Mofo & BonBon Coco

We are comfortable here, relatively. Sure, there are still times when I am walking down the street and there is something that makes me uncomfortable, or when I am attempting to buy something and the seller cannot understand my broken Malagasy, or when we are served full fish for lunch and have to figure out how to take it apart to get the most meat we can. But, compared to when we arrived in Madagascar, we are comfortable here where we have a strong community of people to lean on. But, I know I cannot rely on that community forever. I know that on Tuesday I will wake up and have a squeezed bus ride next to 3 other YAGMs and a Malagasy friend, and then I will head to my placement with people from my host community and it will be me. I will have myself to rely on. Sure, I know that my host community loves me and will do anything they can to help, but that is a very different community than a group of YAGMs who share a culture, language and experiences here. Both of these communities are endlessly valuable, but it is scary to leave the community that I understand.
This Saturday morning we had an experience that both brought these fears to light and reminded me that I am strong and have the skills and knowledge to enter into my host community this coming Tuesday. Our country coordinators sent us on a “culture capture.” We were a short list of things we needed to buy along with a small amount of money and were sent into town independently to find them; then we came back together and explained our experiences. I bought a loaf of Malagasy French bread from a woman selling bread out of large baskets on the street. I knew that I needed to find a baked good, so I had been repeating, “Ohatrinona ny mofo,” in my head as I walked down the street. As I bent down to actually say the sentence aloud, I said in the best pronunciation I could muster, “Hello, how much is the bread?” he responded with a French number said quickly that I couldn’t understand, and when I asked her to say it in Malagasy I finally felt confident. She responded in Malagasy and I found the Ariary in my pocket and bought one load of bread. I continued down the road with bread in hand, knowing that I still needed to find peanuts and to find something that I didn’t know what it was. I checked out multiple peanut stands looking for the best ones. I finally picked some was able to remember to for a cup of peanuts even without remembering the word for peanuts. Walking around for my last item, I had no idea what to pick. But then, I saw the coconut cookies that I made for my family and members of my home church congregation to share about the adventure that I was going to have. I was so excited that the recipe that my mom had found online in July actually existed in Madagascar that I had to have them. I decided that even though I knew what they were, they were going to count as my third item anyway.
I continued back to the center where we are living feeling successful. I know that my communities around the world are never too far away and that I do have the skills and knowledge to live in my new community, all thanks to some baskets of bread and some coconut cookies.

Here is the recipe for the coconut candies that really do exist here in Madagascar.

BonBon Coco
Coconut Candy
2-1/2 C coconut, grated
1 C sugar
1-1/2 C water
Pinch of salt
Combine coconut, sugar and salt in a heavy cooking pot. Add the water; slowly bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook for about twenty minutes, or until coconut mixture is thick and all liquid has evaporated. The coconut will begin to brown; mixture will be stiff and sticky. Remove from heat. Form coconut mixture into balls. Place balls on a sheet of waxed paper; flatten by placing a second sheet of waxed paper on top and pressing down. Set aside to cool completely before removing waxed paper. The balls should be firm but not crunchy. Serve.