Dispatches From The Field

30 May 2003 -- Po-Hon Liu (Boris)

Madagascar, a rice-shaped island hanging outside of the African Continent, is leading me to explore the secrecy of its tropical landscape.

The first day I arrived Antananarivo was a breezy but sunny winter afternoon. (In the Southern Hemisphere, the American Summertime is locally winter.) Driving through the city, the first thing really caught my eyes is that many Malagasy look like Southeastern Asian (Malayan, Indonesian or Thai) to me. It strikes me that one question quickly pops up on my mind—is this an African or Asian country? After acknowledged by Luke, I understand the majority of Malagasy are the descendant of Indonesian and Malaysian.

Farms are everywhere - even inside of the city. Bare-foot kids, thirty-year old Renault taxis, modern Japanese SUVs and Nike-capped teenagers are all contradictory but exotic to me. There must be more than all I can capture today. I will be to expect a rich Malagasy experience this summer.