Day 1

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Tuesday I went to sleep in a plane after leaving DC. I woke up in Paris seven hours later. Last night I went to bed in Antananarivo, Madagascar. After 22 hours of travel, I am finally home. It's a very weird feeling, being away from a place for so long but still feeling that it is home. I only lived here for four years of my life, but those four years were very crucial to my socialization and development. I have been told by many people that Madagascar has changed a lot over the past 11 years, but after taking a short walk around the block today some things had stayed exactly as they were. One thing that jumped out immediately was the smell. There are certain smells that for some reason bring memories rushing back to me. The first thing that I thought about was a little 8-year old George running around this exact neighborhood with my friend, both in awesome homemade costumes, showing him his very first Halloween. We had to drive from my house across town to this neighborhood because this is where most of the Americans and Europeans live. We wouldn't have had much luck around my own house because I don't think many Malagasy's know what Halloween is and we probably woulda confused the hell out of them. A little white Dracula and an Indian Superman running around asking for free candy...yeahhhh....

All the memories coming back to me are making me think of this trip. I have six weeks here. When I was here for four years before I lived a very sheltered life, but these six weeks I find myself in a totally new position. I have an adult's perspective on the country now. I wonder what new memories I'll make this summer...

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Comments

[Gary McDonald]

Hey!
Great! Love to hear that you are traveling some more. I look forward to reading your experiences. Reminds me...I have to update mine :) Just back from a trip to Taipei.