Tongasoa (Welcome) !
A much over-due update on my post-grad life
11/10/20253 min read
Hi everyone! Depending on when we last spoke, you may or may not know that I am now in Madagascar on a Fulbright Scholarship as an English Teaching Assistant. After a tumultuous October, I can happily say that I am in country. I was originally supposed to arrive on October 5th. However, late September brought about some interesting political change in Madagascar. Frequent water and electricity cuts that occur throughout the capital city finally resulted in protests, primarily led by Gen-Z groups (similarly to the ones that happened in Nepal in September). After clashes between protesters and the police, the protests escalated to a point requiring military intervention, and an overthrowing of the president (See more details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Malagasy_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat). Needless to say, the U.S. Embassy here in Madagascar pushed our arrival date for a few weeks until it was deemed safe to arrive. That didn't take too long, as citizens largely got what they wanted with the removal of the previous president. Nevertheless, this is an exciting time to be in Madagascar, and the sentiments of a push for change and optimism in the future are high.
I safely arrived in country at the end of October. Since then, I have had an exciting time going to numerous English teacher trainings, orientation as an ETA, the 250th anniversary Marine Corps ball, and the Peace Corps initiation. I have reunited with my dear host family and other friends from the first time I was in Madagascar, which has been incredibly heartwarming.
Throughout my first month here, I feel a strong sensation of returning to somewhere that I was always meant to return to. Eating mofo gasy (a traditional bread/treat made from sweet rice-flour) and drinking ranonampango (burnt rice water) brought about flavors that I did not think I would ever taste again. Even remembering my basic phrases in Malagasy was easier than I expected it would be. I am proud of the fact that this time around, I will have the opportunity to teach students English and share my culture and background with them. Wherever you go, it is evident how excited English speakers are to practice their English with a native speaker. It makes me extra motivated to begin teaching in the classroom.
One of my favorite encounters in the past couple of weeks occurred just on a random street, after Austin (a fellow ETA) and I scoped out a guitar store. We were walking along, speaking English, when an older Malagasy man stopped us and said "Wow, you speak such great English!" I had to stop myself from laughing, as from our appearance, it wouldn't really seem like we would speak anything other than English. As for him, I was quite shocked that he himself spoke English. It is not very common to find English speakers in Madagascar, especially those in his generation. We explained to him that we were from the U.S. and that we were in Madagascar to teach English. He was so enthusiastic to ask us what state we were from, and to hear about our initial thoughts of Madagascar. After our exchange with the man, Austin and I had to laugh about how random it was, but how heart warming all the same.
Interactions such as these remind me how lucky I am to be able to connect with strangers in completely new places because of our shared languages. Growing up speaking German and then learning French in school, and now learning Malagasy, has instilled how important it is to be able to communicate with each other. Even just a few simple sentences can convey so much, even between two people from completely different cultures. I'm hopeful that in my role in the classroom, I can excite and inspire students to seek out this same connection.