On the level below me there is a library. On the level above me there is a small family… And their chicken.

I don’t think the family (or the chicken) ever sleep.

Life in Ambohitrakely takes some getting used to. Everything takes a whole lot longer than back home in the first world. The idea of turning a light on with the flick of a switch seems phenomenal after weeks of candlelit nights. The idea of turning on a tap of fresh water to clean yourself seems luxurious after hauling buckets of water up the road and stairs from the town’s water pump…

Every day is pretty similar…

At around 5.30am the sun rises and the chickens wake up – and so do I. The people upstairs get ready for the day and I either attempt to sleep through it or accept defeat and rise.

Coffee? It’s going to take a while. I start a fire. If I am lucky there will be some firelighters left from my last visit to Tana, if I’m not I am starting from matches and twigs.

Eventually the coals heat up and I read as I wait for some water to boil. I make a batch of coffee then heat up some oats. Some mornings I skip the fire-starting hot coffee and breakfast thing and attempt to get some satisfaction from cold oats and banana.

After reading some of the ridiculously heavy English literature that has been donated to the library (Tolstoy/Austen/Dickens) I wait until mid-morning to ‘Chunga Chunga’ AKA aimlessly stroll through the surrounding fields and villages. The Madagascan highlands are breathtaking and these morning walks get me through the days. I usually pick up some simple groceries from stalls along the way.

After picking up something for lunch or attempting a fire and cooked meal at home, I study. Yep I have a textbook with me because I must have subconsciously known I would have more than enough spare time to study during this part of my trip.

2pm: Library time. This is my purpose in Ambohitrakely. This is it. The children fill the small room where they read (but mostly draw) and the few adults and older children gather on one side where I attempt to teach English – but usually end up explaining something ridiculous – like how dragons are not real and how male and female lions look different…

At around 4pm I close the library. Somehow exhausted from my simple day I sit on the balcony and continue reading/writing/studying/fire starting.

At some point in the day I may get a task done: wash my clothes, collect water from the water pump, do the dishes… Simple tasks take a whole lot longer in a world without western luxuries…

At around 6pm the sun sets. I retire to my room by candlelight and read until I am tired enough to ignore the chicken…

Goodnight Ambohitrakely, Goodnight Madagascar, Goodnight World…

“It is incredible watching the tedious manner in which people complete tasks here, but before you know it you find yourself living in the same manner. When time goes slowly and you have so much of it to kill, mundane tasks become essential for filling the empty space between sunrise and sunset…” – My journal on 8th of September 2015