Friday, February 26, 2010

Similarities= same continent...maybe

Merry Christmas! And soon to be Happy New Year!
Going from the last post, not too many connections can be made- life has performed a 180 swing! From endlessly flat to majestically rolling hills, dust clouds to mud-lined roads, millet fields to rice-patty groves, huts to houses, droughts to cyclones, dreaming of ocean to dreaming of dry, single-choice diets to options galore, a lake and a river to ones sprouting out of the ground wherever you look, two national parks to over fifty, the change has been dramatic and bountiful. After briskly leaving Niger in early December, making the most of a day layover in Paris en-route to Madagascar, and then landing in this curveball of a country the thirty-six of us have plunged into an accelerated and unforeseen six-week training course. On the plane ride over I checked out a 'Time' magazine which had done a study on AIDs prevelance in Africa- Madagascar wasen't even on the map! The mentality of that prevails within the island for even native Malagasy's will call people who travel here from Africa, 'African's.' However, ‘training’ should be used loosely in this context, for when you’re living in paradise it’s hard to believe you’re on the job as well!
Our training center is located on a gorgeous lake outside of the capital Antananarivo (coined as ‘Tana’- the long words go far beyond city names). At the training site a camp-like feel incorporates the entire experience with fireplaces lining each building, dorm housing, side activities including canoeing/biking/volleyball, delicious food, HOT WATER, I find myself needing to do a reality check from time to time. We are all still trying to digest that we just moved from one of the most barren and difficult countries in the world to the one which has the highest Peace Corps extension rate and lowest dropout rate. Today I met a previous volunteer stationed on the coast. He swam in the ocean at his leisure and lived in a beachfront house!
At the training center we are all now learning Malagasy- there are several different dialects throughout the country and I am learning the very exotically named dialect of ‘standard.’ My site placement has changed quite a bit from Niger. I will now be working in the education sector. I will be living in a large city of 30,000 working as an English teacher at a Lycee (high school). The classes will consist of 70 t0 75 students. I’ll be living at the school’s compound in a house with electricity, but not with any other teachers, however I understand the school’s cleaner as well as guard sleep nextdoor- add for some nightly chit-chat.
We are now in week three of training, plowing through the holiday season. It looks like around late January we will be sworn in as official volunteers. To help the time pass we’ve been putting on skits, exercising extensively (did a 40 kilometer loop last weekend- sunrise canoe rides), scouting out goods at markets (vastly more products than Niger- and RIDICULOUSLY cheap- long sleeve shirt: 50 cents, jeans: 1 dollar), and so on. Soon we will be moving into our Malagasy host families so that will help to preoccupy ourselves on learning the language.
Today we are heading to a national park hosting the largest lemur species in the world! On that note, a little fact: 80% of the species living in Madagascar are solely native to the country. Other than that all is going well. Christmas went great. We organized a little Secret Santa swap and decorated the training area with paper snowflakes, trees, stockings, and such. And now it’s about time to sign off. I wish you all the best for Christmas and New Years in your respective areas! Miss you all, but am loving the new home, be sure to keep in touch!
Tom