I am an education volunteer my primary job here is to teach English at the local middle school, but currently this has not been the case. I have been on…
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Tiempo es una palabra que empieza y que se acaba que se bebe y se termina que corre despacio y que pasa deprisa. Tiempo es una palabra que se enciende…
the instant I approach my taxi-brousse station and was immediately greeted with “aiza ny volondalana?” (“Where is my souvenir?”) “Efa tonga anao!” (“You have arrived!”) Efa ela tsy hitahita” (“It’s…
I am in this going there and coming back, in between limbo business that I can’t seem to shake off. I was spinning around and around on one of those…
Imagine this… Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Well, maybe don’t close them, since you have to continue reading this, but you know where I am going with this. Picture yourself at home, or the place you feel most comfortable. A place you can be yourself and do whatever you please. Sit down, relax. [...]
The new school year has begun, the heat is unbearable, and things just seem familiar. These new students of mine, even though still drive me crazy, do not cause me as much blood boiling anger as my students from the previous year. The heat is not as unlivable. My fan is a luxury; no longer [...]
The whole month of September I was away from the wonderful town I live in. I was fortunate enough to visit beautiful places I had not seen before. In my 2 week vacation, eo eo = give or take, came many interesting and slightly funny stories. I, unfortunately, will not be writing about those. You, [...]
It is that time of year when loved ones come together and celebrate “the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset.” Ramadan “ORIGIN from Arabic ramaḍān, from ramaḍa ‘be hot.’ The lunar reckoning of the Muslim calendar brings the fast eleven days earlier each year, eventually [...]
I have officially been part of this far from sane adventure for a year. There have been marriages, births, start of unique relationships, death of loved ones, illnesses, life changing discoveries, break ups and lots and lots of fun parties… …while I have been here. Doing what exactly? I… … had worms inside my stomach [...]
My conversation club, as always, brings up many of my noteworthy stories. June 26th is the national independence day so, of course, the topic of discussion for the week was “Traditions and Customs on Vingt-Six” Don’t be fooled, this post has nothing to do with the Malagasy traditions on Vingt-six… like all my conversations with these [...]
My dad’s motto if you please. Essentially means: Same but different Being here one notices the extreme differences between life in the states and life in Madagascar. They are obvious. Madagascar being an island and an underdeveloped country gives those clear differences. The similarities are what I have had to find with time spent living [...]
In Madagascar, money is given to families of recently deceased to alleviate stress in such difficult and emotional times. I believe this is a good tradition. It demonstrates solidarity and brings communities together during time of mourning. On Tuesday morning I was given the bad news that one of the students at the school had [...]
Piggy banks. Have you ever stopped to wonder: “Why pigs?” I honestly, had not EVER. I realized a few days ago where the possible origin of a piggy bank came from. Mampihava = my neighbor and many other Malagasies have a real life piggy bank. People buy pigs, raise them and sell them for a [...]
About two weeks ago the school secretary approached me and told me he had a problem with me. Or so I though that is what he said. After a conversation of constant back and forth, because of he language barrier, I understood what he was trying to tell me. It went something like this: There [...]
So this week my best friend in Peace Corps came to visit me. She came to my Disneyland. For those I have not told or if I have not mentioned it before on this blog; Mahajanga the city I go into to take my money is the Happiest Place in Madagascar. So, I call it [...]
I hadn’t been very mazoto = dedicated to writing in here because honestly March was a tough month for me. I tend to not feel very wordy when I miss home and feel down, but as you might be able to guess I am back up high on that rollercoaster. This really is the longest [...]
I can do anything! I have felt the hottest weather I have ever known in my whole life this past month. In a previous blog post I explained that October and November were the hottest months, well I was misinformed. When a Malagasy complains about the heat then you know there is a problem! It [...]
So… most recent update For the past month I had been loosing my hair. This past week it got so bad that I was very afraid of going bald within the next few months, so I went to see a doctor. Turns out I have lice eggs and fungus on my scalp! The wonderful things [...]
… that in the eyes of Malagasy people we the foots-ies = whities are fictional characters. We are not real humans and certainly do not fit into their definition of what a human is, does, or looks like, so of course we have to be fiction. Anyone who is of white skin is called a [...]
…you ever saw, got stuck inside my soda straw…Well… not quite so little and not quite my soda straw… it was actually quite large considering it came from my stomach! So yes, I have worms and hopefully in the process of getting rid of them. I had yet to get sick here, and then… ta [...]
So it is 3 am in the morning and it has been a long and interesting day, with amazingness in it. I am once again reunited with my PC group “Stage” and it has been great seeing them all again. I woke up in the capital at 5 am and my began. I went to [...]
Okay so apparently my last few posts have made a few people cry. I apologize for this. The reality of things is that it is very different and I am lonely sometimes, but honestly, I would not want to be anywhere else. I have experience very odd, but such normal Malagasy things here. Every time [...]
I find joy in the small things life brings me, because honestly I have no choice. I enjoy cooking, who would have thought that those words would be typed by me? It really feels great when you taste the flavors you created and it warms your heart and belly! I usually cook a bit of [...]
Miss these girls[caption id="attachment_83" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="My living space"][/caption]Miss this
All my posts thus far have been about me and how i perceive life here. I haven’t much written about the culture, maybe I have by default, but haven’t really specified any observations. As you may know I have been living in my new village, town for two weeks now and the past few days [...]
I am looking forward to tamana “settle in comfortable” to this new place I will call home. My main concern is the heat, the intense heat that will be omnipresent through my two years. For those who know me, know that the heat and I are not friends. AT ALL! So you can imagine my [...]
I apologize for the delay, but I had not had access to the internet. It has been a month since I posted and so much has happened since then. Today on September 21, 2010 I swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Tomorrow I will be on my way to begin my two year journey [...]
Being in Tana a couple of times I have had the opportunity of meting a few PCVs that have been in country about 5 to 7 months. They all have one very apparent similarity, to lay it out nicely they are all socially awkward. All my fellow trainees and I have discussed this obvious similarity [...]
Dear Readers: I am unaware as to who actually has read up on the last two blogs, but for those who will see this (after I announce it on facebook as one of my status) haha here is a bit about my current life. Side note: I am not able to discuss specifics about what [...]
Where to begin? I am about to embark on a very long and unpredictable journey. The clock is ticking and it begins in exactly two hours. I will fly to Washington D.C. with my new life mounted on my back and rolling it on my side. I will arrive at my hotel, run to my [...]
I have been saying my goodbyes with old comrades, new additions of special people that I have met over the past year, family, and the likes of all people that have crossed paths with me the past month. As I finish my last few goodbyes tonight and tomorrow, a surge of “Hellos,” “Nice to meet [...]
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