June 23, 2004"
"City Life vs. Rural Life"
by Jennifer Scheibling

Since I have been in Madagascar since the middle of March I have gotten to spend a considerable amount of time getting to know city life in Tana. Much like the US and other parts of the world Tana has its highs and lows. While it is the best place in the country to get a decent selection of necessities and treats (ice cream, good food, etc.) it is also where you will see the greatest dichotomy of lifestyles. It is absolutely feasible to have a very nice gated/fenced villa right next to a shack or shantytown. “Good” neighborhoods and “bad” neighborhoods don’t really exist here, at least not on the scale that they do in the US.

In contrast, life in the countryside is much more simple and, in general, everyone has a similar standard of living. Most rural people live a life of subsistence, spending the greatest majority of their day tending to and preparing the food that they will eat (rice, zebu, chicken, fish, etc.) throughout the day. Life might be much simpler in the country but a big plus is the lack of traffic and air pollution that clogs the streets. Light pollution is another negative aspect of city life that is virtually non-existent in the country. At Ankarafantsika the stars are so magnificent that you can see the Milky Way every night.

Since our camp in Ankarafantsika National Park is in a relatively rural area I have gotten to spend a good deal of time immersed in and exposed to two very different ways of life here in Madagascar; something for which I am very grateful for. In addition, it was also nice to get settled in while in Tana instead of jumping right into the field.