The huge glass windowed terminal of the Paris airport lit up orange as the sun rose, and with it, the once quiet emptiness of the terminal turned into a bustling swirl of people. I wandered around for a bit, finding some food and still trying to comprehend where I was and what an adventure I had begun…
All summer, I’d researched marine conservation volunteer trips in every corner of the globe. I don’t really remember how I landed on Blue Ventures in Madagascar. One day I was showing my parents the video on their website and filling out their short application, and the next I was booking tickets to one of the wildest, most untraveled destinations in the world. Everyone I told responded the same way—with a look of shock, and a “Madagascar?!…You mean like the movie??” And finally, after a couple months of planning and dreaming of what in the world my life would be like for those 7 weeks, the day had come.
I watched my parents waving goodbye as I walked down the jetway to my plane in Detroit. I hardly slept on that first flight to Paris—I was far too excited to close my eyes. Landing in early in the morning, I made my way through the Charles DeGaulle airport as if I knew exactly where I was going. My outward confidence only got me so far though, before the lady at security had to stop me to say I was in the wrong place and give me directions in French on where to go! One train ride and a short walk later, I stood in front of my gate.
I sat with my beloved smoothie and pain au chocolat, looking out for the two other Blue Ventures volunteers that were on my flight. With only each other’s profile pictures from Whatsapp, the three of us somehow managed to find each other just before boarding!
The 11 hours to Antananarivo went by slowly, and by the time we arrived—about 12 midnight—I was exhausted. Hanna, Megan, and I went through customs and immigration together, waited for luggage, changed money, and bought local SIM cards (which of course they had run out of, so we had to wait forever). By the time we were done, it was 2am! Our driver, Dave, found us and brought us to Hotel Raphia, where we’d stay two nights. I roomed with Megan, a young medic from the UK. Hanna, from Germany was in the next room over.
Though the Madagascar sun came shining through our window at the early hour of 4:30 am, Megan and I didn’t wake up until well past 9. I tried to clean up in the partially functional shower before getting dressed for the day.
The three of us got to know each other over a very French breakfast of baguettes and tea. Elena, an ecologist and fellow BV volunteer from South Africa, joined us in the plant filled glass porch at Hotel Raphia, where we seemed to be the only guests. We talked about our past travels, our diving experience (or lack thereof), and how we ended up here.
After lunch, another volunteer, Hansen, from China, arrived. The five of us went on a short walk to see our first real glimpse of the country in daylight. I can always remember my first immersion in a new place—with eyes wide, I go into a bit of sensory overload trying to take in my new surroundings. It’s such a unique feeling! Once outside the gate of our hotel, we walked in a line down the side of the skinny, potholed street. Spotting a side street that looked like a market, we ventured in that direction and made our way down the even smaller “street”.
Vendors along each side were selling everything from fruits and meats to random electronics. Kids played and danced in the street, giggling at us. Everyone stared as we passed—we were the only white people in sight, and quite a discombobulated bunch as well. We tried to take photos as inconspicuously as we could, though I’m sure our efforts of being sneaky went in vain.
As afternoon drifted into evening, we sat outside in the gated yard of the hotel and ate dinner. Dave brought more of our fellow volunteers over, and we got to know the people we’d become family with for the next 7 weeks. One by one, we all left the table to get a good night’s sleep before our long car journey the next morning.