I’ve talked a lot about what I see in Madagascar. I talk
regularly about what I think about Madagascar, what I do in Madagascar. But, I
haven’t talked much, if at all, about what I smell in Madagascar, what I hear
in Madagascar. I thought of this after an e-mail from my grandparents the other
day when my Grandpa asked what I hear around my house. Immediately, my brain
went further, to what I hear in many different places around Fianar, to what I
smell around Madagascar.
Clearly, there are many different smells and sounds around
Mada. And they vary drastically based on where I am. But, there are some things
that stick out.
Around my house, I regularly hear my neighbors. I had
different neighbors when I moved in, but they left in November, and then when I
arrived in Fianar with my parents in December, my new neighbors had moved in.
They are a wonderful family; the father is a Pastor at my church and a fluent
English speaker. The mother in the family is also wonderful, she takes my
laundry in when it rains and does other little helpful things like that. They
also have to children, a boy who just started school at Masombahoaka and a 2
and a half year old girl. So, I often hear the 2 and a half year old playing,
giggling and sometimes even crying.
One of my favorite smells in Madagascar is the smell of
starting a charcoal fire. The charcoal here has a wonderful smell that I have
no idea how to describe. I don’t often cook on charcoal, mostly because I am
not very good (read: terrible) at getting the fire started. But, my neighbors
cook on charcoal, so I get to appreciate the smell each meal. They often laugh
at me because sometimes I comment on how the charcoal, “smells good, like
Madagascar.”
Other smells in Madagascar are not so pleasant. Fianar has
some public restrooms, but they are not common, so the street is very commonly
used as one big public restroom. This makes certain areas not smell so great.
Also, there is little to no trash collection in Mada. This means that people
make trash piles and burn them on the street. There are also smells in the
market that aren’t so pleasant, like the butcher, or the fish section, but they
are easy to move through quickly. These smells aren’t pleasant, but they have
become very normal here. These smells will always remind me of Madagascar.
There are sounds around Fianar that stand out too.
Vehicles of all sorts here tend to make a lot of noise, from
being broken in some way.
I hear the Call to Prayer from a mosque near my house.
I hear languages, sometimes 4 or more in one day.
I hear music. Malagasy people love singing, there is usually
music in the bus, or at random places on the street. I recently discovered that
you can stream a Malagasy radio station online: http://www.radioparadisagasy.com/
and click the red box in the top right corner that says “Écouter en direct.”
I hear sellers at the market, attracting buyers by saying
what they are selling and the price.
I hear rice being sifted. Because of the way rice is
processed here, there are usually still bits of husks and small rocks in the
rice. So, it must be sifted before it is cooked. The rice sifting sounds like
someone sweeping the floor.
I hear a lot of laughter. I am continuously amazed how
people in this country who have so little, have so much happiness.
There are some smells and sounds in Madagascar that are
wonderful, and some that aren’t so. But, all of these things make Madagascar
what it is. I wouldn’t change them for the world.
