Tomorrow I leave for my second homestay, in an isolated Tandroy village. I’ve been looking forward to it almost since I arrived. We’ll be traveling to Faux Cap, a major village close to the ocean. Around Faux Cap are twelve villages, all nearly in the heart of Antandroy. Two SIT students and one French speaking Malagasy student are assigned to each village, to stay for five days. Although the professors will be coming by almost every day, to check in and bring water, we will essentially be on our own. We are expected to speak only Malagasy while we are there. My partners are Cedrick, one of my favorite CEL students, and Brandon, my partner in naturalist obsessions. Well, that’s a lie; he’s more of a mentor. He’s far better at spotting and identifying than I am. Our host family’s don’t have houses large enough to fit us, so we’ll be in tents. My host family lives in Antseva, 3 km from Faux Cap. They raise cattle and grow manioc and sweet potato, and cannot eat pork or tortoise meat. The father’s name is Sokafa, and the mothers’ names are Selambo and Augustine. Oh yeah, did I mention that wealthy Tandroy are usually polygamous? I’m incredibly excited, I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
Lots of love from Tolagnaro, Charlotte
