Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 17

Well, I've made it to my second weekend in home stay. It's not nearly as difficult as I originally thought it would be to get used to things around here. Schedule and routine definitely helps, but weekends are a time when the routine takes a break and I can explore a little more on my own. Last week we went to the countryside and dug up cassava and had a party for an 80 year old. Then on Sunday we went to the country to wash our clothes...in the river. What?! Yeah, so I'm pretty proud to say I'm one of the few (if not the only) Woffordians to currently be wearing clean clothes that were washed in a river. Last night, my family took me to the top of Tana, a city built on many hills and valleys, to take a look at the view. Wow. This city is massive. In a way, I felt like a casual onlooker taking it all in. But at the same time I knew that this is home for the next 3 months--a home that I'm not just looking in on from the outside, but one in which I am participating fully. Pretty sweet if you ask me.