Andy Oakley

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Pip Today we had a huge amount of things to do:visit the Embassy collect the EPIRB get supplies for the next weekget passes for Isalo and Ranomafana National Parks find transport get maps Our guide, Nanah, is a really nice guy - sounds corny but he really is sweet. He gets a lot of abuse from the oter Madagascans - he says it is because he is with so many whites. This abuse worsens and becomes more blatant when he is talking to one of the girls on his own. But this abuse is not in any way violent or loud, as it would be in England, Malagasy jibing takes the form of pointing and laughing. This placidity and calmness is incomparable to English behaviour - as is much of the Madagascan habits and culture / society life. I think that the team being split up into smaller groups to carry out the different tasks has helped us, as well as the Madagascans, in many ways. Firstly we get to know say three people a bit better because we are not with so many. Secondly, we start working together to be more involved in the Madagascan way of life; that is insofar as we are not so excluded (or as much of a spectacle). All of these factors help team-building - which sounds corny but is one of the main reasons for us coming here. Also, being in smaller groups is less daunting for the Madagascans, since 19 whites trooping around a city, with very few white inhabitants must be alarming. Andrew took over from me on Sunday night and organised us into groups. We managed to get everything done before it got dark, which was lucky, since wandering aroun in Tana after dark is highly inadvisable - even in large groups.