Life here moves at a different pace: much slower. This is a place where schedules mean nothing, time is often told by the sun and while people want to do plenty of things, none of them seem to happen.
There are sometimes over-riding reasons. For example, while school has officially started, many of the students will not show up until after the rice is fully transplanted and will have to miss more class during the harvest. Then again, sometimes there are not.
I have always considered myself a motivated individual, but also am able to go with the flow when there is no sense in fighting it. I had been determined that I would be a model of professionalism, even if it didn’t matter. If I was told a meeting started at 8am, I would be there at 8am, knowing full well that it will not start until 9:30 and that even then half of the people who need to be there won’t come.
The problem is that nobody tells me about the meetings, even though I have asked many of them to do so. The person who is the community representative to work with me and PC has not been to a single one. Just this morning I was late to a meeting I didn’t know about until one of the students I have been tutoring told me “I think I saw all the teachers in the Lycèe Annexe.” Thank you Staneslace.
I have yet to be to a meeting on time. I was 20 minutes late to the first class I was supposed to teach because it was 1.5 km down the road at the other Lycèe. That was ok though, because I was the only teacher to show up in the whole school.
The Ministry of Education publishes a schedule of classes that should be followed country-wide. There are country-wide exams given here based on the Ministry’s curriculum and it is important that everyone gets equal amounts of instruction. According to that schedule, class began on the 22nd of September. So far, I think I am the only one in town to have taught a class.
I may in fact be missing a class right now. The Proviseur of the Lycèe is a hard worker and is very organized. He has been very helpful so far. He actually gave me my schedule at the Lycèe a week ago, which is how I was able to teach a few classes already. I copied it down and brought it to the Directeur CEG so there would be no scheduling conflicts. He apparently didn’t look at it. Two of the three classes he scheduled me for are in conflict with the Lycèe schedule and two are also the wrong class. I would be happy to each the different grade levels, but not at the same time as my Premier class. The result of which is that I still don’t know which classes I am going to teach or when they will be. I do know that the ones I am currently scheduled for will not have a teacher, so I can continue to go to those.
They told me, this week, just sit at home, next week you will begin teaching. That is two weeks missed already and I'll believe it when I see it.
Reflecting on my original goal to be a model of professionalism, I can now only hope that nobody has noticed all of the things I missed. Of course that is not possible. Being ‘the teacher from the U.S.’, everyone knows everything I do. And it is likely that they all know about all of the meetings too. They just don’t show up.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Unwelcome guests:
Within the span of 2 days I found two scorpions in my room (one in my bed) and one centipede. For those of you unfamiliar with tropical centipedes, let me educate you about them. They bite. It hurts. I will assume that you know the same is true of scorpions.
This rash of poisonous pests led me to check the PCV Mcar Health Handbook looking for answers. What to do if bitten or stung by one of these creatures? “Call the medical office immediately.” Ominous.
These creatures are added to the ecosystem of my room. I have 4 spiders working round the clock to rid the place of mosquitoes. I have a team of ants that clean up the crumbs from my table. I have been trying to lure in lizards, but so far only have one vagrant inside and one that lives near my window on the outside. There are some free-loading cockroaches that do nothing to earn their keep, so I sweep them out when I find them. Most mornings there is one.
I wonder what they do when I sweep them out. I don’t like to kill things, so I leave them to go wherever they want. Probably into my landlord’s house, or back into mine. But what to do with the poisonous critters? There are kids living near me. I cannot just let them go wherever they please. The centipede went straight under one of the kid’s hats that was lying on the ground. I showed it to them and they killed it. I killed one of the scorpions myself, but I didn’t feel right about it.
I seem to be on a streak of pests and I guess I’ll just have to decide what to do about it tomorrow morning when I find out what other surprises this place has in store for me.
A few days later.....I have not had any visitors since those two crowded days. I was briefly threatened by a snake today on top of a mountain near my village, but this time it was me invading her territory. I am getting more and more lizards, finally. Perhaps they will eat some of the mosquitoes and drive out the cockroaches. One can only hope to attract attention from the right creatures, not to keep them out entirely.
This rash of poisonous pests led me to check the PCV Mcar Health Handbook looking for answers. What to do if bitten or stung by one of these creatures? “Call the medical office immediately.” Ominous.
These creatures are added to the ecosystem of my room. I have 4 spiders working round the clock to rid the place of mosquitoes. I have a team of ants that clean up the crumbs from my table. I have been trying to lure in lizards, but so far only have one vagrant inside and one that lives near my window on the outside. There are some free-loading cockroaches that do nothing to earn their keep, so I sweep them out when I find them. Most mornings there is one.
I wonder what they do when I sweep them out. I don’t like to kill things, so I leave them to go wherever they want. Probably into my landlord’s house, or back into mine. But what to do with the poisonous critters? There are kids living near me. I cannot just let them go wherever they please. The centipede went straight under one of the kid’s hats that was lying on the ground. I showed it to them and they killed it. I killed one of the scorpions myself, but I didn’t feel right about it.
I seem to be on a streak of pests and I guess I’ll just have to decide what to do about it tomorrow morning when I find out what other surprises this place has in store for me.
A few days later.....I have not had any visitors since those two crowded days. I was briefly threatened by a snake today on top of a mountain near my village, but this time it was me invading her territory. I am getting more and more lizards, finally. Perhaps they will eat some of the mosquitoes and drive out the cockroaches. One can only hope to attract attention from the right creatures, not to keep them out entirely.
Lola concert and Jerijery:
In Vavatenina, there is one of the best concert venues in the country. I have no idea why someone built it here, but since it exists, it has become a stop for every main artist on tour. It is called Jerijery and once a year, in November, there is a huge festival that happens there.
Last week, we got a visit from Lola, currently one of the most popular Malagasy artists. There are only about 15 songs by Malagasy artists on the radio, and 9 of them are by him. He is the top gun for Malagasy music, going head to head with (but still losing to) Celiene Deon and Lucky Dube.
I was impressed with Lola’s show. He had a great presence, got the audience to sing, and played a 3 hour continuos set. He came complete with 3 choreographed dancers and a six piece band. I found it strange that he started at 3pm, but I guess that is standard. The sun went down around 6:30 and the concert ended shortly after 7.
I was unimpressed by the audience. They sang along, but didn’t dance. I expected everyone to dance, I know they can. The other parties I have been to I was always impressed and tried to pick up a few new moves. Nobody danced at Lola until it got dark, which meant 2.5 hours of standing and listening and 30 minutes of dancing. Strange.
I have high hopes for Jerijery as it is a multi-day festival and I expect it to go late into the night.
Last week, we got a visit from Lola, currently one of the most popular Malagasy artists. There are only about 15 songs by Malagasy artists on the radio, and 9 of them are by him. He is the top gun for Malagasy music, going head to head with (but still losing to) Celiene Deon and Lucky Dube.
I was impressed with Lola’s show. He had a great presence, got the audience to sing, and played a 3 hour continuos set. He came complete with 3 choreographed dancers and a six piece band. I found it strange that he started at 3pm, but I guess that is standard. The sun went down around 6:30 and the concert ended shortly after 7.
I was unimpressed by the audience. They sang along, but didn’t dance. I expected everyone to dance, I know they can. The other parties I have been to I was always impressed and tried to pick up a few new moves. Nobody danced at Lola until it got dark, which meant 2.5 hours of standing and listening and 30 minutes of dancing. Strange.
I have high hopes for Jerijery as it is a multi-day festival and I expect it to go late into the night.
Tsaboraha:
A tsaboraha is a ceremony in which the family has a big party, the whole party goes to their ancestor’s tomb and re-wraps the body in a clean shroud. The body is not completely exposed, they only replace the top layer. On the plateau, it is very formal. I did not go to one of these, but we were told about the correct way to carry the body 7 times around the tomb, the speeches and the formal re-wrapping and replacing of the body. The ceremony is usually done 2-3 years after the person dies.
Like all things on the coast, their version is lazy and more relaxed. The party starts at on Friday evening and goes through the night. Some stay, some go, and some only join the next day. On Saturday morning everyone goes to the tomb. They continue, or start celebrating. There are speeches, a cow is sacrificed near the tomb and a clean lamba (shroud) is placed outside the tomb. They do not actually exhume the body on this part of the coast.
I went to one with the health volunteer, Patrick, who is nearly done with his 3rd year here. He had gone to them in the past and I thought it would be a good opportunity to see one with someone who can explain things to me. The one we went to, he tells me, was even lazier than others. The tomb was close to the city, so people were coming and going, there were no fights (which usually occur when people drink for 2 days straight) and it was just less ceremonial. Kind of a let down really, I was expecting more. At least now I am prepared for another one if I ever get the chance. Maybe the next one will be more exciting.
The section of the east coast that I live in is predominantly Catholic and the church condemned ceremonies like the tsaboraha long ago. There are many here, my landlord included, who refuse to go to them. He was shocked that I wanted to go, even though he knows I am not Catholic and asked me what I thought when I came back. I told him it was a little boring, but since we don’t have them in the states it was a fun experience. He was satisfied by my answer and does not consider me a heathen just for going.
Like all things on the coast, their version is lazy and more relaxed. The party starts at on Friday evening and goes through the night. Some stay, some go, and some only join the next day. On Saturday morning everyone goes to the tomb. They continue, or start celebrating. There are speeches, a cow is sacrificed near the tomb and a clean lamba (shroud) is placed outside the tomb. They do not actually exhume the body on this part of the coast.
I went to one with the health volunteer, Patrick, who is nearly done with his 3rd year here. He had gone to them in the past and I thought it would be a good opportunity to see one with someone who can explain things to me. The one we went to, he tells me, was even lazier than others. The tomb was close to the city, so people were coming and going, there were no fights (which usually occur when people drink for 2 days straight) and it was just less ceremonial. Kind of a let down really, I was expecting more. At least now I am prepared for another one if I ever get the chance. Maybe the next one will be more exciting.
The section of the east coast that I live in is predominantly Catholic and the church condemned ceremonies like the tsaboraha long ago. There are many here, my landlord included, who refuse to go to them. He was shocked that I wanted to go, even though he knows I am not Catholic and asked me what I thought when I came back. I told him it was a little boring, but since we don’t have them in the states it was a fun experience. He was satisfied by my answer and does not consider me a heathen just for going.
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