Even before embarking on our round the world tour, I remember thinking that living in Madagascar would probably be the toughest leg of our jouney. I'm sure I commented at least a hundred times that I'd need to be ok with being a bit dirtier than I was used to. Heck, we even relished the cold showers in Nepal, wondering if we'd have the same luxury once we got to Nosy Komba and our volunteer placement.
Let me tell you, despite a lot of positive self-talk and words of encouragement in my head, I'm still adjusting to being some degree of dirty all the time.
It is hot and humid here all the time. Like I mean a low of 26C at night, a high of 32C during the day, and a minimum of 82% humidity. Result - sweat, and a lot of it! Just walking down the stairs for breakfast and I become a hot sweaty mess. Add in a hike to bird watch or plant trees, and my clothes are drenched in sweat. And you know the feeling when sweat dries -Uncomfortable.
All of our forestry projects also result in some degree of dirty. There is nothing clean about building a plant nursery, carrying soil, getting water from the river, sanding bamboo sticks to make straws. Perhaps the dirtiest of all projects is making ecobricks. This is when we stuff beach trash into plastic bottles. It's fairly glamorous, and requires a shower immediately after. All of these projects end with dirty clothes. Depending on the degree of dirt and smell, I sort my clothes into two - wear again or wash. Most get worn again, because, let's be honest, once dirty, clothes don't get that much dirtier. I've also become a pro at hand washing my clothes. The key to Malagasy laundry is highly scented soap. It helps me believe my clothes are clean - despite the dirty water.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention showers. We do have showers at camp. And a cold shower here is totally a little piece of heaven. Hallelujah. I've gotten used to sharing my shower with ants, and I have yet to see a snake inside the 4 cement walls. I've almost forgotten that the shower water comes from the river. Almost.
And I'm even becoming more comfortable with sunscreen, bug spray, and sand. As the Malagasys say: "Mora Mora". Slowly slowly.