Well, I’m finally here in my village. It’s been about 3 weeks here and 3 months in Madagascar. Let’s just say, it’s been one hell of a rollercoaster ride since I’ve arrived at my site. Imagine this… You’re a bigshot from L.A. and you move across the country to some tiny town in Georgia. You don’t really have the same customs, but the moment you arrive, the town makes you their high-profile city council man/woman….without you even knowing what’s really going on in the town. And, you look completely different from everyone else. Oh, and you can barely speak the language or understand what they're all saying to you. And, it’s not Georgia, it’s Africa. It’s like that.
It’s been rough and it’s been awesome, and it’s not consistently either. It definitely gets better every day. I’m still trying to figure out how everything works here: the politics of the town, people’s relationships, what’s taboo, when people are hungriest throughout the year, what natural resources are most in trouble here, and what my place in this community is going to be. Also…trying to figure out who my friends are. I’ve gone around and introduced myself to a lot of people so far, random villagers and the “lehibes” (the VIPs like the principals, the doctors, the heads of the women’s and men’s groups, etc.) Some people seem to like me already, some don’t want anything to do with me until I’m fluent in Malagasy. Some don’t understand what I’m doing here. Some think I’m a godsend because I’m white. Some don’t want me here because I’m white, etc. But it’s the ones who welcome me with open arms and don’t seem to expect anything from me in return, that make me feel like this whole thing will be worth doing and that I can handle it emotionally. I can’t tell you how many people come over to give me food, or how many of the zaza madinikas (little kids) help me get water, do my dishes, cook food, sweep the floor, and most helpful of all, learn Malagasy.
So far, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now; learning how to live here and learning the language. I think what’s been the hardest for me is not having a schedule really, though I’m starting to get busier. Being an American, I’m used to a faster pace of life, it’s hard to slow way down and to just be glad if I get a couple of things done in a day. But, I’ve taken my parents’ advice and started trying to fill my days, and do something that makes me happy each day. We’re so focused on results and getting things done as quickly as possible. It’s a shock to be thrown into a life where people kill time by braiding each other’s hair. But, that means you begin to take the time to appreciate the present.
Anyways, I’ve got a lot of ideas for projects, but the key word in my life right now is PATIENCE! In August, I go back to Tana to learn about writing proposals and grants. They don’t want us doing that just yet, as I said before. Then, after that, we’ll all start our projects. People have already expressed serious interest in a basketball court for the middle school (already have a budget written up!) Also, I’d like to help them raise chickens. The chicken situation is this: they obviously know more about raising chickens than me, since I’ve never done it in my life. But these “Gasy Chickens” just roam free, they don’t really put them anywhere at night, and I can’t always tell whose chickens are whose. How they ever can astounds me! People steal the eggs and the chickens and they feed them when they feel like it with rice hulls (not enough nutrients), so the chickens are scrawny and lay very few eggs, so people either don’t get enough protein or they get it in other ways, i.e. bushmeat (Lemurs, no joke…so cute….. it would be sad if they went extinct),
They already have a farmers group together, but need me to help write a proposal to get money to bring in technicians to teach them a better way to raise chickens and ducks and to send someone to Tana to bring back the eggs of the improved “vazaha chickens” and to have enough money for vaccinations and building chicken coops. Then we’ll teach their friends. That’s the plan so far. Also, people want to build the improved cookstoves we learned to make in training…fun to make, cheap (you can build one for about $1.00 or $1.50) and it really helps families because firewood isn’t super easy to come by. Either it’s expensive because they use so much of it, or they have to walk a ways to harvest it from the rainforest. The stoves use way less wood than what they use now. And, being an environmental volunteer, I sort of think anything to slow deforestation is awesome.
Also, I got the go ahead to paint a mural on the hospital wall, one of the four rooms, one of the maybe 3 or 4 buildings that aren’t wood/thatch/bamboo that I could paint on. It’s going to be about nutrition…an idea other develop agencies here had: the M’car flag is red, green and white (look it up) the red is protein, the green is vegetables and fruit, and the white is staple foods (rice, lots of rice)….an easy way to understand balancing your diet. Also, some farmers want to learn about SRI, system of rice intensification…..again, feeds people, while cutting back on forest degradation (lots of food in a small space compared to less food in the same space, making people clear more land). And, we’ve been planting trees every Wednesday at the middle school with the environmental club there. Also, I want to teach art… I sort of just let them draw now. My walls are covered in their pictures! When I get better at the language, I’ll be able to do more. All just in the idea stages, so we’ll see what actually happens….but it’s really nice to have ideas coming to me already…..all have been theirs, other than teaching art, so it goes along with the sustainability philosophy. If they want it first, it’s good.
As far as daily life goes….I wake up, make rice for the day, do household stuff, go talk to people (I’m getting better everyday I think…it happens fast when you don’t have the option of speaking English), go on a walk/explore stuff, go to the beach with the kids, come back and read or draw, talk some more with kids until I tell them to go home ‘cuz I want to eat or sleep. I sort of just go and see what people are up to, (working in rice fields, weaving mats or hats, etc.) , or they come to me. It’s hard to describe what it’s like here, but I’ll leave you with some examples from the assignment my college English teacher gave me for my time here. The assignment: describe one image or moment from each day in 10 words or less. I’ve been pretty good about doing it consistently.
• rocking in warm sea water at dusk
•Tenrec fianakaviana (family of hedgehogs) crosses my path
• kids sleeping on mats in church while parents sing. (I went to church to see what it’s like….fun/long! But they dance!)
• mom chameleon laying eggs in the rainforest
• rainbow through clouds on early morning bike ride
• Franklen yelling AZAFADY in her little girl voice. (She’s the cutest 5 yr. old ever….and say “azafady”,or, 'excuse me', all the time when she’s pushing around the older kids.
I’m trying to focus on the positive and remember that with time I’ll feel more comfortable and start to carve out a life for myself here, even if I never fully understand what’s going on. In the meantime, I take it moment by moment, day by day… learning to slow down and look at the view because it’s BEAUTIFUL here. Trying to remember why I came here. I’m experiencing life in an intense way. That Third Eye Blind lyric comes to mind. “ I’ve never been so alone, and I’ve never felt so alive.”….also the Queen one: “It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about, watching some good friends screaming, “get me out!” It’s a lot….Every emotion is intensified here, and can change in an instant…..sure I get bored on the lazy days, but my brain always seems to be taking in so much new information and I’m just trying to process it all. By the end of each day, I’m exhausted mentally and physically. Harvesting rice while trying to make conversation in Malagasy = mandreraka be! (makes me so tired), Anyways, more soon.
Love to you all,
Corie
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