Today's programme: running, church, preparation for the library programme and lots of socializing. Enjoy!
Socializing Part 1 - running and church:
Very surprisingly, Azaly told us yesterday that he wanted to come running as well! This is great, since we were not really sure about going running just the two of us (you know, many questioning stares). But with Azaly, everything was fine. We already agreed on repeating this tomorrow!
After running, we were warmly invited to go to the church, where Émilien has a very important role. He introduced us to the people attending the mass and told them about the library. We enjoyed the mass, particularly how beautifully they all sang!
Socializing Part 2: Discussing the start-off of the Boky Mamiko programme:
We met Lisa, Ernéstine (a teacher and Gene's sister) and Storya in order to discuss the programme. We set up 10 golden rules for the library, in Malagasy and French! Lisa and Ernéstine heard from the librarian of the public school in Djangoa that lots of books have 'mysteriously' disappeared. So as they want to run the library over a long time, they emphasized that we need rules and cannot let the kids take the books home. Also, we all decided that in the first week, we need to start off with establishing a common sense with the children of how a library works well. We - Domi and Sarah, following the advice of Domi's girlfriend Zoe (thank you Zoe!) - proposed to have a ritual, like a song, before we start reading. This was a big hit with Storya, Ernéstine, Lisa and Gene's nieces and nephew! They sang, danced and even translated Malagasy songs for us to sing with the kids in the library! It was a great afternoon and we really enjoyed it together!
Socializing part 3: Happy Birthday Romeo!
In the afternoon, Romeo (Valentine's son who studies and lives in Ambanja) passed by. We thought he came to visit his family as it was his birthday, but only later we got to know that he actually only came to Djangoa to see us! In the evening we celebrated his birthday with freshly caught crabs (of the same day!). We talked a lot and we learned some very interesting things:
first of all (and most important according to Domi) we learned that Gene's parents have a TV and we could watch the Swiss games at the football worldcup. Hopp Schwiiz! He also wants to take us to the forest that is less than 500m from the École Mamiko! According to him, it's a great experience with lots of animals and fresh fruit. We will tell you more about it when we've been there! Last but not least, we tried cacao. Did you know it's like a bonbon and one's supposed to only suck it a bit, throw it away but not eat it? Well, I - Domi - didn't and in my enthusiasm of trying fresh cacao, I just bit and swallowed it. Well, everyone had a big laugh and as soon as a new person entered the room (twice, a neighbor and Gene's brother) the story about the dumb Swiss guy that does not even know how to enjoy fresh cacao was told once again. Funny!
And now it's bedtime, have a nice start of the week and see you soon! June 10th, Sarah and Domi
