wasn't sleeping at night because it was unbearable and the gums on that side had swollen to the point that they were covering up about half of the teeth. Gross, I know. So I needed to have someone look at it, luckily there were some researchers at the station that were heading out with a car the next day and we would be able to hitch a ride with them. The one condition was, that we had to go to a beach resort with them. Seemed fair to me. So we hoped in a went along.

Now the issue with having something like a cavity in Southern Madagascar is, the dentists aren't trained all that well, or particularly hygenic. So there was a bit of a threat that I may get my teeth buggered up and walk out with Hepatitis and HIV. So I was a little worried and asked Teague to come along to give me a second opinion as someone that has been in Africa for much longer than I have. So Teague tagged along, taking a week off from data collection to help me out. Well you know what happened, pretty much the day after we left the pain started to subside and the swelling started to go down. So I looked like a bit of an idiot.

The beach was really nice, we stayed in a resort that was a bit beyond my normal price range, but we were there from New Years so I figured, two nights? Might as well stay (and by out of my normal price range, it only cost about $100 for 2 nights, food and drinks included). The beach was great, there was a Vezo fishing village right beside the resort on the beach which was great for exploring, but was bad because they liked to just poop on the beach. There was also at one point in the night when one of the assistants of the other researchers and I were walking down the beach to explore the place and a man came up to us trying to get us to take his boat out to an island. We talked to him for a while and explained where we were staying, how long we were there for. It was difficult because he couldn't speak english very well and no one could really speak French. But just as we were trying to leave I think he asked us if we were sleeping with Malagasy children, as in, are we employing children prostitutes. To which the other researcher which remain nameless, in an effort to just get away and not knowing what he actually said, gave an emphatic yes and a high five.

We managed to escape that guy and found ourselves at a celebration for the new year which, as far as I could tell, putting a bag on a cows head, and beating the crap out of it with sticks and cheering. The other researcher then was asked if he wanted "Boom Boom", which we took to mean a prostitute (I think his reputation preceded him) and we decided that perhaps it was time to leave. We joined in a much tamer, less animal-abusive party for the New Years which was a lot of fun. It was difficult staying up until midnight seeing as we normally wake up at 5, but we managed it and had a really good time. Although its the first time I have ever counted down the new year from a man dancing around with an Ikea analog clock held above his head.

We left the beach and headed for town, 8 hours down the road (but only 3 hours by boat - there is only one bridge you see, and it was a loooong way away). At about hour 4 we took a bit of a short cut and managed to snap the axle on the 4x4 in half. Luckily we were not too far away from a small town (which, interestingly enough, was also a Leper Village, which I didn't really know still existed) and we sent Jacky - the director of Beza - into town to see if he could sort out a car to pick us up. Mahefa, the driver, found a small village (3 mud huts) and paid the man there to guard the car so that the road bandits (yes, road bandits) wouldn't gut the car by the time he returned. We pushed it up the road and then waited in this tiny village for about 4 hours before Jacky returned in a Department of Locust control car and they drove us back to Betoiky - a small small town where we stayed the night is a cockroach infested hotel.

We managed to swing a pickup truck for the next day where we drove all the way back with 7 of us sitting in the open back of the truck. It was a little windy, but it looked significantly more comfortable than the 3 people that were jammed into cab.

We made it into town and I scheduled a dentist appointment with the help of Jacky. It was a lot cleaner than I thought, however the equipment was only being cleaned in the sink (which apparently kills all the really nasty things). The dentist looked at the tooth, and with a mixture of french, charades, and large novelty teeth and toothbrushes told us that it wasn't actually a cavity but somehow I managed to get an infection in my gums. He gave me some mouthwash and I went on my way, really really happy that they was no actual dental work done. Although now I worry that it will just come back when I am back at camp, but as I type, there is no pain, so it all seems good.

Yesterday I went to Jacky's PhD defense, and got to see what Tulear University is like. If you wish to have an idea, take your university, then take a nuclear war. mix the two together and then wait 30 years, long enough for people to start to re-inhabit the campus, and you will have tulear university.

Today I do nothing but relax. Teague heads back tomorrow morning but I am going to stay around for a few more days. Then its back to work until February.

If anyone wants a postcard, send me their address on facebook or e-mail and I will see what I can do.

Until later,

Ayden