Salama!
Holy cannoli, Batman! Time is just flying by and so much has been going on!
Orientation started in Chicago, IL on August 15th, 2017. My family decided that because we live so close that it would be easiest to just drop me off; after some though "see-you-laters" it was refreshing to be surrounded by other young adults who would soon be on their way to far away places. We made it to LSTC and so began a week of difficult conversations, policy and procedure, reflection, and relationship building. It's crazy how fast you can get to know someone at these types of events... the YAGM community is one that I'm so proud to be part of. I also had the opportunity to spend some time with family during this week and attended a beautiful service with my Aunt and Grandmother - a lovely way to spend my last Sunday in the states.
On Wednesday the 23rd I, along with my roommate and fellow Madagascar YAGM Katie, woke up at 4am to see off the Cambodia, Mexico, Jerusalem/ West Bank, and Australia groups and by 7:00am it was our turn. The ten of us, along with our luggage loaded into an airport shuttle and began the first leg of our journey - the hour and a half ride to the airport. From O'hare we flew to Detroit and enjoyed a couple hour layover. Our next flight took us from Detroit to Paris which was about 7ish hours(MY FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT!! Guys, they serve you food, give you a blanket, and you can watch movies... #yesssssss) I'm not going to lie, I napped in the Paris airport. After my nap though, we were on our way to Madagascar - it was about an 11 hour flight.
We landed in Madagascar, grabbed our luggage, and met up with our country coordinator Kirsten! It was around 1am local time and we made it to where we would spend our first couple of nights in Antananarivo (the capitol of Madagascar). Our first day consisted of organizing paperwork for our long term visas and getting a brief tour of the city. After all was said and done we all happily went to get a well deserved full nights rest.
Our first picture in Madagascar! PC to Kirsten our Country Coordinator! From left to right: Amanda, Stephanie, Lauren, Quinn, Rachel, Megan, Serena, Amy, Katie, and Kritsa.
The next morning after a wonderful breakfast we loaded all of our belongings into a couple of vehicles and began making the three hour trek to Antsirabe where we are staying at a multicultural center for the next three weeks. Here we are learning Malagasy language and culture, building up our YAGM community, having more tough discussions, and enjoying some incredible food (we are responsible for going into he market and cooking dinner on Saturday, so I'll let you know how that goes!)! On Sunday we went to church service at a large church in the city - I didn't understand any of the malagasy, but there were three baptisms and I found that they filled my heart just as the ones that I witnessed back in the states have. We also spent some time walking in the city and saw some HORSES!! They are the first I've seen since being here!
The view from where we are staying in Antsirabe - which means "big salt" Our wonderful, patient, and very talented van driver Nzaka spent his 3 hour drive helping us practice our limited Malagasy and pointing out all of the different farms and plantations. He told us Antsirabe was named because of the volcanic activity which created hot springs.
That's about all for now folks! I've been so incredibly blessed and am so thankful for this opportunity! I'll be sure to keep you all posted throughout the upcoming weeks!
As always, thank you so much for all of your support there is no way that I could do this without you!
Veloma!
Serena