So I've been out of touch with lots of people for the last 3 days, but I can say that I had one of the most beautiful times of my life these last few days, and I'm so excited to share it with you. 

  Lindsey and I left on Sunday to go see the sites of the Baobab trees as well as the Grand Tsingy de Bemaraha. Just a little history of the tsingys: the tsingys are a big formation of rocks, that were at one point under the sea before Madagascar was formed. It was made an official world heritage site in 1990, and has only been open to the public since 1997. It consists of some pretty intense hiking, as well as some amazing caves to climb through; pictures to be followed. 

  The Tsingys Are located in a very very remote area of Madagascar called Bekopaka, so it took us 8 hours to drive there with some very very rough roads, and two ferry crossings with the most ghetto ferry. I don't think I've ever been so thankful for paved roads in my entire life.

On the drive over, we encountered some villages that were in complete poverty, and in some of the most desolate areas. It was not uncommon to see people with hardly any clothes, no shoes, straw houses, and no running water. 92% of Malagasy people live below the poverty line, often living off of less than two dollars per day.  But despite all of that, it was also not uncommon to see the biggest smiles on their faces as we passed, and nearly every person made a point to wave at Linds and I. These simple gestures speak immensely to me in so many ways. It truly made me feel extremely humbled, and it just goes to show that people can find pure happiness, even in the most horrible conditions. It made me think of how incredibly blessed I am to be where I am, and the opportunities that I have had in my life. It's so easy to get caught up in the sometimes trivial things in my daily life, but at that moment I was so humbled and had to take a few minutes to reflect on those things and that for me, some things could be so much worse. 

  Once we arrived, we stayed in the cutest bungalow that is shown below, and made some new friends as well. We befriended a German couple, where the girl is studying the behaviors of specific Lemurs for her PhD, a fellow American who has been living in Mozambique for the last 3 years for her career, and a South Korean man who did the hike with us. It was so great being able to have dinner with a group of people who spoke English! We bonded over our love for this country and delicious rum, something that Madagascar is famous for apparently. 

 On Monday we did the hike of the Gran Tsingy. Our hike was lead by our guide, Brown, (yes, that was his real name), and has grown up in the Tsingys his entire life. He lead us through the most dangerous parts, through pitch black caves crawling on our knees, showed us fossilized coral from when the country was under water, and more importantly, showed us the cutest LEMURS! That's right people, I saw Lemurs! Pictures below. The hike was by far the most beautiful, spectacular place I've ever seen in my entire life. Words cannot describe, nor can pictures, at how amazingly unreal this place was. I would recommend this to anyone to do at some point in their life. 

We left Tuesday morning and returned on Tuesday night. On our way home, we stopped by to see the famous Baobab Trees that are endemic to Madagascar. We were lucky to get a glimpse of them as the sun was going down and it was magnificent. The trees have been around for thousands of years, and are some of the most unique trees on earth. During this time, I was able to pet a chameleon as well, which was terrifying. 

  The next coming days are filled with traveling, and a stop or two on our way to Tamatave, where we will begin serving! 

WE MADE IT!!!

Bonjour! (The only French word I've learned thus far)

  I finally arrived in the capital of Antananarivo after 27 hours of flying, two layovers, and three disgusting airplane meals. I will say that for the most part, all flights went smoothly, aside from being on what I think was the most outdated Air France plane I've ever experienced. I honestly thought that was going to be my last flight ever after being on that plane for 10 hours. 

  When I arrived to Madagascar, it was approximately 2 in the morning and I was exhausted. I waited in customs for an hour and a half and when I finally got through, I was sooooo relieved that my bag had actually made it all the way here. Let's be real, we all breathe a sigh of relief when we see our bags come down that luggage carousel.

  Upon leaving the airport, I took a taxi to my hostel, and on the way there I had some interesting encounters with my taxi driver which included him not knowing what a nurse was, as well as being completely ripped off. I take it as a right of passage in my opinion.

  When Lindsey and I saw each other in the hostel, we gave each other huge hugs in finding another person who spoke English. Lindsey put together a plan for us to leave the capital last night on an overnight bus to the city of Morondava to do a tour of the Baobab Trees, and tour of Tsingy de Bemaraha. Now that is where the good stuff occurred.

 Things we learned on this 19 hour, yes you heard me, 19 hour bus ride to Morondava: 

1) need to learn how to say toilet in French

2) need to overcome fear of peeing/pooping in bushes with other people around 

3) being crammed in a medium sized van/bus with 17 other people is no where near as exciting as you think.

4) the bright side of no electricity is the extra one million stars you get to see once it gets dark

5) if you don't swat the old man next to you'd hand away, it will remain there for the next twelve hours. Linds and I took turns sitting uncomfortably close to this man the whole trip.

 We finally arrived this morning to this small beach town and got to our adorable bungalow on the beach for 10 dollars a night. We intend on spending all day beaching, and relaxing. There is a photo of the bungalow below. 

And I'm Off!!!

    As some of you may know, I, along with a fellow coworker, Lindsey, will be serving 7 weeks as a nurse in Madagascar with an incredible organization called Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is an organization that has been providing reconstructive and live-saving surgeries to undeserved populations around the world for over 35 years. The Mercy Ship is the largest civilian hospital ship that provides state of the art medical care to those in desperate need-free of charge!

Lindsey and I am leaving a week early to explore around the country, before beginning our service which starts on August 28th, and ends October 11th. I will arrive in the capital, Antananarivo, and from there, I will be taking a 6 hour bus ride to the city of Toamasina, or Tamatave. Mercy Ships is docked in this city for 10 months out of the year. 

So as I embark on this truly unique journey and attempt to navigate myself through a developing country, as well as learning to pick up French, I will try my best to blog my way through Madagascar, so that you guys can experience the miraculous things that I will be seeing. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I intend on taking full advantage of this opportunity to its fullest!