Dispatches From The Field

2 July, 2003 -- Mara (Earthwatch team)

Wednesday in Andranofasika is market day. We did quick transect hikes in the forest in the morning to allow plenty of time at market.

We headed to market at about 0900 and had a couple of hours for shopping and snapping pictures. The typically quiet village was bustling with activity; the sides of the road were filled with colorful stands overflowing with everything from fish and sunglasses to laundry soap and an anti-war T-shirt featuring a lemur with Sadaam Hussein. We were awed watching men effortlessly maneuver 180 kilo bags of rice.

We milled about asking "Hoatrinona ity?" (How much is this?) and fumbling with our money as we purchased lambas, beads, and fresh food (fried bananas, mokotra, and mofo sakay- Mmmm!). Many of us found it a challenge to work with such large denominations of money- Is that one thousand or ten thousand?.

Everyone at the market was incredibly friendly and helpful. Between purchases we were snapping pictures. It was surprising to find that most people were more than willing to have their photos taken (Many of the guide books had claimed that most Malagasy would not like to have their pictures taken.). Some people even grabbed us and gestured that they wanted to be photographed. One young man asked James to wait for a second so that he could whip off his shirt to strike a pose.

We ended our market experience at Fifaliana, a local hotely, and enjoyed cold sodas and shade with a crowd of children from the environmental education class.

Mara