Alright! So apparently the hardest part of Peace Corps is the initial training and then the first few months at site. If this is true it should be "smooth sailing" from here on out!
For the past week me and my stage mates came back into the capital for our IST (In-Service Training) It was really great to see everyone again! Some of my favorite people are in completely different areas of Madagascar - I've got a friend isolated in the West, people who are fly sites and travel is only affordable when PC pays for it on official business and we've got a black hole here in M/car too where some great people are...
The training consisted of administrative stuff, how to get funding, how to collaborate with other sectors and the like. But mostly it was a chance for us to see each other again, share and vent about what has been going on at site and just relax for a bit before taking on the next leg of service.
After we left the training site a bunch of us were staying in the capital while we were getting ready to head back to site. We have just entered into the rainy season here so one night it was raining and for some reason the medical unit at the volunteer housing had a bunch of water coming off it so someone put a trashcan under the spot where most of it was coming off. A room downstairs where a bunch of beds are had water get in it the pervious night so someone was trying to prevent that from happening again. Well...the rain stopped but water was still just pouring off the medical unit and I realized that it was actually coming off the second floor balcony and not the roof....
So I went investigating. I walked in the door and the first floor had a bunch of water everywhere! Then I went up the stairs and it looked like a scene from the Titanic - water was just flowing down the stairs and all the rooms on the second floor were flooded.
What I found was that the water heater on the second floor had a tube pop off! I walked into a humid room with a high pressure stream of water just blasting in one of the rooms! It had probably been going on for something like at least 3 hours. In broken Malagasy we all tried to get the guards to turn off the water - we were calling the regular duty phone as well as the medical duty phone to try to get someone to get the water off and check things out. It was hilarious and frustrating all at the same time.
The main water did finally get shut off after like half an hour or so of franticness. Then a couple of us started to get all the boxes up off the floor and sweeping all the water from the rooms off the balcony. One of the PC doctors finally got there around 12:30 pm which is hella late here and he said that we had done enough for the night and to leave it until morning. Nothing got super damaged as far as I know so that is good.
The next night it rained pretty hard and the same building I was just talking about was dangerously close to flooding again. It kind of sits at the bottom of a hill and the area was flooded a bit - about ankle height. It kept raining but the flooding stayed just barely under the bit of raised porch-ish area outside of the rooms.
...Oh Madagascar...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Reflections of 2010
The year the world tapped me on the shoulder and said "You should know this by now but - You can accomplish anything."
2010 has been one hell of a year! So much has happened...
1. Made a rediculous New Year's Resolution that I actually stuck to throughout the entire year
2. I worked under a new supervisor - the ambiguity and off-hands approach was something I was not used to and really nervous to engage in, but I grew a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities
3. Graduated from CSU in May - I'm a first gen and it felt amazing. I still don't think it has fully hit me yet that I have a college degree!
4. Did a lot of crying in terms of my love life and had to let go of a good dog. The upside to this is that I have come a long way and I know that I will be ok
5. I was the Maid of Honor in my sister's wedding. I love her So much and could not be happier for her
6. Worked with my dad for a couple months crawling around in attics and installing insulation - Dirty dirty work but I am so proud of my dad for having such a good business going.
7. All my Peace Corps process came together! I remember first thinking about it, making the decision to apply, getting the application in, all the interviews, all the paperwork and finally getting the paper saying I was going to Madagascar for 27 months!
8. I have gone through Pre-Service Training in Peace Corps Madagascar and met some great people and made some good friends! I've been trained to talk to rural communities about Health and have learned a foreign language - the Betsileo dialect.
9. I have made it through 2 and a half months at my site. Kids come by way too often, men are creepy, my mayor is kind of a big deal and my commune is so well established in terms of people knowledgable about health issues and whatnot that my biggest problem will be finding how I can help. Made it to In-Service Training!
10. Had friends to my site and did an information session with the health educators in my commune about the "Hot Bow" - basically a make-shift crock pot to help them save on wood/charcoal. Did a demonstration in one of my other fokontany but didn't end up going to the other scheduled ones because well, it's Madagascar...but all good, watched a lot of Dexter!
There is so much more that I went through in 2010 but it is just too much to keep track of. I have grown so much as a person and in ways that I can't even really explain. I am going through a once-in-a-lifetime experience in my early 20's and it has only just begun.
I can only imagine what 2011 will bring!
2010 has been one hell of a year! So much has happened...
1. Made a rediculous New Year's Resolution that I actually stuck to throughout the entire year
2. I worked under a new supervisor - the ambiguity and off-hands approach was something I was not used to and really nervous to engage in, but I grew a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities
3. Graduated from CSU in May - I'm a first gen and it felt amazing. I still don't think it has fully hit me yet that I have a college degree!
4. Did a lot of crying in terms of my love life and had to let go of a good dog. The upside to this is that I have come a long way and I know that I will be ok
5. I was the Maid of Honor in my sister's wedding. I love her So much and could not be happier for her
6. Worked with my dad for a couple months crawling around in attics and installing insulation - Dirty dirty work but I am so proud of my dad for having such a good business going.
7. All my Peace Corps process came together! I remember first thinking about it, making the decision to apply, getting the application in, all the interviews, all the paperwork and finally getting the paper saying I was going to Madagascar for 27 months!
8. I have gone through Pre-Service Training in Peace Corps Madagascar and met some great people and made some good friends! I've been trained to talk to rural communities about Health and have learned a foreign language - the Betsileo dialect.
9. I have made it through 2 and a half months at my site. Kids come by way too often, men are creepy, my mayor is kind of a big deal and my commune is so well established in terms of people knowledgable about health issues and whatnot that my biggest problem will be finding how I can help. Made it to In-Service Training!
10. Had friends to my site and did an information session with the health educators in my commune about the "Hot Bow" - basically a make-shift crock pot to help them save on wood/charcoal. Did a demonstration in one of my other fokontany but didn't end up going to the other scheduled ones because well, it's Madagascar...but all good, watched a lot of Dexter!
There is so much more that I went through in 2010 but it is just too much to keep track of. I have grown so much as a person and in ways that I can't even really explain. I am going through a once-in-a-lifetime experience in my early 20's and it has only just begun.
I can only imagine what 2011 will bring!
My new November
The end of November brings rain
Beetles crawl out of the moistened soil
"There are already lots of kids!"
She says with urgent excitement
Having grown out of my childhood courage
I watch as they swat grasses with fallen sticks
Provoking flight
And leaping through dusk air
While a zinga of water traps their next meal
Beetles crawl out of the moistened soil
"There are already lots of kids!"
She says with urgent excitement
Having grown out of my childhood courage
I watch as they swat grasses with fallen sticks
Provoking flight
And leaping through dusk air
While a zinga of water traps their next meal
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