I’ve been living in a rice field. I thought that I’ve been working pretty hard and it is nice to get the positive feedback from all of my friends and people who know me. I’m constantly being asked, “Where have you been?”A lot of people thought that I left or went on vacation because [...]
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It didn’t rain enough in November; people didn’t plant rice. It didn’t rain enough in December; only a few people could plant rice. So, when the torrential downpours came they were a blessing at first. However, when the river started to rise, then flooded rice fields, surrounded my house with a six inch deep [...]
A January to Remember It wouldn’t be the holidays if there wasn’t something to complain about. My camera broke a while back (actually, it was fixed enough to function back in March and then was slowly dying for the past 9 months) and was in the process of being fixed in Andapa. However, the date [...]
A January to Remember It wouldn’t be the holidays if there wasn’t something to complain about. My camera broke a while back (actually, it was fixed enough to function back in March and then was slowly dying for the past 9 months) and was in the process of being fixed in Andapa. However, the date [...]
A January to Remember It wouldn’t be the holidays if there wasn’t something to complain about. My camera broke a while back (actually, it was fixed enough to function back in March and then was slowly dying for the past 9 months) and was in the process of being fixed in Andapa. However, the date [...]
A January to Remember It wouldn’t be the holidays if there wasn’t something to complain about. My camera broke a while back (actually, it was fixed enough to function back in March and then was slowly dying for the past 9 months) and was in the process of being fixed in Andapa. However, the date [...]
No, it’s not as much fun as Sean Kingston’s catchy song. The hillsides all over Madagascar are still ablaze and it couldn’t be more depressing. I am no longer living in an island paradise, but a satellite of Los Angeles. The afternoons are filled with a light haze and I feel like the smoke just [...]
I managed to stay super busy until the last minute, when I went to Sambava to pick up my friend, Abby, who was visiting from California. I was really excited to have a friend come to visit me. It is really great to have any visitor, but family and friends just aren’t the same. Abby [...]
It’s happened. That 2012 projection was off. The world has ended. Apocalypse is now. We have failed ourselves. The number of functioning people has diminished to a few stragglers. Blank faces containing blank stares attack me everywhere I go. All around me are zombies and machines. I’m struggling to think…why is nobody else thinking? It [...]
I made it clear a while back that I could take pictures for people and they just needed to give me the money to print it and I would print there photo. As always, nobody believes anything until they actually see it. I finally had a woman give me the money and when I went [...]
The day before my dad was supposed to fly to Madagascar he had a stroke. As with all things family related it’s really hard being so far away from people when these things happen. However, I’m thrilled that he has recovered so quickly and that he seems to be doing alright. I hope to be [...]
Sadly, Mito (my puppy) is no more. I went to build a cook stove one afternoon and when I came home, I got the news that he was killed by a tractor. I wasn’t around when it happened, but that’s probably for the better. I was told that a tractor stopped for a while and [...]
Water Wars – that’s the name of the new hit show that will be on all the major networks this next fall. They started filming the first season a few weeks back but I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want a bunch of pirated episodes to be surfacing. However, it just doesn’t make sense [...]
A long time ago, a bunch of stuff happened. I guess that could sum up a lot of history books as well, but it’s kind of how the past month has been. I think I’ve gotten a little lazy with the blog thing/ didn’t really feel like writing for a bit. That meant there wasn’t [...]
I was thinking about how much traveling I did while I lived in the United States. I was very lucky to grow up with a family that appreciated the value of going away on vacation. Since I was young, I always enjoyed traveling, seeing new things, being somewhere different. While I grew up we were [...]
I stepped on a slug a few nights ago. It stained my sock… That’s all for now. I’ll send another update in a few weeks(most likely unrelated to socks or slugs)!
I ride my bike pretty much everyday here in Madagascar. However, I’ve been riding bikes all of my life. These past few years, I got into road bikes and thankfully I never had a crash. Even going mountain biking, I’ve always been able to bail at the last second so as to not really fall [...]
It’s been a while since I’ve written to the virtual world. I think the most honest answer that I can give is that I’ve been lazy. I had a post around the middle of May, but then I ended up deleting it for various reasons. I should have re-posted the blog with edits, but I [...]
I remember the first time I got stoned. It was my freshman year of college and, to add to the cliché, it happened in my dorm hall bathroom. I think there was one other person in the bathroom when the real stoning happened, but it was kind of a blur. I was in shock really. [...]
I’ve made it one year in my little village. I know, I wasn’t quite sure at first if I’d make it either. However, it’s here and I’m happy with all that has happened in the last year, even if some of it has made me a little bitter, frustrated, calloused or cynical. Altogether, I’m happy [...]
I started learning French. My first class went well and I hope to learn quickly. There is a lot that I never learned or forgot, but a lot is coming back to me, without losing my Malagasy (yet). The private tutor that I have who works with the Alliance Francais is really great. The best [...]
My transit back to Andapa went as smoothly as I could have hoped. The night before I left Tana, I stayed with some friends and we had an awesome dinner (nothing at all what I cook at my site). When they asked my travel plans for the next day they told me that a friend [...]
The new group of environment and small enterprise volunteers arrived in country in the beginning of March. It’s crazy to think that a year ago I was still in the middle of training and getting accustomed to everything. As much as I thought training was great, it really was the worst part of my time [...]
On March 8th we celebrated international women’s day here. It was really cool to see so many people come out for the festivities, but it was kind of weird too. On a day where women are suppose to celebrate their womanhood; speeches were given by men, introductions given for men, and a lot more men [...]
Last week was my one year anniversary here in Madagascar. Kind of crazy to think that I’ve been away for that long. Although, there are days/weeks/months that seem to go by pretty slow at times. The only downside is that the more I know about the country and the people here, the more I question [...]
My face has been oily lately. I thought I might be getting sick, but a few weeks have passed and still no sickness has taken it’s hold on me. My diet hasn’t changed and I don’t have any more stress than the needless stress that I cause myself on a regular basis. That can only [...]
I spoke to my mom a few weeks ago and we talked about the previous blog entry. Her hesitant question towards me was this: “Are there any people that you do like?” I immediately got defensive to the question and didn’t even know where to begin (Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of [...]
2011 didn’t start the best for my health, but after about 15 days of feeling anywhere from awful, to not too good, I now feel like I did before the devastation. It’s kind of amazing to realize how I was now that I feel 100% again. It’s nice to be back. I’ve really started putting [...]
The New Year has passed, the holiday season is gone (except for the Malagasy people who party for two weeks) and it is kind of weird for me to think that I will be spending the entire year of 2011 in Madagascar. Granted, 10 months have already passed, but psychologically it is kind of weird [...]
The heat has come. The worst part is that it is only suppose to get warmer. This means that 7am is already extremely hot and humid. If I ride my bike to Andapa, it looks like I swam there because of all of the sweat. Thankfully, I received a package from my mom that contained [...]
I’ve been ridiculously busy lately. I thought Peace Corps was a 2 year vacation where I got to hang out on a tropical island… But the important stuff first. As far as creatures go, I almost stepped on a frog, but managed to hop like a frog before I put all of my weight on [...]
The blogs have been pretty blah lately, so I decided to spend a few days composing this parody of Kelis’ song “I’m Bossy”. Of course, I used stereotypes to write the lyrics; some good, some bad, and some true. It’s all in fun, so if you’re bothered by it, get over it. I’ve also provided [...]
I suppose that it’s only fitting that after stepping on spiders in the last entry that I had to outdo myself. And, I must say, that stepping on a frog is much worse than I imagined. The moist skin depressing beneath the ball of my foot, crushing the life out of the squishy little animal [...]
For all of you who were at IST, no, I have not cooked with Gasy…for better or for worse. For those of you were not at IST, it’s not important. However, my return to Matsobe was welcomed with a ton of people requesting cook stoves. I built around 7 cook stoves in the area during [...]
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was back in the SAVA region that I love. My plane was late, the taxi brouse waited until there was absolutely no room, not even for a backpack, the brouse then broke down for an hour, and then arrived in Andapa much later than it [...]
So let me start this blog by saying that I’ve spent the last 3 weeks away from my site. A lot of stuff has happened in that time, and to be honest, I really don’t want to write an in depth blog about all of it. Sucks for all of you who are interested, but [...]
I can’t exactly say that it flew by, but it did go surprisingly quick. It wasn’t until I went to save the blog entry on my computer and put the date that it hit me the 6 month mark was happening. I have mixed emotions about the time passing, part of me feeling like we [...]
The weather here showed signs of warming up for a day or two and then went back to being cold and raining. Then it went back to warming up and now I‘m thoroughly confused as to what‘s going on. I think August might be somewhat pleasant from the weather perspective and September maybe even better. [...]
It was a dark and stormy night when I started to write the first draft of this blog. In general, the rainfall has been very hard and cold lately. It makes me a little worried because we are in the “dry season” here and I might need to purchase a boat for the “rainy season”. [...]
A lot has happened since my last post, and I have to admit that not all of it is really interesting. However, I having been doing a lot in the form of work, so I suppose that is something to be proud of. But first things first. I will most likely not get a cat, [...]
Before joining the Peace Corps I thought a lot about the isolation, possible boredom and all of the loneliness that could consume me. However, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I came to the realization that I had either coped with the situation or lost it all together. Before I tell the story, [...]
So… I didnt realize how slow the internet cafe was in andapa until I used a different computer right now and get to experience the pages flying by at each and every click. The past week has mostly consisted of me battling a cold and dealing with bank problems, nothing too exciting. It has really [...]
So I knew this day would come. I think to a certain extent everyone saw it coming. I’m sure all of my friends in college could predict this end; it was pretty much habitual behavior. Especially my senior year when I lived so close to seven eleven and it was easy to stop by and [...]
I was able to charge my computer when I went to Sambava for my mandatory Flu shot and I also had to send in some Peace Corps forms electronically, so I decided, am able, to send in another blog post a little earlier than planned. We’ll see how the battery does on this crappy computer [...]
Life in Madagascar has become a little more regular. I have been at site for about 1 month and I am really getting into the swing of things. No real profound moments as of yet, but I’ve established a routine for the most part, and it is only a few times a week when I’m [...]
I made it…I think We had our final language exam this morning and I hope that I passed. The exams are actually pretty difficult for me, but I can speak Malagasy; at least enough to save my life. If I did fail, I’ll have another chance this week, otherwise I’ll be stuck at the Training [...]
I made it…I think We had our final language exam this morning and I hope that I passed. The exams are actually pretty difficult for me, but I can speak Malagasy; at least enough to save my life. If I did fail, I’ll have another chance this week, otherwise I’ll be stuck at the Training [...]
hey all, let me start with the administrative bullshit that i forgot the first time and just make it clear that whatever I write on this blog are not the views of the Peace Corps. Now to the good stuff. This is the first time that I’ve had internet this whole time, but things should [...]
Orientation (Staging) was a blast! There is nothing but awesome people pursuing this job/career. I can’t wait to see what else happens. We fly to Madagascar tomorrow. So far, I have a great feeling about the whole experience!
Hi All!… So, I honestly have no idea what is going on with this blog. I will try to keep everyone updated with my life in Madagascar as the particulars come along. Hopefully I will have internet access every once and awhile so I can update the blog. If nothing else, it can be another [...]
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