It was with mixed feelings we went back to our friend in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He looked down at the papers that had been sent with express delivery from Tulear. Of course he found the first mistake quite fast. For some reason it was written 2008 and not 2010 (end of stay). He told us that we have to get a new letter from the University… We could believe it. We were actually not surprised. It seemed to be clear that obtaining the Visa extension shouldn’t be easy. Our disappointment was obvious. My shoulders sunk down to the height of my hips. Now it was time for crawling to this powerful man. We considered going down on our knees to beg, but fortunately we didn’t have to get that far. I will accept your applications, he said suddenly, after seeing some of our other documents. In 72 hours you can come and get your visa. We still don’t believe that we will actually get it. Especially since we know that there are other mistakes in one of our documents. Two places it’s written 2 instead of 3. We cross our fingers… in a few hours we'll know the result.
Finally, if we get the Visa tomorrow, we’ll be happy to know that can be obtained it in the normal way (as getting too much help might make us a bit uncomfortable…)
Italiano: Siamo tornati dal nostro amico al Ministero degli Esteri. I documenti da consegnarli ci sono arrivati con consegna espressa da Tulear. Ma già ad una prima occhiata il nostro uomo ha trovato un errore: 2008 invece di 2010 (data di scadenza del nuovo visto), e ci ha chiesto di richiedere una nuova lettera… onestamente non ci ha sorpreso, ottenere il prolungamento del Visto non poteva essere cosi semplice! Mi sono crollate le spalle. Era arrivato il momento di inginocchiarci e supplicare, ma fortunatamente non c’è n’è stato bisogno, il nostro uomo ha accettato la nostra domanda dopo aver controllato altri documenti. In 72 ore dovremmo ottenere il nostro nuovo Visto. Ma non ci illudiamo, sappiamo che nei documenti ci sono altri errori…in due posti c’e’ scritto 2 invece di 3! Incrociamo le dita… tra poche ore sapremo.
Infine, se otteniamo il Visto domani, saremo felici di sapere che puo essere ottenuto attraverso le normali procedure (avere troppi aiuti non ci mette molto a nostro agio…)
... you'll not believe your eyes when you'll see all the beautiful handcraft available here. Nice and colorful hats, beautiful bags, cute and solid cotton t-shirts, handmade paper, wood-carved games, shiny stones and fossils, great kitchen equipment made of wood or zebu-horns, etc.! It is fantastic! This city have many markets, it is actually a market-city as vendors are everywhere. The other day we went to a market on the periphery of the city... more than 100 small "stores" with so many beautiful things where there. We managed to just look, but we're so going back sometime. 
The weekend went with offers and counteroffers via phone. Finally, we agree on a price, which includes all the paper work done by the dealer (who is more a fixer, he has a office with his mum-a layer- where they give assistance on…everything!). Thursday is the big Samurai day: we’ll get the car keys and documents (other papers will wait us in Tulear), but before we have to pay the 35 million FMG cash!!
Italiano: comprare un auto nuova in una città nella quale le 2cavalli hanno vita eterna non è stato facile. Abbiamo cercato per un piccolo guerriero 4X4 che potesse stare con noi nei prossimi 14mesi qui. Abbiamo letto tutti giorni “les petites annoncés” sui giornali, camminato in Avenue de l’Indépendance (dove venditori attendono vicini alle auto in vendita), e telefonato a tutte le concessionarie trovate nell’elenco telefonico 1998-99 (finche abbiamo trovato quello 2005). Alla fine un uomo difficilmente comprensibile ha risposto: si, abbiamo una piccola 4X4, una Suzuki Samurai ad un prezzo interessante. Abbiamo pensato che fosse un nome perfetto per il nostro piccolo guerriero! Era come lo volevamo: piccolo, rustico, un po’ vecchiotto e arrugginito ma certamente affascinante. Si, anche il prezzo era interessante, non mancava che far controllare il motore. Il nostro uomo per il lavoro era Olsen (che è Malgascio ma con un bisnonno norvegese che ne spiega il cognome interessante); è l’autista della missione norvegese nonché meccanico. Il suo responso è stato positivo quando abbiamo visto l’auto insieme (solo la trasmissione da cambiare, che i proprietari hanno accettato di fare). Pii tardi però Olsen è sembrato più scettico. Come tutti i Malgasci, ci ha chiesto perché non compravamo un’auto nuova , o almeno più nuova. Abbiamo scoperto che provare a convincerli che vazahas come noi non sempre hanno abbastanza soldi per un’auto nuova, è inutile.
Il finesettimana l’abbiamo passato facendo offerte e controfferte via telefono. Alla fine abbiamo trovato un’intesa sul prezzo, che include tutte le spese per i documenti fatti dal venditore (che è più un azzeccagarbugli, ed ha un ufficio con sua madre- avvocato- in cui danno assistenza su…tutto!). Giovedì è il gran Samurai-day: avremo le chiavi della macchina, i documenti (alcuni ci attenderanno a Tulear), ma prima dobbiamo pagare i 35milioni FMG contanti!!
After ten days in the country and different meetings with bureaucrats from all levels we gathered the last copies and prints (not to mention the 7 photos needed) to go down to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hand in the applications for extending our visa. The woman behind the desk found the first problems with our application on the first page:
-The introduction letters were not addressed to the Minister, so they have to be rewritten.
- The introduction letters should have been confirmed by the Mayor’s Office
We stopped her before she found any more missing stamps our signatures, and asked her to call Monsieur le Directeur de Cabinet. Another woman was called into the office. She looked at our papers quickly and told us that this Ministry is not competent to extend our visa on these grounds; these applications have to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She called Monsieur le Directeur de Cabinet, and explained the situation. For the third time in a week we went to meet this pleasant man. He explained us that we could apply for a “visa de courtoise” and that we were lucky that we could apply to the Foreign Ministry instead, because that meant that we didn’t have to pay anything. We were overwhelmed with joy… He asked us to keep him informed and called an assistant into the office, who led us to a driver, who drove us the 300 meters to the other Ministry.
The Chef de Service in the Foreign Ministry was not absent, only his smile was. He explained us that our documents were not good enough. They needed a written application from the University of Tulear, in original, signed by the Director of the University + a copy of the contract between the University and SIK and then only 2 photos (What are we going to do with the other 8 photos and the 15 other documents we prepared for the other Ministry!?). However, the application should be processed in 72 hours he told us. (First we have to actually hand in the application).
It was not with pleasure we had to call the responsible in Tulear (700 km or so away) to tell them that all the documents they prepared for us last week were useless, and that they have to make the Director of the University sign a letter, that has to go to the capital ASAP with express delivery. So now we’re waiting for the delivery on Monday, and hopefully we can hand in our visa-applications soon…
to be continued….
Italiano: Dopo 10 giorni nella capitale spesi incontrando burocrati di ogni grado e livello, abbiamo messo insieme tutti i documenti (comprese le 7foto cadauno), per consegnare la domanda di prolungamento del visto di soggiorno al Ministero degli Interni (vedi post precedenti). La donna dietro la scrivania ha impiegato pochissimo tempo per trovare i primi problemi: 1.la domanda non era indirizzato al Ministro (ma al ministero) quindi doveva essere riscritta; 2.alcuni documenti dovevano essere timbrati al comune. Alche’, disperati, l’abbiamo bloccata chiedendo di far telefonare al Direttore di Gabinetto. Al suo posto e stata chiamata un’altra addetta che dopo un veloce sguardo ai documenti ci ha dato la “felice”notizia: il nostro visto non compete al Ministero degli Interni ma a quello degli Affari Esteri e, dopo aver chiamato il Direttore di Gabinetto, siamo stati rispediti nel suo ufficio (per la terza volta). Il Viceministro ci ha quindi spiegato che potevamo fare domanda al Ministero degli Esteri per un “visto di cortesia” che è addirittura gratuito (che gioia…). Chiedendoci di tenerlo informato, ci ha fatti accompagnare da un assistente alla sua auto personale con cui siamo stati condotti al Ministero degli Esteri…300mt di distanza. L’addetto non era assente, solo il suo sorriso lo era. Ci ha detto che i nostri documenti non erano adatti e che invece avevamo bisogno di: una lettera richiedente la prolungazione del visto originale firmata dal rettore dell’università di Toliara (originale)+una copia del contratto di collaborazione tra l’università e SIK, e solo 2 foto (che ne faremo di tutte le altre foto e i 15 documenti preparati per l’altro ministero?!). In ogni caso, consegnati i documenti, il visto dovrebbe arrivare entro 72h. Non è stato piacevole telefonare al responsabile in Toliara (700km circa di distanza), per dire che i documenti che loro avevano preparato per noi con difficoltà, erano inutili, e che dovevano far firmare una lettera al rettore da recapitare con un corriere espresso il più in fretta possibile nella capitale. Adesso rimaniamo in attesa, lunedì dovrebbero arrivare i documenti necessari e, si spera, possiamo finalmente consegnare la nostra domanda di prolungamento del visto… Continua…
Some of you asked how hot and sunny it is here. And many probably imagine a sunny and very warm African island.
The first days in Antananarivo were actually matching this description; just the evenings are a bit cool. In the sense that we often need to wear warmer clothes when the sun goes down, and sleep with duvet. However, 2 days ago the sun started hiding behind some clouds that started to pour rain (but today is sunny!). Consequently, a search on the weather was needed!
Roughly speaking, in Madagascar December is the warmest month, while June is the coolest. We can say, that the seasons are totally opposite to ours. However, the summer (our winter), correspond to the rainy season. While the winter (our summer), is the driest one. But Madagascar is a big island with 4 climatic regions. For example in the highlands the winter nights can be freezing cold, while other places remains pleasant. The same differences happen with rain: 140cm in Antsirabe (close to the capital), and 36cm in the city where we are going, Toliara (Oslo? Lanciano?), while the east coast can even have cyclones.
In other words, we are going into the summer and rainy season (in Toliara that means nearly 40˚C with little rain).
Italiano: alcuni di voi hanno chiesto com’è il tempo da queste parti. E molti di voi immaginano probabilmente una assolata e caldissima isola. Al nostro arrivo Antananrivo era infatti assolata e calda, ma fresca di sera (bisogna mettere qualcosa di più caldo addosso e dormire con la coperta). Negli ultimi giorni invece la pioggia ha cominciato a cadere (anche se oggi c’è il sole!). Cosi abbiamo sentito il bisogno di capire un po’ come funziona il clima qui. Semplificando possiamo dire che in Madagascar il mese più caldo e’ dicembre, mentre giugno e’ il più fresco (in pratica le stagioni sono opposte alle nostre). Però l’estate (il nostro inverno), corrisponde alla stagione delle piogge, mentre l’inverno (la nostra estate), e’ il periodo più asciutto. L’isola, essendo grande, ha 4regioni climatiche; per esempio, negli altopiani le notti possono essere freddissime, mentre altre zone rimangono miti. La stessa cosa accade per la pioggia: ad Antsirabe (vicino alla capitale) cadono 140cm di pioggia invece a Toliara (dove andiamo) ne cadono 36 (Oslo? Lanciano?), mentre nella costa orientale sono frequenti i cicloni. In poche parole, usciamo dall’inverno e ci apprestiamo ad entrare nella calda estate nonché nella stagione delle piogge (che in Toliara significa circa 40˚C con poche piogge concentrate).
The first day was the turn of Ida and Luc. As we had no phones, they just showed up at our hotel, and waited 2 hours for our return. We chatted in front of a drink, about school and job market. Luc is the oldest and had some struggle with his diploma, so was in search of advices. While Ida, was just updating us on her studies. They are very alive kids with a lot of interests, and when we said goodbye we where left with deep curiosity on how they spend their normal days…
Few days later Luc came back with his mum Adeline and his little sister, Ami. We had an appointment this time, so we were ready to welcome them. Birger was happy to see that Adeline looked very good, as the years never passed. We spent sometime chatting on our daily life, until someone mentioned that the kids are scout, and were going to a scout meeting the day after. What a great occasion for me to see how scouting works, here! How good occasion for us both, to see a bit more of the normal daily life of a normal family!
So, the Sunday we went to the Ramanantenasoa family’s house. We sat in the 2CV taxi for about 20min. (in total absence of traffic, while the day before it took almost two ours for them to go home!) and we paid less than 3 euro for the ride (about 25nok). Arrived, we walked within narrow streets until a cute 2floors house appeared. Unfortunately, the scout meeting was called off (but we’re invited to go another time).
Instead, we spent a couple of hours with Adeline, Ami, Luc and God (yes, God), the 3dh kid in the family, in their house. They showed us photos of their friends, work events, school trip, scout camps, vacation days, weddings, etc.: a photo trip through their family life.
Our visit was quite public, as the kids from the neighbored where watching and laughing through the windows. And we felt honored to spend our Sunday afternoon with this friendly Malagasy family.
When I go to a new city I love to feel a bit lost. Loosing the compass a bit gives me a sense of freedom and excitement, a bit like after drinking a beer on empty stomach. At the same time I like to know that I’m safe and can’t get totally lost.
Antananarivo is perfect. The hills and small, curvy streets make it difficult enough to orientate the first days, giving the feeling we are discovering something new. However, the boosted colors, the multiform flowers and the smiling people seem to say that nothing bad can happen (if you are a bit careful). It is very easy to just want to walk around, to enjoy the sun and the breeze.
No solutions can be found for the visa during the weekend, and to overcome the sneaky feeling of frustration, we took a walk, a long walk.
From one of the numerous markets, in the lower part of the town, we started to literally climb steep stairs. We arrived to the moyenne Tana, admired the charming architecture and enjoyed a part of the city where the “vazaha” (the white people like us), where rare. At each intersection we chose the steep road. And corner-by-corner, one breathtaking viewpoint after the other, we arrived to the highest top of the city, where Rova the queen palace is placed.
Three smart, skilled students hooked us gently for a walk around. They explained us the history, the geography and curiosities about the area and the country in general. For example, how people used to build with wood because it’s a warm material, ideal for the alive, while stones were left to the dead (until colonialist changed that).
Of course our guides hoped for some money, which they were given, because no book could have given us such passionate tour.
Seeing Madame Vice-president de Senate brought us to Monsieur le Directeur de Cabinet in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From him we have two days in a row been led to an office where Madam chef de Service is absent. So in a sense the status is still the same; we have still not applied for a visa... You should think we have been here for a week. We hope to be able to move on to Tulear by the end of the next week. How, we don’t know yet. We are hoping to buy a car, but we have so far not done any progress on that front.
