Beaches were GREAT.

We went snorkeling with amazing weather off the coast of a small island Tanankely-- "small earth." The water was unbelievably clear (average visibility 45ft...meaning sometimes more....!), sands were white, and the sea life was incredible. I'm ignorant concerning the sea and therefore know very little about what I saw. Nonetheless....amazing!

At first I thought to myself "Whoah...I need to remember that!" but then it became impossible to remember. So many beautiful tropical fish of such diverse colors and shapes. A HUGE sea cucumber, sea anemones, many different types of coral, sea urchines of large black spines, shrimp-like somethings. It was unbelievably gorgeous. The only thing stopping me was the eventual salt in my lungs from being very unpractised with the snorkel. To top it all off I saw sea turtles!! my sea turtle expert of a friend informs me that they were hawksbill turtles. I got to swim with sea turtles! and even touch one! in nature! oh la la. moreover, my friend andrew got a short video of me swimming up to and touching one of the turtles.

after a morning of exploration of the sea, we had a beautiful picnic lunch on the beach under some trees that look like hibiscus. at least the same family. although I know i've only seen a small portion of this country, i didn't expect a coral reef habitat so lovely. maybe i subconciously thought that all it's wonders had been revealed?

We are back in Tana now preparing for departure. Last minute gifts, last minute internet, sharing a final meal, etc. Some of us are going to hitch a taxi to an artisinal market that should be interesting. I hope all is well, and I will be seeing you soon.

love, em

La Fin

Just thought I'd drop a quick note before I LEAVE THE COUNTRY (what???). I've been working for the past week or so on my ISP: writing, gluing plants, reading, spending frustrating times at internet cafes, presentations, etc. It's difficult sometimes to do professional work in a developping nation. However, I'm nearly done with my project (photocopy, put in a book, etc.) ! There's always room for improvement, but I'm trying to be satisfied with what I could do given my circumstances.

The final title is: A case study of Medicinal Plants and Their Changing Availability at Two Sites South of Toliara. Big surprise (being a little sarcastic here), but the biggest threat to the habitats that I observed was the burning of wood for charcoal. Charcoal is basically the only way that the Malagasy people cook food. Supplying urban centers with charcoal is the number one cause of deforestation and habitiat destruction in the southwest Spiny Forest Ecoregion...and was the number one reason why there have been changes in the medicinal plants available at the two sites I studied. Situations are complex, though, and solutions are not simple. I won't go much further as it would require a lot of background information, but that's the gist of it.

All of the students convened in Fort Dauphin for two days of presentations. They were awesome! It was really interesting to hear about so many topics from different regions: marine sacred sites, education system in Faux-Cap, the mining industry (really really scary), shark fishing, ecotourism evaluations, etc....I really need to write about all it for myself.

Now we are in Tana for a day, picking up baggage, printing, etc. Onward to the northern beaches for some relaxation and a GIANT music festival. It should be fun, but I don't think i'm ready to be a tourist. It is very difficult to imagine that I will be home in TN in just a week. I knew this time would come, but my brain nonetheless is feeling uneasy. I'm excited to come home (family!), and i'm genuinely excited to be going back out to SROM to work, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave Madagascar.

Much love, Em