August 7, 2011

It's been a couple of weeks since the last time I wrote a post, so I have a lot to write about today!

The engagement party two weeks ago was a lot of fun. My extended (host) family started showing up late Friday, when the men started building a temporary outdoor tent structure. Saturday they finished it while others killed and prepped several chickens and did other food prep. That night around 8 they started BUMPING music, and the dance party began.

I was ordered to dance by the bride-to-be (my cousin, though I didn't know she was the one getting married until the next day at the lunch party), and eventually I did. They all said I was mahay (~good in Malagasy) but I don't know if they were just being nice or not. I went to bed at 10:30 (late here) with earplugs in, which was clutch because I could feel the music in my bed it was so loud, and it never stopped. I woke up the next morning and it was still at the same volume it had been the whole night lol.

Sunday, everyone spent the morning prepping for lunch, dresing up, doing makeup and hair, etc. The groom's family showed up and filed into the tent, followed by as many of our family as could fit. Then the groom's aunt and my dad (the bride's uncle) took turns speaking (presumably welcoming, thanking, and other formalities, though I understood only a few words). Then the groom had to go find his fiance (a funny tradition) and she had to find the ring in a basket of flowers. We had a couple courses of awesome food, then some people danced, and that was about it.

The next day, all the trainees got to go to the market in Manjakandriana, about an hour by car from Mantasoa (though only about 20 km - the road sucks most of the way). We all practiced buying food and bargaining, and I got to buy a live chicken. It was 8500 Ariary, which is about $4.25. Did I mention stuff is really cheap here? Six ounce cups of coffee are 200 Ariary (10 cents), Coke (with real sugar!) is 600 AR (30 cents), and assorted freshly fried bread products are 50 or 100 AR each (2.5-5 cents). We ate lunch at a hotely (restaurant) and had the chance to drink a beer for the first time in the ~ 2 weeks we had been in-country. Fun day all around.

Then last Monday, we all found out our sites for the next 2 years! I will be teaching at the high school in Ambatondrazaka (am-bah-toon-drah-zah-kah), 260 km northeast of the capital (Tana). I am really excited about my site for many reasons, including: electricity, running water, a big town (~30,000), a big house, a garden, a real toilet, not having to travel to do my banking or shopping, and being near the several national parks and the largest lake in Madagascar, Laq Alaotra. This lake is the only place you can find one species of lemur, which was featured in the BBC special on animals in Madagascar I saw before leaving. So not only will I be near awesome lemurs, but I'll also be teaching English (and maybe some of the benefits of conservation) to their human neighbors.

I'm in the last week living with my host family here in Mantasoa, as all the trainees are moving back to the training center on Thursday. I think most of us have mixed feelings about it. For me, I will miss living with my host family, which is pretty much my extended family now. But there are advatanges to living at the training center, including volleyball and a more balanced diet.

Oh, and after only three weeks I had already lost the ten pounds I was expecting to lose throughout training. So I've been snacking a ton between meals, but it hasn't really helped because all the food is carbs and I really need some fat and protein. My host family's diet is better than many, but it's still very ricey.

All for now. I'm going on a 3 night trip next week to check out a volunteer's site, so I should get Internet and have fun seeing somewhere besides Mantasoa. Peace.

July 22, 2011

I’ve now been in Madagascar for over a week, though it feels like I’ve been here for several. I’m typing in my bedroom in my host family’s house in Mantasoa, near the PC Training Center here. Here’s a quick rundown of my PC adventure thus far:

Flew to Philly the 10^th and lost my MP3 player en route (Chicago-Midway). Staging in Philly was pretty uneventful, other than being given $120 each and one last free night in the US (beer was involved). Left the hotel at 2:30 AM, got to JFK airport about 2 hours before the check-in counter people did. Thanks PC. Lost my appetite about this time and didn’t get it back until I had already been in country for a couple of days. Don’t know why, but the lack of sleep didn’t help.

And then there was the flight to Johannesburg: 15h20m… couldn’t really sleep or eat so it sucked. I will say that South African Airways is an awesome airline though. Transferred in Jburg (ran to our connecting flight) and made it to Antananarivo (Tana) with only four bags lost of the 50-plus the 27 of us checked.

We drove from Tana to Mantasoa right away, and the three hour ride was amazing for me. I felt right at home, and felt like I was back in West Africa. French words were mixed in with Malagasy ones on signs along the way. Rice paddies replaced millet fields, though, and the Malagasy people are a diverse group which is ethnically both African and Asian.

Unfortunately, this taste of Madagascar was the only bit I got for the next few days, as we stayed semi-trapped at the training center until that Saturday. The staff (all Malagasy except a few higher-ups) are amazing here: friendly, helpful and patient. I can’t imagine how much work they put into making our training go smoothly. I could go on and on about it.

Saturday the 16^th we all moved from the training center to our host families, which was an anxious experience for everyone. We all knew some basic information about our families beforehand, but actually meeting them and moving in with them was completely different.

I got really lucky with my family for a few reasons. My host dad is an electrician, so we have electricity and a comfortable house. Also, two other trainees and I live right next to each other. And most importantly, my family is awesome.

My neny (mom) is very nice, helpful, patient, a great cook, and an awesome singer. I have a brother, Tsimbina (19), who is technically a cousin but living with us for the summer and learning how to be an electrician with my dad. They’re in the next room taking apart and fixing old (by American standards) computer monitors right now. The oldest daughter of my parents goes by Oni (13), and she helps run the little family store, does housework, and loves Justin Bieber. A lot of people here love Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson…

Then we have Nomena (4). She is a scream. She only has two moods, and if she weren’t four she might be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In a good mood she laughs, screams, sings at the top of her lungs, plays with her food, and runs away when I chase her. But in a bad mood she ignores me (and most people), pouts, and can cry loudly. Today, I was hanging out in the backyard (which has chickens, two cows [omby in Malagasy and hereafter, since omby is a fun word], and borders on a small river. The female omby (who is also pregnant and due in 10 weeks if I understood my uncle correctly) was tied up to a stake, but kind of acted like it was going to charge at Nomena, who immediately ran away and burst into tears. Oh and female omby have horns and are big so I don’t really blame her. But anyway that’s Nomena. Tiako be aho! ( I love her!)

My days here are pretty chill (very nice!). I wake up with the roosters around 5:30, when Oni starts the charcoal fire for breakfast. Then I pretty much just kick it until 6:45 or so when we eat breakfast. I guess I could sleep in more, but I’m on the early schedule and I don’t wanna mess that up lol. Breakfast is some sort of bread, something sugary to put on it, and coffee or tea. This is NOT typical of Malagasy, who generally eat rice at all three meals.

Ah the rice (“vary” in Malagasy).  When we do eat rice, we pile it on our plates, then add a little of whatever side dish is on the menu. Like, rice is the main course and the meat/vegetables is the side dish lol. Imagine eating Thai food, but with twice as much rice and a third as much other stuff. We don’t drink anything until the end of the meal, when they bust out the ranon’ampango. Ranon’ampango is made by boiling water with a little burned rice in the pan after the rice is finished cooking. It tastes like hot water with a hint of burned popcorn and I think it’s pretty good. It was crucial at the training center when I didn’t have an appetite.

But the digestive problems I was expecting have not materialized (literally). Let’s just say there’s a lack of fiber in my diet. Not sure if the whole losing ten pounds during training thing is going to happen.

This weekend, my uncle (dadatoa)’s son’s fiancé is coming for a visit, so we are eating dinner there Sunday. The word fete (party) was also mentioned, and my neny said we will be dancing under a temporary wooden roof structure outside (awesome). So I’m pretty excited. And my trainee neighbors Samuel and Eric (Sam and Anders to us- language mix-up lol) were both asked by their nenys last night if they like dancing, so I hope they’re invited.

Overall, I’m loving it here. The people are awesome and the country is beautiful. Pictures to come when I have a chance!

O Hai

So I'm leaving in five (5) days! Ahhh getting excited. Figured I'd do an update here before I head out...

I graduated from Seattle U June 12th (!), and moved from Seattle back to Oakland for a few weeks. It's been awesome hanging out with friends and family here. I've also been spending a fair amount of time figuring out what to bring with me to Madagascar. Luckily, THREE volunteers currently serving in Madagascar wrote blog posts on what we should pack. They were really helpful; I think when the next group of volunteers is getting ready to head into Mcar, I'll just write a post linking to those three :)

Since my last post, I found out I'll be staging in Philadelphia before leaving the US. It will be a one day orientation/registration event for the 28 of us departing for Madagascar. Since I'm leaving from the West Coast, I'll be getting in the night before and will have the whole next morning to spend at Paddy's... But seriously, I will be getting a legit cheesesteak the morning after I get in.

I also found out some information about what training will be like. I might as well write about it now, because I've been told that I will have Internet access only a couple of times during that ~9 week period. Training takes place about 70 km from the capital of Antananarivo. I will be spending the first four weeks living with a Malagasy (the name for the people of Madagascar) family, attending language and other training sessions during the day. For the second half of training, I will be staying at the Peace Corps training center in the same town. One volunteer called it Camp Peace Corps because it is on the shore of a lake. But another one said that it will be like Seattle in November, so I don't know how much canoeing I'll be doing.

All for now. I'll try to post from Philadelphia. A la prochaine!

Antipodes



Source

When I told my friend Michel from my French conversation group that I was going to Madagascar, his response was that that's just about as far away as I could get without getting closer. I started thinking about that today, did some digging (not literally) and found out that he was pretty much right. This map lets you figure out the farthest point from a given place (its antipodes), and California and Madagascar are pretty much saying “what's up” to each other on it. Since Oakland’s antipodes is in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is the closest land to it. The southeast coast of Madagascar is about 11,350 miles from Oakland, while the furthest point from Oakland would be about 12,450 miles away.

So to Michel: Nice geography skills! And to my parents: Sorry about the cost of plane tickets for your visit.

Madagascar



Credit: aleixcabarrocas

Exciting news: I was invited to teach English in Madagascar! I got the invitation last week, but have been too busy with class and homework to justify spending time blogging about it. And while the initial excitement may have worn off, it doesn't take much to give me chills. Look at this photo and you'll understand. So I'll be in the land of the Malagasy people, lemurs, and 10,000+ plant species. The fourth largest island in the world, its biological diversity has led some to call Madagascar the eighth continent.

I really wasn't expecting anything this spectacular out of my Peace Corps service. I knew I could deal with just about anything, so I was expecting the worst that Peace Corps would give me (which still probably wouldn't have been too bad). Better to have low expectations and be very pleasantly surprised than get your hopes up and be disappointed, right? I was counting on super-hot West Africa, which would have been great too. But I got mild, wild Madagascar.

And of course, I regard the non-human biology as a plus. The people are the reason I'm going, and I'm very excited to meet and live with the Malagasy people! Everything I've read has been positive, but I don't want to write too much before I have even met a single person.

Speaking of different cultures, I'm reading Kwame Appiah's book Cosmopolitanism for class right now. (I'm actually going to write a rap about it too, but that's another story.) He emphasizes that humans have much more in common than not, something I like to point out as well, and one of the most important things for a Peace Corps Volunteer to remember. It's what makes Peace Corps possible, really. My advisor has really good timing assigning the book right before I leave to immerse myself in a new culture, and I can only imagine how often I will think of it when I'm in Madagascar.

That's pretty much all I've got right now. When I have time, I'm trying to get my feet wet with the Malagasy language and read what I can about the country. I graduate from Seattle U in about two weeks, which means I leave the US in about six. Going to miss everyone a lot of people, especially the family, but honestly I could leave tomorrow.

Until next time!

Africa

On July 11, my Peace Corps travels and travails will begin! Final destination unkown. Continent? Africa. Ahhh yeah that's what I'm talking about! Got an email from placement an hour ago with the above info, and an invitation with my specific country is on the way! Excited and relieved, but now I get to wait AGAIN! Really the dominant PC activity I've engaged in so far. I know that I'm in the calm before the storm right now, but I really am too eager to cherish it. Just give me my degree and get me out of Seattle please!

More when I get that special, special piece of mail from DC :)

Procrastinational Productivity

Senioritis has been in full effect for as long as I can remember, so I'm forgoing my reading and studying and all the other things a good student should be doing to start a freakin blog. Haven't written one since the days of LiveJournal, MySpace and snooping parents. Hopefully the scars have healed and this will be a productive outlet.

My motivation for writing again now is that I will soon (hopefull1y) be departing for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer! So I want to have a place to let everyone who cares to stop by know how I am doing and what I am up to while I'm away. First, some background...

Two aunts and one uncle served in Senegal in the early 1970s, so Peace Corps is sort of in the family. I became seriously interested in joining up about a year and a half ago, for a myriad of reasons. Service to my country and those with whom I will live, personal enrichment, language learning, and the ability to live (pretty well!) in another country for two years without spending a ton of money.

I applied in late September, interviewed in early December, was nominated in late December, was medically cleared two weeks ago, and was qualified for service Thursday! Only a little over seven months- and that's not even that bad! So I wait yet again, one of the last times in this long trail of waitings. But this should be short; my placement officer is supposed to call within the next week or so and she already told me she wants to invite me to a program in francophone sub-Saharan Africa, teaching English, leaving July 11. But the Peace Corps has to give 8 weeks notice minimum, so if I were to be invited to that program they would have to notify me by... next Monday, May 16. So I guess I wait a week, and know I might be going somewhere else if I don't hear anything by then. Apparently, the delay is because of budget fighting in Congress, with placement officers not knowing which programs will be funded (which leave in two months!).

Anyway enough for someone who doesn't even have an invite yet. More when I hear from DC, or in a week.

Peace, love, justice