Possibly this would have been more helpful when we arrived here, but we just had so much to learn! So, as we prep for Italy, today's class is a (very) brief summary of some of what we've learned about Madagascar.

• Mad is the 4th largest, non-continental island in the world: about the size of Texas and 2 1/2 times the size of the UK
• The Malagasy, Gasy for short, are a mix of people who originally came from the Malay peninsula about 2000 years ago via southern India and East Africa, and Africans from the east coast, along with more recent immigrants from the Middle East, India and Pakistan
• About half the population is Christian with a Muslim minority
• Gasy culture incorporates aspects of the traditional religious beliefs into daily life, including a focus on ancestor veneration and respect for secondary gods who live in trees, rocks and rivers
• Rice is the main staple although cassava is eaten in abundance
• Zebu, the Indian cows with a hump of fat on their backs, are an important status symbol and almost outnumber the 20 million citizens: one good-sized adult zebu cost 600,000 Ariary
• 1750 Ariary equals $1.00: Robert, the good chocolate bar produced using Mad. cocoa, is 2100 Ariary
• Lemurs are prosimians, only found in Mad, and there are 74 species, although new ones are found every few years
• 80% of the plant species in Mad are only found here
• There are 8 species of baobab in the world: Mad has 7, 6 of which are unique, including this one, of which these four trees are the last in the world
• Mad is the world's largest vanilla producer--90% of it's vanilla goes to the American ice cream market
• Of the 270 bird species in Mad, 109 are endemic
• David and Leah really enjoy most of what Mad has to offer

And now it's time to start thinking about Italy!

Posted by Leah | Permalink