Dispatches From The Field

5 June 2003 -- Ted Gilliland

We spent today running around Antananarivo; but of greatest note, it’s our colleague Pierrot’s 30th birthday. Pierrot joined Luke’s fossa research project five years ago when he was a graduate student at the University of Antananarivo. Today he coordinates logistics and research for the team in Madagascar.

We went to Cora in search of a few presents for Pierrot. Cora is one of the striking ironies that pepper the countryside of Madagascar. In the midst of very poor semi-agricultural, semi-commercial land, Cora is a landscape-piercing, yet all-purpose grocery store. It has just about everything you wouldn’t think you could get in Madagascar—including deli meat, a Dave Matthews CD, and a blender. While Cora—reminiscent of Target and Wal-Mart in the United States—is not why I came to Madagascar, it had exactly the simple gifts we needed for Pierrot.

We bought Pierrot’s cake at a place equally full of character, called the Hotel Colbert. A fancy French hotel, the Colbert has arguably the best patisserie in Madagascar. The sweet aroma is quite a contrast from the diesel-infused air we breathe outside. Needless to say, the Colbert made a perfect, chocolate cake for Pierrot’s birthday. Oh, and by the way, if you ever find yourself in Madagascar at the Hotel Colbert, I recommend the bichon cerise—the glazed, cherry pastry.

Some things are universal. We’re speaking a different language and we’re halfway around the world, yet we still had to trick Pierrot into coming over for the surprise. Luke pulled the old “I need to talk to you about something, so come to the house at 7:00 for a meeting.” trick. It worked, and Pierrot did a fine job of acting surprised. We sat on the parquet floor in the furnitureless living room to share the in the cake, Coca-cola, and good cheer.

Ted Gilliland