to see some pics online:
http://colorado.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025369&l=69595&id=10209965

Hey guys! Wow, I'm in Madagascar! Who would have thought it would happen for reals? There's so much I could write about what I've already done and seen, but there isn't enough time to get it all down here and I also don't want to make this too long.
Madagascar is absolutely beautiful! It's exotic and colorful and crowded and poor and smelly and vibrant...I think I'm actually just speaking about Tana (Antananarivo) because we haven't gone very far from the city. The poverty here is extreme. Costa Rica is like a country club in comparison, and I'm not even going to talk about Boulder. I've seen poverty in a lot of places but this might just be the worse I've seen.
I've been blessed to be hosted by a Christian family, and not just a nominally Christian one. Last night at dinner we had a great conversation about religion in Madagascar. They gave me a lot of insight as to how the Christian tradition is merged with the traditional beliefs still widely adhered to by the Malagasy people around the country. Though the country is half Christian, there is a great need here for the Gospel. Clearly something is not right if the Gasy in the rural areas believe they must petition both the Christian God and the traditional ones.
Anyway, I think I might do my ISP (Independent Study Project) on sycretism in Madagascar, but there are still other topics that interest me.
The academic part of the program hasn't been bad at all. There's a lot of reading and we have a crazy busy schedule. We have had several guest speakers already from the University of Tana and from the american embassy. It isn't that the information is boring, but it's so hard to stay focused when you know there's a whole country out there waiting to be explored (I've been zoning out a lot).
There are several other christian students in the program (Josh, Rachael, Katie) and we've planned to visit the american church here once we locate it. It's a relief to have them around.
Like I said, there's so much I could comment on or describe, but I don't think I'll be able to do it right now. I should probably keep a journal or soemthing, huh?
Anyway, I feel so blessed to be experiencing what I am and to have gotten a Christian family (it makes all the difference) and friends...the blessings are innumerable., they really are.
Please keep me in you prayers, love you all,

Sandra

Oh, Vazah is the Malgache word for foreigner or "gringo". It's about all I hear when I walk down the street until I say"Manahoana". And Wazzah is, uh, "what's up".