At her new village & excited!

Cindy says: We had a long conversation with Corie this evening. She sounds wonderful.....happy and healthy. Her solo entry to a new village has been much easier than what she had anticipated. The dialect is quite different from her last village, but she is able to effectively communicate and understand. Her Malagasy community has been much more welcoming than what she experienced upon her arrival last year. Since the village is only 2km from a "developing resort area" built by the French, the Malagasy are accustomed to seeing "white people," which makes her less of a spectacle and allows more room for privacy. The view from her village is awesome and reminds her of Smith Rocks in Central Oregon. Her words were "insane natural beauty."
Corie loves her new home, "so cute" she says. Two rooms, each 7x7, with concrete floors and a tin roof over her head. From what she has described, I imagine that she has enough space in one room for her bed, and for a table, propane stove and a few shelves in her "kitchen." Her treasured possession from home is her pillow, which she gravely missed last time. Her friends the rats are back in her house, but of little concern to Corie. Such a strange child! Her bathroom and shower are much nicer than the ones in her last home (not really IN her home). Still a hole in the ground, but walled in much better, and the shower "room" has "really cool" bricks on the floor.
I suspect that Corie will soon be losing some of the weight she put back on while in Eugene. She says she hasn't been able to find much to eat besides rice, beans and leaves. No wonder that Cafe Yum and Burrito Boy seem like gourmet meals to her! She promised me that she is filtering her water, which comes from a well close to her home. If any of you happen to write to Corie, feel free to nag her about filtering her water. You could even remind her about her susceptibility to giardia and intestinal worms.
The village is small, about 400 people, very poor. The homes are scattered and far apart from each other. The climate is less wet than her last site, so the rice harvest comes only once a year. Rainy season there is Dec. thru March. We failed to ask what people do the rest of the year.
Corie said the natural landscape is indescribably beautiful. She said she was awestruck when she arrived. Tall limestone spires (Tsingy) surround the village and provide a home to the lemurs. It is no surprise that the area is under development as an eco-tourism destination. Corie's work in the next year will be to assist in this development of the tourist campsite adjacent to her village. She has met many of the people she will be working with from other NGOs and says they seem to be energetic and committed.
Corie was taken on a tour of some of the caves below the Tsingy that the tourists visit. She relayed this long story about a king and his people who hid in the caves during a tribal conflict that took place in the 1800's. I assumed that her French guide had told her this story in English, only to find out that he had spoken Malagasy to her. The ability to quickly acquire a new language when there is no other means for communication is amazing. Anyway, as Corie listened to the story, she assumed it was just that....a story. When she entered the caves, she saw bones laying on the ground positioned as they probably have been for well over a hundred years. The bones were not in piles, but laying in the forms of full body skeletons. She saw the king that she had learned about and his son. The guide explained how they were able to determine gender, age, and identity....just like a National Geographic story.
Corie's return to Madagascar, though difficult for some of us who like to worry, is exactly what needed to happen for her. I have no question that she is in store for an unforgettable and life-changing experience that will undoubtedly forever shape who she is.....and she is a beautiful person.
The best news.....Corie has cell service. She can leave her phone on all the time and she doesn't have to put it on the roof, or stand on a table to talk to us.
More later......a somewhat relieved mom, Cindy

Call on Wed. Nov 25th

Got a surprise call from Corie on her own phone! Best part of that news is her new phone will work with her Solio solar charger that she used last time in Mad, and she is supposed to have reliable cell phone service in her new village! That was one of the conditions of PC site selection this time around...better and quicker communication with all PC volunteers. She called from Diego Suarez, her banking town (a 5 hour bike+bus trip from her village). She described Diego as a huge town with large hotels and lots of tourists. More white people than she's seen since in Tana, the capital. I've heard one of the hotels has a swim-up bar which I imagine Corie will discover at some point. There could be as many as 5 vols all banking in this town. PC has a house where they all stay on their 2-3 day trips to town. She hopes to get a PO box in Ambilobe, a large town only 2 hours by bike from her village, so she can get mail more frequently. She will be installed in her village, Ampotsehy, on Friday. She's very excited about her new village, yet a little nervous as well..new job, people, responsibilities. She managed to learn the new Malagasy dialect pretty well and thinks she will be able to understand them, but maybe it will take a little longer for them to understand her due to the dialect. She enjoyed her swearing in ceremony and the press and TV stations were covering it and had their pictures in the newspaper. The 14 retuning volunteers have been eating lots of American food while training and enjoying hot dogs, tacos and a great turkey dinner. Due to safety problems in other African countries, she said Madagascar could be gaining as many as 37 more volunteers. Guinea PC vols have already been evacuated and Niger might be next, so she might be called back to Tana soon to assist in training the new volunteers. She said they are all in Environment assignments, like her, which is why she might be needed to help. All her luggage arrived safely and she will be heading to her village with at least 60 pounds of toothbrushes, toothpaste, eyeglasses, books and art supplies! She thanks everybody who gave her these items! She said the Madagascar political situation is slowly evolving. The 4 current & former leaders are still trying to form a transitional government that will last until the elections are held in June, 2010. Things are moving very slowly on this front. The weather is hot and muggy. That's all for now!

Corie on Facebook Tue. Nov. 24

Corie found a computer and posted this on her facebook on Tuesday on her last day of training:
I am done with her week of training, ate awesome Thanksgiving food, (kolokoloko...that's Malagasy for turkey. needless to say, my favorite word in the entire language.), swore in as an official Peace Corps volunteer today, and I'm flying to Diego tomorrow morning!!! off to year #2 of service, wahooo!!! Still no address but my number: 261-327409750 if you want to text ;)

Training almost completed

Another call from Corie! She's doing great and all healthy now. Her last day of training is tomorrow. Had 2 language classes and thinks the new Malagasy dialect in her region will be hard but not nearly as hard as starting from scratch like before. She's been eating mostly American food that the staff has been preparing while in training. They are having a bbq tonite, Thanksgiving dinner with the Country Director next week, then there will be a swearing-in cermonony and dinner at the Ambassador's home, then she'll be transported to her site. People tell her that her village is right across the road from the Ankarana National Park and the view from her house will be spectacular! Weather has been hot and rainy. She hopes to buy a phone in the next few days so folks can skype her (it's the cheapest way we've discovered...just check the time in Mad on this blog prior to calling). She said we probably won't hear from her until she is situated in her village sometime at the end of next week.

Cool PC Madagascar video

Hi everybody. Dad again with a cool video I just found done by a former PC volunteer in Madagascar. Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5d9KvnMBXk

Also a few more details...Corie will be on the other side of the island this time. In a small village called Ampotsehy. Go ahead...Google it and you'll only find 5 entries and no pics. My best friend and I searched online for about 3 hours a month ago and couldn't find it on any maps. It's very close to the national park called Ankarana. Across from her village, there are weird rock formations called 'Tsingy'. Corie's really excited to see this park and all the animals (lemurs, crocodiles and more!) I found a youtube video that has some French campers exploring this park, including video of Tsingy. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcG_6XAl76E
and one more showing Mad wildlife
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxz3foPr-Qk

Call from Corie on Wed. Nov. 18

Got a call from Corie this morning to tell me she arrived in Mad just fine, although a day later than everybody else, she said it was pretty easy to catch up. She was using a friend's Nokia phone and said she was hoping to buy her own maybe next Tuesday. The flight was fine and all her baggage arrived OK. She was also feeling much better and I guess the extra sleep did her good. She's very excited about her site as one of the supervisors told her she was placed at that site for her artistic abilities. They are developing some eco-tourism cabins at that site and would like her help with developing brochures and signage. She also said that she was a little concerned about culture-shock due to her 8 months in the USA, but as soon as she landed in Mad, she felt as if she were 'home'. She also said the PC doctor gave her some meds and also an H1N1 vaccine. It was great talking to her and finding out she was healthier than when she left. Hopefully she can call again next week.

Left USA with slight delay

Hi everyone. This is Corie's dad, back in the blogging seat. I'll be updating frequently when we hear from her. Flight left Eugene late on Saturday due to ice on the wings. So she missed her Sunday flight from Washington DC to Johannesburg, South Africa. Had to reschedule and leave DC on Sunday instead. Here's an email she wrote Sunday, and we got from South Africa today:
So I just got into South Africa, no idea what time it is there, or what day or anything I'm so out of it, hahaha. Just wanted to let you know I got here ok and should have no problems getting into Madagascar tomorrow. PCorp is picking me up and we're gonna go to training when I'll be basically exactly 24 hours (fashionably) late. No worries, glad I got to sleep in DC hotel, it was much needed. Probably won't have time to pick up a phone in the airport like I was hoping, so it might be a little while till you hear from me...but know I'm safe and most likely happy.
The flight to SAfrica was good, lots of movies, sleeping, food was actually good...overall its been an easy trip. People were really nice to me and helpful when I landed too...good welcome to Africa :)
I hope you guys are doing good! I'm sad I won't see you for a long time, but I know that this is where I need to be right now, the time will go by quicker than I expect, and you guys will be there when I get back. Love you sooo much! I'll talk to you again when I can.--Corie