Here's a video I took on Christmas. I ate a potluck-style dinner with my friend's family. Everyone cooked their own "ro" and got together to eat it with rice. After the meal they all relaxed and sang songs together (this family also happens to be its own church).
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Boy how time flies...
Holy crap I'm really close to finishing my Peace Corps service! Yes, there are some days where it feels like my service would pass faster if I were spending it watching paint dry. However I am starting to feel like the time has really really been moving along and man, I've been here a while. I mean there was only one version of the iPad when I left America! The kids are suddenly much bigger than when I got here.
I realized just how long I've been here when talking to my friend the other day. She talked about the "hova tsy manjary." Basically this means "the person from the Highlands of Madagascar (near Tana) who doesn't work." That's work as in work like a machine would work, and not in the human way. Now to explain, our market is full of sellers who come from the Tana area and spend their weeks travelling from market to market along the road I live on. Tuesday afternoon the come to Ambohimanarina, hang out and sleep across the road from my house, and sell in the market on Wednesday morning. I pretty much know them all, and I had no question as to who the one that "doesn't work" was.
The next few months look like they'll be full. I'm on the way to France to see my dad and Christine, then I'll travel some within Madagascar before a close-of-service conference with Peace Corps. In early February I'll head back to Ambohimanarina to spend my last few months living there. And I should probably start giving a little thought to what I'll do after that...
I realized just how long I've been here when talking to my friend the other day. She talked about the "hova tsy manjary." Basically this means "the person from the Highlands of Madagascar (near Tana) who doesn't work." That's work as in work like a machine would work, and not in the human way. Now to explain, our market is full of sellers who come from the Tana area and spend their weeks travelling from market to market along the road I live on. Tuesday afternoon the come to Ambohimanarina, hang out and sleep across the road from my house, and sell in the market on Wednesday morning. I pretty much know them all, and I had no question as to who the one that "doesn't work" was.
The next few months look like they'll be full. I'm on the way to France to see my dad and Christine, then I'll travel some within Madagascar before a close-of-service conference with Peace Corps. In early February I'll head back to Ambohimanarina to spend my last few months living there. And I should probably start giving a little thought to what I'll do after that...
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Happy holidays!
I'm getting ready to spend the holidays in Ambohimanarina before a long vacation in France and Madagascar. Here's some of what's going on.
The women's sewing training I helped organized is over and we created by-laws for the group. They've finished some products and with any luck will sell stuff sometime soon.
The time is sure flying by and I promise to update more next month. Let me know if there's anything you'd really like to hear about. Until then, enjoy the holidays!
The women's sewing training I helped organized is over and we created by-laws for the group. They've finished some products and with any luck will sell stuff sometime soon.
I have a new counterpart. Finally, someone who wants to work in the environment with me! Wish he appeared earlier, but oh well. I think of him as Madagascar's MacGyver. He can create a stove out of just sticks, use bamboo as a bucket...
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| Cooking with Malagasy MacGyver |
The time is sure flying by and I promise to update more next month. Let me know if there's anything you'd really like to hear about. Until then, enjoy the holidays!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
On the home stretch
I've been struggling a lot lately trying to pick material to post here for those of you who are following along with my PC service. When Peace Corps guarantees "the hardest job you'll ever love" they may sound cliche but they've pretty much hit the nail right on the head.
I've been in Ambohimanarina for a year and a half now. This means a lot of things. I've watched one neighbor's house disintegrate into a pile of old, grey bamboo and a brand new wooden house spring up across the way. I've made some great friends; we've laughed together, worked together, eaten together, mourned together. I can cook bananas and cassava, I can plant rice. I've finally found environmental work to do.
It's easy to feel like I don't just live on the other side of the world from home but on a different planet. I'm experiencing all kinds of new things, oblivious to what's happening in the daily lives of my American family and friends. What better snack is there than a bunch of ripe, juicy litchis? I feel like I am walking through some sort of litchi wasteland with discarded peels and seeds scattered all along the path as I fetch water. What can be more devastating than watching a man who welcomed you into his family get sick and die? I've been thinking a lot about how much of our self-expression and the way we voice (or contain) our emotions is innate and how much of it is influenced by culture. And I've gained a greater appreciation for friendship and the various places it can be found.
I don't exactly miss the stresses of the modern world with its phones and computers and all, but I am missing things. No, I haven't seen the new Batman movie or the latest episode of Big Bang Theory (if it's even still running). I've never seen my sisters' houses. I've lost count of the weddings, graduations, births, and housewarmings that have passed as I consumed yet another bowl of rice.
The scariest part of it all is that it means I'll only be living here for 6 more months. Yes, I'm excited to get back to my family, friends, refrigeration, toilets, cell phone reception, and washing machines. But it also means finding a job, a place to live, and re-adjusting to an American way of life. Eventually it'll mean leaving my Malagasy friends, family, and home. How am I supposed to split my time now so I can enjoy my time in Madagascar and prepare for life off the island? How do I connect my Malagasy and American lives when they seem to be so isolated from one another?
I've been in Ambohimanarina for a year and a half now. This means a lot of things. I've watched one neighbor's house disintegrate into a pile of old, grey bamboo and a brand new wooden house spring up across the way. I've made some great friends; we've laughed together, worked together, eaten together, mourned together. I can cook bananas and cassava, I can plant rice. I've finally found environmental work to do.
It's easy to feel like I don't just live on the other side of the world from home but on a different planet. I'm experiencing all kinds of new things, oblivious to what's happening in the daily lives of my American family and friends. What better snack is there than a bunch of ripe, juicy litchis? I feel like I am walking through some sort of litchi wasteland with discarded peels and seeds scattered all along the path as I fetch water. What can be more devastating than watching a man who welcomed you into his family get sick and die? I've been thinking a lot about how much of our self-expression and the way we voice (or contain) our emotions is innate and how much of it is influenced by culture. And I've gained a greater appreciation for friendship and the various places it can be found.
I don't exactly miss the stresses of the modern world with its phones and computers and all, but I am missing things. No, I haven't seen the new Batman movie or the latest episode of Big Bang Theory (if it's even still running). I've never seen my sisters' houses. I've lost count of the weddings, graduations, births, and housewarmings that have passed as I consumed yet another bowl of rice.
The scariest part of it all is that it means I'll only be living here for 6 more months. Yes, I'm excited to get back to my family, friends, refrigeration, toilets, cell phone reception, and washing machines. But it also means finding a job, a place to live, and re-adjusting to an American way of life. Eventually it'll mean leaving my Malagasy friends, family, and home. How am I supposed to split my time now so I can enjoy my time in Madagascar and prepare for life off the island? How do I connect my Malagasy and American lives when they seem to be so isolated from one another?
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