I nearly forgot to include- I bought a phone. It is still really expensive for me to call the states, but I can receive calls for free. So feel free to call me. I am 8 hours ahead of EST, and the lifestyle here is different. I wake up around 5:30 AM, and usually go to bed around 8:30. I usually have my phone on when I leave school (which is about 5 PM here), or all day on Sat and Sun.
011 261 32 62 585 44 (if that doesn't work, try this 011 261 032 62 585 44, I am not sure if you need the 0 or not).
I would love to hear from you all!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
I'm here...
OK, So after over a month, I am finally in Tana (the cap.) and able to update my blog. SO- Madagascar is beautiful!! I live in the highlands, so it is more like rolling hills and mountains with rice fields and farms in the valleys. No beaches near me, haven't seen one yet. But I never realized how bright green rice fields are. It is beautiful! I walk to class (i am still in training so I have language and technical training classes almost everyday), and I nearly faint with how pretty the view is.
I am living with a host family. They are amazing. My mom and my aunt are super supportive and very patient with my choppy and really awkward Malagasy. I am picking up the language, but only slowly. It is starting to get hot here, we are in the southern hemisphere so we are about to enter the summer/hot/rainy season. The highlands are the coolest area of the island though, temp-wise, so it won't get much hotter than our summers. I specifically asked to be placed in a not-as-hot area. I am really happy about my site. It is really close to a place called hot springs (yeah!) that has a national park where I might be able to see mouse lemurs!!
And no, thus far I have not seen any wild lemurs. There aren't many in the highlands. But- we went to the zoo in Tana and saw lemurs AND AN AYE-AYE!!!! Which was awesome! It was that coolest thing in the world. It was behind the glass in the nocturnal room so it took awhile for my eyes to adjust. Then all of a sudden I saw a tiny creepy hand with a super-long middle finger reach up onto the ledge of the bottom wood panel. It was awesome (look them up on the net for a pic if you don't know what they look like, they are super cool).
Ok, so shelli said that she wanted me to tell all of my crazy stories on my blog, but unfortunately I haven't had many wild moments to share yet. Although, making totom-voanjo (literally pounding peanuts into butter, just from pounding) was about the coolest thing I have ever done. If you pound long enough, the oils come out of the peanuts and make peanut butter. I had no idea. But that is how they do it here. Also, I learned from my experiments in manasa lamba-ing (doing laundry) that soap- just a normal bar of soap- can clean ANYTHING! I was shocked. Although I think these were things that only fascinated me. Driving here is pretty crazy. My parents took me to a big procession (service thing for All Saints Day, which is a big deal here) last Sunday. We had to driving into Tana to go. I am fairly certain my dad was driving slower on my account, but it was still kind of crazy. All the roads are cruvy and most aren't paved and they go up and down hills. When the go around corners (mighty fast) they just beep and go. Every now and again I would hold on a bit tighter to the umbrella I was holding in my lap and my mom would yell at my dad to slow down. My family is fairly well to do here though, most people don't have cars. I think my dad uses if for work (my language is not that great :) It was a fun experience none the less. Riding in cars here is actually kind of fun.
Overall I am doing really good. I do miss you all. I very much miss mexican food. But things are good. My mom is a good cook, so the food is good. I have two super cute little sisters (although the 2 year old cries, alot!). I am really enjoying training, and the teachers and staff are super cool, as are my fellow trainees. There is only about a month left of training. I am actually kind of nervous about it ending and having to go to site all on my own. But as the time comes closer I am slowly coming to terms with it. Ok, so that is all for now. I will update again in like a month when I am in town again!! Love you all!!
I am living with a host family. They are amazing. My mom and my aunt are super supportive and very patient with my choppy and really awkward Malagasy. I am picking up the language, but only slowly. It is starting to get hot here, we are in the southern hemisphere so we are about to enter the summer/hot/rainy season. The highlands are the coolest area of the island though, temp-wise, so it won't get much hotter than our summers. I specifically asked to be placed in a not-as-hot area. I am really happy about my site. It is really close to a place called hot springs (yeah!) that has a national park where I might be able to see mouse lemurs!!
And no, thus far I have not seen any wild lemurs. There aren't many in the highlands. But- we went to the zoo in Tana and saw lemurs AND AN AYE-AYE!!!! Which was awesome! It was that coolest thing in the world. It was behind the glass in the nocturnal room so it took awhile for my eyes to adjust. Then all of a sudden I saw a tiny creepy hand with a super-long middle finger reach up onto the ledge of the bottom wood panel. It was awesome (look them up on the net for a pic if you don't know what they look like, they are super cool).
Ok, so shelli said that she wanted me to tell all of my crazy stories on my blog, but unfortunately I haven't had many wild moments to share yet. Although, making totom-voanjo (literally pounding peanuts into butter, just from pounding) was about the coolest thing I have ever done. If you pound long enough, the oils come out of the peanuts and make peanut butter. I had no idea. But that is how they do it here. Also, I learned from my experiments in manasa lamba-ing (doing laundry) that soap- just a normal bar of soap- can clean ANYTHING! I was shocked. Although I think these were things that only fascinated me. Driving here is pretty crazy. My parents took me to a big procession (service thing for All Saints Day, which is a big deal here) last Sunday. We had to driving into Tana to go. I am fairly certain my dad was driving slower on my account, but it was still kind of crazy. All the roads are cruvy and most aren't paved and they go up and down hills. When the go around corners (mighty fast) they just beep and go. Every now and again I would hold on a bit tighter to the umbrella I was holding in my lap and my mom would yell at my dad to slow down. My family is fairly well to do here though, most people don't have cars. I think my dad uses if for work (my language is not that great :) It was a fun experience none the less. Riding in cars here is actually kind of fun.
Overall I am doing really good. I do miss you all. I very much miss mexican food. But things are good. My mom is a good cook, so the food is good. I have two super cute little sisters (although the 2 year old cries, alot!). I am really enjoying training, and the teachers and staff are super cool, as are my fellow trainees. There is only about a month left of training. I am actually kind of nervous about it ending and having to go to site all on my own. But as the time comes closer I am slowly coming to terms with it. Ok, so that is all for now. I will update again in like a month when I am in town again!! Love you all!!
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