A Trip Up North

It is crazy that it is already July! The second half of June was filled with traveling which made it absolutely fly by. The first trip came as a surprise – my counterpart organization, Prosperer, informed me and the two other volunteers in my region with three days notice about a business trip to visit Prosperer offices and co-workers up north to promote cooperation and communication between regions. I was unsure if I wanted to go at first at such short notice, having planned other activities for that week and worried about language and community integration. However, I decided to go and am so glad that I did. The north is like another world from the highlands. I am beginning to learn why some people call Madagascar “the eighth continent”. It was not only interesting to see how the landscape changed during the 700km trip to Antsohihy, but also to see how different the culture seemed once we arrived. Not only is the language different, as the people speak a different dialect of Malagasy, but I couldn’t help but notice the culture felt much more African. I found myself being reminded of my time in Senegal – something I had experienced living in the highlands but to a much lesser extent as the culture reflects a more Asian influence.

The “business” part of the trip was great. It consisted of visiting various MERs, or Micro-Entreprises Rurales (Rural Micro-Enterprises), who are the primary beneficiaries of Prosperer activities and include blacksmiths, basket weavers, beekeepers, and seamstresses among others. It was interesting to see other projects and get some ideas for projects I can try to incorporate in my work in Ampefy. I also loved getting to know my Malagasy co-workers and counterparts. Nothing like long car rides and late nights singing Malagasy songs (or listening, in my case) to bring people closer together. Many times I found myself thinking, this would never happen on a business trip in the states! Though I have to say, one of the highlights of our time in Antsohihy was the coconut sauce. Coconuts abound up north, and they make an absolutely delicious sauce that is even better when paired with freshly caught ocean fish in which I indulged several times over a 24-hour period.

On the way back down south, we stopped in a town called Port-Bergé for some more visits. We had a bit more time to wander and explore the town, which was a nice respite from sitting in a car all day. It was interesting to chat with people from the town, both to hear just how different the language is (and see just how little I could understand) and to learn a bit about culture in the north. Every evening for the two weeks leading up to the fetim-pirenena (independence day) in Madagascar, which was on June 26^th, there is a type of boxing called Morengy (sp?) that takes place in the town center of Port-Bergé. Men, women and children alike seek out opponents by strutting around the makeshift arena, sizing up their competition until they find a suitable match. While the fighting is normally a form of good fun and healthy competition, it did occasionally turn ugly prompting the local police to get involved and break it up. I have posted some pictures that only begin to capture the atmosphere of the event, but at least do justice to its scale.

I think the fighting was a good example of just how diverse Malagasy culture is. It reflects a much more intense energy and vibrant culture up north, while the highlands are much more conservative and relaxed. I have to say, while it was great to see the differences in the north and I am definitely motivated to discover other parts of the country, I was happy and relieved to return to my quiet town of Ampefy. A big part of Malagasy culture is the giving of voandalanas, literally translated as “fruit of the road” and a gift that you share with your friends and family upon return from a trip. So, upon my return, I not only shared stories from the trip but also northern specialties such as coconuts and siramamy gasy – Malagasy sugar made out of sugar cane and pounded in the shape of a brick – with my friends back in Ampefy. I spent a great evening upon my arrival celebrating the birthday of a friend with her family in which I experimented with my own coconut sauce. It turned out quite tasty, I must say.

Photos of Ampefy

Welcome to Ampefy! Posing with my friend, Florence.

La Chute de la Lille - a waterfall about 7km away from Ampefy.

I took the walk with a cohort of Malagasy friends - making the walk quite enjoyable though still exhausting!

Lac Itasy at dawn. The fishermen will soon return with their catch.

Chameleon!

A Month in Ampefy

June 4^th, 2012

It has now been a full month living in Ampefy. It has been a month of many ups and downs, but I have landed in a good place – becoming more and more integrated day by day and beginning to find a sense of purpose in my life and work here. My Malagasy, while far from perfect, has gotten to the point where I am comfortable chatting with people – and an increasing number of friends – in town. With each day, I learn more about life and the people here and about myself. I think I have finally accepted my limits in terms of what exactly I am capable of accomplishing in two years. I felt quite overwhelmed these past few weeks – with learning a new language, integrating into a new culture, and trying to figure out my work here. During that time, I thought long and hard about many things ranging from the nature of development work to the most important things in life. While at times I doubted myself and my decisions, I can honestly say that this is the place where I belong at this moment.

I need to constantly remind myself that Peace Corps just expects us to learn for the first 3 months of service, because my brain is working all the time thinking about the extent and gravity of the problems that affect the people in my town as well as looking for ways to help. The challenges are exacerbated by the fact that the national government is essentially nonexistent and provides little to no support to the population. There has been a transitional government in power since the overthrow of the previous president in 2009, and the country has been in a political crisis ever since – marked by rising prices, growing unemployment and lack of international recognition (and foreign investment). Certain things are clearly beyond my control – I usually bring myself back to earth by thinking about all the kids in town and the potential they hold. Additionally, as I continue to chat with people and learn about my town, I am realizing that people here are very eager to improve their own lives and I am starting to find ways to help them do so.

One of the most exciting but also challenging aspects of my work and life here is the extreme flexibility of it all. While I do have a counterpart and partner organization, they are located in a larger city 20km away. I have yet to have contact with anyone at Peace Corps. For all they know, I could be treating my time here as vacation (and there are stories of volunteers doing just that). Each day, I just have to walk out my door, chat with people, learn about Ampefy and make connections. While in the beginning this was pretty difficult, especially with my lack of language skills, I have begun to establish more of a routine and have started to realize just how lucky I am to be given the opportunity to do something I so believe in – community development. I am also so fortunate to be living in a town with many people that are committed to improving their own lives and the well-being of their community. Not to paint it all as perfect – there are certainly people that might not have the interests of the greater good at heart. But I am doing my best to seek out the ones that do and capitalize on their knowledge, ideas and connections. My role here is really that of a catalyst to motivate action and link to bring people together.

The large majority of the residents of Ampefy farm and/or raise livestock. Therefore, I will likely be working with mpamboly (farmers) and mpiompy (those that raise livestock – is there a word for this in English that I don’t know?). This morning I held a meeting of farmers, mostly of peanuts and beans, and began to learn a little bit about their lives. I have some powerful allies in the President and Vice President of the Fokontany (the name of the smallest political unit in Madagascar, the Fokontany of Ampefy has approximately 3,000 residents) and one of the more respected farmers. They are very mazoto and kind and helped me organize the meeting and get the word out there – I was surprised by a fairly large turnout of over 20 farmers. Next time, there are sure to be more especially once the word gets out that refreshments were provided (some incentives work in any culture). With everyday and each additional interaction, my work here seems slightly more manageable. It’s a roller coaster though – sometimes it all seems possible and sometimes I wonder how a single person can possibly make a difference. But then I think about the 13 year old girl I chatted with last week when her friends were refusing to talk to her (oh, middle school drama – also universal). Or the woman I harvested beans with whom I shed a tear, or the kids that chant my name outside my gate until I go outside and play with them.

Yesterday I took a long walk to the Chute de la Lille (google it!), a waterfall about 8km outside of Ampefy. I was planning to just go with a friend of mine, Hortensia, but we ended up being accompanied by 10 of her family members – ranging from Narissa, the adorable 9-year old who will surely break hearts, to Michel, your typical teenage boy (though typical for Malagasy – chatty and great at harmonizing). It was an absolute blast. The waterfall was beautiful of course, but the company was even better. Sometimes it’s great hanging out with kids because they are so non-judgmental and extremely patient with my language skills. The walk was marked by singing, dancing and just general silliness as well as a very entertaining Photo Chute (I’m very proud of that pun) upon arrival at the waterfall. I’ve posted some highlights here. Upon return to Ampefy, I went to church with my adopted host family and then celebrated Mother’s Day with them (it was on Sunday in Madagascar). They make me feel so welcome and I now have an open invitation to hang out or have dinner with them anytime.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to be better about writing a blog every week or so and then posting when I get fast enough internet access. I love and miss you all very much!

I wrote this post a few weeks ago.

May 13^th, 2012

As of last Tuesday, I now call Ampefy my home. I keep thinking that I must have done something right in a past life to be living in such an amazing place for the next two years. After four full days here I have already met some amazing and mazoto (Malagasy for hard-working and motivated) people as well as potential life-long friends. Of course the past few days have been filled with ups and downs – that is life as a Peace Corps volunteer – and I don’t want to paint everything as rosy but so far I find myself feeling overall optimistic and tamana (Gasy for well-settled and comfortable). I could go on attempting to explain my state of mind at this moment; however perhaps my experience so far is best told through an anecdote.

            I will start with this morning, as it is fresh in my mind. Though, to bring me to the events of today, I must begin with yesterday. I finally had time to accept a mandroso (it will be hard not to sprinkle Gasy words in here…this one essentially means come on in to my house and let me shower you with hospitality) from a woman with whom I had spoken briefly the day before. She showed me pictures of her family and we discussed religion over a bottle of Fanta and a pack of Saltos, all the while inducing stares and giggles from Malagasy children playing outside. I quickly became aware that religion, and specifically Christianity, is one of the strongest social institutions here in Ampefy and could not refuse an invitation to attend church the next day at Jesosy Mamonjy (‘Jesus Saves’).

            So this morning, I went to church with my newest community mother and her adorable 6-year-old daughter. It was quite a different experience than my previous time going to church here in Madagascar, in Mantasoa with my host family, and overall left me with a much more positive and communal feeling. After about an hour of singing hymns, the pastor gave a sermon (I apologize for my lack of proper religious terminology here) at the end of which he personally singled me out as the only “vahiny” in the crowd (the kinder term for foreigner in Mada) and as far as I could understand, publicly acknowledged and appreciated my attempts at integrating in the community and understanding Malagasy. All of this in front of probably about 100 adults and children, who promptly all turned and looked at me. It was only slightly terrifying but talk about a good introduction to my community! If I continue at this rate at every church in town – I believe there are seven – the entire population of Ampefy will know my face in seven weeks.

            And that brings me to the nature of the situation here in Ampefy. Every weekend, many tourists – both Malagasy and from abroad – visit the town and surrounding areas, which is known for its beautiful scenery, waterfalls and delicious fish. Needless to say, most of these short-term visitors take little interest in the local people, culture or language. I soon discovered that simply by saying, “Manahoana! Inona no vaovao?” (kind of like, Hey, What’s new? In gasy) evokes shock and awe among the people in town. So the fact that I went to church and sat through a 3-hour service and had apparent connections to fellow churchgoers was miles ahead of what the people of Ampefy have experienced with foreigners previously. Such low expectations have made my transition smooth and peoples’ overall perception of me positive.

            In terms of work, I have already met several fishermen (and women!) as well as fish sellers in addition to representatives of other associations and cooperatives that I would love to work with. Today I met informally with a woman who is the secretary of a newly formed cooperative of coffee growers and sellers interested in exporting abroad. I wish I could fast forward in my Malagasy language skills to be able to jump right in and start with projects. Peace Corps expects us to spend the first three months at site to learn about our community and work on language skills, which is both very necessary and ideal for integration, but I’m not sure the people in my community will let things move that slowly. And I can’t help but let their enthusiasm rub off on me.

And Here I Am

[Disclaimer: This is a blog post I wrote a week ago. We are currently on our technical trip for Community Economic Development, visiting current volunteers at their sites. It has been great to see the country and learn about the projects volunteers are working on.]

I have been in Madagascar for nearly a month now. The days have been flying by. Peace Corps keeps us very busy with training 6 days a week, including 4 hours of Malagasy language training in the mornings and a combination of technical, cultural and administrative trainings in the afternoons. This schedule leaves very little time to think about and process all of the changes and adjustments happening in life at the moment. Overall though, things are incredible. The landscape of the country is absolutely beautiful, dotted by forests, rice fields, colorful houses, mountains and plateaus. We are currently living in the highlands a few hours east of the capital in a town called Mantasoa where most individuals make their living rice farming or fishing. The town is located on the largest man-made lake in Madagascar, Lac Mantasoa. Malagasy people are incredibly friendly and curious, but also come across as very relaxed and low key – just my type of people. Though the language barrier is still pretty significant, I feel very at home and comfortable within the culture and with the people I interact with on a daily basis.

About a week ago all of the Peace Corps trainees moved back to the training center after living with host families in the town of Mantasoa for the past month. I absolutely loved my host family and had a great time getting to know them as well as learning about Malagasy language and culture. I spent much of my time at home with my host mother Eliane, chatting and cooking Malagasy food which always consists of rice and a side dish of vegetables, pasta, beans or meat. I also played a lot of Go Fish and dominoes with my host siblings Haingo (10) and Kelly (6), while the youngest Christianon (2) generally wreaked havoc around the house. At various times he was found playing with giant knives, eating pig feed or hitting anyone around him with sticks. By the end of homestay, I was able to hold basic conversations with my host family in Malagasy and was even told by my host mom that she would miss my company. I already feel nostalgic thinking about my time there.

The biggest news however is that I found out my site placement last week! I am officially going to the town of Ampefy, located a few hours west of Antananarivo. It is a pretty large tourist destination as it is the geographical center of Madagascar and is located on one of the largest lakes in the country, Lake Itasy. It is known for its delicious fish, and just as I was hoping, one of my primary projects will be working with a fisherwoman who runs her own fishery just outside of town! Additional projects that I hope to get involved with include work at a fruit and vegetable drying center and with local artisans such as woodcarvers and basket weavers.

Departing in 32 hours!

Hello everyone! This will be my blog during my 27-month stint with the Peace Corps in Madagascar. For those of you who are still confused about what exactly I will be doing there, do not fear - so am I! My assignment is in Small Enterprise Development, and specifically small business advising, and I find out my exact duties about a month into training.

A brief schedule of events for the next month or so is as follows. I am currently in Washington, DC for staging, which begins in approximately two hours. Tomorrow, my flight departs at 5:40 from Dulles airport and we arrive in Antananarivo, Madagascar at 2pm on Thursday after a layover in Johannesburg. The first few months in country are filled with hours of language, technical, and cultural training before I am transported to my actual site. I hope to have internet within the first few weeks of my arrival to let everyone know how I am doing. Until then, be well!

That's all for now, just wanted to get this thing up and running. Miss you all already and wish me luck!