The Adventure of the Mid-Week-Day

This is one example of an early ”out-of-bed”
My eyelids had slid open, many thoughts were in my head
I have to tell the story of the yesterday event
When Eline and her partner (me) to Tombontsoa went
We were so sick of white bread, so we wanted whole-grain flour
We took a bus and then a pousse-pousse, it took about an hour.
The pousse-pousse driver got so tired by pulling us up the hill
So we got out and walked beside him, time was standing still.
We gave him more than he deserved, we felt sorry for him
He thanked us very nicely, but I felt I’d done a sin.

“Where is the whole-grain flour?” we asked all the folks we met
We didn’t know how to rephrase it, that was fun – you bet!
They gave us the direction, we were ready to go far
We had to pass through cribs with cows, but we didn’t see a star (!)
Then suddenly we saw the house, it was so big and white
We asked a man if they had flour, though grammar wasn’t right
But finally he understood, he showed us what we meant
We were so happy and we laughed – this was a great event!
We paid him and we tried to say that we’d come back for more
He nodded, then we went away, so happy with our score.

Then we went back to Antsirabe, and guess who we did meet
Yes, all the people who are there, whose home is on the street
We gave them smiles, we gave them chips, ‘cause that was what we had
And then we walked away, although still feeling really bad.
When we got home we had to do our homework in the sun
When that was done we made our lunch and even that was fun!
The Malagasy teaching for today was good, you see
Now I can say a lot of things, my language barrier’s free (well, not yet really, but it rhymed…!)

Team Madagascar learning Malagasy

Pictures from Madagascar

We have soon been here for two weeks. It's great! Antsirabe is the lucky town that has the pleasure of hosting us for the next two weeks, while we learn the language of this beautiful country.
The past days have been quite useful. We have learned some Malagasy phrases, seen exorcism in the church (wow-that was interesting!), been to the Rova (the old queen palace), drunk lots of water, taken a taxi brousse, baked buns and killed a chicken for dinner, waited for the sloooow internet connection... And we have visited the schools where we are going to teach English. I have had a speach in front of 800 pupils, got tons of comments on the streets (because I'm white), heard the children in the village shout "Karin" after me (following me for the next 200 metres), enjoyed the lovely green nature, listened to Eline's laughter (she laughs all the time!) and seen thousands of poor people begging... The last has been the worst. I get my heart broken every time I go out on the streets... But let's not focus on the negative things! Here are some photos - Enjoy!


Picture above: The monkeys are licking my honey-covered fingers! :)



Here's the whole "gang" in the National Park in Antananarivo. Take a good look at our Malagasy hats - they are highly appreciated in this heat!
Well, think you'll just have to wait patiently for more pictures... Patience is something you really have to learn when you're in Madagascar... So although you're not here - take it mora mora and enjoy life as it comes along! :)

Back in Madagascar

Salama! Finally I am here! In the capital of the 4th biggest island in the world. After 6 days in Madagascar these are some of the things I’ve learned:

1) We are very white. When walking in the streets, people stare at us. They smile at us, wave at us and shout “bonjour vazaha”, thinking that every white person is French. We are VIP’s in this country.
2) We are very rich. We can get a bus ride for 1 Norwegian Kr, and everything else is also cheap. No wonder people think we are wealthy. If the poor people see us, they come running. It is terrible to say that we don’t have money (when actually we do). I could write a whole post just about poverty in this country, but I think this will do for now…
3) It is hot. We wear t-shirts, shorts and sandals every day. Lovely!
4) God (Andriamanitra) means the King who smells good. The people who don’t believe in the loving God we Christians believe in, pray and give offerings to their ancestors.
5) The service in church lasts at least 3 hours. What takes most of the time, are the announcements. Why not just write it all down on a piece of paper for everyone? Well, they can’t afford the paper.
6) It is a sin to clap in church. Instead you have to raise your hand and wave!
7) Everything is mora mora (take it easy). In Madagascar we own the time, not the opposite.
8) Internet is very slow. Which is why you haven’t heard much from me yet. I don’t want to spend a lot of time in a small Cyber cafe when the sun is shining outside.
9) How to make a good Sunday dinner from scratch. In short: we killed a chicken, cooked potatoes (bought them in church (!) to support the church building) and we oHowHomade buns for dessert.
10) The traffic is terrible (no mora mora here!). People are selfish when driving. What matters is that they can get from A to B. If there are people in the road the drivers honk at them, after having “pretended” to drive over them. They want to get to their destination ASAP, even if it means driving in 100 km/h in a small, narrow street. On top of it all, people don’t use seatbelts…

A short update of my situation: I live in the Youth Centre in Antananarivo, together with the three other Norwegians. I am loving it! We are going to Antsirabe on Saturday to learn Malagasy for 2 weeks. Then Eline and I will go to Fandriana for 1 month, before we’ll go back to Antananarivo and live and work in the youth centre for the rest of our stay. We will also work with children here. Our main task will be to teach English.
Since I am becoming Malagasy Fotsy (a white Malagasy person), I have bought a Malagasy simcard. My phonenumber is: 032 5062 687. You can send me messages, but I am not sure if I’ll receive them. If you want to say something important, write it in an e-mail. I will check my Norwegian simcard once in a while too, in case you write messages to that number… But you can also call me! That would make me very happy. If you would like to send me letters, the address is:
Centre FKTLM Sabotsy Namehana, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.
But you probably should expect that it might take a while. Mora mora, you know! ;)

Well, I think I will go out in the sunshine now. Can’t really say I miss the Norwegian autumn! :)Enjoy the rain for me!

Leaving on Tuesday!

"Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." John 4:36-38

"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:14-16


These are the Bibleverses we were reminded of when we left Hald on Friday. It's good to know that we are going to do important work for Jesus. I am glad the Lord has chosen me to to go to Madagascar, and I know that He will give me all I need.

Today I am feeling very tired and have mixed feelings. The past week has been quite emotional and tiring. We have had to say goodbye to our good friends at Hald, and I have not slept very much as an effort to be as social as possible when I have the chance... Now I'm at home and I have lots of preparations to do before the big journey in only 3 days. Not only preactical things, but also saying goodbye to friends and family here at home. I hardly have time to sleep, and when I try I'm so excited that I can't manage. And then I wake up too early!

I would really appreciate it if you could pray especially
-that I get to sleep so I feel fit when I leave Norway
-that all the prepararations will go well and that I don't forget anything important
-that the journey on Tuesday will be safe and smooth
Thank you so much! :)

Next post on this blog will be written in Madagascar! I will start posting as soon as I get settled and get a chance to go on the Internet. In the meantime I want to say thank you to everyone who's praying for me and reading my blog. I will try to keep you updated as much as I can. For the timebeing I can say that most likely we will be in Tana before Christmas and in Fandriana after. So we'll get to be both places!
Finally, I would like to share another Bibleverse that is helping me in these busy times: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phil. 4,13

Madagascar - here I come!

Change in plans...

In 13 days I will stand on the airport and wave goodbye to the people I love. Norway will be left behind for a while. And today, less than two weeks before I reach African soil, I don't know what to expect... What I am going to pack for. Am I going to live in the industrial capital or in the small village without the resources I'm used to? The thing is that at this point, I don't know.



An email from Madagascar saying there is more need for us in the capital (Tana), is the reason for this uncertainty. There are several schools in Tana that need English teachers, and there are already many "foreigners" in Fandriana, who can take care of things there. So where do they want us? My teacher and the contact person in Madagascar are trying to come up with the best solution. Personally I think it is good to be needed, so I will go wherever is best for the program. And of course where the Boss wants me. Still, it's a bit stressing not knowing whether or not I will have electricity, water and other necessities. Time will show. For the moment I will just have to wait patiently, as the days pass by faster than ever before...

3 weeks left...

67 people from 13 different nations are gathered Sunday evening in a little town in Norway, Mandal. They are all dressed in red, white and blue. Some Norwegians are dressed in the Norwegian "Russe-costume", to show the internationals how Norwegians celebrate High School Graduation.

The first event on the program for this "Norwegian Evening", is a parade in the garden of Hald. All the students gather behind each other and start marching along, before seeing the flag raised on its pole.

The evening continues with plays, stories, songs and pictures; all presented by the Norwegians to teach the internationals what to expect in this cold country. The internationals don't understand the words when the hosts for the evening sing "Hun er forelska i lærer'n" ("She is in love with the teacher") - a very Norwegian song. But they laugh and enjoy the tune. The evening reaches its peak with Norwegian waffels and "sjokoladekake" (chocolatekake). When the food is all gobbled up, the students are ready to begin playing games. So they play "Musical Chairs". Just minutes after, the dancefloor is open and they all gather around to dance the next couple of hours. Who would have thought that the "Macarena"dance is the same in the poor countries of Africa, in South America and even in Norway? Well, we had lots of fun and felt it in our muscles the following day...

But the pain I felt may have been my muscles aching from the running I did Monday morning. I woke up at 6:30 and was going to be back 7:30. Unfortunately I got lost in the woods, and the route I ran became much longer. But I carried on, trying different paths, finding out I had run in circles... Typical. Anyway, I focused on the positive parts: 1) I got a really good workout, 2) I saw three beautiful deers looking me straight in the eyes.

I am still enjoying myself here at Hald, and today it is only 2 weeks and 6 days until I leave. 20 days!!! Am going home tomorrow, then I will have to do some practical things for the journey. Wow-Africa is waiting!

Here is a picture of my Ugandan friend Faith and me. Isn't she lovely? Isn't she beautiful?