Setting out, a bit farther this time

About a month ago, Marc Ravalomanana, the president of Madagascar, offered the African Development Bank a prescription for aiding the rest of the continent. Among his recommendations: opening up trade, promoting private industry and an ongoing focus on infrastructure development.

The story caught my eye because of Ravalomanana's audience. He was speaking in Shanghai. "We have to establish the right environment for foreign investment as well as for the private sector," China Daily quoted him saying.

I pull this story out of the clip files now because in just over a week, I'll be boarding a plane from Beijing to Antananarivo for a two-month trip to Madagascar. The trip is mostly a vacation (not that I've earned one), and a chance to see the girlfriend who went off to the Peace Corps just before I moved to China. While I'm there, a big question on my mind will be one Andrew Leonard of How the World Works asked a while back:

Why is China gaining wealth and emerging as a superpower, while Africa remains mired in persistent, worsening poverty? Why can't Africa (or many underdeveloped regions, for that matter) be another China?

I've been hesitant to announce this trip for fear that alerting the blogosphere would set off some karmic chain reaction and somehow spoil the whole thing. I almost went in January, then canceled and ended up in South Korea where there was a prospect of work and a real paycheck. But it's really happening now. My plane ticket should (is there a way to digitally knock on wood?) be waiting for me in Beijing, and all I have left to do in Dalian is finish up grades, take the GRE on Tuesday (half of it, anyway) and pack.

And say goodbye to all the truly fantastic people I've spent the past year with, most of whom won't be in China when I get back. That's going to be tough.

I'm packing my Chinese books, which I keep telling myself I'll look at once a day. My teacher promised to look over my character exercises when I get back here in late August.

Here's the plan: I fly out of Beijing on July 9, so I'll head to the capital a few days before and crash on my friend Lindsey's couch. This is where I spent my first few nights in China, jet-lagged and bedazzled, so there's a sense of coming full-circle on my first year in the Middle Kingdom.

The flight goes through Bangkok, though not long enough to revisit to Khao San Road. I arrive around 8 a.m. in Antananarivo, bringing travel time to around 20 hours. This is one of the shorter routes to the island nation. Madagascar is about as far as it gets from anywhere.

Posts are likely to be infrequent over the summer. Madagascar is one of the poorest nations on Earth (despite being relatively peaceful and democratic) and internet access is a luxury where it exists at all. I am bringing the laptop, mostly to reacquaint the aforementioned girlfriend with DVDs and digital music, so I will keep writing and taking photos.

This might be a good time to add me to your RSS reader, since posts will likely come in a flood, whenever I can connect. Figure there will be something on the Chinese market in Antananarivo included, plus lots about beaches and lemurs.

I'm heading to Beijing next Thursday or Friday. If anybody in the capital wants to meet up and grab a beer/coffee/lunch, shoot an email to eyeseast at gmail.com. More soon.

Before: There's a Chinese lesson in here somewhere... | After: Made it to Beijing