Hi friends and family:We finished up our trip with two days on the beach at Ifaty. WARM water, white sand, and heartwarming company as we, who have gone through so much together, were able to relax and play in the Mozambique Channel.
To say it's been an education would be an understatement. So much to process in terms of the lives of the people here and the dynamics of traveling so much and making an impact on so many villages. By the time we got to Ifaty, we were truly exhausted. Images and memories of our adventures swirl around in my head.... hours of driving in deep sand (to Ifaty) with the van getting stuck every 1/2 mile or so....local men who came running out to the car each time to work together to pull us out of every rut (not to mention that it was 90+ degrees with no shade in sight!).......or being stopped by the local "police" who tried to challenge our driver's papers.....that led to an adventure, a call to the Peace Corps head hancho, release for all of us and some form of discipline forthcoming for those "policemen".......or more precious memories like watching the Malagasy kids swarm around Joan and laugh and screech as she took pictures of them and showed them on her camera......or swarms of kids surrounding nathan trying to talk to him and him having learned enough Malagasy to ask them their names, share his name and tell them where he was from. And, of course, sitting on rock watching baby lemurs wrestle and leap over each other in play.....going a long 1.5K walk in desert that looks like NM but with different trees and ending up at a natural swimming pool where most everyone jumped in for a swim (the waterfall water was warmer than the pool, YUM!)
....the strongest memory for me, though, is getting to spend two days living in one of the villages....I really got a feel for their daily life. That's probably more than you wanted to hear, but it's so nice to be back on a computer, "speaking" english and touching base with all of you back home.
much love to you all,
elizabeth
4 comments:
What an amazing journey. Beautiful pictures of the boat trip, the lemurs, and the villages. Thanks for sharing with us, Nathan and Liz! Can't wait to hear the rest of the stories. xoxo
I agree with Ginger. What a ride you've been on. Thank you for sharing so many details with us so we could ride along with you from afar. Welcome home.
ninny
wow... didn't know you're such an adventurous kid, unlike me who tends to just sit on home... hehehe. your blog entries are interesting and educational at the same time... hope to hear from you until now... i mis you nathan. i only see you once a week on tv... btw im from philippines, and are you smarter than a 5th grader is currently airing on one of the channels here... that's where ive see you and ever since that day ive become your fan... ^^ take care always nathan. you're the smartest kid ive ever known =)
wow... didn't know you're such an adventurous kid, unlike me who tends to just sit on home... hehehe. your blog entries are interesting and educational at the same time... hope to hear from you until now... i mis you nathan. i only see you once a week on tv... btw im from philippines, and are you smarter than a 5th grader is currently airing on one of the channels here... that's where ive see you and ever since that day ive become your fan... ^^ take care always nathan. you're the smartest kid ive ever known =)
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