Namanako = My Friends

Friends are somewhat hard to come by in a new country, especially if you are not yet fluent in the language. I have very few girlfriends that are my age because most of the young women are married and busy taking care of their house and children. While I do have adult friends in my town, I have taken quite a liking to the children. At first I found it a little annoying to have children peeking through my fence all day, everyday. I felt like I was on some sort of reality tv show, where people found it interesting to watch me doing trivial things, such as cooking or washing my clothes. One day I decided to invite the kids into my home, figuring that they would quickly become disinterested once they saw firsthand that I was doing something like cooking Malagasy food just like their families do. And while they have not yet lost interest in my seemingly mundane daily activities, I have grown to enjoy their company. This might be due in part to the face that I possess the same vocabulary as they do (I'm still working on my Malagasy language skills). The kids keep me up-to-date on what's happening in town, teach me the new dance moves, and are just generally entertaining. The fact that I give them candy and let them look at my magazines is an enticing factor for them as well I'm sure. Here is a picture my neighbor boy, Noti, and myself enjoying a Rolling Stones magazine:



But they really have become good friends of mine. One girl, Tahina, even brought me homemade peanut brittle for my birthday! It is interesting and fun to share things about America, and it just so happens to be one of the goals of Peace Corps. I had some of my little friends make this movie, just for you all:



In case you couldn't understand their English (they're working on it), they are saying "Hello everybody in the United States." And if anyone is inspired by the video and would like to send a package with candy and/or coloring books/utensils, I'm sure the kids would say "misaotra betsaka!" the equivalent of "thank you so much" in English. If you do plan on sending candy, something like M&Ms or Skittles would probably be best. I shared some Nerds that a friend sent and you can just imagine how many ended up on the floor of my house instead of in their mouths. Needless to say, the Nerds were kept to myself after that!