Au Revoir Madagascar...

Tomorrow is the day to leave. I catch a flight back to Nairobi, to perform a second concert for the immigration officials (by popular demand), and then connect on to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. Madagascar was wildly different, and thanks to all I met here as well. I spent the last few days in city called Antsirabe, south of Tana by 3 hours. It is high rolling hills and rice fields all over. On the bus ride down, I met a guy named Nehemia who lived there, and invited me back to his family's house in Antsiribe for a night as we arrived late in the evening. I had a great meal and experience everday life in Antsirabe...dried shrimp and rice! The next morning, I rented a bicycle and rode about 25 kilometers through the country side to Lake Trivalty, a small lake considered holy by local taboo. What a magnificent ride... All of the children would yell "Salam Vihaza!", or "hello white man!". They all wanted to know my name. When I arrived at the lake, there was a stick fence in which a few guys charged 3,000 ariary (1.50 USD) to pass. Okay, so I went to a little brick store in the village. There was a cow screaming tied to a log. Inside the smokey little hut, there was an old man buying 6 little oyster crackers and 3 peanuts. THis is commerce here! When I arrived at the lake, there was the usual crowd of people following me trying to sell me something. I sat down quietly and meditated at the lake. They thought this was so peculiar, and went about taking. Now the strange thing is that I do not speak oe word of Malagasy, but there were moments were I could understand what they were talking about! Quite bizarre. Anyways, when I finished, I asked the few remaining people to allow me to walk around the lake in silence. They now all understood completely. There was two little girls who followed me around the whole lake....in silence! It was so cute, as sometimes they could not hold back and I could here them whisper to each other, and the other would whisper back..."Sheesh...he wants to walk in silence!". One girl said..."Moisseur, attencion!", just as we passed an enormous spider. I thanked her, and this opened up a bit of discourse for the last quarter of the walk...but always at a whisper. They could not hold back from getting into guide mode, and tell me how deep the lake was, and that there was no fish because of the carbonic acid, and that Jacques Cousteau once dove there. When we returned to where we started, we sat down and shared a piece of bread. I bought a rock from them, and rode back to town....down hill all the way! I woprked on a few ne songs in my hotel room, and often stopped to stare at the rickshaw drivers down below on the street. Running all day barefoot through the streets. The streets themselves are painted with florescent green phlem that the Malagasys love to cough up. You also see them often covering one nostril and blowing a high note out of the other...the old farmers blow. Well, the last night is a nice one. The usual gas lanterns romantically light up all of the small street kiosks casting big shadows of the old ladies wide brimmed hats. There is a choral ensemble rehearsing in the cathedral across the street, and I do believe I saw a few stars through the city's haze. (pictures are not cooperating, so will add to this post later).