The Long Way Round

So yes it's been 9 months since I last posted and in that time my beloved service has come to a close and I am once again residing in the United States.

The last months in Mada were a mad dash.  It finally clicked that my time was actually finite here.  So trying to wrap up my projects and get my site ready for my replacement consumed the energy of each remaining day.  Then as most of my friends wanted to kick it and coast to the end I was also running around trying to say my goodbyes to those in the far corners of my neighborhood.  It was frantic but also everyday was complete and I looked forward tot he next because there was so much to still do, and people to see one last time.  Sure enough that day finally came and I found myself with all my belongings heading out to the crossroad, quite possibly for the last time.  It all started to really sink in on the brousse ride and then the deal was sealed as the A380 took off from Ivato.

Such a trip leaves you in a state of euphoria and delusion for about a week until you can finally start to piece together what has actually happened in your life.  You have goosebumps either from the cold or your nerves, the cold last breath of winter stomps over your tropical zeal and everything is not how you thought it would be.  All those days that gave you a hard time and you just wanted to be back in America, well it's not quite how you envisioned it.  It may be hard to see it but things have changed here; people have have been living their lives for two years just as you have and they've experienced changes too.  While it may be difficult for others to really understand what you experienced and it might be just as difficult for you to "catch up" with them.

Now I've been doing a lot reading around about how other RPCVs have readjusted to life back in the States.  PC did try to address this during my COS conference back in January but there are just so many things going on for everyone that somehow a little basic advice seems to slip right through the cracks in the floorboards.  So looking ahead to RPCVs is really the best bet; if they're there now how'd they get from here?  However I haven't found someone describing a readjustment experience like mine or at least not detailed enough where I can try figure out how they got from where I am now.  Most of the posts that I've found focus on exactly that readjusting, re-assimilating oneself to their previous culture and essentially discarding any practices and beliefs incompatible with it.  The bottom line, yes you can apply your experience to the job world here; a RPCV has proven that they can: work independently; develop, implement and manage projects; find creative solution to challenging problems; etc.  But where my experience falls on deaf ears is how Madagascar redefined: community, conservation, time, what's actually important.  This is where I'm having a tough time readjusting, I've changed some of my beliefs and I don't see why I should cast them aside just because they may be currently incongruent.

Essentially I've found that I really enjoyed my service in Madagascar and I grew a lot as a person during my service.  I was able to overcome a lot of personal challenges that I had in the States and I finally had a good idea of who I am.  But I've found that I just haven't been able to be that person that I was 3 months ago since I got home.  There's this invisible societal force here that keeps whispering no.  I've watched little things that I held so dear slip away.  Some say that's the readjustment process and certainly it is, but what if you don't want to lost those things?  Are you just prolonging the inevitable or is it possible to retain them?

So here I am here once again with the whole great world before me only this time I know just how different it can be.

Salama

Nick

Ambalona Update

The past few months have been a blur of activity, and it’s at this point in my service that several projects are starting to come together. At any one point I’m working three or four different projects that are at different stages but yet they are sure enough coming to completion and I’m still left with plenty of work over the next coming months. One of the first big projects that finally came together after nearly 8 months of planning was the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp that I helped organize along with 9 other volunteers. In this camp 4 4e (8th Grade) female students from 5 different towns including Ambalona, spent a week learning about the opportunities that await them beyond their classrooms if they continue to work hard. We spent 4 days in Mananjary where the Girls learned about: clean water & sanitation, malaria, budgeting, and English literacy; then we spent 3 day in Ranomafana National Park, where the Girls learned about: nutrition, environmental conservation, women’s reproductive health, study skills, and got a chance to use computers at the Val Bio Research center. This is was a unique opportunity for the girls because it’s rare that students from remote impoverished areas make it to lycee (high school) or university let alone female students. So on top of this education the girls also got form new relationships with girls their same age in their greater region, and as I’ve witnessed women have the most to benefit from development programs and initiatives such as this so I’m sure that these students will go on to achieve more than they thought was possible before this camp.

The Entire Camp at Ranomafana's Arboretum

Ranomafana National Park with Ambalona's 3 and only 4e Students

On the home front, there’s been a bit of Gasy politics that are hard to comprehend for the average volunteer let alone American. My Gasy family who “borrowed” a parcel of land on which they had built their home and small store, were told by the owner that they had to move. Now in Madagascar, land tenure is a real tricky issue. It’s not really clear how people have rights to land, how much land costs, and how one would go about purchasing and gaining rights to a parcel for a set period of time. These dealings are typically made behind closed doors and it appears that bloodlines take more precedence than first come first serve. So regardless of the obtuseness of the proposition, my friends were forced to relocate their home to another lot; this is the same home that we recently rebuilt earlier this year. Conveniently the Gasy house is quite mobile, and with only 30 villagers it can be lifted and relocated 200 yards down the village strip until it gets jammed in the towns bottleneck. After which brute force finally resolved the issue and my family once again could resume their lives just on the other side of the village. During this whole affair though I lent them half of my home so that they could store their 40 gooney sacks of rice, stereo, generator, and assorted personal effects.

A typical MadaOSHA approved Job Site

It's quite homey

Apart from my small self-storage business I’ve been coordinating the preparations necessary for the arrival of 1300 fruit trees come January and come budget approval from Washington, which I light of current affairs I hope they will see fit to approve. This has included planting shade and compost tree species, and the construction of a well for the nursery and the adjoining existing school garden. Now that this well is nearly complete we should be able to extend our growing season beyond July and insure the survival of seedlings through the dry season (right now).

"Falls down a well eyes go crossed, gets kicked by a mule they go back to normal; I don't know"

Another project that I had a personal interest in was creating a world map. Ever since I can remember I would spend hours starring at world maps and I can only believe that that curiosity helped to get me to Madagascar. The map measures 7’ by 14’ and it is being painted on the side of Ambalona’s EPP. So far the map is still in its infancy but community interest is booming. Children and adults gather round and ask what the countries next to Madagascar are; for many of them this is the first time they’ve ever seen a map, that’s why it’s not that shocking that some don’t know what Africa looks like, something that most westerners and still I find boggling. The map is set for completion the end of this month and I update you then. 

Still debating whether or not to include Cold War Europe

Other than that my garden is doing quite well, and the community has really accepted that I’m a resource for all their agricultural needs. Daily they ask me what kind of fertilizer I’m using, and when I tell them that I’m only using composted cow manure they are baffled; many still think I’m a magician or crazy because I have a pumpkin growing on my roof, but I’ve demonstrated that they can grow a variety of crops in a small amount of space, and considering the land tenure issues at play here this more and more appealing.

Salama

Nick

Indecission 2013

After Nearly 5 years of procrastination the Malagasy may finally have themselves an election. On October 25th Gasy will go to the polls, or more accurately the polls will come to them, and have a chance to vote for one of 34 different candidates running for the big seat in Tana. Unlike the Super bowl binary that we have in the states, Gasy have opted for a true democratic approach; where 33 of the 34 candidates are from the high plateau, all candidates must pay 50,000,000Ar ($25,000) to run (the average wage of a Gasy farmer is 2,500Ar, therefore it would take him or her roughly 56 years of labor without food, clothing or drink to raise such a sum; apparently in all fairness this was deemed possible by the electoral court), and piles of other money, which has been spent on campaign wagons and posters that clearly display which box to select on the ballot; take that Diebold. Of the candidates there is one female, a representative of Madagascar’s Green Party, and one representative from the Islands coastal population, otherwise there’s little difference between the remaining candidates.

The election’s still a big deal though, after two years of rescheduling by Andry Rajoelina, it appears that it is actually going forth and we expect a result. Gasy opinion on the coast is indifferent. The consensus is that things were better before Rajoelina and they’ll be better without him otherwise it’s more of the same. Considering this is a primary election, in which candidates with 10% or more of the vote will advance to the main event in December, indifference is a bit hard to judge. Does this mean the Gasy don’t care about such a crapshoot as 34 candidates present or that the possible 9 that advance will go just unnoticed? The big issues here are: the cost and availability of food, roads or lack thereof, and access to education; but it’s a tough to see how any candidate is going to resolve those overnight. The typical nature of politics here is that every 7 years there’s a coup (2009, 2002, 1995) if this continues how can any candidate hope to gain support in just 2 years; judging by enthusiasm it’s definitely leaning toward another one. But also this lack of enthusiasm means that there’s little likelihood of violent revolt to the results of this election; Gasy want stability in any form and that’s good for the Peace Corps too because another coup would likely close3 the program for some time. The people running may not realize that, but those whom I work with certainly don’t want me to leave.

Salama

Nick

Indiana Jones and The Lemurs of Tsingy

So if you were all wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been even further back in time, and even further away from civilization than I thought I already lived. On June 1st after attending a Mid-Service concert chock full of beekeeping information and medical exams, 9 fellow PCVs and myself embarked on a week long journey that would take us far away from the tropical forests that we’ve become so used to. For once instead of heading east, we head west into the mysterious desert lands that this country has to offer. Starting in Antsirabe, Mada’s coldest city and also the home of THB, Mada’s best attempt at a tropical pilsner derivative, we loaded up and set out for Miandrivazo, which is currently fighting for the title of Mada’s hottest city. There we took our Mercedes 412 Sprinter, which is usually accustomed to delivering sausages about Leipzig, into the desert savanna on route to the banks of the Tsiribihina River. We loaded ourselves and gear into three Pirogues and crossed to river to make camp for the night.

That's our guide Bee, and a bean loaded slingshot aimed at me

Then we tried to leisurely fish among a gaggle of gasy children 

Rice again, but I’m on vacation

Tents Check!

Beers Check!

Crocs Abound

Lurkin' on the Shore

Shade's a rare commodity

Lunch

“Strung together like a floatin’ trailer park”

Croc Bait

FYI Limestone pools are really slick

We traded in our Pirogues for a 4X4 mounted on two bit ferry

Only when we stopped to take a break did our driver realise we had a flat

With all these ferries, it's beginning to seem more and more like Oregon Trail

A traditional Lemur Tree House

Spelunking anyone?

Ah the Avenue at Sunset

Salama

Nick

Stomp Out Malaria!

April is/ was World Malaria Month and for PCVs even more of a push to help Stomp Out Malaria in Africa. Madagascar is still considered one of the red zones in Africa for malaria but interestingly enough its presence is as diverse as its geography. The highlands are typically too cold for the anopheles mosquito (the most deadly and prevalent malaria carrying mosquito) but the eastern coast with its high rainfall and equally high temperatures is particularly at risk for malaria epidemics. Thus preventions is key and that starts with bed nets (the anopheles bites between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM); a massive distribution was held this previous October, and now our work focuses on insuring that those nets are cared for and anyone who still doesn’t have one has access to one. The real leg-work of the project were the murals that we painted throughout the Sud-Est, and each mural was then followed up with a community Q&A about malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Then in a quiet sea side town of Farafangana we rented a PA system during market day and “preached” to the people about malaria prevent ion and even got them to try: properly washing their nets, repair holes and tears, and how to hang their net from a single point. This was followed up by a trip to Farafangana’s Lycee (High School) where we gave a bilingual malaria presentation. The biggest component of Stomp Out Malaria is education and over the past 5 years Madagascar alone has seen a dramatic decrease in Malaria related deaths. More Malagasy have and use bed nets, more Malagasy know the symptoms of malaria and that RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Tests) are readily available CSBs (Community Health Centers) and are free, and finally that Malaria is a disease that can be prevented and doesn’t have to be fatal.

Ampasimanjeva

Ambalona

Farafangana

Salama

Nick

PCV Cribs

I’ve become rather accustomed to the Malagasy life style and at times it’s so easy to forget just how different it all is from life back in the states; one just takes it as it comes, and that’s that. I’m proud of my home and in many ways it’s one of the better crafted ones in my village, which at times is quite a badge of honor despite the fact all the houses are essentially grass huts. But just this last Monday I took part in the construction of a new roof for my neighbor’s house, and it was at this moment that I discovered something really unique about ourselves as a people. Getting in the trenches I quickly found the same work environment that I was so accustomed to in the states, here we were, the local carpenters, all working together and making a serious dent in the project; material was being burnt up, coffee was slammed, jokes were cracked, and then the roof was complete. Although a Ravinala house differs greatly from houses even in the Highlands of Madagascar let alone the United States, we weren’t just building a house were building a home, and there’s a universal bond in that, that I believe every carpenter can understand.

Berlin, St. Albans, & Ambalona?

"It's Good To Be King"

With that said, I think it’s also long overdue for me to present you, the reader, with a relatively tour of my own living establishment from the inside out.

Here’s my professional kitchen complete with a hand built eucalyptus counter top and 3 burner gas range. This is where the majority of non Malagasy food is prepared in Ambalona: everything from oatmeal to eggs & homes, chili, pasta, and my specialty fish ‘n chips.

The kitchen opens into a large living & dining area complete with state of the art LED lighting, which then extends to a writers nook complete with an integrated bookshelf. The structure of this space is softened by one of a kind drapes that also divide it from the neighboring sleeping chamber, which features a full bed, stamped steel armoire, and studio.

Double French doors open to an inviting garden that encompasses the homestead.

The charming path leads to a petit conservatory and pepinaire

In the rear yard one will find the steel framed shower complete with a state of the art rain collection system, and conveniently located composting center.

Exiting through the rear gate past an array of Spanish Flag and Indian Spinach one will be quite pleased to find the restroom situated quaintly under coffee trees and also unreasonably close to neighboring homes.

Salama

Nick

Tragedy & Treasure

So the end of January brought a little bit of excitement to my village and I’m sure a whole lot more of excitement to the driver of a Renault Magnum heading south bound on Madagascar’s RN12. On approximately the morning of January 24th 2013 said camion caught fire due to a mechanical malfunction. The fire quickly spread to the fuel system and then proceeded to consume the camion and its contents. The driver escaped without injury however the wreckage remained at the roadside for the next three weeks. During this time various members of my community and other neighboring ones, scuttled the remaining cargo, which apart from: mattresses, batteries, and sardines was predominantly nails, hinges, and roofing metal; all things that respond well to ServPro practices. So all of a sudden I found the majority of my village the proud new owners several Kilos of nails, hinges, and roofing metal but I’ve still yet to any new doors being built.

I can't beleive Renault would put their name on that

The Great Dine Masacre of 2013

In a positive light, one can be certain in the US that those goods would have been scrapped, reclaimed, and perhaps compose the steel of an entirely new and different product. But in this case the products were reclaimed (stolen, scuttled, however you like), repaired and immediately put to use. While the manufacturer recoups his/her losses, the people of Ambalona have enough hardware to easily support their constructive ambitions for the next decade or two. What’s your take?

Salama

Nick