What did you bring me?

This entry begins with a big sigh and Malagasy culture note. When someone returns from a vacation the natural question is “what did you bring me?” This request is definitely not based on need; it will come from the director and the guardian. Some of the more cleaver answers are my health, or what did you save for me. Unfortunately, I was not feeling very cleaver after my 9 hour joyride and being bombarded by requests from all staff members. Even the ones I only see once a month and surely forgot to buy something for where so happy to see me.

I pride myself on honesty with the Malagasy community. Many women tell their community they are married because they don’t want to deal with marriage proposal within the first 5 minutes of meeting any young (or old) man. I prefer to let them know its okay to be 29 and single and not need their company. Anyway, nobody’s perfect. When I left I told them I was going on a destinationless vacation. However, when my PC boss came to Ambanja during my vacation to find a new site for me, she let it slip that I was in the states. This of course raised the stakes of the gifts.

“My bags are lost”; “My bags are still in Tana” both of these statements are true but not simultaneously. However, they seem to hold off the crowd. Yes, my bags did get lost in Paris but I got them back before I left Tana. However due to weight limits on national flights, I was not able to pack everything back to my site. One lady from the office even had the nerve to say, “Your bags are not here now, but when they get here, you have to give me a gift.” Thank you development workers who have been giving things away for years. Still dreading Christmas day when my bags arrive.