My Talk with Evan Morier- Joanna Langner

My Talk with Evan Morier:

This past week I had the opportunity to talk to a man who lived in Madagascar for two year as a part of the Peace Corps. I was given his contact information through a mutual friend and thought it would be great to talk to someone who is well versed in the culture and language of Madagascar.

During his stay he worked as an English teacher, and stayed mostly in the southern area of the island.

The main reason I wanted to talk to him (which ended up being over an hour long phone call) was because I wanted advice so that I am prepared and can get the most out of the trip possible.

We started off our conversation with things to pack, which included: 1 rain jacket, 1 warm jacket, 1 light jacket, comfortable shoes for walking, hat, sunglasses, bug repellant, sunscreen, roll on mosquito repellant for night, electrical converter, Tums, and Pepto Bismol.

For cultural information, he had some interesting advice! He said when you go to a new area, try to learn the local taboo so you don’t offend anyone. Another “point” was to never point with your index finger, but use your knuckle or lips to point instead. He said that teamwork and bringing communities together is really important in the culture of Madagascar.

Like Bob said, Evan said to learn a few Malagasy words which will be very impressive to the Malagasy people. However, try to learn the local greeting when you go to different area.

Evans favorite memories included going to the beach, hiking in the forest, and seeing lemurs. He also loved trying different types of rum and the vanilla!

He said to get souvenirs that you will actually use or appreciate, not things that will just sit in your drawer. He said he collected fun coasters to give the friends and keep in his home. When you buy things, try to bargain down to 50%, but don’t bargain on food in markets. We will be paying more for things because we are foreigners and we do not speak the language.

Before we go, we should all try to watch the three part Madagascar episode done by David Attenborough. We should also try to look at Peace Corps or Volunteer blogs for more advice and a look at what types of experiences people have in Madagascar.

Although we have learned about a lot of this before, I wanted to share this information/ advice with you as another source. I am planning on talking to him again next week so let me know if there is anything you want me to ask him! J

-       Jo Langner