Happy New Year

So it's been too long, sorry! Here's what's new:

Before school started back up for 2012, I went up the west side of Lake Alaotra to the "country house" of the family here in Ambato that PCVs in the region are always friends with. They own rice fields there and use the country house as a base from which to direct farming operations. They have a considerably large holding, so they pay locals to do almost all of the labor. But I didn't know that when they invited me up to help transplant rice that weekend. I think they just wanted me to have the experience of planting rice while I was here, for which I am very thankful.

Took the taxi-brousse up to the country house with Miomehy, which wasn't too bad. Got the middle front seat squished between the driver and a cop who was traveling with us. Had my backpack on my lap and had to move my leg a little when the driver shifted gears, but when the cop got out I moved over to the window seat (felt like first class with all the leg room). Arrived around noon, hung out for a bit and then ate some rice before heading out into the fields.

Walking to the part of the rice field we were going to be working on was a bit of a challenge. For me, not for the Gasys. The fields are divided into sections by mud walls/barriers that also serve as walkways. I don't know if Gasys are so good at walking along the narrow paths because they are short, they've been doing it their whole lives, or just have rice farming in their blood (probably the second one). In any case, my inexperience, height, and white blood weren't doing me any favors that day. In fact, as I struggled to keep up with Miomehy while also not falling into the water, I thought about a story about my own mother (sorry Mom!). Her side of the family is known for its clumsiness, and one day she was walking along a planter wall in LA's Japan town when she lost her balance and, rather than falling in, jumped in to avoid injury. Needless to say, she has had a hard time living it down, which provided some good motivation for me to keep my balance. I had to channel every bit of mental effort to overcome the clumsy genes she gave me!

After about 15 minutes of walking, we finally arrived at our planting spot. It was a wet, muddy section of land, so I took off my sandals and hopped in. It was a relief to finally be in the mud and not have to worry about falling into it anymore. The transplanting process goes like this: Grab a handful of young plants, pick off four or five at a time, and shove them into the mud. Though it is really simple, I was anxious that I was doing it wrong the whole time. Are my plants too far apart? Am I putting the roots too far into the mud? Am I putting too many into one spot? Luckily, I did fine and we got a good amount planted before darkness fell.

We went back at it in the morning too, though only for a couple of hours because I had to head back to Ambato for school the following day.

So the process for getting back to Ambato goes like this: Wait by the side of the road and flag down any vehicle that passes by. Unfortunately, it was Sunday AND the day before school started back up again, so the taxi-brousses that were on the road were mostly full. After waiting about two and a half hours, a brousse finally stopped for me. It was packed. I asked how much to Ambato (should be 3,000 Ariary). Guy: "Four thousand" Me: "But it should be three" Guy (to the driver): "Let's go!" Me: "Okay okay!" And with that, I hopped on the back of the van and held on tight. Luckily I was able to stand inside the vehicle after only a few miles, and got a seat after a few more. It was a fun weekend trip and I'm planning to head up again when they're harvesting.

Other events of interest include new years parties. Many people go on vacation over the holidays, so new years parties are held in January and February (at least I am guessing that's the reason). So I got to attend four parties between mid-Jan and mid-Feb. The first was the students' party at my lycee. But it wasn't one party; each classroom had its own DJ and sound system, so there were about 30 different dance parties going on at once. The class I was responsible for was sharing a room with another class, so it was a big party. And for most of it, I was the only adult supervising. Fortunately, the kids here are much better behaved than American youngsters (I know, I was one of them a very short time ago). But unlike America, I as chaperone was expected to dance with them. I had a great time with them, and kept my distance from the girls!

The next day was the teachers' party. So much better than the students party. For one, we ate geese (delicious). We also started drinking before noon. We had karaoke and dancing, and I teamed up with the other English teachers on such classics as "We Are the World," "Billy Jean," some Celine Dion, and Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours." Another good time all around.

The next two new years parties were fun but not particularly interesting. Lots of speeches, a good amount of praying, and some dancing. And I only have ten more months until I get to celebrate the next new year!

I also went on a long bike ride last month. It was a lot of fun but really tiring.. I rode over 53 miles on dirt roads in one day! 

Oh yeah, a cyclone passed through here a couple of weeks ago. Cyclone's are the same as hurricanes, but they spin in the opposite direction and occur in the southern hemisphere rather than the northern. It wasn't very bad here, just high winds and a lot of steady rain. A few trees and fences down, a few roads flooded, and that about did it for Cyclone Giovanna here in the Alaotra area. However, further south, and especially near the coast, many homes were damaged or destroyed and at least 31 people were killed. A tropical storm just passed through here yesterday and last night, very similar to the weather during the cyclone but with lower wind speeds. Hoping that the coast is spared any more cyclones this season, though we still have a couple months before we're in the clear.

I recently finished another building project here at the house. The previous volunteer, Tom, planted a passion fruit vine, but it was just growing on the fence (and growing fast!). So I put a post in the ground and made a little trellis with bamboo. My next door neighbor got angry that I used bamboo and told me it wasn't strong enough. I got annoyed that he was being kind of an jerk and told him that it was fine, and if it broke I would fix it. (My neighbor is a little strange, not too nice, and not typical of the local culture which is very INdirect). The trellis survived the cyclone, but the bamboo here weakens as it dries, so I had to replace it the other day. It is now made of real wood and matanjaka tsara (real strong)!

My students are all taking exams this week, and I proctored all day yesterday. We are fortunate to have a photocopy of every exam for each student, whereas other schools make the teachers write entire exams on the blackboard. They also make the students sit next to students who are taking a different test than them to prevent cheating (it's pretty rampant here if left unchecked). I actually caught a cheater only a couple of hours in yesterday. He went to the bathroom and I became suspicious that he might confer with classmates who had already turned in their exams. I went outside and saw him doing just that. My proviseur (principal) went and found him for me, made him turn in his test that instant, and had me write down the incident on the observation form. Gotcha!

Okay I think that's cool for now. I'm only like four weeks away from Easter break, which I am really looking forward to. I haven't been out of the area for a while (feels like longer than it is) and I really want to see the coast here (haven't gone yet). I will post more pictures when I get the chance. Until next time! Manaraka indray!