"Party, Hike, Trip, Diner to Nurture Friendship" Faritanin' Antananarivo Travelogue by Norali

This picture… is amongst ones I love to look at whenever I want serenity. Wide landscape, space… If looking is not sufficient, then I pack my luncheon, put on my walking boots and gear up for this very place where I can enjoy such views. For the panoramic view, the pure air, the space, the “King of the world” feeling once I manage to hit the top of a mountain.

And God… right now, just cannot tell how I need this serenity again. It all started with my grand-ma’s 90th-bday party on Saturday. A semi-formal diner somewhere in town with extended family members. Not our usual celebration around the pool & the bbq booth. Those kind of celebrations where jeans are not allowed. Anyway, given the guest-list, I didn’t intend to wear them. The jeans were for the evening.

Another party in town. Two of my cousins are members of a local charity club. Invited me and other people to join the festivities for some fundraising. The theme being Jeans party, it was easy to draw in the bright young things… and me. Surprise! It happens the founder of the section my cousins belong to is R., one of my secondary school friends. I always knew that when going out in town, Tana being a villagey capital, I’d meet up with old buddies again. I used to tell that to my sis and, as we proceeded to join the party, it was her who reminded me about it and pointed me to an “old buddy”. Back to the 80s, the year I joined my secondary school, at Form 1, I shared my pupil desk with R.. Since that first year, we used to be in the same class. Thing is, there used to be several parallel classrooms in my school, where, for instance, Form1 kids were spread out. The following year, the whole masse would be spread out differently again. It happened the vast majority from Form1-2nd room were placed in 2nd rooms for the following years (Form2, Form3, Form4). But R., some friends and I remained together. Well, from Form1- 2nd room, we were first forwarded to Form2- 1st room, leaving our 2nd room friends, and since then, we managed to keep it in the 1st room. I used to belong to Form1- 2nd room, Form2-1st room, Form3-1st room… etc… such was the case of R. and a few other classmates. Also, when it was time to choose our “orientation”, we, like other folks chose Maths & Physics & Chemie as major. To sum it up, we started and ended our high school together.

Usual Liquid Food in those parties

The “bright young things”… I looked up & yet, I was surprised to see him perched above, in the mezzanine, welcoming guests. We exchanged some info and I left him achieving his duty, mine (and that of many non-members of the club) being there to support them in their charity project. To each its own! I went there with my step-bro ( spouse of my sis), my other sis and another cousin of mine. I seldom go to huge parties & I use to keep it as a rule: I don’t party if I don’t feel like to but whenever I want, it should be serious partying. Although one would never see me drunk, rolling on the floor, it was about dancing, socializing and mostly liquid food. I’d be reminded by my stomach afterwards about that chilled beer!

Among the “bright young things”, another non-member on the guest-list was another old high school mate, E. He was in town for some holidays, he lives abroad. He was there as a guest of R.. I only knew him from 6th form. We spent together the two last years in secondary school. At 6th form, we used to share our desk. 6th form was tough, a not that good year for many reasons. At home, my only refuge was playing tennis. Used to wait for the training days- i.e Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays- eagerly. At school, not that a good academic year. I succeeded the year at first try (without having to sit twice for those bloody exams) but I felt less than comfortable that year. More than often, I felt bored at school. My neighbour ? I could only remember about a shy, quite nice-looking, soft guy who loved to party and used to party hard from I could hear on Mondays when those guys used to reminisce about their week-ends spent together in clubs. I worked hard that year with mince results & felt annoyed seeing those carefree chaps around me who seem to not care about anything. We didn’t share any interest either. Mine evolved around tennis and swimming, theirs around clubs.

However, that evening, I was happy to meet this guy again. Last time I saw E. was prolly the last day at school, June 1990. When I left Madagascar in Sep.1990, I kept track of some female friends as penpals. The guys, I didn’t have any interest in them. Whenever I was in town in winter (Southern hemisphere winter & Northern hemisphere summer) for the hols, I used to meet up with them, by chance. The usual suspects included R. and other guys but not E.. Anyway, I spent some hours chatting with the guy. My step-bro, my cousin and my sis left us alone, shaking their booties on the dancefloor. We talked like we’d never left each other about nothing and everything at the same time. Later on, during a one-to-one diner, he was amazed by this, I too. To think, 17 years separated that evening from the previous year we saw each other. When it was time for him to leave, we agreed to exchange our info and rendez-vous was taken for a diner on the following Tuesday. When he left, I had to take some time to recollect myself, so shocked by what had just happened. A bit sad too. Weird… The rest of the evening was spent chatting with other folks, dancing and sipping that chilled beer. Home at 4am.

Dragonfly... as delicate as a friendship

Sunday saw me waking up at 10 & at noon was our usual family lunch. When the whole household is home, uses to be a long diner. Good food, good wine but again, I’d be reminded by my stomach afterwards about that red & this digestive I had after lunch !

Monday was a needed break. A trek was planned with an aunt of mine. She fell sick and cancelled. I did the trek alone. It’s hard to remember of what I did on Monday… or maybe I stayed home? Only remember of Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I think Monday was the day my stomach reminded me to calm down. Nothing malicious, just a small stomachache. Was it due to those beers? this wine ? the digestive? the lime juice I had Sunday evening? or both ?

Anyway, Tuesday morning was about hiking, answering to phone calls to arrange our rendez-vous. A great morning I felt energized. The afternoon was spent with E., crisscrossing in town. Looking for contacts for a business of him, going to his cardealer to fetch some car insurance document, sitting in a café, chatting, dreaming about & planning (his) future in Madagascar, avoiding to have a serving of that yummy piece of cake, standing in front of a Hédiard shop, salivating at the sight of this foie gras pot then deciding to leave some room for our diner. I love the company of people who know how to savour life. Do I need to say it?

Not only I was amazed by how easy we got to chat like old friends, also surprised how we could share some interest. Later that day, during our diner, I learnt in the lull of a conversation he’d consider himself as a friend of mine “back then”. Didn’t tell him I rather used to see him as a neighbour. At a time, he asked whether I remembered of us chatting like this at school. Of course not, I answered, we weren’t used to. The only explanation I gave was that we were only neighbours, having to remain quiet while attending those classes. Truth is, as I explained earlier, I didn’t find a close friend in him, rather the guy who sat next to me at school. I felt he knew there was this & much more. Thus, I was reminded how “unaccessable”, “cold” I was “back then”. Some words sounded like a slap on my face but uttered with a smile, they rather showed to state how my personality evolved within a decade. More than once, I was a bit embarrassed by some revelations of this kind. It was only when I noticed the soft tone of his voice that I found some relief. It’s OK, it was not meant to embarrass, rather to state a change. Anyway, however one was perceived 17 years ago, it’s now that counts. And now, I miss my old-new friend. And that day, I was told that a friend would be happy if I agreed to keep track of him.

Wanted him to experience this

I could name him “King of driving”. Here is a guy who loves it. Just love those rides with him. That music, that smooth chatting. Well, I sometimes couldn’t help it. I purposedly kept quiet, let him talk, just to listen to that soft, melodious, warm voice. During those times of hardship, when oil pricing is at its highest, he didn’t hesitate to drive back and forth twenty kilometres to just see how it looked like “over there”. That’s what he did the day after. Wednesday, we were due to meet up at 10am at a junction near my place. It’s a 45-minute-walk off my place and an hour drive from his place. Knowing the party guy I was to meet up, I gave a call to ask when he was to reach the appointment spot. I suspected he would be late and turned out I just woke him up at 9.45am whilst he was meant to be there at 10! I found that funny whilst I’d find it annoying under other circumstances. What can I say ? The guy slept at 5am after partying hard in town again. I slowered my pace since I knew I had to wait for him for some time. I was sitting at the foot of an eucalyptus tree when I saw his car, passing nearby, swiftly. I yelled to top the MP3 sound he was listening to. He didn’t hear me. A funny thing to see for the countrymen who witnessed it. I had to phone him to tell he just passed the junction & had to return. In a jiffy, he was there. Past 11.10am when I jumped in his car… and the program he settled the day before was to be in town at 12!

It was time to test the skills of this brand new 4wd. Oh boy! That smell! Some discreet, sparkling, fresh eau I already smelled in the car the day before. So, we proceeded to pass through Lazaina and soon we reached the tamboho gasy corridor, West of Lazaina. Then, a view on the plains and on Mangabe massif, the very one on top of which I could enjoy the many panoramic views. Still remember how he told he liked that particular view. There was some refreshing honesty in that voice, spontaneity in that being. Quite moving. Not only in the way he told he liked that view, also in the way he used to talk about his life, his daughter, in the way he voiced opinions, in the way he gave pieces of advice, in the way he expresses his feelings. He complained about how tired he was too. I laughed, it has been party, party, party for the previous nights since his arrival in town... and now, the complaints.

Hope he'll soon show rice harvesting to her. July?

My initial plan was to show him my place then heading to the massif (or the other way around) but given our delay, I narrowed it to the massif only since he was interested in landscapes. I’ve been trekking for more than a year and, except my aunt who has to walk for medical reason, he was the first person I managed to draw to my little world: the plains, the mountains, the fresh air, the adrenaline rush. Well, knowing the party-cum-city-guy I was hanging out with, I was still surprised he enjoyed the countryside that much. I remember that while passing a group of peasants who were harvesting rice, his thoughts were for his daughter. How he wished to bring his daughter here and show her around. Something I easily relate. As for me, I just wish he could do that in the near future.

We drove a little further to reach a certain height where to enjoy some views. We parked the car at mid-height of a slope and stepped down. It’s funny to see how city people love to beat the already beaten tracks. There were grassy plains, he could have walked in that clean, safe grass. Instead, he took the small path. I felt the wind slapping our faces. I let him walk before me, to smell that eau again. Wow! When I asked him what this eau was, he seemed embarrassed and asked whether it was that strong. I laughed seeing his face. No, I reassured him, it’s a great smell, fresh, not overpowering at all.

Managed to reach this there...

Even told I let him walk before me to be able to smell it. And that was true and, seen from his face, seemingly surprising. Very strange, he didn’t remember of its name. I stared at him in disbelief. Then, I remembered, in that same way, he couldn’t remember names of restaurants he used to find great in town. He just remembered their locations.
Now, glad he chose the small track as it led to the white village. A picturesque scenery with that old Merina architecture. We sat in the grass for some time. He took pictures, esp. for his daughter. He explained he’d used them as his & her wallpapers/ screensavers. I was very touched to see how he loved that small child and, as an impromptu guide, happy and proud to make a tourist happy. It was past noon and we saw schoolkids in blue uniform, descending the slope, screaming, frolicking in the grass. Not that a common sight, even for me although I used to walk that area many times. I remembered him uttering “It’s like a landscape in a report”. I explained this was my world and I wouldn’t exchange it with some polluted air, noisy streets of Tana and that I only went to the city once or twice a week, only whenever I needed to. We sat there to let him relax. Soon, it was time to leave the grass and join the car. I heard him trailing behind me, breathing the fresh air, picking a wild herb straw. When I glanced back, I saw him, the straw between his lips, picking an eucalyptus leaf to smell it. To turn a city person into an outdoor person should be a challenge. How many of such walk they would stand before the hectic city casts a spell on them ?

Anyway, it’s intriguing to see how much you can interact with, learn from & about someone in three days than within a whole academic year spent sitting at his side on a pupil desk. That happens when one becomes more “accessable” and the other more “talkative”, I think.

Soon, we jumped in his car, headed back to Iavoambony, then Isahafa where he dropped me. It was a goodbye as he was leaving the evening for France, to be with the small girl again. Ah! later on in the afternoon, while commuting to Tana, my phone rang. E. on the line. To ask whether I was already in town and to give me the name of his eau. How sweet! And… what a warm and soft voice!

Now, I am here, left with some nostalgia of the previous days… and I need to return to those places again, for the great memories of times spent with a friend.