Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Fetim-Pirenena in Miarinarivo


7/14/13

I have officially been in Madagascar for two, count em two! Malagasy, American, and French Independence Days.  Apparently everyone gets mad and demands independence all at the same time haha.  And they were awesome, again.  So the 25th of June (the day before Malagasy Independence Day) I went and watched the fireworks my town set off at the high school stadium.  But it was so cold!! I was wearing like 5 shirts and a coat, not to mention light up glasses J and it was only 8 at night.  June is definitely the coldest month in the highlands, and this June was definitely colder than last year.  The fireworks were pretty cool though.  I thought it was funny because they were just as big as in America but with way fewer safety regulations haha.  Don’t worry; no one was hurt or anything.  But I realized Madagascar and America both get their fireworks from China so the caliber is definitely the same.

So the next day was actually Independence Day, which is actually less fun.  I prefer the 25th because everyone is wearing light up stuff, carrying paper lanterns, and watching fireworks.  Actual fetim-pirenena is much more bureaucratic.  There was a “parade” of all important people and schools at the high school stadium and then a delicious reception at the region.  Then I took the rest of the day to just wander around and talk to people. 

Then the 4th of July rolls around and my French friends mentioned that they wanted to make cheeseburgers, so I turned it into a full American BBQ!  We just added French cheese and a bit of wine to combine worlds J.  So I gathered with my French and German friends, wore ridiculous stars and stripes shorts, and made a huge playlist of songs that mention America.  All in all a pretty good holiday.

Didn’t really do much to celebrate the French Bastille Day, but did have a lovely glass of French wine, so I call that a win.

Happy summer holidays all!
-Sarah

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