Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Paris: The Final Frontier

Notre Dame, isn't it gorgeous?
Self-explanatory, part of one of my long walks.
Sacre Coeur. This was really an architectural masterpiece. Sometimes I wish I had studies to be an architect...
Week 8:

Well, I made it. It's only a one-hour difference between Paris and Madagascar, but since I took an overnight flight, I'm still exhausted. I was a bit culturally shocked, but not so much that I couldn't enjoy my first day back to western civilization. Paris wasn't as Parisienne as other seasons, because everyone leaves for Conge during the month of August, but I couldn't get enough of it, anyways.

Sunday - Oh, it's good to be with Amanda and Katie! We first go to a patisserie, of course, to get our mid-morning pastry. Then, we head over to this posh farmer's market to grab du pan, du fromage, et des fruit pour un picnic dans le parc de Notre Dame. It was wonderful. We also went to the zoo, and saw all of the little animals. Amanda and I picked up our daily bread and made a wonderful veggie pasta.

Monday - Amanda's grocery shopping day, oh les supermarches francais! Didn't really seem to work. We then met up with Katie in the Marais - the Jewish quarter and my favorite district - for crepes. This was followed by a trek over to Kong, the restaurant where Carrie in Sex in the City met artist boyfriend's ex-wife. In the words of this ex-wife: "it used to be good." With luke warm hot cocoa, there was nothing special about this place, except its excellent view of the city. Amanda and I checked out the inside of Notre Dame, which is beautiful, and then picked up some bread to go with our homemade ratatouille (sensing a pattern). We watch Paris, Je t'Aime en Francais, and it is so good.

Tuesday - I'm on my own, besides meeting Amanda and Katie for lunch. So I go check out Montmarte and Sacre Coeur! So wonderful. I am doing tons of walking, seeing the city, and falling in love with the amazing architecture. I'm too cheap to buy metro tickets, so I really do walk EVERYWHERE. I make it back with a loaf of fresh bread and we make lentil-roasted-veggie salad and chocolate crepes.

Wednesday - Aujourd'hui est la fete de l'assomption. Meaning, nothing is opened. This is an excellent opportunity to go to Angelina's for the best hot chocolate, and then head over to the Louvre. I came, I saw the Mona Lisa, and I went to more interesting exhibits. After a falafel lunch in the Marais (remember, my favorite), I did some walking, and then went to the modern art museum, Pompidou. I also get terribly lost in a bad neighborhood on the way back, and the metro breaking down didn't help.

Thursday - Mon dernier jour! I trek out to La Duree for pain perdu, but I can't see what all the hype is about this french toast. I'd rather pastry-ify myself. Did I mention that all our lunches included a good serving of pastry? I roam around the Tulleries garden and le Musee d'Art Decoratif. I meet Amanda after checking out D'Orsay and we have a lovely lunch on the lawn. Then, a cultural museum on Quai Branley. We end our day with dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, which was fantabulous!

Well, that was my summer. Oh, sure, I lazed around my house and saw my JDS friends. But there was not this excitement of the past seven weeks. Wow, I had a cool summer!

-Over and Out.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Capitol Improvement - Antananarivo

Much of the country-side was rice-paddy-pocked or hills sprinkled with tree stubble.
Rural life: Zebu Cattle window shop at one of the many roadside villages.
View from the top of Tana's stadium and the city below.
Aw! This alone made my visit to the Lemur Park worthwhile! Mama and Baby Propithecus coquereli.

Week 7:


Well, I believe I left off with my stay in a first-rate hotel. I will continue with a retelling of my time in the capitol of Madagascar, Antananarivo (Tana). Tuesday morning we load up the car and prepare for the ten-hour drive north. Keep in mind my journey down had been in the dark, so the next ten hours of deforested, barren hilltops made me extraordinarily depressed. I think the whole way up I was on the verge of tears.

We finally arrive as night falls and I am dropped off at my hotel, The Shanghai. It's not too shnazzy, but I feel ultra-safe, being next door to the US Embassy and surrounded by guards. I settle into my lonely room ($18/night) and fall asleep. The next day I play with the three other researchers before they head back to the States. We go to a market for souvenirs. I am shop-savvy and barter away my grubby clothes and some random stuff for scarves, carvings, and bags. Marvelous! We then all have dinner with the Vice President of the University of Antananarivo and the President of SUNY Stony Brook. It was a three-course meal that was exquisite!

This year, Tana hosted the Indian Ocean Island Games (mini-olympics), which was huge for the country. They started on Thursday night with fireworks. The cool thing about being in a city in a foreign country is that you meet people. One of the young Malagasy guys at MICET, Leon, introduced me to two Finnish girls and we went to dinner at this great hotel/restaurant. We watched fireworks from the roof and I met some French volunteers on their way home! Crazy cool.

I spent Friday morning at a Lemur Park outside of Tana, taking close-up shots of some fauna before I left the country. Then, I took a lovely walk up the highest hill in the city where the Queen's Palace stands. It was beautiful and I could see the soccer match below in the stadium. I went to my favorite restaurant for my last dinner, where I could get Legume Sautee, with bread and six different dips, all for 2000 AR (a little more than $1). And it was so good.

Saturday morning before I left...wow, I can't believe it's over. I spent the morning indulging in my favorite city pasttimes, chocolate and pastries. I stop by Chocolaterie Robert to pick up individual chocolate boxes for my family. As I am passing through the markets on my way back to the hotel, I can't help but indulge in the cheap tasty pastries that line the streets. I am simply preparing myself for the splendors that await me in Paris! Anywho, I purchase dinner and get driven to the MICET office to wait until my flight out.

Good bye Madagascar. It was a pleasure meeting you and maybe we'll get to see eachother again soon!

Veloma!

Next Week on Survivor: Can she handle the culture shock of Paris? Or will the pasrties do her in?

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

EXPEDITION #2: Vatohoranana

I LOVE LEMURS!!!

Week 6:

Wow, my last full week of research in MadLand! I am on expedition in Vatohoranana, a campsite in the almost pristine forest. It has been much more enjoyable than Valo, both weather and health-wise. There are actual wooden structures to protect our tents and it's been sunny!

I was uber excited yesterday when three Varecia came to visit camp and were really close to us! So amazing...I could watch them for hours. Why am I doing a project on plants??? Anyways, we attempted a night hike, but failed to see anything. I was using my crank flashlight, which is great until I need to recrank it, and then it's loud and obnoxious.

One downside to this expedition has come in the form of potatoes. I now not only have fried omelets for meals, but potatoes as well! Second downside is that I can't stay asleep for more than two hours at a time, and so I wake up exhausted every morning. Woohoo. My Malagasy self-lessons have failed, and I've basically given up learning any more than I already know. I just need to know how to say "that is rude" (tsy tsara - not nice) - so I can tell of the evil little children who keep "vazaha-ing" me!

Excitement! I arrived at the station on Friday after hiking back from Vato. The president of SUNY Stonybrook had come to visit, so we had a few special events. The next day, we were supposed to be hosting this billionaire on his vacation, but last minute change of plans landed all of us lowly researchers in the nicest hotel in Ranomafana! I get a whole queen-sized bed for myself, a shower in my room, and a balcony! AMAZING!

Weekly Tidbit:

A short rant on Malagasy environmentalism - I haven't been to any other developing countryies, but I would assume if they have any touristic value the mentality is the same. The guides take pride in knowing a lot about the animals and plants, but it seems more for the prize it brings in terms of economic stability. Guides are more interested in the comfort of their charges than the integrity of the environment - like pulling down a chameleon so a picture could be taken; shining a flashlight in the nocturnal mouse lemur's eyes. I admit I partook in this waste by not rebelling against the constant fire (and therefore CO2 emission) on expedition, but it was so cold. It is things like this, and just tossing cans and bottles into a pit at camp that really drives home the difference in cultures in relation to environmental ethics. Normal people are even worse, just throwing containers out the windows of taxi-brousses. There are NO garbage bins in the cities. The difference between protected and non-protected areas is astounding in terms of vegetation, but people are barely scraping by. People need the land to survive, so they just use it. Maybe we should all just go to the moon!

Depressedly yours - over and out!