Rachel was not expecting to be called so she was particularly pleased to hear from home. This cell phone is MARVELOUS! She said that the Volunteers were let out of class early today (Thursday) so that they could pack their things to be shipped to Antananarivo (Tananarive) and thence to each site. They are to keep out enough clothing for 12 days—but only what will fit in one backpack. Sounds like a bit of a contradiction in terms. Rachel said that a lot of her things were dirty so she had to wash them and hang them out to dry first. Then she was hungry and her family was not home, so she went to the nearby market and bought 2 *kapoaka* of raw, unshelled peanuts. She brought them back to the house and she and the *piasa* (the young housemaid) roasted them on a charcoal brazier and shared them. She said that the *piasa* is about 16 but looks about 12; she works for Rachel’s host family because her own family can’t afford to feed her.

Rachel mentioned earlier that her host family is the only one who have servants. [I know from living in Madagascar that on the High Plateau among the Merne/Imerina people—that’s where Sambaina is located and Merne/Imerina are the majority ethnicity on the Plateau—those who are more directly descended from Africa and thus have darker skin color are called *mainty* (blacks) and are often poorer and are sometimes discriminated against. Rachel says that her host family are kind to their two *piasa*/servants.

Note: the explanations below and in other posts are added by Rachel’s mom, Teresa, who lived in Madagascar from 1968-77; they are correct to the best of her memory but may contain errors; they are added to explain Malagasy words that don’t translate easily that Rachel uses in her conversations.

*kapoaka*: in the markets in Madagascar, things that cannot not in single units (as are pieces of fruit or some vegetables, for example) are usually sold by the glassful or tin-canful; that unit of measure is called a *kapoaka*; peanuts, beans, rice, and other grains etc. are often sold by the *kapoaka*; that way, the seller does not have to have a set of hand-held scales–an expensive piece of equipment for countryfolk who sell their produce. Things that can be sold individually are usually piled up–say 5 potatoes or tomatoes or oranges, for example–and sold by the pile. If you go to the section of this website entitled PHOTOS and click on the bottom photo of the market, you can enlarge it and can see piles of carrots, cucumbers, etc. ready for sale. Eggs and loaves of French bread (also visible in the picture) are sold by the piece but not piled up! People who can afford it and live close to a baker may have French bread (maybe with butter or jam) as a change from rice gruel *vary sosoa* at breakfast. (No other form of bread was available in 1977–except maybe in Tana.)

*piasa*= worker: the verb for *to work* is *miasa*; the Malagasy word for the person who does something is formed by removing the M (which indicates the infinitive–to–form) and substituing P

*mainty*=black; the Merne (that’s the French word for the Malagasy Imerina, one of the 18 ethnicities, inhabitants of the High Plateau) are light-skinned, not very tall, usually quite slim folk with “Indonesian” features and straight black hair; other Malagasy ethnicities are of more mixed descent, often taller or more sturdy-bodied, and often have more African features and skin tone