Dats 28-30

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Day 28, Monday, May 26, 2008
The original plan today was for me to go to the university to visit the veterinary school and then for all of us to go to a Rotary meeting in the evening. We waited around until 11:30 before we finally found out that everything was cancelled and again we had nothing to do today. Kris wasn't feeling well so she stayed at Rontu's, Josh went to visit a local Rotarian who propagates plants and Stu and I took a cab downtown. Stu went to lunch with Rontu and I just wandered. I was told that there was a nicer version of the artisan's market than the one we visited the first week. I went there first and it turned out to be the same stuff that was in the first market. The problem with cheap labor, is that you get what you pay for. Most of the handicrafts I've found here are cheaply made and not very nice.
I wandered all over the city for about 6 hours. I quickly realized that outside of the major downtown area, no one asked me for money or tried to get me to buy whatever trinket they were selling that day. Most people just ignored me except for the little kids who smiled and screamed Bonjour. When I responded Manahona (hello in Malagasy) they either laughed hysterically or just stared in disbelief.
Once it started to get dark, I took a cab home. Even though I've found Tana to be very safe and never felt threatened at all during the day, I'm not interested in finding out if the same holds true at night. Apparently we all had the same thought because Stu, Josh and I all arrived home within 30 minutes of each other.

Day 29, Tuesday, May 27, 2008
So we were finally going to get some vocational days today: ANGAP for Josh and Stu, the vet school for me and a fire house for Stu. We were told to be ready by 9:00 for a 10:00 appointment at ANGAP (the Madagascar version of the National Park Service). When 9:45 rolled around and still no one had arrived to pick us up, we called Liliane and learned our ride was running late. By the time we got picked up and then went to fetch Kris we didn't arrive at ANGAP until 11:00.
We had a great meeting with the Director of Operations. We learned that the national parks use 1/2 of the entrance fees to fund micro-projects in the surrounding communities to help gain the support of the local people in protecting the parks. They have also started an education program to teach environmental awareness to kids so that when they grow up, they'll be more likely to appreciate the benefits of the park system.
I was supposed to go to the university after ANGAP, but because we were running late, we skipped it and went directly to the afternoon Rotary Club meeting. After the meeting, Liliane's father came to meet us so he could speak with Josh about Conservation issues. Kris wasn't feeling well so she went back to Rontu's parents house. Joana came to pick up Stu and I and we first went to visit Joana's vet. She was very nice and ran a small but very clean hospital. Again I was struck by how much nicer the vet hospital was than the human hospitals we have visited. After the vet hospital we went to visit the one and only fire house in Tana. In Madagascar firemen are not well respected so they always have trouble recruiting new firemen. Currently 100 firemen cover the station on a rotating 24hour 7day a week basis. In Tana, only 17% of their calls are actually fires. 50% are medical calls and the rest are car accidents and tree removal. Apparently firemen are the only people in Tana with the equipment to remove trees so they're the ones you call to have a tree removed.
After our meetings, Joana took Stu and I back to meet Josh and then took all three of us back to Ivato.

Day 30, Wednesday, May 28, 2008
We only had one thing scheduled today. At 10:00 a Rotary club member who we met the day before picked us up to visit one of their projects. Kris was still not felling well and Liliane decided not to go so it was just the boys. We drove out of town to visit a school they were just finishing. Currently the school can handle 80 students but will soon be able to handle a further 35. After the visit, we were taken back to Ivato.
With nothing else scheduled for the day, Stu and I headed off separately to wander Ivato. I walked to the plant store Josh had visited on Monday. I stopped into the local grocery store to buy food for lunch and then walked home. Another quite night at the Ivato house.

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