I.C.E. Club – Madagascar

Who doesn’t know what Facebook is? My little nephew of 8 years old saw I was connected on Facebook through my mobile phone. And he asked what Facebook means. Wow, I was trying to find an easy way to explain what it is. I said it was a kind of online club I have joined to stay connected with my friends. I am not sure he understood but couldn’t find a better one.

I’ve subscribed on Facebook in 2007 for replying to an invitation sent by a friend who came back to the States after living here in Madagascar for 3 years. She wanted us to keep in touch. I just joined it without exactly knowing how to use it. One year later, all of my friends talked about Facebook, Facebook, and Facebook and then, I remembered I was already a member. Starting from there, Facebook has become part of my daily life. I have to admit that I spend hours and hours on Facebook. If I’m not connected at home, Facebook still follows me on my mobile phone. It became automatic for me to switch on my computer as soon as I’m home and get connected to Facebook even if I’m sick, tired from work, or just back home very late at night. It made me so happy when finally we could get Facebook mobile here in Madagascar.

What do I like on Facebook? First of all, thanks to Facebook, I can get in touch with my relatives living abroad, I could get connected with my childhood friends I haven’t seen for years, I can make appointments with my ‘local’ friends ‘coz sending sms are much more expensive. Quizzes on Facebook are kind of stupid but it gives me a lot of fun anyway. My favourite game is Akinator, the one which guesses the person I have in mind. Getting cool points became boring at last though. I decided to stop at 6,279 points.

A friend never stops reminding us that private life shouldn’t be shared on Facebook. I’ve just eaten sausage and greens. Can it be dangerous for me? Lol I’m kidding. My friend is completely right. Happily, it did not happen yet here in Madagascar but abroad there were already cases of burglary just because some people told on Facebook but they’d be off for holidays. The burglar was one of their friends on Facebook and he knew it and then just come to their place. Telling private life and sharing your contact (phone, office, address…) are not safe. But also, be friend with people you know. Huh… maybe it’s high time for me to remove those famous people from my friend lists

A cousin said she didn’t like Facebook but finally she is now addicted to it too. Don’t forget that you can choose not to share your information, photos… to everyone but only friends (or friends of friends, but I don’t really advice this one). This cousin likes sharing good quotations she likes. I sometimes do the same thing. Most of the time, I share my feelings, my expectations, anything I can’t say out loud where I am but do it on Facebook ^_^  Something I’ve noticed, a lot of people are used to share negative feelings on Facebook and I have to admit that I don’t really like it. Some of my friends shares something like sad, alone, people are gossiping on me but I don’t care, people are jealous of me, etc. pffff

Some of my friends who are part of the blogosphere also use Facebook as a tool for citizen media where they share news, opinions… and it is useful.

So why is Facebook always with me? It helps me not to get bored, not to feel alone cuz I know all my friends are in it , to have fun, to get new updates from my friends, to comment on these new updates, to give my opinion on a thing (the World Cup for instance), …

Oh… and Facebook helps to remind your friend of your birthday lol.

Now, everywhere, in the streets, at work, on Facebook, in forums all we can hear is football, football, and football. Our boss even told us that during the World Cup we should finish earlier than usual for everyone to be home for the football matches. Our TV aerial did not work for months and we did not really pay attention to it. Thanks to the World Cup, my husband at last fixed it I could also notice families proudly bringing TV sets. I guess they had just bought them, and yes, it is the right moment to do so. But there are a lot of people who also follow the football matches on radio. Frankly speaking, I do not know how to do so. This morning, I was waiting for a cab when I heard young guys of around 13 talking about the matches of the last night. Some were so happy because the team they supported won. Some others laughed at their peers who unluckily chose ‘looser team’. Mainly, men like football. I am happy I like it too not like a friend who really hates it. Poor she, the husband does not want to give in and she will miss her favourite soap operas for a long month.

Thinking of what’s hot, the cab driver, this morning, reminded me that this coming Sunday, we will celebrate Father’s Day. The driver said that none really cares about this Father’s Day; he even added that it is not fair since the Mother’s Day was so well celebrated. Ads on TV, exhibits, concerts, even the streets were full of ideas for Mom’s gift. And I remember, the traffic drove me so mad because everyone was out finding and buying the gifts. And now that we are going to celebrate Father’s Day, life seems so normal. I just told him not to worry because we, children, love both parents, Mom and Dad, the same way. For my brother, our Mom was his shelter for every joy or pain he could feel, and our Dad his Hero for repairing little stuffs home or driving car… The driver got a point when he said that long time ago, only the man worked so when it was to celebrate Mother’s Day, kids asked money from the Father. But for the Father’s Day, the mother might not have money to buy a gift for Dad. It is not the case anymore nowadays where in most families, both parents work. A friendly advice, if you did not get a gift for your father yet, go now and find one; this would make his Sunday shine.

The Independence Day of Madagascar celebrated on June 26 is not less important than events above, plus it will be the 50th anniversary of our independence. Yet, we can see flag sellers in the streets, we have choice between a big flag and a smaller one; it also depends on the financial situation of everyone. What make me mad are the firecrackers. OMG, I live downtown and you may not believe me but, at night around 9 or 10 p.m., for a week now, there are kids who were playing down the streets and exploding firecrackers. I think those are kids of the poor people sleeping under the bridge not afar. But the most exciting plan, like every year, is to go and watch the fireworks in Anosy on the Independence Day eve. As usual, the ICE members will enjoy this moment altogether. I hope that this time I will get a lantern I know what you are thinking now. No, I tell you, I am not too old for such a thing. I have the right to have fun. So if bringing a lantern would make me happy, why not?

Huh, talking about what is hot; let’s not forget that we are now in winter. There are plenty of coats, pullovers, sweet shirts, gloves, mufflers, blankets, feather beds … , new or second hand ones, which are sold all along the streets of Analakely.

During a ICE weekly meeting, we discussed “Advantages of being ignorant”.

Trying to find a definition for ignorance, many talked about the fact of not being at school, and not getting information.

According to Wikipedia, ignorance is the state in which one lacks knowledge, is unaware of something or chooses to subjectively ignore information. This should not be confused with being unintelligent, as one’s level of intelligence and level of education or general awareness are not the same. The word “Ignorant” is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware. The term may be used specifically (e.g. “One can be an expert in math, and totally ignorant of history.”) or generally (e.g. “an ignorant person.”) – although the second use is used less as a descriptive and more as an imprecise personal insult.

Ignorance is due to fear in some cases, laziness in other cases and of course lack of education. It can be also lack of knowledge/ experiences, lack of understanding. There are people who are ignorant because they just don’t want to know anything or take the time to learn more about something. Some believed that living in remote areas, country sides make people ignorant because of isolation.

We were divided into two groups: those who agreed that there are no advantages in being ignorant in one side and those who favoured the ignorance. And the debate started (and was about not to finish lol). Globally, the following will give an overview of the whole discussion.

One started with the following example: “If the man I’m going out with is cheating on me, I will prefer not to know about it.” The answer to this was: “It is always better to know the information, then it’s up to you to decide either you use this information or not, and how you will use it.”

On one hand, if you are aware of a disease that you have, you are able to cure it or at least try, though on the other hand, knowing that you have cancer or AIDS or any incurable disease will make feel sad, discouraged, can even  worsen your health.

Some members stated that knowing (mastering) several specialities is the right key of success in life. But obviously, such outstanding mental capacity is impossible. I joked by saying that I would not spend energy and fill up my “hard drive” with things that may not really interest me and things that I may never use (nor understand ). And sometimes it is unpleasant even boring to be with a ‘Mr/Mrs I Know Everything”.

A member raised the issue of people living in remote villages, not connected at all to the “modern world” and enjoying their natural and simple life. Most of the time those people start to loose their values when they start to be more open to knowledge.

We were asked if we wanted to know when we would die.  Those who preferred not to know declared that they would live a “carpe diem” life with more peace, fun and less worries. Those who chose to know explained that they would be able to review what their priorities are. A guy said he would not wait to try new things that he hesitated or was afraid to do before.

Is being ignorant a bliss? There is no irremovable answer. It mainly depends on one’s view. Just, watch out, the concept of ignorance has social and legal implications. The legal principle that ignorantia juris non excusat, literally “ignorance of the law is no excuse”, stands for the proposition that the law applies also to those who are unaware of it.