Post 3: Summary of last 3 weeks….and excitement about the beginning of service!

Post 3: Summary of last 3 weeks….and excitement about the beginning of service! Swear-in is Tuesday January 26th!
Ok, so it’s been quite a time these last three weeks! We moved in with host families close to the training center in Mantasoa. The health volunteers lived about 10km (and down a pretty scary road) from the training center in a town called Lohomby. It was amazing! I lived with the Mayor of Lohomby, in a two story house overlooking an amazing view of rice paddies and rolling hills. It was so lovely to get to know a family, and learn how to cook, clean, wash cloths, argue in the markets…and all those necessary skills to survive in are new homes in Madagascar.
It was a pretty intense homestay, since every day we took Malagasy classes then took tech classes on health topics and how to present on different health issues in diverse locations. My favorite tech session was on building a cook stove out of red clay, ash, and the shells of rice. It was amazing! I plan on making dozens of them in my new home for the first few months because it doesn’t require very much Malagasy (and I’m still a beginner…but “Intermediate High” Hell yeah!) and it’s a great way to get people involved and learning about ARIs and cooking hygiene and safety.
Otherwise, it’s all about language learning and government bureaucracy…We also had a security talk about the political situation in Madagascar, which seems pretty dire with a huge increase in crime over the last two months as international funding is being cut and trade agreements are aborted. It stinks! But I’m not too worried, though there has been a few attacks on embassy workers here (mostly robberies), but it does make me worry about my security, especially as the elections for the new president are coming up in March…
Anyways, other happenings…I gave 3 speeches in Malagasy on different health topics, one in front of the training staff about safe pregnancy, one in a high school classroom on STIs and Condom Demonstration, and then a final presentation on ARIs and how to build cookstoves to my homestay community. It was stressful, but amazing. I can’t wait to get started in my new home and in my new clinic. I also had time to finish another amazing book that I will tell you about: “The Cups Of Tea” (www.threecupsoftea.com) which depicts the work ofGreg Mortenson, who was a nurse and a mountaineer who decided to give back to the small village of Korphe in the mountains (K2 specifically, second highest mountain in the world) of northern Pakistan by building a school, and then moving on the create an non-profit that builds schools along the borders of Pakistan/India/Afghanistan. It was a really interesting book about the area, about the culture there, as well as its political/cultural relationship with the United States during the early “war on terrorism” years. One part that was most astounding was that the US had promised rebuilding money that never reached Afghanistan or Pakistan, and therefore instead of improving conditions in the Middle East after bombing it to death, the USA was angering people creating more enemies. Greg Mortenson built schools, specifically for girls, and the big point of the book was that he was “fighting terrorism” by providing an education to poor people in the Middle East (Interesting, though you know me…I hate to define “terrorism” without including some of the atrocities that the USA has committed…). It was also a great read because of the mountain climbing trips he describes…which makes me want to try, though that’s how I feel about almost anything that excites me! Anyways, I would put him up there as the Paul Farmer of Pakistan, and his work and commitment was really impressive, a definite read!
Now back to the homestay….
At the end of the homestay, we had a large cocktail party at the training center and ended up doing traditional Malagasy dancing with the homestay families. It was amazing! The music here is amazing, and the people are amazing dancers and singers…I’m excited to exchange English or Spanish for dancing and singing classes!
Now we are on the last leg of our training journey…3 months later… and we are spending a few days in the capital city of Antananarivo in order to swear-in at the US Ambassador’s house (videotaped, and broadcast nationally, I will try to find an internet link) and shopping for roosting in our new homes. I’m so excited! The Country Director of Peace Corps Madagascar is going to be taking me and my friend to our site in the city of Maevatanana. I’m so excited to get out into the community to do ACTUAL work…I’m getting angsty after a long time in training….
More news to come about how hopefully AMAZING my site is and how much work I’m doing and fun that I’m having! Hope everyone is well!