Being in a completely new place, we were hit with a couple first impressions, hard. Right after stepping out of the airport, Malagasy locals were clamoring to help push our luggage. They only left a narrow passage way for us to get through. As the locals teamed up to stack our bags on top of our bus, more people immediately began to linger around us. One bold little boy (probably no older than 7) walked right into the middle of our circle with one hand out clearly asking for money. It was then that we realized the true extent of poverty in Madagascar. When we arrived at the hotel, a few men were very eager to help us park on the side of the road. They guided the driver and expected a few ariary as tip. Another first impression was the driving. Our driver honked constantly for the duration of our trip. The reason was to let people know we were nearby, a warning. Also, there were no clear street lines on the roads or designated crosswalk; so basically it was a free for all. People walked both on the skinny sidewalks and the edges of the road, darting across occasionally without warning in front of cars. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any accidents. There were no stoplights, but at large intersections, the police directed traffic. Overall, I think we’ll just have to leave the driving to Rija (our driver) and as for the immense amount of people on the streets, we’ll just have to figure out how be smart and curteous at the same time.
