Leaving Madagascar
The last few weeks of school were, as always at any school in the world, a blur. End of school events, parent-teacher conferences, and for us, good-byes. Leaving anywhere is bittersweet. Leaving a community you've invested in for 9 months is hard. Madagascar isn't always an easy place to live, and there are definitely aspects I'm ready to be done with. Ironically, the "winter" weather that set in the last few weeks was much more comfortable for me. I loved the cooler temperatures, especially for sleeping at night.
The beauty is hard to leave.
I do feel I did what I came to do and am leaving Sekoly Kintana with qualified local staff. Of course, there is always more to learn. I have learned from every student I taught over the past 30 years, including the Sekoly Kintana students this past year. Their teachers will learn from them, and future students as well. My job of priming the teachers with the conceptual knowledge and attitudes they need to continue to learn was a success. They'll find their own way from here. I will, however, be happy to return in a few years for another round as the school grows and more staff are added.
The last day of school was the day before Fete de Nationale, or Malagasy Independence Day. Independence from the French was only 66 years ago, so it's not something folks take for granted. The end of year program was a celebration of Malagasy culture. The kids did a really fun dance each representing different tribes. Can't share pictures of students, but here I am in my Antanosy outfit my colleagues dressed me in, with a poster showing pictures of our year.
The following day was a parade in which the school took part. It was pouring rain, but there was an amazing turnout considering. Again, I can't share pictures because I'm with students. Like many Americans, I have mixed feelings about nationalism. There are certainly things I love about America, but I am not always proud of our policies. I'm sure many Malagasy folks have similar feelings. What I really can't get behind is expressions of American superiority, which is not something I sensed in the Malagasy celebrations. There is pride in the diversity of Malagasy culture without the need to put other nations down. We could learn something……
Saturday we cleaned and finished packing our apartment and flew up to Tana in the afternoon. We enjoyed a nice meal and a comfortable room at the Nosy Manga hotel.
Our residency never got completed, so the office just extended our visas so we could leave legally. Our friend kindly brought the paperwork to our hotel. We got to watch fireworks from our room. I'm not usually a fan, but they were far enough away to not be too loud.
We left for the airport at 12:30 am Monday morning, beginning an exhausting 24 hours of travel, ultimately arriving at our pet sitting job in Wales. Here's the kids’ last chess game in Madagascar while waiting for the shuttle.
We have about 10 days in Wales, 10 days in the Scottish Highlands, then home to Ohio. I'll be starting my graduate program in the next few days as we travel, then hopefully will be able to find another consulting job once we're home. I'm definitely sure that's my calling. I may do some tutoring as well, but will move forward with developing consulting as an income stream. My year with Sekoly Kintana very clearly changed the trajectory of several lives for the better. That's what we're all on this earth to do.