Out of the City and into the Country
[This is a repost of an older post to make it easier to find for Littlebrook's Madagascar Morning Meeting. It was originally posted on February 15, 2009.]
Sorry it's been so long since I put a post on the blog. My wife and I were at a scientific research site along the southeast coast. The town is Mahabo if you have a really good map and want to look it up. There is no electricity at the site and certainly no internet, so I couldn't send you any updates for the 7 days I was there. I'm back now, so I can get back to blogging.
A few interesting things are happening here. Right now there are 2 Presidents. They are fighting about who gets to be the one official President. This is not an election like we just had in America. They are fighting and arguing about who should be in charge. They are using mostly words and big protests, but there has been some people hurt and killed in all the arguing. Some people have been burning TV stations and robbing the grocery stores. We have been very safe, but is certainly different than living in Princeton.
Anyway, here are some great photos from our trip to the research station. This was in a very rural area. The people live in one-room reed and wood huts with roofs made of the rice stalks leftover from harvesting their rice paddies. Very few people have electricity and no one we saw had running water. They speak a different version of the Malagasy language too. No one speaks French there, so we had to use a lot of charades to talk to people. A cyclone was hitting nearby, so there were some fantastic storms to watch as well.
An insect eating pitcher plant. The insects get stuck at the bottom of that tube and then the plants juices dissolve and eat the insects. 
That is if the insects make it that far. In this picture you can see a small white web from a spider that is using the plant as a trap to catch the insects before they get to the tube. Clever, huh.
Cute frog. Its about the size of a marshmallow. I don't know the name. Maybe you can identify it.
Who needs a backpack. Heads work just fine.
An ant enjoying a delicious meal served from this plants gland. The plant wants to ants to come, because the ants help protect the plant from other more damaging insects.
This praying mantis is having a nice little picnic. The cicada is not.
Giant snails were crawling all over the forest floor. They are about the size of baseballs and our guide said they are delicious.
Forget to bring a raincoat to the rain forest? Not a problem. Just strap on a big palm leaf.
There's no furniture stores in the rain forest. The villagers pick this sphagnum, dry it, and stuff into sheets to make mattresses.
Some adorable kittens who live at the research center.
A very scared house mouse who lived outside our bungalow.
One of a few thousand crabs running around the beach.
A big ol' unidentified snake. It was about 2 meters long (6 feet). 
15 comments:
Un examen en français for Mr. Lebo from Neven. See if you can give the English name for these things from your pictures. Here are the French words:
serpent
grenouille
mante religieuse
plante carnivore
un crabe
fourmis
escargot
grande feuille de palmier
la souris
chat et chatons
Were you scared of the snake?
Zahrion, 4th
Did you catch any animals? Do you have any pets?
Benjamin, 2nd
I wish I lived in Madagascar. Are those animals near your house? I hope you help the villagers. Are the villagers and animals in danger?
Cecile, 3rd
Is the frog the size of a big marshmallow or a mini marshmallow? How big is the crab? how big is Madagascar? What language do they speak in Madagascar?You are very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dziyana, 3rd
Is the snake really 6 feet long? I like the raincoat!
Thalia, 3rd
Mr. Lebo, you are lucky you have six foot snakes in Madagascar because I love snakes! How often do you see snakes? Hope you have an awesome time in Madagascar! You are
Leila, 4th Mrs. P
What kind of insects does the pitcher plant eat? That's really interesting that a plant eats insects.
Ayesha, 4th Mr. M
How big is the crab? Did you go swimming? What color is your bathing suit?
Josephine, 4th Mrs. W
You are awesome and we all miss you here in Littlebrook.
Leila, Ayesha, Josephine
Is Madagascar hot? Is the snake a baby? Is the mouse a little bit scared? Are you eating spiders and bugs and animals? Are you drinking sea water or lemonade or juice?
Andrew, 5th Mrs. L
Who is the guy with the big rain coat? 2nd Lou-Anne.
Pitcher plants eat whatever types of insects that fall in, like grasshoppers, beetles, and ants. There are some spiders that actually go fishing inside the traps. After an insect falls in, the spider drops down on its silk, plucks it out, and crawls back up.
Did you know there are plants that eat insects in New Jersey?
-Dr. Frasier
Could you bring the mouse to New Jersey and give it to me? And can you give me a collar for him?
Vendela, 1st
Where did you get the picture of a mouse? Where did you find the mouse?
Joyce, 1st
Thank you, Mr. Lebo, for taking the picture of the crab. Thank you for showing us the frog.
Jose, K
What season is it in Madagascar?
Audrey, K
Ms. Redzinski's class enjoyed seeing the blog. They laughed at the palm leaf raincoat and had had a variety of responses to the variety of wildlife! For example, they loved the gecko and the frog. Not so sure about the spiders, snakes and crabs. We're into our map unit and astronomy. We miss you!
Dear Neven:
serpent = snake
grenouille = frog (needed help for this one)
mante religieuse = praying mantis
plante carnivore = pitcher plant
un crabe = crab
fourmis = ant
escargot = snail
grande feuille de palmier =
la souris = mouse (needed help for this one two)
chat et chatons = cat and kittens
Dear Zahrion, 4:
If someone had said, "Here, hold this for a minute while I go get a drink," yes, I would have been terrified. But as long as I don't have to hold them or they don't crawl into my sleeping bag, I like them. I actually spent a few minutes following this one around trying to get a good photo for the blog.
Dear Benjamin, 2:
I have caught some geckos, chameleons and insects, but nothing big like that snake. We don't have any pets yet (besides our two pet weevils). I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we adopt some skinny stray dog or cat though.
Dear Cecile, 3:
I wish you could come visit. I miss seeing you in class. None of the animals in that last post are from near my house. They are a 12 hour drive away near the ocean. We've done some things to help to help the villagers and they have done somethings to help us. Most of the people on the island are in some danger, because more than 1/2 of the people on the island are very poor. They live on less than $1 a day. That means they don't eat properly and don't have very good health care. That means they can get sick easily. They animals are also in danger here, because a lot of their habitat is being destroyed by people and companies. Companies cut down forests, so they can sell the wood. People cut down trees for homes, fences and charcoal. Then they will burn what's left, so they can plant fields for food. It's hard to blame them, because they are so poor, but it still makes it very hard on the animals.
Dear Dziyana,3:
The frog was not quite the size of a regular marshmallow. Funny, all those labs where I told you that scientists are exact, and now I'm comparing frogs to marshmallows. Oh well, it's hard to measure wild animals. The crab is slightly bigger than a regular marshmallow. Madagascar is way, way bigger than a regular marshmallow: 1000 miles long, 600 miles wide. They all speak Malagasy and a lot of people speak French too. You are very nice as well.
Dear Thalia, 3: The snake really was 2 meters long. That's as tall as me, so it was easy to compare. The raincoat really was awesome wasn't it? To bad there's no palms around Princeton.
Dear Leila, 4:
I like snakes too as long as I don't have to touch them. There are several kinds of blind snakes here. Some of them were thought to be extinct until they found them again a few years ago. I don't see any snakes in the city, so I only get a chance to see snakes when I travel.
Dear Ayesha, 4: I hope that Dr. Frasier answered your question. P.S. She's my wife.
Dear Josephine, 4:
The crab is slightly bigger than a regular marshmallow. We did not go swimming for two reasons: one, there was a cyclone nearby, so the water was very rough and dangerous with big waves and strong ripe tides; two, Madagascar has some of the most shark-infested waters in the entire world. So, sorry, I can't answer the bathing suit question.
Dear Andrew, 5:
It isn't all that hot. New Jersey in the summer is much hotter and much buggier. I sure hope that snake was not a baby, because I don't want to meet a 2 meter long snake's mom. I have not eaten any spiders. We did accidently eat a fair number of bugs in some soup the other night (they looked like pepper). I have eaten some chicken, zebu (cow) and fish, but I have not eaten any lemurs. Some people do though. We drink mostly tap water and some juice. Zebu milk is very fatty and takes some getting used to.
Dear Lou-Anne, 2:
He was our guide. He lives in a small village in the forest, where no one uses money unless they walk into town.
Dear Vendela and Joyce, 1:
The government here doesn't really like it if you kidnap animals and take them home. So, sorry, I will have to leave the mouse here. What would you name him if you I could though? I got the picture of the mouse with my own camera. All the photos on the webpage are taken be me or my wife.
Dear Jose and Aubrey, K:
Your welcome. Seeing all the wildlife and taking pictures is a wonderful time. It is actually the end of the summer here. That doesn't mean that fall is on the way. There aren't really 4 seasons here, only 2. There is a wet and warm summer and a cold and dry winter.
Dear Ms. Redzinski's Class:
You should see the giant spiders all over the city. All the power lines are full of huge webs with huge spiders about 8 -10 cm long. Maps and space time huh? I wish I was there. I love maps and space both. There's actually a giant star chart for the northern and southern hemispheres in my bathroom (it was there when we moved in). I can't see Polaris from the island, but I can see Orion. I want to find out what the Malagasy call him. I'm pretty sure it isn't named after a Greek myth all the way down here.
I think you should name the mouse Felicity.
Vendela, 1st
The snake was awesome.
Michael, 3-F
Thank you Mr. Lebo for such a great morning meeting. We had a lot of fun, especially playing the game. We miss you a lot and hope to hear from you soon!
Love,
Miss Federico's Class
Post a Comment