Blogs from Madagascar, Africa - page 39

Not much else to say besides...I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer! I swore in this morning at 9:30, had a lovely afternoon at the Ambassador's house, chill afternoon, got caught in a torrential downpour, ate some amazing Indian food for dinner, and went out dancing! Who could ask for a better day? Not this girl...... read more

1. dirt is stickier in 3rd world countries 2. i can go to bed at 8pm—and i’m even tired at that time! 3. mud huts are not as romantic as i imagined…nor are mud kabones 4. i am not an abstract learner 5. cockroaches make a lot of noise crawling over your belongings in the middle of the night 6. i have more stuff than i thought—even though “i didn’t bring enough” 7. getting mail is like the best birthday ever 8. you can gain weight even though your main diet consists of rice (ahem…Bolos) 9. it’s good to pee in a bucket at night because there is a witch (clearly…why don’t we do this in america? Oh…right…we have toilets! i forgot!) 10. it is impossible to describe the moon in madagascar… 11. it is ... read more

Manakory o! Where does one begin? I'm in Madagascar! I live in a little village called Alarobia (meaning Wednesday, because that's when we have market). I spend the majority of my days in language training or "technical classes"---learning about malaria, immunizations, safe motherhood, etc. I am currently with my training group still--sans two members who have "ETed" already. Alarobia is near Ambatomanga which provides a venue for nice hikes and wonderful cheese factories. The cheese is fabulous, and rumor is a man from Wisconsin came to teach the people how to make cheese! We really have little time to hang out, however, because we train all day, and must be "home" before dark, circa 6:30pm. But our families are lovely and helpful. I have a brother, Tendry (10), and sister, Tahiry (13), and of course mother ... read more

Geo: -20.5183, 47.4197... read more

Geo: -21.494, 47.5117We'd heard a lot about 'The F... Place!' as Aina is writing his dissertation on tourism there. Of course, this worked hugely in our favour as Aina knew everything and everyone! It took us all day to get there in our bling mobile, stopping at Parc National de L'Isalo for a scenic picnic with the friendly flies! On our arrival we were met by the owner of The Tsara Guesthouse, a very important figure who has done a fantastic job saving and restoring the traditional tile-roofed buildings in the city. Very worthwhile as they are beautiful! Fianarantsoa is like a baby Tana, very similar but smaller. I immediately warmed to the place. It has a wonderful friendly atmosphere.The highlight of our stay here was a pirogue trip. A pirogue is a dug out canoe ... read more