I read in the newspaper yesterday that Madagascar’s leadership has been sanctioned by the African Union for refusing to continue dialogue with opposition parties and for disengaging in the multi-lateral talks aimed at resolving the nation’s political crisis. Bad news first – the economy will continue to stagnate if not stray into an all out dive and continued instability weighs heavy on the minds and pocketbooks of the Malagasy people. Political protests in Antananarivo have apparently resumed but the situation remains calm and orderly – or so we are told. A bit of good news – the sanctions should not affect KH’s (the Cooperative we’re working with) ability to export rice next week. I say “should not” because nothing is final until the ship carrying our container cuts it’s lines and sets sail. Yes, we think it will actually happen in the coming days! It’s been a long time coming for both KH and the American buyer but we are fast approaching the close of one chapter and the beginning of another. I hope we can stop putting out fires from the past and get to work on the many projects that we have thus had no time to fully consider.

Although we are optimistic about the prospect of moving forward with the export, this is Madagascar and uncertainty is king. For instance, the weather could throw a wrench in our plans. Last week a cyclone hit eastern Madagascar; bringing a bit of destruction with the wind and heavy rain. I heard on the radio that some 35 people in costal areas lost their lives while many thousands more lost homes and crops. We received a fair amount of rain here; but thankfully not enough to cause serious harm. However, KH had planned to transport the rice to the port city of Tamatave by train, but the tracks have been cut since the cyclone and we are now relying on truck transport which could also become problematic if heavy rains befall us in the next week since a portion of the road to Tamatave is unpaved and can be impassable at times. Ah, the joys of doing business in a country with very limited infrastructure!

Most things with us here in Amparafaravola are grand. We remain in good health and are enjoying spending time, albeit limited, with friends and neighbors outside of work. We’ve spent the past month shuttling between the office and the rice processing mill, with the occasional visit to the fields to check on the current rice crop due to be harvested in June. Corey spent a number of grueling days earlier this month traipsing through the fields with representatives from ECOCERT, the agency charged with issuing organic certification to the “pink rice” crop and the rice mill. As a result of those days out in the hot sun, she has a hilarious tan-line! I, on the other hand, spent most of my days inside; poring over documents with KH’s leadership or helping organize milling/cleaning/packaging/export procedures. Considering the advice of the many dermatologists I’ve had the pleasure of being poked and prodded by, working primarily indoors isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

The neighborhood kids seem to have accepted our presence and usually do not become hysterical when we walk by or chat with their parents. In the past, saying “Manahoana” or “Bonjour” or “whatcha lookin’ at kid?” would invite a frenzy of laughter or in some unfortunate cases, a wave of fear that causes our younger friends to run away screaming – certain that we have come to eat them. I like to rub my belly and say “I’m not hungry quite yet, maybe later” followed by the most sinister wink I can muster. This really brings out the laughter of the older kids and any adults within earshot. It’s the least I can do – you know, sharing American sarcasm and all. Or maybe I’m just spreading fear amongst the innocent children of Amparafaravola – still building cultural bridges, no?

News from Peace Corps Washington – The US Congress upped the ante and increased this year’s PC Worldwide funding from 300 to 400 million dollars- the biggest budget ever! (Now PC can spend in a year roughly a tenth of what the Pentagon can’t account for each month – Hooray America!). The Peace Corps Director in D.C. wants to increase the number of volunteers in over 80 countries from roughly 7,700 to 10,000 by 2011. Too bad Congress didn’t approve any educational benefits for former volunteers or at least consider upping our monthly readjustment allowance from $225 to $230! Hey, that would have been an extra 30 bucks (before taxes) in my pocket after six months work. Hey, in this economy, we all have to make sacrifices, right? (Insert political diatribe about government excess and the like).

Well, that’s all I have for now. I’ll try to upload some new photos when I arrive in Tamatave and can use an internet café. The connection here in Amparafaravola is slow and prohibitively expensive. Best wishes to all and happy belated St. Paddy’s day. I hope at least one of you who is reading this had a nice pint of Guinness and/or a taste of Irish whiskey. We had rice, beans, and water. Lovely!

Veloma daholo (goodbye everyone),

djp

Well, it’s been quite some time since our last post. Much has changed in the past eleven months, yet much remains the same. After the suspension of the Peace Corps program and our subsequent evacuation from Madagascar on March 17th, 2009, we found ourselves a bit adrift. We spent the previous year building the necessary skills to assist and provide guidance to various groups within the communities of Tanambao-Ambodimanga and Manompana. We had the privilege of working with some incredibly talented and dedicated individuals. Projects that we helped cultivate and direct had just begun, and like many volunteers, we departed Madagascar with heavy hearts; uncertain of the outcome of the political crisis and the effects these events would have upon our Malagasy friends and colleagues. Thankfully, no widespread violence followed the overthrow of the government led by former President Marc Ravolamanana. Yet, the change in government last year has had a significant destabilizing effect upon the country; and having just recently returned to Madagascar, we are only just beginning to understand the many ramifications the ongoing political crisis is having upon the Malagasy people.

Donor nations such as the United States and multi-lateral organizations such as the European Union received the change in government with limited enthusiasm – and in many cases the new government led by Andry Raojelina was, and continues to be - in the absence of a political compromise - condemned as illegitimate. The South-East African Development Group (SADC), a regional bloc of nations pursuing common economic polices, continue to be the most vocal and ardent supporters of a political compromise between the current government and the three major Malagasy opposition groups. Following the change in government, SADC suspended Madagascar from the organization and the African Union has continued to promote, with limited success, dialogue between the four major political groups in order to reach a compromise in the formation of a transitional national government.

As a result of the political crisis and unmet criteria for extension of the program, the United States suspended Madagascar from receiving preferred trade status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). We expect that approximately 200,000 formal textile jobs (nearly all in country) will evaporate in the coming year as the few multi-national companies currently operating will scale down production of garments bound for American consumers. Combined with the fallout from the tourism sector and the scarcity of direct foreign investment, these actions may constitute a devastating blow to this donor-dependent, export-driven economy; thus erasing as many as 10 years of progress towards greater economic security for the Malagasy people. The economic and political consequences for the country continue to unfold. Suspension of all “non-humanitarian” related aid from the United States and the European Union has brought the majority of development projects to an abrupt halt. This has placed a much heavier burden upon NGO’s and the politically and economically isolated Malagasy government – leaving a tangible void between the needs of, and the resources available to, the Malagasy people.

As western news reports have indicated, the biodiversity of the island is under attack by those taking advantage of political instability in order to gain short-term benefits through the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. This is especially true of the native hardwoods being illegally (some claim that the current government condones this activity in order to access hard-currency – presumably US dollars, from Chinese buyers) harvested from old-growth rainforests in the north-eastern region of the island – including both nationally “protected” forests and others near our old village. The full effects this resource bonanza will have upon communities adjacent to the forest remain unknown, yet there is enough data which indicates that both the people and the long-term sustainability of their resources will ultimately suffer as a result of these seemingly reckless, short-sighted, policies. We’ve heard reports of local people being intimidated and effectively forced to comply with the illegal export of their ancestral resources – themselves having few options for formal redress in a country in the midst of political upheaval. I believe the old African proverb rings true; when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. I fear that the Malagasy people, both in rural and urban communities, are entering a period of increased struggle and suffering.

We returned to Madagascar on January 12th and soon thereafter begun a six-month contract serving with Peace Corps Response. PC Response is available only to former volunteers seeking to work in short-term, high impact positions. For all intents and purposes, we remain Peace Corps Volunteers – yet the nature of our work now differs significantly from the more “community-based initiatives” we were developing previously. As volunteers, we are “on loan” to a Cooperative of rice farmers in Amparafaravola, working exclusively with the members to build their capacity to develop and implement plans to export certified organic “pink rice” to a buyer in the United States. Located on the western side of Lac Aloatra, Amparafaravola sits on the edge of Madagascar’s “bread-basket”, which as a whole produces the majority of the country’s rice along with a significant amount of other food stuffs.

The “pink rice” we are promoting is quite delicious – and the methods employed by the farmers (SRI & organic) produce high quality rice using more sustainable farming techniques. It seems like a win-win situation, the farmers can expect to receive a premium in the neighborhood of 30% above local prices (there is no demand for certified organic rice in Madagascar) and their land and the surrounding water-shed basin benefit from reduced run-off of pollutants. Consumers in the developed world may choose to purchase this product – lured by the ideas of promoting sustainability and by the business model of the American buyer and distributor, which is attempting to build a “triple bottom line” approach to doing business where the purpose and focus is on people, planet and profits for social, environmental and business benefits. It’s an exciting prospect, and the fact that the buyer wants to work directly with the farmers through the Cooperative will help insure that the greatest amount of profit stays with the farmers and inside their communities. Making this dream a reality is where we fit in – trying to help the Cooperative’s leadership develop the necessary skills to build a long-term relationship with the American company and other future buyers.

So far our work has consisted of sifting through the previous two years of production, processing, transportation, and export documents (in Malagasy, French, and English) and asking many questions to all the parties who have been involved up to this point. The Cooperative is fortunate to have the day to day support of our official partner organization, CIRAD, a French agronomy research and development organization, as well as material support from the BETTER U FOUNDATION, founded and funded by actor Jim Carey, as well as from other individuals and organizations that have provided technical support to the project. Due to a host of problems that I won’t detail, the rice that was scheduled to be exported September 2009 remains unprocessed in storage here in Amparafaravola. This delay has place a significant strain upon the Cooperative, its members, the relationship with the American buyer, and for all those involved in the project. Having just recently began our work, we are still looking backwards; putting out fires and trying to reestablish trust and greater transparency while planning for the future. The past two weeks have been the busiest of Peace Corps lives! It’s been great.

Thus far, I haven’t even visited the rice fields not talked with the farmers individually about their production methods and related financial concerns. We have been spending long days at Cooperative’s office huddled in front of our computer pouring over EXCEL spreadsheets and the like, with the occasional SKYPE conference call with the buyers in the US which takes us late into the night (11 hours time difference). On Saturday, we took a few hours for ourselves and wondered around our new town exploring the market, chatting with vendors, and getting a feel for the place. We like what we have seen so far – yet it differs so very much from the village of Tanamboa-Ambodimanga. Most people seem to have enough food, there are plenty of cattle, pigs, and goats, and small tractors work the nearby rice fields. It’s a beautiful area, but it’s not quite as spectacular as the coast. But we have very little to complain about; we have plenty of food, a weather-proof house with electricity, and the option for a cold beverage whenever we choose. This isn’t the Peace Corps lifestyle I remember!

Since our last go-around, the interim months found us covering much ground while planning our return to Madagascar. Upon our evacuation, we traveled with good friends (fellow volunteers) in South Africa and Egypt before returning to the United States. Our trusty Honda Civic transported us all around California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, and for 80 days we sailed the fishing vessel Sunset Bay from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, all the way to Seattle - with many incredibly beautiful places and long day tucked in between. We purchased an “America the Beautiful” Park Pass and visited the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Channel Islands, Lassen, Crater Lake, Olympic, and Mt. Rainier National Parks. The beauty of these places and countless other wilderness areas continue to be, by far, my favorite thing about the United States, except for the people, of course The wonderful hospitality of our friends and family provided us the flexibility and wherewithal to await the re-opening of the Peace Corps Madagascar program. In the interim, we managed to save a bit of money, apply to graduate programs, travel and work in spectacular locations, and visit some of our most beloved friends and family. To say we have been blessed would understate the feeling we have – and this notion has only been heightened since our recent return to this struggling island nation.

Well, I hope all of you reading this are doing well and in good health. We look forward to any updates from your neck of the woods and we will try to be more diligent in posting to this site. Best wishes for the New Year (people are still having New Year’s parties around here!) from Corey and I to you and yours.

- djp

Greetings from Madagascar,

Wishing you all a belated Happy Holidays and New Year. I hope everyone had a good time over the holidays with family and friends. To those of you I haven't talked to, Dan and I spent Christmas with some friends in Manompana and were visited by our friend and fellow volunteer Kathryn. We spent the whole day at the beach and then had a lobster dinner, not a bad Christmas, though we missed everyone, the snow and ravioli making at home.

I'm sure most of you haven't heard, but there has been quite a lot going on here in Madagascar over the last month. The president of the country, Marc Ravalomanana has become very unpopular with a large part of the population due to his policies, particularly regarding development contracts with foreign companies. For one, he has been brokering a deal with a Korean company that would give them a 99 year lease to half of the arable land in Madagascar for a palm oil/ corn plantation. The deal would bring huge revenue to the country and the company would be obligated to invest in the development of Madagascar (building roads, bridges, electricity/water projects, etc) however the deal is controversial and would displace a large number of poor farmers. The pres also spent 60 million dollars on a presidental plane, creatively called Air Force One, (although it could really just be called Air Force as this country has no Air Force to speak of) which is a questionable expenditure for one of the poorest countries in the world. So, the pres has some opponenets, namely the mayor of Antananarivo, who has been organizing protests in the capital and calling for the president's resignation. Two weeks ago, protests led to opportunistic looting in all of the major cities in the country and the president's personal businesses were targeted. He is the propriotor of the largest dairy and food distribution companies in Mad. and many of his shops were looted and then burned. Many people were killed in the mayhem, mostly by being trapped in the burning buildings. The national police did not respond, though it is still unclear exactly why..... rumor has it to avoid inciting further violence. The national radio headquarters(also owned by the pres) was also burned, though it is now functioning again. The looting continued for two days and many other shop owners were targeted, simply by people looking to gain something for themselves.

Calm was restored a few days later, though protests continued and there were several other incidents in some of the provincial capitals. The mayor of Tana called again for the pres to resign and volunteered himself to be the leader of a new transitional government. He later declared himself the president of Madagascar (even though he is only 34 and is not yet of age to assume the presidency) and has plans to create his own cabinet and install ministers. He has named several ministers and appointed a new mayor of Tana to fill his shoes. The president, however, also appointed a new mayor to succeed his rival and is not making any concessions. Therefore, we have, in a sense, two presidents, two cabinets and two mayors of Tana. The president seems to have more support than the mayor, though I believe this is mostly because he is the lesser of two evils for most people. The president was democratically elected and elections are not scheduled to be held until 2010, and he continues to act as president.

Last Saturday, the mayor of Tana held a rally and then proceeded to march with his supporters to the presidential palace which they planned to "overtake". The palace was guarded by the national police/military and the protestors were told not to proceed, so they sent a negotiator to try and reach some sort of agreement. What followed is a bit unclear and tainted by rumors, but apparently while negotiations were still underway, the guards opened fire on the crowd, killing over 50 people and wounding several hundred. Surprisingly, the days that followed were peaceful and focused on mourning the dead, rather than retaliating. There have been several rallies and demonstrations by both parties and all have remained peaceful. There has been some looting and burning in some of the provincial capitals, but the national police is acting and has thus far managed to maintain some order.

There is still no political solution, so the demonstrations will continue which creates a situation that has potential for violence. The majority of Malagasy people live in rural areas are completely unaffected by the unrest in the capital and continue to go about their daily lives, though the looting has caused some shortages and the prices of many staple goods like rice and oil has increased, making their already difficult lives even more of a struggle.

So, what does this mean for us? The security officials for Peace Corps Madagascar took precautionary measures and chose to consolidate all of the volunteers in the country in "safe zones". We were taken to our training center about 60 kilometers outside the capital and held there for two weeks. We were completely safe at the rural training center and spent most of our days gardening, doing yoga, canoeing, playing volleyball, painting, drinking beer and having dance parties. It was a little like being in a retirement home, well, minus the booze and dancing. Yes, we live a very priveledged life as volunteers compared to our friends in our village. It was a little nerve racking because we were told that there was a possibility that we would have to evacuate the country and the program would be suspended, esssentially ending our Peace Corps service over a year early, and it seemed like each day the mood would change from "evacuation likely" to "we'll send you back to your village tomorrow". However, the security officers in Tana and Washington finally decided to let us go back to our sites, so they brought us to Tamatave yesterday and we will head back to our village tomorrow. They decided that the risk to volunteer's safety is minimal and it is very unlikely that anything would happen in our rural villages. A few volunteers in "hot spots" are not allowed to return to their sites and will probably be relocated to another region. We have new security restrictions and will have to remain in more frequent contact with Peace Corps in Tana, and we have less freedom to travel at will, though we should still be able to live life as normal in our village. There is of course the possibility that a political solution will not be reached for some time and thus the possiblity of protests and violence remains which means that there is still a possibility of Peace Corps evacuating from Madagascar. We are perfectly safe though and will continue to remain on guard and be more careful in all situations. We hope that a peaceful solution will be reached soon and the people of this country will not suffer any unneccesasry violence. We will be in touch as we know more... please don't worry... we will be fine!!!!! Hope that all is well for everyone at home, we miss you all and are thinking of you.

so you have noticed that the title of this post lacks a question mark. i can,t find it on this darn keyboard. keep reading:

The title was going to be my opening line if i would have had a chance to eat breakfast with the president and two hundred of his other friends and associates. Last week we attended a meeting at the presidential palace that addressed the need to expand the use of SRI (think more rice production) and brought many stakeholders together to work on the issue. Unfortunately, we did not have a sit down with Mr. Marc Ravalomanana. He adressed and fielded questions from the group for an hour or so and then walked just past us on his way to his car. I was sort of star struck, Corey is a cool operator. We all know this. It was my first Head of State encounter and I remain giddy.

Corey ended up stealing the show by providing the national media with a televised interview, speaking in Malagasy of course. This done while still jet-lagged and recovering from a day or two of me jabbering incessently in her ear about my adventures over the past few weeks. We did not see it run (no TV access) but i bet she is famous throughout the land by now. That means I too should be famous, if only by association.

The internet shop here in Tamatave is closing up shop for the night and we are heading back to site early tomorrow morning. It will most likely be at least a month until we have a chance to write again. Please feel free to puruse the previous postings at length and leave pithy comments where appropriate. Mazatoa!

Keep calling and writing. Our cell is +261325458010. Use a phone card!

Dear taco people, thank you. We will update yùall next time. :)

peace and lemur grease,

djp

Finally returned home to Tana after an amazing trip back to the US for Sadie and Pete's wedding. The wedding, as most of you know, turned out beautifully thanks to all the hard work everyone did. Sadie and Pete, I hope you enjoyed your much needed mini-moon in Carmel. It was so nice to be able to see all of my family in one place together as well, it really was a perfect day. Thanks to everyone for taking care of me while I was home and most of all to my big sis for making it all happen, I love you mucho. It was slightly surreal to be back in the states though I adjusted quite quickly to hot water, icy cold drinks and melted cheese..mmmm. Blazing bright lights, traffic, bracingly cold air-conditioning and the constant bombardment of "the campaign" was a less smooth transition. However I had just enough time to adjust to be shipped off again in a panicked hurry due to my perpetual procrastination. Once the plane left SFO I felt sad and tired but was also eager to return home and get back to work. I was so exhausted I felt like I needed a vacation to recover from my vacation....... and so it was.

I arrived in Paris at 10am local time with the knowledge that the next leg of my flight did not leave until 10pm. I forced myself to trudge through my foggy haze, store my bags at the airport and hop on the metro for the city center. Walking out of the subway onto the bright street and being met by the sight of Notre Dame was enough to wake me up. I had visited the cathedral once before but had forgotten how incredibly beautiful it is. The massive body of the church is surrounded by acres of the most impressive stained glass art I have ever seen; looking up into the great ribs of such a structure was overwhelming in my slightly delirious state. After breathing in enough history and religious grandiose, I set out in search of more earthly pleasures. I headed to the Marais quarter to look for lunch and Pablo Picasso. Walking amongst the boutique shops, cafes and posh Parisians made me feel quite American, with my Jansport backpack, tennis shoes and city map in hand. Feeling the call of nature, and not wanting to appear rude by asking to use the bathroom somewhere without buying something, I sat down at a cafe sidewalk table and ordered a cappuccino. Nine dollars later and feeling quite relieved I made my way towards the Picasso museum, only to find it closed!!! Feeling cheated in more ways than one I decided to give up for a while so I made my way back towards the river and plopped down at another cafe for lunch (though this time I checked the prices first, Peace Corps wages don't exactly support my lavish dining habits). After supping on a delicious plate of steak frites with caramelized shallots, I set off for the Musee de l'Orangerie, a smallish museum that is best known for its two oval-shaped rooms lined with canvases of Claude Monet's "Nympheas", the water lily series. The rooms are entirely white from floor to ceiling so that the paintings seem to flow together seamlessly and their colors really pop. I spent at least 30 minutes just looking at the art from every angle of the room. There are also several pieces by Renoir, Rousseau, Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani and many others. It was the perfect size museum for a short afternoon and didn't leave me exhausted as museums too often do. Not wanting to be late for my flight to Madagascar, but wishing I had just one more day in Paris, I walked along the river for a few more minutes, then sadly descended into the subway station and slept on the train the whole way to the airport. When I entered the international terminal, I checked the departures board just to make sure my flight was still on time and was confronted with a word blinking at me in red: "cancelled". I was immediately filled with dread that I would have to spend the night in the airport, but then was overcome with the hope that perhaps my wish for one more day would be granted. Sure enough this serendipitous error on the part of Air Madagascar got me two free nights at a hotel, free meals and yes, an extra day in Paris! After feigning frustration and listening to the crew at the Mad Air desk explain what I was entitled to, I went to my hotel, had dinner and fell asleep.

Feeling slightly jet lagged the next morning, I slept later than intended but made my way out in late morning for the city center, about a 30min trip from the airport. My first stop was the Pere Lachaise Cemetery resting place to such famous figures as Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Proust and Jim Morrison. The massive grounds stretch up and down hills and all of the paths are lined with huge trees. It is a hauntingly beautiful place filled with thick, strong tombs, some long forgotten and encrusted with moss, others adorned with hundreds of bright flowers- an attempt by those revering the dead to keep their memory alive. I couldn't help but wonder who takes on the role of removing the flowers that have died so as not to diminish the experience for those visitors who are still living, for isn't that who cemeteries really are for? I must say I was disappointed by the sight of Jim Morrison's grave, which appeared to have been robbed of a piece that once sat atop it. The space was blocked off by metal bars and was littered with trash, an empty champagne bottle and two red roses. I think in recent years the staff at the cemetery has tried to clean up the site and stop graffiti artists and others who wish to mourn Jim in more "creative" ways. In continuation of my morbid morning I made my way beneath the streets to the catacombs to see those less fortunate actors in the city's history. After descending the dizzying 132 steps to the first chamber, I immediately wondered how generations of quarry workers had labored here. Apparently the amount of rock needed to construct all of the streets, buildings, churches and tombstones in Paris had left many open quarries below the city. However, the inhabitants of the ossuary had no tombstones to mark their resting place. Due to outbreaks of sickness and fear of disease brought upon by living in such close proximity to the dead, millions of peoples' bones were moved from cemeteries throughout the city to the underground quarries. The walls of human bone, nonchalantly arranged in some sort of pattern, seemed to consist primarily of skulls and leg bones. I kept wondering where all the pelvic, rib and other small bones went..... they must be in there somewhere. As I walked the isles of long dead souls I gazed into the open sockets where some individuals eyes used to set and wondered who they were, how they had lived and died. Many of the skulls were cracked or punctured with hoes-was the moment that fracture took place the moment that person ceased to live??? While two tourists near me laughed as one held up someones tibia for a souvenir photo, I contemplated how humans deal with death and realized that morbid humor perhaps made those girls feel more comfortable in the presence of so much evidence of death, which in the end gets us all, so if you can't laugh at it well, now I'm off on a tangent, but perhaps they should have chosen a humerus bone... hee hee (that's a bone isn't it?). Puffing my way back up the steps and ascending onto the sunny streets of Paris reminded me just how alive I am. A quick jaunt to the impressive Arc de Triomphe and a rest at its base gave be new strengthto brave the fine arts museum at the Grand Palais. The museum was showing an exhibition of the Danish artist Emil Nolde whose work I found interesting and well displayed though perhaps my 10 euro would have been better spent on a cup of coffee on the Champs d'Elysee.. no it wasn't that bad. After leaving the Palais I walked down to the Alexander bridge and watched the sunset over the Seine then walked along Quai Branly and made it to the Eiffel Tower just in time to see it light up for the evening. The blue lights gave it a steely shine making it look like pure silver. Then, the entire tower was covered with sparkling white lights that danced all over its surface. Laying on my back on the grass looking up at it made me feel a little dizzy though fully enchanted with it, who new a big piece of metal could be so beautiful? As I watched bats dart out into their day, I decided to end mine. With no money in my pockets, I drug my aching feet, with a twinge of sadness, back to my airport hotel for one last delicious dinner.

The amazing photos I would have had of this trip do not exist for Dan didn't give me the camera! No hard feelings honey......

However, if I would have had it, they would have been some of the best photos I've ever taken for the memories definitely are. If I should ever have to live in a large city, let it be Paris.

*Note to self and others who have managed to read this far: Always, always carry a wine opener with you while in Europe. Sitting on the grass under the Eiffel tower next to some wine sipping tourists, I sincerely regretted not having my usual travel tools (a wine opener and a plastic cup) to bring the perfect end to my almost perfect day. OK, it was still perfect.....

I'm just now wrapping up a week of vacation in which I spent roughly 40 hours crammed into various taxi-brousses (picture a Mazda van circa. 1990 stripped of it's factory seats with "custom" benches welded in place) with a random grouping of 14 other adults plus always a few small children and a humorous amount of cargo strapped on the roof. I made my way from Fianar to the lovely fishing village of Ifaty in the south-east and on to the Ranomafana National Park near Fianar and finally back to Tana, where I sit this moment at the Peace Corps transit/medical house. I'm here for transit purposes, not medical. I know. I recognize how lucky I am. I figure that the total distance covered is roughly 900 miles and at a cost of $65 USD, it's a deal. Not to mention the perks: The loss of feeling in one's extremities due to cramped quarters, the pleasure of sharing the experience of most children and the occasional adult getting car sick and throwing up in plastic bags (the taxi-brousse stops for no mortal) , possible permanent hearing loss due to comically loud Malagasy pop music (most of this fare is not stellar) blaring - indifferent to time or space, the carnival like atmosphere upon arrival at a taxi-brousse station and/or pit-stop when taxi and pousse-pousse(rickshaw) drivers and mobile street vendors descend like vultures on Malagasy and foreign travelers alike, and the seemingly constant fear of death or dismemberment as the driver forgets that he has not been charged with breaking land speed records. Sounds lovely, huh? For those of you who plan to visit, other arrangements can be made. Bring your Visa card.

Overall, it's been a fantastic week. I dipped into the waters of the Mozambique Channel, walked the streets of old colonial cities, hiked through rain forest observing lemurs, visited friends and met loads of great people. I've been away from site for ages and I'm ready for Corey to return so we can head home. It's a quick 20 hour jaunt back to the swamp.

my best to all of you.

djp

Greetings from Fianarantsoa! The past week has found me making my way through the south-eastern cities of Manakara, Vohipeno, Fianarantsoa, Ambalavao, Ihosy, as well as a handful of smaller towns with my fellow SED folks. We were tasked with evaluating possible service sites for the incoming SED volunteers due to arrive in February 2009. I am hopeful that the new group will be placed in appropriate towns and that the information we gathered will be useful when conducting the SED specific pre-service training next year. Constant traveling combined with consecutive meetings made the time fly-by and has left me a bit on the tired side. I am just now beginning a week long holiday that will find me visiting a fellow volunteer in the Tulear province along the south-west coast. The trip down and the return to Tana will be lengthy, but surely the many hours I will spend in taxi-brousses (mini-van) will be worth the while…

Corey is scheduled to return to Tana this coming Saturday and I am (fairly) confident that she will pull herself away from family, friends, and all the other wonderful aspects of California living and return to me here in Madagascar. I spoke with her just hours ago and she said that Sadie & Pete’s wedding was indeed lovely. I can’t wait to see her and I am looking forward to our return to site next week. Excitement brews over the continuing work we will do on the projects thus far initiated. I’m not terribly eager to return to our house and discover what manner of critters have taken up residence in our absence. I’m betting on at least one snake and a dozen gigantic spiders.

Considering the size and biodiversity of the island, I shouldn’t be surprised as to the vast changes in weather and landscape as one travels a hundred miles or so from any given point. The areas just south of Fianarantsoa near the town of Ambalavao remind me of the southwestern United States with an arid climate complete with cactus, jagged mountain peaks, and dusty red dirt roads. It’s wonderful down here. I’d have to bring over my cowboy hat and boots from home and learn a bit about horses if we lived in this part of the country (not that people here ride horses and wear western clothing, but I feel as if I would). I think I’d be more at ease in Madagascar if this was my neighborhood, rather than the tropical swamp/coastal area I currently call home. Such is the way of the volunteer placement process! One can only account for so many personal variables.

Hope all is well.

djp

I've just returned to the Peace Corps transit house/medical unit in Tana after seeing Corey off to the airport. The last time we made eye contact was over the heads of the other 25 or so people aboard her airport bound mini-bus as diesel exhaust engulfed me, standing along side the road feeling quite uneasy. Such a long trip. The fumes brought upon tears, naturally.

The journey to Chester, California for Sadie's wedding will surely be one for the books. I figure that by the time she travels the 22,000 or so total miles (at only 12 cents a mile, with food, beverages, a driver/pilot, and taxes included - a steal of a deal in my opinion. Cheaper than covering the same distance in our trusty Honda Civic) from Madagascar to California, then back again, she will be exhausted and perhaps a little loopy, yet very pleased. I know it will be a wonderful trip. Congratulations and best wishes to Sadie & Pete.

The past few months have passed with much to do. Corey has built loads of compost piles all across our Commune (Manompana is the commune seat), prepared fields and trained farmers on planting rice using SRI or System for Rice Intensification (a system pioneered in Madagascar - yet from what I can tell has been adopted more outside the country by other rice producing/consuming nations). Traveling the 10-15 miles in and around the Commune by foot through some very challenging terrain has been great for us both. Generally, Corey goes into the field to work with farmers and I stay in the village poring over the accounting and management documents of the small businesses and associations who have requested financial management/marketing trainings. I occasionally make it out to the fields and get my hands dirty, but generally my work tools are limited to pens, paper, example documents, and my trusty Malagasy/English dictionary. Work is progressing well enough for us both and we have less and less free time around the house, which of course, is not helping me in my quest to learn how to play the guitar. Mora-Mora - "slowly" is the name of the game in Madagascar.

When not working at site, we have traveled to Tana to meet up with other PCV's from our initial group for additional training and the making of merriment. It was great to visit with our friends and swap stories from the field. Most of them are happy, healthy and doing well. Monthly trips to Tamatave to meet with various organizations, access our bank account, and buy phone credit/other essentials have been great. There is a community of current and former v0lunteers living in and around Tamatave that we try to visit with when in the big city. A few nights away from site each month are a blessing and we truly enjoy the culinary/entertainment options afforded to us by visiting the bustling port city.

On Monday morning I will leave Tana and hit the road for a week of site development in south-eastern Madagascar with my program director and fellow Small Enterprise Development volunteers. SED road trip 2008 – Hooray! We will meet with community leaders and businesses and review their applications for a member of next year's group of SED volunteers. I'm looking forward to the week ahead!

Following this trip, I plan on taking a week-long vacation and traveling to the south-western city of Tulear to visit a friend and explore a new city/region. I want to take as much vacation time as possible while Corey is away as to not have unused days at the end of service. May, 2010 is just around the corner...

Hope all is well from wherever you find yourself reading this. We must thank all of you for your emails and letters. It's wonderful to hear from you, so keep writing! And of course, many thanks to those who have sent packages - we are well stocked with all sorts of goodies.

Until next time,

djp

A quick trip to Tamatave has afforded us the opportunity to give you all a brief update regarding life here in Madagascar. Generally speaking, things are grand. We are nearing the three month mark at site and it seems that we may be on the verge of getting a few projects rolling. Working with a local womens association to help them improve the quality of their handicrafts and develop a marketing strategy for selling products on the nearby island of Ilse. St. Marie to sun searching tourists is one of a few projects that is unfolding. We hope to have a solid plan in place in time for the annual whale festival in late August which attracts visitors from around the world eager to watch humpback whales as they make the warm waters near the island their home during mating season. Another project may include collaboration with and advising the community association charged with managing the surrounding littoral forest, which according to researchers from the Missouri Botanical Garden, contains upwards of 10 percent of Madagascar's endemic species of plants and animals. Yeah, apparently life can thrive in a swamp. And of course we continue to investigate opportunities for collaboration with local businesses and farmers in areas such as accounting, micro-credit, composting, and other terribly exciting sectors.

Unfortunately, we must run since we are late for dinner with some Peace Corps folks. We will be traveling to Tana in early August for a one week In-Service Training event where we will, amongst other things, be able to reconnect with all of the volunteers with whom we trained. We promise to write more and upload additional photos at that time.

Best wishes to all and keep the correspondence coming. We love hearing from you. Oh, Julie and Mona, we received the packages earlier today but have yet to open them. It looks as if Christmas has come early this year! Thank you.

Love,

dan & corey

Finally got a few photos up, it takes a long time to upload but I will try to post some more next time we come to Tamatave. Just click on the title of this post to link to our photo site.

Happy June! Greetings from the port city of Toamasina, a.k.a. Tamatave. Here in the Betsimisaraka heartland we find ourselves in the midst of a textbook case of managed chaos. Someone, somewhere (nearby) is playing the part of puppet master but we have yet to confirm his (yeah, it’s most likely a man) identity yet there is no question of his intention$. Not that possessing such knowledge would in any way help us navigate the labyrinth which, as newcomers to a lively, increasingly important mineral exporting, and all around fairly dodgy port city, is comically frustrating and mostly good fun. Yes, we have left the boonies and made our way to the big city in search of electricity and subsequent cold beverages, dairy products, internet access (of course), as well as many other things that we naturally are unable to take back to the swamp with us. This is due to the fact that we live in a lovely little place along an unforgiving road/path which requires a commitment of roughly two days of travel in order to traverse the 115 miles or so back to our beloved cottage located just near the eastern coast. Ah, the swamp! The fact that we have sand in all our clothes and in every crevice of our, uh, villa (it’s really just a fancy hut) and yet are nearly 3 miles inland from the Indian Ocean/beach is a constant and cruel reminder that the good folks in Peace Corps Madagascar have a healthy since of humor. We love them for that. A lot. We recently celebrated our one month anniversary in our new village with a daring homemade rice dish (that’s really the only culinary game in town) and shortly thereafter I (djp) spent remainder of the evening scrambling the 100 yards back and forth to our pit latrine (use your imagination here to envision a three walled lean-to with a detached door which is a haven for all sorts of critters) to the delight of the nearby children. As a matter of fact, our kabone is just along the main path which leads to the elementary school and as a result we have quickly developed a rhythm which keeps us clear of the area during periods of high traffic. A few hundred pair of peeping eyes and subsequent giggling is enough to complicate any task. We are, without choice, entertainers and I for one enjoy making children smile (that is for now of course and I reserve the right to flip-flop at any point in the future). To be honest, that was the first time I’ve had such digestive trouble and Corey has consistently gone above and beyond the code of hygienic food preparation required by the highly competent yet quirky Peace Corps doctors in Antananarivo. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain that I was donning the “KISS THE CHEF!” apron that tragic rainy night. Corey persevered and escaped unscathed and (physically) unharmed. Hooray! So the last four weeks have found us doing all sorts of mundane yet fascinating (from my perspective, of course) things. If you’d made it this far, I beckon you to continue reading and hope you will not be disappointed in what follows…you most likely will. I never knew that fetching water with a bucket and rope from a well could be so rewarding. Imagine: you’re the only male over the age of ten going anywhere near the water source and the smiles of your neighbor’s and random passerby’s fill your heart with joy and a sense of accomplishment (sharing American culture and all…). That is of course until you recognize that the liquid fruit of your labor closely resembles root beer in color and smells of, well, I dunno. The odor takes me on a pleasant mental journey back to my roots in Summit Valley, CA. and the smell escaping from Mr. Thomas’s turn of the century, long abandoned, hand-dug well after being partially sealed for a fair number of years. (Dad, I know you know exactly what I’m talkin’ about!). The reader may have noticed that I wrote “ talkin’” rather than “talking” in the previous bit. This is due to the fact that my ever adventurous parents moved from the “Golden State” to the depths of the “Show Me!” state (Misery:-) over a year ago and have surely begun to speak in a different manner. I kid southern Missouri. No really, it’s a great place. I’ve been there… So let’s go back to the other side of the world. Most every morning either Corey or I take a stroll down the main drag (a few hundred yards in all it’s glory) of Tanambao Ambodimaga to hunt for vegetables (always unsuccessfully) and end up buying a few cups of rice and dried beans which we will attempt, with great enthusiasm, to transform into a new and exciting dish that we will consume that day. In my opinion, we spend far too much time discussing food that will surely be off the menu for the remaining 23 months of our service. It’s torture. Well, maybe not exactly like torture. (Uncomfortable moment for most American readers. Sorry.) Anyway, having just celebrated (commemorated really, the term celebration implies that we did something out of the ordinary) our two year wedding anniversary, Corey was quick to point out that we will be spending the next two years working here in Madagascar and I, in turn, remarked that I couldn’t get my head around the idea. I think I actually said “Wow honey! I just can’t get my head around it”. The last two years have passed with us doing a fair amount of things including traveling incessantly and preparing for this current adventure/task. I keep looking at our suitcases and backpacks thinking that they will continue to be completely useless in the near term as we have decided to live our lives of the coast of Africa, rather detached from the airplanes, buses, motorcycles, boats, rickshaws, and the trusty Honda Civic that have kept us moving in recent times. Those glorious days are gone (for now) and we are truly pleased that the path thus far chosen has led us to our little slice of heaven: the swamp. Amongst family and friends it is most likely known that Corey has a fear of spiders that is only matched in intensity by my own fear of bebe-lava (literal translation from Malagasy is “long animal”, we know them as snakes). We have loads of both in and around our house/cooking area/bathing area/kabone. Why, just the other night I left the palace to return the dishes to our detached cooking area before my nightly ritual of unsuccessfully tuning in BBC’s shortwave radio broadcasts and stumbled across a spry three foot bebe-lava who was happily cruising in and around the few plastic buckets and bits of wood we call our lacuisine. Once I regained my composure and beckoned Corey for back up, our long animal friend decided to pull a verifiable “Houdini Act” and disappeared into thin air (Corey will dispute this, but she is wrong). So, now you can imagine how terribly excited I am to move in and around my home at all times, but especially at night. I’ve taken to proceeding with all manner of lighting (well, just a few headlamps and a candle or two) in order maintain some semblance of sanity. The neighborhood kids love it…Hope all is well in your neck of the swamp.

djp

Just a quick note from the capital to inform all that we will be swearing in as volunteers on April 29th. Hooray! Corey and I are well and in good health and are very much looking forward to beginning our term of service. We will depart for our site in a few days and begin the process of identifying the ways in which we can be of service to our community in the coming years. Training is finished and we said goodbye to our host family which brought our host mother and Corey to tears. My host dad and I exchanged a firm handshake followed by a brief hug and we vowed to visit eachother in the coming months. We are truly blessed to have been placed in the care of such a patient and caring family.

So, I must be off. Best Wishes to all. We expect to have access to the internet maybe once a month so keep those letters coming! We will try to post a few photos in the coming days/weeks/months...

Much Peace and Happiness,

djp

Things are really starting to feel "normal" here. We have really slipped into the groove of living in Madagascar. It is hard to believe that our training is almost finished and in just a few weeks we will move to our new home in Manompana. The village in which we will be livingis actually called Tanambo Ambodimanga, but Manompana is the closest town, which is still quite small. It is located on the eastern coast of Madagascar just inland from Isle Sainte Marie, which is a popular tourist destination. Last week we were accompanied to our site by our counterpart, a really nice woman named Alfonsine, who is the president of a local women's weaving assocation. We met with the heads of various associations, the mayor and many of the villagers living in and around our community. We are the first Peace Corps volunteers to be sent to our community and they are very excited that we are coming. They have bulit us a house in the local fashion using palm leaves and wood. The house is quite small, just two little rooms, with a "shower" outside (a screen of palm leaves to conceal our bucket baths) and an outhouse a few hundred feet from the house. Cooking is primarily done outside in that region because it is so hot, so they also built us a small palapa like structure where I can set a little table outside to cook on. I know it sounds rustic, but we have one of the nicer homes in our community. There is no electricity or running water in either our town or Manompana, though a few wealthier families own generators. The community discussed, in rapid-fire Malagasy, the issues they are faced with and the potential projects they would like us to work on. Despite the severe language barrier, we were able to glean quite a bit from the visit and are beginning to formulate some ideas about what type of work we will be doing. The main issue in the community is food security. People are not able to grow enough food to feed themselves and it is very expensive to buy fresh produce due to the remoteness of the village. Potable water is also an issue as many people drink from, bathe and wash clothing in the stagnant river that trudges slowly through town to the ocean. There is one water pump at the school and a well right next to our house, however, the ground water is often contaminated as well, though the water table is very high. We have the luxury of having a nice water filter and are required by PC to chlorinate our water as well...yummy! The community would really like to try to grow vegetables like beans, tomatoes and carrots and expressed interest in building a grain storage building that would act as a food bank when food supplies are lacking and to have a reserve in case of cyclones, which usually cause significant damage to that area every year. Malnutrition, especially in children, is also an issue so I am hoping to work on gardening/nutrition projects and have been thinking about ways to develop a rainwater catchment system for improved drinking water... something I know nothing about so if anyone has any ideas or info it would be much appreciated. Dan's role is a bit more challenging as a small enterprise development volunteer, but he may be working with women's handicraft associations to try and find markets for their products. They make beautiful hats, bags and raffia mats, and want to be able to market them to tourists. There is also potential for working together on gardening or animal raising projects as a way to generate extra income for the community. All of our ideas are currently just that, ideas, because we will have to wait and see what the village is really motivated to do and will need to spend a lot of time just getting to know the community to better assess their needs.

We are currently in the capital, Antananarivo, because Dan is sick. Not to worry though, he was feeling much better this morning and I think we will return to the training site either later this afternoon or tomorrow. He just had a very intense headache and a fever for over 24 hours so the doctor asked us to come to the capital so that he could examine Dan and do some tests. We didn't get the results yet, as of this morning, but he is feeling so much better that I am confident it was just a bad fever. So, don't worry!! The medical staff takes really good care of us here!

Well, I should be getting back to the MEVA, the house here in Tana where volunteers and trainees can stay while the are in the capital. It is really comfortable there and there are hot showers, which are a nice treat every once in a while. Dan gives his best to everyone, and assures you all that he is feeling better.

I hope to be able to write again soon.

By the way, I am officially the only Peace Corps Trainee in our group that still hasn't received any mail!!! Where is the love people? Dan appreciated the birthday cards from everybody, and we were in the capital for his birthday so we had the chance to go out to a nice dinner and celebrate a little. Hope to get some mail soon!!!

Veloma!

Hey everybody! So we finally made it to Tana, the capital, where we can use the internet with the funky french keyboard that inhibits typing speed!!! We are both doing very well and are really enjoying the training thus far. We live with a Malagasy family that is really friendly and they take good care of us, they feed us a lot of rice!! I have had a lot of great training as an environment volunteer, we have had several guest speakers from various NGOs and a very good speaker from USAID. Dan's program is much less structured than mine because he is in the first group of small enterprise development volunteers to come to Madagascar with the Peace Corps, nonetheless he has may opportunities to learn and potentially develop the local economy. his group hs been meeting with local asociations and also with several ministers fromthe govt. On Friday we will be going to the president's palace to speak to one of his advisors about the MAP, which is basically the govt's plan for the development of Madagascar, there are rumors we may meet the pres himself, but that may be Malagasy optomism.

We have been fairly isolated in our small community since we arrived, which is part of the Peace Corps' strategy to integrate us into the local community, I think it is working quite well so far, everyone knows us and the mayor of our region even accompanied us on an excursion yesterday. All is well here, ope that everyone at home is well also.

lOVE TO ALL!!!

Sorry for the errors;

Corey & Dan

Our adventure has begun! After a few days of orientation with Peace Corps, we are finally doing some last minute packing before we leave for the airport. We had the opportunity to meet all of the other PC volunteers going to Madagascar in our group and they are all really wonderful people. We would love to hear from everyone so please send us emails, comments or good ol' snail mail. Our address for the first three months will be:

Daniel and Corinne Pargee, PCT Peace Corps

Corps de la Paix

BP 12091

Poste Zoom Ankorondrano

101 Antananarivo

Madagascar

It will probably take a few weeks for us to receive any mail sent from the US, so send it soon!!!

Love to all!

eighteen days and counting in southern arizona... farming is not as easy as it looks in the supermarket. our time on the farm is nearly up and we are both saddened and hopeful as our travels take us away from here towards home again before departing to madagascar.

Just left the park after a short yet sweet stay.

Seven days of backpacking across a portion of the park left us with a better appreciation of the unique physical characteristics and natural beauty of this wilderness area. Days one and two were physically challenging but as we adapted to the weight of our packs, they became somewhat of an afterthought while moving down the various trails which criss-cross the park.