English Club

Today I taught English Club and it went well. I arrived at the school and saw many students milling about. And my English Club students were there. Damn, I was happy.

Walking

When it was finished I walked into town. As I got closer I got more agitated. I’m not a people person. No, that’s not it. It’s how the Malagasy treat me that gets on my nerves. I cannot simply walk into town. Everybody wants to talk to me and interact with me. Strangers are everywhere yelling, “Foreigner!”  I just want to be alone in my thoughts.

Restaurant Incident

Well, I was cranky. I went to a hotely,  a little restaurant, and ordered some food to take out. The lady was getting my food and while she was doing this some guy came in an ordered something so she stopped what she was doing and attended to his order, while I waited. I blew up and told her to cancel the order.  “I’m leaving.” I walked half a block and decided to turn around to tell her clearly why I left. I said it more calmly the 2nd time. She got the message. I’m not going back there for awhile and I’ll continue to be assertive.

Restaurant Conclusion

Next time I’ll stop their little transaction and insist she finish with my order. I’ll do it calmly and forcibly.  The issue of my anger here has started as an emotional burden and metamorphosed to something of an interesting phenomenon. If I can’t outright stop it perhaps I can harness its energy to help me. Channel its energy and to perhaps gregariousness.

 

Fianar Weekend

This past weekend I went to Fianar on Friday intending to return to my town on Saturday morning because I’m broke. I went to Fianarantsoa to film my students’ theater performance. Saturday I planned to go home but a bunch of volunteers arrived. Surprise! So I decided to stay until Sunday. I shared a hotel room with a few people. It’s in a kinda cheap run down hotel that I stay at all the time. It has a balcony from where you can people watch the bustling street below. And at night there’s a neon sign outside the window that gives it the “New York Movie” vibe.

Sunday Soiree

Sunday morning I woke up to friends talking in our hotel room then a knock at the door. It was Eric, our local tattoo guy. Marie was getting a tattoo, so she said, “Let’s buy some beer!” So we did. Then more people arrived and we spent the afternoon walking up a mountain with a great view point of the city.

Lakeside Bar

I decided to stay until Monday because Monday afternoon Francis from Tampa showed us a bar on a lake down in the valley adjacent to farms of various fruits, veggies, and rice. We danced and drank. We had a stage for ourselves. As we danced we looked out on sections of crops separated by mud walls you could walk on, and of course the lake was off in the distance. Our good times continued until the night where we ended up at Francis’s house.

Bottle of Johnny Walker

In my town I met up with some of my fellow teachers. I told them that I had a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label that someone had given me and I offered to give it to whoever wanted it. I didn’t want it because I’m not drinking. Surprising they all perked up and showed interest in having it and they suggested we simply drank it immediately. We didn’t have to work so I invited them to my apartment and we finished the bottle. It was the first time I drank with them and it was fun. It was a moment of bonding that’s rare because I’m so wrapped up in my own little world lesson planning, making films, and trying to be comfortable in my small town.

Video of the Rollicking Weekend