Love From MCAR: My housing situation in Madagascar

My housing situation is a huge building that was built in 1996 and was intentionally built to be offices for the mayor and the adjoint and all the higher ups in town. Now, it's deteriorating at a pretty high pace (if I do say so myself) and houses me, the elderly woman next to me, and the last corridor is actually an office. So it's a pretty long building. It has a tin roof (which some may say is lucky and others say differently because of the heat) and I have cracked and slanted concrete floors. My walls are made from planks, these planks are slowly peeling back their layers, either from being so wet over they last few years or have always looked this way, unsure, but sound residence and animal entry residence is non existent.

Although it wasn't love at first site, I do love my house!

I remember the day I saw my house for the first time! I was so excited! I had already seen my stage mates awesome houses and it was finally my time! As we pull up I know exactly which one is mine because of the large newly built fence! We walk in and I think I black out because of the excitement!! No, I didn't black out, I just can't see anything because the walls are brown/black from too many years of cooking with an open fire and there's only one window in a two room house. (We're slowly making home improvements, I now have three windows, and have painted two walls.)

The excitement is draining from my body but I positively ask to see the backyard! It's lovely! Massive rocks are situated in a forested area behind my house! There are orange trees, avocado trees, jackfruit trees, coconut tress and papaya trees all within sight! Okay I think, I'll spend a lot of time on my porch and not inside that cave they are calling my new home.

So, next question! Where's my kabone and ladosy (toilet and shower) ?

They tell me they couldn't build me a toilet because those huge boulders behind my house are sacred and that would be very taboo. I think uhhhh awesome!! That's so culturally cool!!! Now, I know for a fact that is a lie because they have started construction on a kabone 5 feet from a boulder and the other boulders are slowly being pounded at. We call the people that choose that career, rock breakers. So, they aren't sacred enough to go unbroken and sold at a low price.

We walk across the front yard, across the dirt road, walk behind the commune and I see my old used kabone in the middle of a grassy weedy field. I think, Hmm... This is very out in the open. But I guess when ya gotta shit ya might as well let everyone know where the correct place to do it is, in a toilet, not in the coffee forest!

As I turn around I ask the last question, where is my water source? A well? A pump? My high and excited thoughts of fetching my own water is shattered when we're still walking to the source after 5 minutes... Ohhh god! I'm supposed to carry it this far?! Everyday?! This isn't muscle growth this is torture!

Luckily, I had my site mate Marcelo next to me through the whole tour. And when all was said and done, he put his arm around me and said, "we're all here for ya Kels!"