CouchSurfing in Tana Part I

On Wednesday, I met up with my first CouchSurfing host, Dimby. I stayed with him and his family for two nights. He wasn’t working the day I was there, so he took me to Lemur’s Park, a wonderful zoo and botanical garden where the lemurs aren’t in cages. They’re used to people, so one is able to get really close to them. Here are some pictures from the park:

Bamboo lemur:

Baby radiated tortoises:

Black lemur:

Me next to a Ravinala palm, one of the symbols of Madagascar:

Rice paddies outside of Tana, which are seen en route to Lemur’s Park:

On the way back from Lemur’s Park, we stopped at a roadside restaurant, where we ate pork, veggies, and rice. Doesn’t sound too special, but the way it was prepared was just spectacular. It was one of the best meals I’ve eaten in Madagascar. And the total for our two meals? $5.00. After getting back from lunch, I took a long nap while Dimby went to visit some family on the other side of town.

The next day, I took a taxi to meet up with my host brother, Valencia. He’s the son of my host parents in Fort Dauphin but lives in Tana. It was really nice to see him because I miss my host family a lot. He and I caught a bus to the the High City, the part of Tana where one finds the Queen’s Palace, old churches, and museums. Then, we went to a restaurant and had some fresh-squeezed orange juice, and he talked to me for a long time about safety in Tana.

About one month ago, I was in Tana for a week with the SIT program, and we learned about safety then — one student was pickpocketed, another almost had her camera stolen, and I almost had my wallet stolen. If you are holding anything in your hands at the market, someone will almost certainly try to grab it from you. Luckily, I was holding on to my wallet tightly! The best way to go about walking around Tana is to wear your wallet or moneybelt underneath your clothes. Since I started doing this, the risk of losing it became much lower.

Anyway, once Valencia and I split ways, it was lunchtime, so I found a little Malagasy restaurant near the Analakely market. I had poulet au coco (coconut chicken) for 4,300 AR ($2.15), and it was delicious! I love being able to get wonderful meals for cheap here.

After lunch, I met up with Emily, one of the few SIT students who’s still hanging around in Madagascar. She and I went to a fabric shop, because I had found orchid fabric in Diego. For $2.50, it’s getting sown into a dress. Hope it comes out well! I also ordered a pair of pants, and Emily ordered a shirt. Then, Emily and I went to a coiffeur (hairdresser), and I got a $1.00 haircut.

At this point, I got a text from Rija, a CouchSurfer who had gotten in touch with me so that we could meet and speak in English while I’m here (lots of people in Madagascar are eager for the opportunity to practice English). Emily and I met up with him together, and we sat around and chatted about economics, travel, the education system, and Madagascar for about an hour. He was fun to hang out with and interesting to talk to, and his English is almost perfect. I think we’ll all meet up again.

Around dinner hour, the time came to move in with my second host: Morgane, a French girl who works as a tour operator. She and I were both tired, so we napped for an hour before heading to a crepe restaurant to meet up with a group of her friends. I was overwhelmed to find myself in a crowd of young, French-speaking westerners after only being around SIT students and Malagasy people for three months, but I gradually got my sea legs and felt at ease. The restaurant was delicious, and we accompanied the meal with hard cider. The last time I had a meal like this, I was in Quebec City with my dad — it was nice to have this pleasant memory brought forward. Then, Morgane, her friends, and I went to a pub where we mixed and mingled with each other and with the other people who were there. I was really surprised and confused to find myself in a sort of underground, privileged, white, young party culture here in Madagascar, the 4th (?) poorest country in the world. Morgane and the others went out to a nightclub after this, but I ducked out, as it was midnight (the latest I’ve ever been up in Madagascar!), and I was tired. I’m happy to have been able to go out in Madagascar and to learn about this part of Tana’s vazaha culture, even if I didn’t make it all the way out to the nightclub with them.

I slept wonderfully on Morgane’s couch and am now in the Colbert, a hotel with excellent wi-fi, so that I can give you guys this update. CouchSurfing has been great fun, and I’m excited about hanging out with Morgane more as well as meeting my next two rounds of hosts. I’m also excited to finally be getting the hang of Tana. At first, I was overwhelmed and terrified here because of the huge pickpocketing danger and the huge size of the city (this is the biggest city I’ve ever spent more than a couple days in), but now I feel much more comfortable and confident here. I’m also relieved to be establishing a successful social life entirely on my own and in the span of only one week. Life is good!