For those of you not on my e-mail list, Peace Corps Madagascar has been suspended. The country's stability has deteriorated. Tanks in the capital, military divided and defecting, two presidents still not negotiating.
This means I am going to South Africa soon, where I will learn about what my options are for the future. Right now I know only vague details, and I still have trouble thinking about leaving, let alone what to do after. I will have better internet access from SA and will try to keep new info posted. For now I am safe, but in shock. Thanks for all your love and support. Maybe I will see some of you sooner than we thought.
Friday, March 13, 2009
And Life Goes On
I am living through a coup d’ etat. It is less exciting than it sounds. There are rallies most every day, police shutting down large parts of cities, deploying tear gas and breaking up protests every day. Whole cities are shutting down in protests called ‘une ville mort’ (dead city), and roads have been blocked.
This is all happening in the capital and regional capitals, out here in the country side, you’d barely know anything is happening. We get daily reports from PC about the happenings around the country, but since the news is controlled by the president, most people here don’t really know what is happening on a day-to-day basis. Let me reiterate that I am safe.
There are heated discussions around town, rumors about protests and clashes with the police, but no rallies, ville mort or even police presence. The police just get drunk all day anyway, and the national military was all called to the capital. What people do know and agree on is that we need a new president. He went one step too far by buying a $60 million presidential jet, and now there is a general call for him to be ousted. It is just happening slowly.
I began working with an NGO called CARE and mentioned to them the ‘political crisis’ and they said ‘No Gordon, it is not a crisis, it is just part of life here in Madagascar. It is the way we do things.’
It was difficult to be pulled from site to consolidation, but I returned and restarted my normal routine and was soon settled. Everything is normal here, and life is as it was, but I am waiting (we all are) for something to happen. Regional capitals are restricted areas. We are on the first level of security alert (standfast) indefinitely. Every time the phone rings I think ‘this could be it, please let me stay!’. However, aside from that mild anxiety, life goes on.
7 Mars, 2009
This is all happening in the capital and regional capitals, out here in the country side, you’d barely know anything is happening. We get daily reports from PC about the happenings around the country, but since the news is controlled by the president, most people here don’t really know what is happening on a day-to-day basis. Let me reiterate that I am safe.
There are heated discussions around town, rumors about protests and clashes with the police, but no rallies, ville mort or even police presence. The police just get drunk all day anyway, and the national military was all called to the capital. What people do know and agree on is that we need a new president. He went one step too far by buying a $60 million presidential jet, and now there is a general call for him to be ousted. It is just happening slowly.
I began working with an NGO called CARE and mentioned to them the ‘political crisis’ and they said ‘No Gordon, it is not a crisis, it is just part of life here in Madagascar. It is the way we do things.’
It was difficult to be pulled from site to consolidation, but I returned and restarted my normal routine and was soon settled. Everything is normal here, and life is as it was, but I am waiting (we all are) for something to happen. Regional capitals are restricted areas. We are on the first level of security alert (standfast) indefinitely. Every time the phone rings I think ‘this could be it, please let me stay!’. However, aside from that mild anxiety, life goes on.
7 Mars, 2009
But...
The President’s blunder does have immediate and lasting consequences for the country. The UN has estimated that it will take at least 7 years for the country to recover from the looting, burning and protesting. The lost harvest and burned goods could cause a food shortage in the near future. This is compounded by the fact that the World Bank, and many other aid groups have pulled funding to the country since President Ravalomanana cannot exactly say where he got the $60 mill for the jet.
A very close to home effect of this loss was explained to me by my landlord. He is a contractor and builder. He is about to finish building a school, dormitory and sanitation project in the countryside about 50 km away. He took out a loan to do this, and now the government can’t pay for it. They owe him money for the project and he is very worried that he will never get it. The bank is harassing him and the government is telling him just to wait. He cannot work on other projects until this one pays and he has money for more materials and labor.
Part of the problem is the lack of liquid capital in the market, it is sort of always like this, waiting for money to come. Part of the problem is that the government has no more money to pay for the public works it needs. This is not to say that the government would pay promptly if there was money, but they would pay eventually. Now, Mr. Calixte may never see that money again.
A very close to home effect of this loss was explained to me by my landlord. He is a contractor and builder. He is about to finish building a school, dormitory and sanitation project in the countryside about 50 km away. He took out a loan to do this, and now the government can’t pay for it. They owe him money for the project and he is very worried that he will never get it. The bank is harassing him and the government is telling him just to wait. He cannot work on other projects until this one pays and he has money for more materials and labor.
Part of the problem is the lack of liquid capital in the market, it is sort of always like this, waiting for money to come. Part of the problem is that the government has no more money to pay for the public works it needs. This is not to say that the government would pay promptly if there was money, but they would pay eventually. Now, Mr. Calixte may never see that money again.
Malagasy Politics:
There is a pitch-black, fork-tailed flycatcer called a Drongo here. This is the story of how it became the king of the birds:
Once upon a time there was a great fire in the forest. God called all of the birds to him and said “whoever put this fire out will forever be the king of the birds.” All of the birds rushed out to put out the fire, and the Mynah actually succeeded. He used coconuts from the trees where he lives to put out the flames.
Before he went back to see God, he wanted to take a bath. While he was bathing, the drongo, who had watched the whole thing from a distance, flew down and rolled in the ashes. He went to God and told him “I have put out the fire.” Then and there, God anointed the drongo with the ashes and made him king of the birds, which he remains to be even today.
9 Mars, 2009
Once upon a time there was a great fire in the forest. God called all of the birds to him and said “whoever put this fire out will forever be the king of the birds.” All of the birds rushed out to put out the fire, and the Mynah actually succeeded. He used coconuts from the trees where he lives to put out the flames.
Before he went back to see God, he wanted to take a bath. While he was bathing, the drongo, who had watched the whole thing from a distance, flew down and rolled in the ashes. He went to God and told him “I have put out the fire.” Then and there, God anointed the drongo with the ashes and made him king of the birds, which he remains to be even today.
9 Mars, 2009
Ambohibe, The Village High Up on the Hill:
I took a trip to Ambohibe with my friend Claude Amie yesterday. It is 18km away from Vavatenina down a really bad road. I didn’t expect much, but it is a really nice little village. I commented to Claude that for a town it’s size, it should have a road. He explained to me that in 1987 the government gave the Mayor a lot of money to build a road, and she built a big house instead. Now she is in jail, the house is unused and the town barely has a road.
It was a really nice trip. Claude is from the deep countryside (35 km from Ambohibe) and went there for middle school. He showed me around, the school is nicer than the one in Vavaten, and there is a nice soccer field down by the river; and introduced me to his friends.
While we were there, they were celebrating Women’s Rights Day. The Mayor made a speech and a group of girls sang and danced. Then a group of older women sang and danced to. I told Claude it made me really happy to see a cultural event like that; I ahad been dismayed at the lack of culture in Vavaten. He explained to me that there are lots of such events in the countryside. Dances, songs, celebrations (the day before they killed a cow in the town square), story telling acted out with masks, all these things happen here, but not in Vavaten. People don’t do them in the city because they think it is uncivilized. They hide their culture in the boonies so that the foreigners like me don’t judge them.
This idea made me really sad. Hide your culture? We are not the same, and you don’t have to be ashamed of that, but they are. I now remember a few times that very Catholic people in town, the same ones who told me never to go to a tomb-turning ceremony, disappeared for a day or two into the forest or country. Mostly near holidays. They all just told me they went to see family, but now I suspect there were alterior motives for their trips.
The upside is that now I know where to find such experiences, and Claude knows I am looking for them so he will keep me informed.
9 Mars, 2009
It was a really nice trip. Claude is from the deep countryside (35 km from Ambohibe) and went there for middle school. He showed me around, the school is nicer than the one in Vavaten, and there is a nice soccer field down by the river; and introduced me to his friends.
While we were there, they were celebrating Women’s Rights Day. The Mayor made a speech and a group of girls sang and danced. Then a group of older women sang and danced to. I told Claude it made me really happy to see a cultural event like that; I ahad been dismayed at the lack of culture in Vavaten. He explained to me that there are lots of such events in the countryside. Dances, songs, celebrations (the day before they killed a cow in the town square), story telling acted out with masks, all these things happen here, but not in Vavaten. People don’t do them in the city because they think it is uncivilized. They hide their culture in the boonies so that the foreigners like me don’t judge them.
This idea made me really sad. Hide your culture? We are not the same, and you don’t have to be ashamed of that, but they are. I now remember a few times that very Catholic people in town, the same ones who told me never to go to a tomb-turning ceremony, disappeared for a day or two into the forest or country. Mostly near holidays. They all just told me they went to see family, but now I suspect there were alterior motives for their trips.
The upside is that now I know where to find such experiences, and Claude knows I am looking for them so he will keep me informed.
9 Mars, 2009
So when is the rainy season?
This is a question that I have asked many people, in many forms, in 3 different languages and still have not received a solid answer for. But now people are just talking about it. I haven’t asked in a while because I thought it had just passed. If that was it I will be disappointed, but I think that was cyclone season and the rainy season is now upon us. that’s what people are saying when they aren’t talking about politics or money.
It occurred to me that the problem may not have been my language skills. but just a deeper disconnect. Then I ask people “when is the rainy season?” or “will it rain more in March?”, they understand the words, but don’t understand what I am asking. They don’t understand how I could not know when the rainy season is. Never mind that I grew up halfway around the world, everyone knows when the rainy season is. What is this crazy white guy asking?
Anyway, it is cooling off (thankfully) and the rain is coming more frequently. The threat of cyclones is almost passed without a major one hitting the East coast this year.
I guess this is just going be the way it is, communication wise. Even if I can coherently speak in Malagasy and French, I will still have a lot of trouble communicating. It is frustrating, but I will just keep trying. So far, some misinformation has caused misadventures, but no major problems. I am working hard to keep it that way, but my luck is bound to run out sometime.
8 Mars, 2009
It occurred to me that the problem may not have been my language skills. but just a deeper disconnect. Then I ask people “when is the rainy season?” or “will it rain more in March?”, they understand the words, but don’t understand what I am asking. They don’t understand how I could not know when the rainy season is. Never mind that I grew up halfway around the world, everyone knows when the rainy season is. What is this crazy white guy asking?
Anyway, it is cooling off (thankfully) and the rain is coming more frequently. The threat of cyclones is almost passed without a major one hitting the East coast this year.
I guess this is just going be the way it is, communication wise. Even if I can coherently speak in Malagasy and French, I will still have a lot of trouble communicating. It is frustrating, but I will just keep trying. So far, some misinformation has caused misadventures, but no major problems. I am working hard to keep it that way, but my luck is bound to run out sometime.
8 Mars, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Compare and contrast:
I assume that many of you watched President Obama’s Inauguration, and I thought this would be a good time to compare experiences. So think back on it, remember where you were, what you were doing, what else was going on...got it? Now, let me tell you what I was doing.
On the day before there was a huge tropical storm here. It rained all day and I was basically stuck in my house. On Inauguration Day, the storm broke in the morning, but we did not have school since it rained so hard yesterday. The morning was beautiful, and I went for a run in the cloudy late morning heat. I cooked and ate lunch with Brad, we played guitar and then tried to figure out what time the Inauguration would happen. My mom said 9:30, is that Pacific time (11 hours different) or Eastern? What time is that here? What did the radio say this morning?
By the time we had it figured out (turns out we were wrong anyway), it looked like rain again. Brad has the working radio and we have to cross town to get to his house. We left just in time to get caught in a tropical deluge. It then rained as it only can in the tropics, for the next two hours. We found a BBC station on the short-wave that promised coverage. Then the station moved. So we found its new frequency, got beers and waited.
For the speech and ceremony, it was 7:30 pm. The rain had stopped, but we were still wet, eating rice, sitting close to the radio with a dubious connection and picking fleas off of our legs as fast as we could find them. We were able to make out the speech, and it was definitely a memorable experience.
On the day before there was a huge tropical storm here. It rained all day and I was basically stuck in my house. On Inauguration Day, the storm broke in the morning, but we did not have school since it rained so hard yesterday. The morning was beautiful, and I went for a run in the cloudy late morning heat. I cooked and ate lunch with Brad, we played guitar and then tried to figure out what time the Inauguration would happen. My mom said 9:30, is that Pacific time (11 hours different) or Eastern? What time is that here? What did the radio say this morning?
By the time we had it figured out (turns out we were wrong anyway), it looked like rain again. Brad has the working radio and we have to cross town to get to his house. We left just in time to get caught in a tropical deluge. It then rained as it only can in the tropics, for the next two hours. We found a BBC station on the short-wave that promised coverage. Then the station moved. So we found its new frequency, got beers and waited.
For the speech and ceremony, it was 7:30 pm. The rain had stopped, but we were still wet, eating rice, sitting close to the radio with a dubious connection and picking fleas off of our legs as fast as we could find them. We were able to make out the speech, and it was definitely a memorable experience.
Natural Disaster days.
This time of year you at home may be missing school or work because of snow. Today I did not teach because of a tropical storm that is slamming into the East coast of the Island. Peace Corps issued a warning, retracted it, then told us to stock up on food and prepare for power and cell phone outages because the storm was coming.
It was easy to tell something was up: Yesterday from my window I could see 6 people repairing their roofs and throwind sandbags on them to keep them from blowing away. Th National Radio was issuing some kind of warning, and even though I couldn’t understand it all, I could hear ‘Warning (Tendremo)’ and ‘Vavatenina’. My landlord told me to stock up on food.
So it was windy and rained all day. It was exciting, but relatively un-eventful. For all the talk about the storm, this one turned out to be minor, just a tropical depression. There is a real cyclone on the West coast right now, and who knows where that will go? And there are 3 more months of cyclone season, so there is plenty of time for the weather to pick up the slack and send us something more exciting.
It was easy to tell something was up: Yesterday from my window I could see 6 people repairing their roofs and throwind sandbags on them to keep them from blowing away. Th National Radio was issuing some kind of warning, and even though I couldn’t understand it all, I could hear ‘Warning (Tendremo)’ and ‘Vavatenina’. My landlord told me to stock up on food.
So it was windy and rained all day. It was exciting, but relatively un-eventful. For all the talk about the storm, this one turned out to be minor, just a tropical depression. There is a real cyclone on the West coast right now, and who knows where that will go? And there are 3 more months of cyclone season, so there is plenty of time for the weather to pick up the slack and send us something more exciting.
The New Work-out Plan:
For me to stay sane and in good spirits, it has always been important for me to stay in shape. I never was much of a long distance runner, but due to limited resources, I am now. At least 3 times a week I run about 10km into the ‘ambabivolo’ (counrtyside). Last weekend I topped 24km running, and the Monday before that I biked 42km with my site partner Brad.
It is an interesting experience to go into the ambanivolo. I am already stared at in town, but when I run through some of the small villages it might be their excitement for the week. It is harder for me to communicate with people farther out of town, as they are less educated and speak with more slang and improper grammar. I am not one to be picky about their grammar, I’m sure mine is terrible, but it makes them much more difficult to comprehend. I barely have a grasp on the language as it is.
They also all think I am crazy for working out. This is a cultural difference. They lead such active lives anyway that the thought that someone might want to exercise is very foreign. To them, fat is also a sign of prosperity and health. If you don’t have to sweat in the fields all day, you have enough to eat and time to relax, you want to get fat so everyone knows how good you’ve got it.
I am hoping to send these posts from Fenerieve Est. If you are reading it, it means that I have biked the 46km there to visit my friend Michelle with the two other volunteers from out here in the countryside. It is a struggle to stay healthy here, fighting all the tropical diseases, lack of nutrition, heat and plain laziness, but I am managing. I will be sleeping on Michelle’s floor this weekend. She has rats (as do most volunteers) and some of the rats here carry the bubonic plague. Yes, also known as the Black Plague. If I get it, I promise I’ll let you know what it is like.
21 janvier 2009
It is an interesting experience to go into the ambanivolo. I am already stared at in town, but when I run through some of the small villages it might be their excitement for the week. It is harder for me to communicate with people farther out of town, as they are less educated and speak with more slang and improper grammar. I am not one to be picky about their grammar, I’m sure mine is terrible, but it makes them much more difficult to comprehend. I barely have a grasp on the language as it is.
They also all think I am crazy for working out. This is a cultural difference. They lead such active lives anyway that the thought that someone might want to exercise is very foreign. To them, fat is also a sign of prosperity and health. If you don’t have to sweat in the fields all day, you have enough to eat and time to relax, you want to get fat so everyone knows how good you’ve got it.
I am hoping to send these posts from Fenerieve Est. If you are reading it, it means that I have biked the 46km there to visit my friend Michelle with the two other volunteers from out here in the countryside. It is a struggle to stay healthy here, fighting all the tropical diseases, lack of nutrition, heat and plain laziness, but I am managing. I will be sleeping on Michelle’s floor this weekend. She has rats (as do most volunteers) and some of the rats here carry the bubonic plague. Yes, also known as the Black Plague. If I get it, I promise I’ll let you know what it is like.
21 janvier 2009
Who needs a TV?
I’ve found a new way to kill time. At dusk the bugs come out and stay for the night, so I leave my windows and drapes open and lure them in with my light. At seven I usually have a handful of flies and moths, harmless insects just unable to stop flying around the light. Then at 7:30 or 8, the fun begins.
My collection of small bugs is usually enough to attract a large predatory bug who comes in and cleans up. Usually it is a praying mantis (who knew they could fly?), but I have had plenty that I’ve never seen before. Some are so freakishly outlandish I couldn’t begin to describe them. Brown, green, red, purple with two wings, four wings antenna longer than their bodies, pincers, claws, big eyes, they’re amazing.
Last night I had the most impressive one yet. He came in looking lost and hit the wall 4 or 5 times, but then he got to business. He ate 6 moths and all the flies in about 2 minutes, then landed and scrambled under my bed where I could hear him wreaking havoc on all the poor bugs that live there. He was about 6 cm long, brown with short wings and a huge head. By far the most impressive insectivore I have seen at work.
My hope is that once I lure them in, they stay for a while and help me keep things in check. I’ve got a few resident spiders and some lizards too, but they apparently could use a little help. My house really isn’t that bad now. If I keep clean the ants and cockroaches raid my neighbors instead. Occasionally a scorpion still shows up, but I am hoping that they will be out competed by the lizards soon. Whoever wins out, I definitely have a healthy ecosystem and endless entertainment watching the battles and feasting play out.
7 janvier 2009
My collection of small bugs is usually enough to attract a large predatory bug who comes in and cleans up. Usually it is a praying mantis (who knew they could fly?), but I have had plenty that I’ve never seen before. Some are so freakishly outlandish I couldn’t begin to describe them. Brown, green, red, purple with two wings, four wings antenna longer than their bodies, pincers, claws, big eyes, they’re amazing.
Last night I had the most impressive one yet. He came in looking lost and hit the wall 4 or 5 times, but then he got to business. He ate 6 moths and all the flies in about 2 minutes, then landed and scrambled under my bed where I could hear him wreaking havoc on all the poor bugs that live there. He was about 6 cm long, brown with short wings and a huge head. By far the most impressive insectivore I have seen at work.
My hope is that once I lure them in, they stay for a while and help me keep things in check. I’ve got a few resident spiders and some lizards too, but they apparently could use a little help. My house really isn’t that bad now. If I keep clean the ants and cockroaches raid my neighbors instead. Occasionally a scorpion still shows up, but I am hoping that they will be out competed by the lizards soon. Whoever wins out, I definitely have a healthy ecosystem and endless entertainment watching the battles and feasting play out.
7 janvier 2009
Suddenly it’s HOT.
I guess it kind of crept up on me. It has been hot for months now, hardly a day goes by without someone pointing that out. We all say it, we all agree. Mafana be ny andro. But now it’s HOT.
I don’t know quite when it happened, but we have turned a corner. It hasn’t been below 32 degrees in my house since mid-December. I sleep with the window open and fan on, if I can sleep at all. I sweat, non-stop, and the only thing I can eat for lunch is fruit. I try not to leave my house between the hours of 11 and 3 but I have class some days at 2, so I walk and sweat and suffer.
The nights are nice to be out in. The town cools to about 30 by 10pm and I don’t have to worry about hiding in the shade. I have early classes during the week though, so I try to not enjoy the night for too long. It is a struggle to get into bed. It is hotter in my house than outside, hotter in the mosquito net than in the house, and the foam mattress that has been killing my back also gets hot really quick.
What I am hoping for now is that when the rains come, they will cool us down and bring wind too. Swarms of mosquitoes may be more enjoyable than the heat, at least I can hide from them.
5 janvier, 2009
My hopes have come true, sort of. The rainy season is starting, but so far it means hard rain for two or three hours around sunset. This means (inconveniently) that it is still scorching hot during the day, but some of the nicest hours of the cool evening are taken up by sitting out the rain. I do sometimes go out in it at my own peril. The mud keeps my sandals stuck to the ground when I try to pick them up, but refuses to let my foot stay in one place when I step down. The roads are disintegrating under my feet. It is cooler at night though, so I have been able to sleep. You win some and you lose some. C’est la vie.
17 janvier 2009
I don’t know quite when it happened, but we have turned a corner. It hasn’t been below 32 degrees in my house since mid-December. I sleep with the window open and fan on, if I can sleep at all. I sweat, non-stop, and the only thing I can eat for lunch is fruit. I try not to leave my house between the hours of 11 and 3 but I have class some days at 2, so I walk and sweat and suffer.
The nights are nice to be out in. The town cools to about 30 by 10pm and I don’t have to worry about hiding in the shade. I have early classes during the week though, so I try to not enjoy the night for too long. It is a struggle to get into bed. It is hotter in my house than outside, hotter in the mosquito net than in the house, and the foam mattress that has been killing my back also gets hot really quick.
What I am hoping for now is that when the rains come, they will cool us down and bring wind too. Swarms of mosquitoes may be more enjoyable than the heat, at least I can hide from them.
5 janvier, 2009
My hopes have come true, sort of. The rainy season is starting, but so far it means hard rain for two or three hours around sunset. This means (inconveniently) that it is still scorching hot during the day, but some of the nicest hours of the cool evening are taken up by sitting out the rain. I do sometimes go out in it at my own peril. The mud keeps my sandals stuck to the ground when I try to pick them up, but refuses to let my foot stay in one place when I step down. The roads are disintegrating under my feet. It is cooler at night though, so I have been able to sleep. You win some and you lose some. C’est la vie.
17 janvier 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Note for the readers new to blogs:
they make more sense in chronological order, which means from the bottom up. The one on top, being the most recent, will make more sense after you have read the ones written and posted before it. I will date them from now on since I am posting en masse. Also, since I am posting al ot at the same time you may have to click 'older posts' to see them all. Sorry, it's the best I can do with limited resources.
This posting began with one called "Aids Awareness Bike Race" find it and you are at the beginning of October. Maztoa! (enjoy)
This posting began with one called "Aids Awareness Bike Race" find it and you are at the beginning of October. Maztoa! (enjoy)
Litchi Madness
If you’ve never eaten a litchi, go do it now. It’s cool, I’ll wait. I live in litchi territory, which means for the last month, our town has been flooded with them. Litchis from here go out by the truckload, in a steady stream of trucks going for weeks on end. It is great that they have an outlet. Most of them go to Tamatave and get shipped to Europe. People make a lot of money off of the litchis. Unfortunately, it is not the farmers, but they make a fair amount as well. More than on any other crops.
Everything had a season, which is kind of cool. No, I can’t get pineapples all year, but when they come in, they are fresh. And I appreciate them even more because I can get them now, and only for this month. Litchis are different. Yes, they are incredibly delicious, the best fruit I have ever eaten, but it would be cool to be able to buy bananas or vegitables in the market to. They are in season, but the people here don’t care about anything but litchis. I ask ‘do you have green-beans?’ they say ‘green-beans?! No! there are litchis!’ ‘yes, but what about something to add nutrition, or to have a little variety? ‘Litchis! Litchis!’ ‘I saw bananas on your tree, are you going to bring those to market tomorrow?’ ‘No, of course not! there are litchis! Litchis!!!’
It is rather amazing, this litchi-madness. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it. There are so many they can’t eat or sell them all, and believe me, they try. The whole town is just crazy for litchis.
Dec 9, 2008
Everything had a season, which is kind of cool. No, I can’t get pineapples all year, but when they come in, they are fresh. And I appreciate them even more because I can get them now, and only for this month. Litchis are different. Yes, they are incredibly delicious, the best fruit I have ever eaten, but it would be cool to be able to buy bananas or vegitables in the market to. They are in season, but the people here don’t care about anything but litchis. I ask ‘do you have green-beans?’ they say ‘green-beans?! No! there are litchis!’ ‘yes, but what about something to add nutrition, or to have a little variety? ‘Litchis! Litchis!’ ‘I saw bananas on your tree, are you going to bring those to market tomorrow?’ ‘No, of course not! there are litchis! Litchis!!!’
It is rather amazing, this litchi-madness. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it. There are so many they can’t eat or sell them all, and believe me, they try. The whole town is just crazy for litchis.
Dec 9, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving.
It is 28.5 degrees Celsius here, but the continuous rain and cloudy-ness today help it feel more like Thanksgiving. I won’t be having a turkey, or a feast of any kind today (beans and rice as usual) but in the spirit of the holiday I spent some time reflecting on what I am thankful for. One thing stands out right now and that is the Calixte family. They own the house I live in and are my neighbors. We share the compound (well, yard, laundry lines, washing area) so maybe we are more than neighbors in the usual sense. Think of me as renting a room in their house.
They are amazing and beautiful people. When I need reminding why I am here, I just need to think of them. They are friendly, understanding, extremely helpful and kind. I tutor their kids, they share their watermelon. They provide a real sense of security because I know that if anything ever happened to me, they would do everything they could to help. They really have welcomed me as one of their family.
In fact, I have just been talking to Mr. Calixte about traveling to Antalaha for Christmas and he told me two important things: no matter what anyone operating a boat tells me, they are not safe this time of year, and that when I travel, they worry about me and he wants me to SMS when I get to Tana and again from Antalaha.
I have not written about them before because I felt I would be unable to do them justice, their kindness and generosity are almost beyond description, but suffice to say that on this Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks to living with them.
November 28, 2008
They are amazing and beautiful people. When I need reminding why I am here, I just need to think of them. They are friendly, understanding, extremely helpful and kind. I tutor their kids, they share their watermelon. They provide a real sense of security because I know that if anything ever happened to me, they would do everything they could to help. They really have welcomed me as one of their family.
In fact, I have just been talking to Mr. Calixte about traveling to Antalaha for Christmas and he told me two important things: no matter what anyone operating a boat tells me, they are not safe this time of year, and that when I travel, they worry about me and he wants me to SMS when I get to Tana and again from Antalaha.
I have not written about them before because I felt I would be unable to do them justice, their kindness and generosity are almost beyond description, but suffice to say that on this Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks to living with them.
November 28, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving.
It is 28.5 degrees Celsius here, but the continuous rain and cloudy-ness today help it feel more like Thanksgiving. I won’t be having a turkey, or a feast of any kind today (beans and rice as usual) but in the spirit of the holiday I spent some time reflecting on what I am thankful for. One thing stands out right now and that is the Calixte family. They own the house I live in and are my neighbors. We share the compound (well, yard, laundry lines, washing area) so maybe we are more than neighbors in the usual sense. Think of me as renting a room in their house.
They are amazing and beautiful people. When I need reminding why I am here, I just need to think of them. They are friendly, understanding, extremely helpful and kind. I tutor their kids, they share their watermelon. They provide a real sense of security because I know that if anything ever happened to me, they would do everything they could to help. They really have welcomed me as one of their family.
In fact, I have just been talking to Mr. Calixte about traveling to Antalaha for Christmas and he told me two important things: no matter what anyone operating a boat tells me, they are not safe this time of year, and that when I travel, they worry about me and he wants me to SMS when I get to Tana and again from Antalaha.
I have not written about them before because I felt I would be unable to do them justice, their kindness and generosity are almost beyond description, but suffice to say that on this Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks to living with them.
November 28, 2008
They are amazing and beautiful people. When I need reminding why I am here, I just need to think of them. They are friendly, understanding, extremely helpful and kind. I tutor their kids, they share their watermelon. They provide a real sense of security because I know that if anything ever happened to me, they would do everything they could to help. They really have welcomed me as one of their family.
In fact, I have just been talking to Mr. Calixte about traveling to Antalaha for Christmas and he told me two important things: no matter what anyone operating a boat tells me, they are not safe this time of year, and that when I travel, they worry about me and he wants me to SMS when I get to Tana and again from Antalaha.
I have not written about them before because I felt I would be unable to do them justice, their kindness and generosity are almost beyond description, but suffice to say that on this Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks to living with them.
November 28, 2008
Vouloir c’est pouvoir:
‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’, as we are fond of saying, but sometimes you need money too. I have a lot to say about the family with whom I share a ‘yard’ (same idea but concrete). It will have to be a separate entry, but for now I’ll just say that they are amazing people without whom the country would not feel like home to me.
Monsieur Calixte is a successful contractor, fluent in French, with a university degree in engineering. He is a hard worker, though now he has other people to do most of the work for him, but they have been working on the house next to mine since well before I got here. Why is it taking so long? Why do they work hard some weeks and not at all the next?
I asked him one day and was able to piece together this story in 3 languages. Apparently he worked too hard, and cashed out his capital. When he finished university he had capital to build with. This part is kind of hazy, but I know of at least 4 towns he has finished projects in and that he has at least 3 going right now. He gets lots of work from public works (currently building a central power station for the town) and his employees always seem to be busy with odd-jobs. But he is limited by the payment schedule of his finished projects, which in such a limited economy, is slow.
So now he has worked himself to a standstill. He has lots of equity, but no liquidity. That is to say that his completed projects pay off so slowly that he is severely limited in his current ones. There is no bank to loan to his buyers so they can pay him and owe the bank. If he takes a loan to finish his projects, he still has the same problem.
Monsieur Calixte is not alone in this, there are half finished structures all over the town, and now I know why. There is definitely a will, but it has to wait for the money to come in.
November 13, 2008
Monsieur Calixte is a successful contractor, fluent in French, with a university degree in engineering. He is a hard worker, though now he has other people to do most of the work for him, but they have been working on the house next to mine since well before I got here. Why is it taking so long? Why do they work hard some weeks and not at all the next?
I asked him one day and was able to piece together this story in 3 languages. Apparently he worked too hard, and cashed out his capital. When he finished university he had capital to build with. This part is kind of hazy, but I know of at least 4 towns he has finished projects in and that he has at least 3 going right now. He gets lots of work from public works (currently building a central power station for the town) and his employees always seem to be busy with odd-jobs. But he is limited by the payment schedule of his finished projects, which in such a limited economy, is slow.
So now he has worked himself to a standstill. He has lots of equity, but no liquidity. That is to say that his completed projects pay off so slowly that he is severely limited in his current ones. There is no bank to loan to his buyers so they can pay him and owe the bank. If he takes a loan to finish his projects, he still has the same problem.
Monsieur Calixte is not alone in this, there are half finished structures all over the town, and now I know why. There is definitely a will, but it has to wait for the money to come in.
November 13, 2008
Consider that a warning:
While sitting and looking at my swollen and red foot, I couldn’t help but think, “it could be worse, I could get malaria.” Don’t tell my mother, but I hadn’t been taking my malaria medicine. I am taking it now Mom, no need to worry.
I stopped taking it so I could sleep, which I couldn’t do while I was on it, and I can’t do now. For those non-medical in the audience, mefloquine is a medicine that prevents the effects of malaria from being felt, but it also causes intense night terrors, anxiety, sleeplessness and sometimes waking hallucinations. While I have not had any hallucinations that I know of, I can attest to the rest. Oh, and the long term effects are not well known, sometimes the side effects do not go away when you stop taking the meds.
There were not really many mosquitoes on the Plateau during training and I convinced myself that if I took precautions like using the mosquito net, bug repellent and wearing socks I would be fine. It worked there, but now I live on the coast. There are plenty of mosquitoes and it is definitely a malaria stricken zone. When I got that bite on my foot, I had to be realistic. I have consistently had bites on my ankle (where the malaria ones bite) that I was getting in the evening (when they come out) despite my best efforts with repellent and burning coils. I considered that bite a warning and it has been well heeded.
At least I know I have not gotten malaria yet. Even though its effects can be delayed I can be sure of this. My participation in sometimes-risky outdoor sports has prompted warnings of all kinds from my mother, my friends’ mothers and just about all of my female acquaintances. Their warnings range from general (don’t do anything stupid) to very specific (ex. don’t climb trees when your drunk), but never seem to make much difference. It is always right after I need it that their warnings come back into my brain. I hear their voices, clear as a bell ‘don’t go hiking by the river at night’ right when I’m in the middle of doing something sketchy. I was one mile away from camp on a ridge trail along the side of Eagle Creek in the Gorge in the pitch dark when I heard that one. Where were you when the sun was still up?
This means that since I have not heard the repeated admonishments of my female co-workers to take my medicine replayed in my head, it is not too late. This time I will take their advice, and all it took was three days of excruciating pain.
November 12, 2008
I stopped taking it so I could sleep, which I couldn’t do while I was on it, and I can’t do now. For those non-medical in the audience, mefloquine is a medicine that prevents the effects of malaria from being felt, but it also causes intense night terrors, anxiety, sleeplessness and sometimes waking hallucinations. While I have not had any hallucinations that I know of, I can attest to the rest. Oh, and the long term effects are not well known, sometimes the side effects do not go away when you stop taking the meds.
There were not really many mosquitoes on the Plateau during training and I convinced myself that if I took precautions like using the mosquito net, bug repellent and wearing socks I would be fine. It worked there, but now I live on the coast. There are plenty of mosquitoes and it is definitely a malaria stricken zone. When I got that bite on my foot, I had to be realistic. I have consistently had bites on my ankle (where the malaria ones bite) that I was getting in the evening (when they come out) despite my best efforts with repellent and burning coils. I considered that bite a warning and it has been well heeded.
At least I know I have not gotten malaria yet. Even though its effects can be delayed I can be sure of this. My participation in sometimes-risky outdoor sports has prompted warnings of all kinds from my mother, my friends’ mothers and just about all of my female acquaintances. Their warnings range from general (don’t do anything stupid) to very specific (ex. don’t climb trees when your drunk), but never seem to make much difference. It is always right after I need it that their warnings come back into my brain. I hear their voices, clear as a bell ‘don’t go hiking by the river at night’ right when I’m in the middle of doing something sketchy. I was one mile away from camp on a ridge trail along the side of Eagle Creek in the Gorge in the pitch dark when I heard that one. Where were you when the sun was still up?
This means that since I have not heard the repeated admonishments of my female co-workers to take my medicine replayed in my head, it is not too late. This time I will take their advice, and all it took was three days of excruciating pain.
November 12, 2008
A drama in three parts:
11/9/08, 7am: While in Vatomandry, I was bit by some unknown creature. It is somewhere between a mosquito bite and a bee sting. The bite is on the top of my left foot. It looks like a mosquito bite that I scratched, but has a four-inch red, painful and hot-to-the-touch circle around it. It is bad enough to make me limp and cancel my trip to the market. It is noticeably swollen. I don’t know what it was or if I should be worried, but for whatever reason I’m not. If it isn’t better tomorrow I might be. But it has been getting worse for the last 2 days and should get better soon.
11/9/08, 1:30: Ok, don’t ask me why I wasn’t worried earlier, but I am now. I circled the bite this morning, thinking to compare it’s size in the morning tomorrow, but it is growing before my eyes. It has already expanded half an inch beyond the line and I can no longer pretend I just did a bad job circling it. I can’t walk at all, it is continuously leaking fluid and my foot has swollen to about 3 times its normal size. Now I am a little worried; maybe it is time to call the doctors.
11/10/08, 11:30: Well, I can’t really walk. Yesterday one of my neighbors went to the hospital to get some medicine that the PC doctor prescribed for me. I am extremely grateful for his help, I couldn’t have gotten it myself. When I woke up today it had not gotten worse, which the doctor said was a good sign. However I still had to walk 1.5km to school on a foot so infected it would barely fit into my shoe. Now I am sitting again (see vacation) but this time with a good reason: if I put my foot down there is a terrible throbbing pain. I probably shouldn’t have gone to class, but there is so much to cover in the curriculum and not enough time to do it.
Update: Foot is getting better, I can walk. The real bummer is that I will never know what actually bit me. Somebody do some research and find the meanest-looking bug on the island and we’ll all agree on that.
11/9/08, 1:30: Ok, don’t ask me why I wasn’t worried earlier, but I am now. I circled the bite this morning, thinking to compare it’s size in the morning tomorrow, but it is growing before my eyes. It has already expanded half an inch beyond the line and I can no longer pretend I just did a bad job circling it. I can’t walk at all, it is continuously leaking fluid and my foot has swollen to about 3 times its normal size. Now I am a little worried; maybe it is time to call the doctors.
11/10/08, 11:30: Well, I can’t really walk. Yesterday one of my neighbors went to the hospital to get some medicine that the PC doctor prescribed for me. I am extremely grateful for his help, I couldn’t have gotten it myself. When I woke up today it had not gotten worse, which the doctor said was a good sign. However I still had to walk 1.5km to school on a foot so infected it would barely fit into my shoe. Now I am sitting again (see vacation) but this time with a good reason: if I put my foot down there is a terrible throbbing pain. I probably shouldn’t have gone to class, but there is so much to cover in the curriculum and not enough time to do it.
Update: Foot is getting better, I can walk. The real bummer is that I will never know what actually bit me. Somebody do some research and find the meanest-looking bug on the island and we’ll all agree on that.
Accentuating the unfamiliar:
With all of the PCVs in town for Jerijery (10 of us total), we decided to celebrate Halloween. I assumed it was going to give us a reminder of home and help us feel somewhat normal. Kathryne (Environment PCV 12 km from Vavatenina) wanted to carve a pumpkin, she had candy and some decorations.
The overall effect was very different. The juxtaposition of the traditional American holiday in Madagascar actually highlighted the strangeness. I ended up trick-or-treating for M&Ms at my own house. We carved a giant papaya. It was a lot of fun, but the absurdity of the papaya especially was a stark reminder that we were half the world away.
Watching Barack Obama’s acceptance speech had the same effect. It was broadcast live from Chicago on a cool autumn evening but we watched it at 8am when its already 85 degrees outside. Every once in a while things like this happen to me and it is then that I feel the most isolated. I am already very accustomed to the way things are here. I just take it as it comes and it feels like home. But when I dwell on the past or future in the U.S.A., I am confronted by a dichotomy that makes me feel both homesick and excited to be having this experience.
November 9, 2008
The overall effect was very different. The juxtaposition of the traditional American holiday in Madagascar actually highlighted the strangeness. I ended up trick-or-treating for M&Ms at my own house. We carved a giant papaya. It was a lot of fun, but the absurdity of the papaya especially was a stark reminder that we were half the world away.
Watching Barack Obama’s acceptance speech had the same effect. It was broadcast live from Chicago on a cool autumn evening but we watched it at 8am when its already 85 degrees outside. Every once in a while things like this happen to me and it is then that I feel the most isolated. I am already very accustomed to the way things are here. I just take it as it comes and it feels like home. But when I dwell on the past or future in the U.S.A., I am confronted by a dichotomy that makes me feel both homesick and excited to be having this experience.
November 9, 2008
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