July 29, 2011
Good Morning Dr. Batman
Hello!!!
Where to start?
I have been here in Madagascar for two weeks. It had been a mish mash of language, cross culture, safety and technical classes. I have had some intense highs and some intense lows. All in all it had been an interesting two weeks.
A typical day is:
I wake up at 6:30; eat breakfast with my family and then go to language class from 8 to 12. After that back home for lunch 12 to 2. At 2 I have technical, cross culture or safety training till 5. Home for dinner and then I get locked in my room at 7.
Some more highlights of my life here in Mcar:
Trying to communicate with my host mom and sister.
They don’t speak English and I don’t really speak Malagasy, so there is a lot of acting things out (score one for my theatre major!!) and tons of laughing. I will live with my “Mama” and Felana my little sister, for two more weeks then I move back in to the training center with the other trainees from my staging. They are really sweet and try to talk to me and communicate; it is a very slow process. They teach me new words every night at dinner and they clap and laugh when I get it right, I’m basically a 2 year old here!
The food.
Food here compared to the states is very bland. I miss spicy foods and pizza. There is a lot of rice eaten here; rice for all three meals in a day. The fruit here is amazing and as I’m sure you can guess pretty fresh since it is pick from people’s backyards. I’m starting to get the urge to cook, so I think soon I will cook an American meal for my sis and Mama in the near future.
I am a cheese hoarder.
Ok so, here the old adage “what’s mine is yours” is a big thing within families. Cool for a lot of thing like, fruit, water, candy etc. But for me NOT for my laughing cow cheese. If you don’t already know I LOVE cheese, here in Mcar the “fromage” isn’t that great, I had some and it made me sick L so the only safe cheese in laughing cow wedge spread-able cheese. I bought some and I have been hoarding it in my locked trunk so that I can eat it when I want and not have to share.
*** I know this sounds greedy and selfish, but I share EVERYTHING with my family and friends here, I needed something just to myself. Also I’m not the only who is being a cheese hoarder****
Good Morning Dr. Batman
At least three days a week I have technical training. This is basically a crash course in teaching English. There a 13 of us in a small classroom at the local Catholic school learning about how to teach English to middle and high school students who may or may not want to be there. We have learned how to write lesson plans, how to teach speaking, writing, reading and listening. It has been a lot of info in a short amount of time. Today we had had a PCV( Peace Corps Volunteer) Nichole come in to teach us. She started our session the way she starts her classes; she walks in and all the students stand and say “ Good morning Miss Nicole”. She then proceeded to talk to us about how to do listening exercises. After she was done, we talked about what the student call their teachers and if it was ok if they call you by your first name. We were told that they could call us Miss/ Mr., just use out first name, really whatever we are comfortable with. This gave me the idea to have my students stand and say “ Good Morning Dr. Batman” I mean when else can you be called something so cool!!! Then it was brought to my attention that they kids here know who Batman is and thus I can not be Dr. Batman in my classes, so I guess I will have to settle for Miss Amel.
I think that is all I have to say for now!!
Continue to write me and send me things!!
Peace, Love, Cheese J
Hey!!
If you are reading this and feel the overwhelming urge to send me things, here are some ideas:
Cheese- its
Candy that won’t melt (jolly ranchers, life savers, sour patch kids ect)
Kleenex, for some reason I use a lot here.
Books, I have already read 2 of the 5 books I brought anything you want to send me I will read!
Magazines (Glamour, In- style, People, etc.)
Hand sanitizer
Combos!!! (I just remembered how awesome these are!!)
Goldfish crackers
Sunscreen, I’m a redhead remember?
Anything else you think I will like!!
July 30, 2011
PIZZA!!!!!!!!
Somehow my host mom made me pizza for dinner this evening!!
I’m not sure how because we don’t have an oven. But it was fabulous!! I have to give a shout out to Marcus b/c on my pizza this evening there were carrots and green beans and they were good. I know Marcus you like corn on your pizza and so when I can home we will have corn/ carrot/ green bean pizza together J yay!!
Also during dinner tonight a chicken wandered into our house. My host mom then proceeded to tell me (thru hand gestures) that we would be killing and eating the chicken tomorrow. Then she locked the chicken in the back part of the house, which is where I sleep, in a different room. But, now Chicken Little and me are roommates (kinda) for the night and I have to eat her tomorrow L I’m sure how I feel about that… I will let you know!
Peace, Love, PIZZA!
August 1, 2011
Just call me “ Island Girl”
An update form last post:
I feel odd about eating Chicken Little. She was very tasty but I did feel a little bad b/c we had bonded the night before. I didn’t have to kill her or see her get killed so that helped.
On to the big news of this post:
I got my site announcement, this is where I will be stationed for two years and working as an English teacher. Truth be told I thought I was going to be placed in the highlands (as far form the coast as you can get) with a site-mate (another PCV who you live and sometimes work with) I could not have been more wrong!
I will be living on a small island off the eastern coast of Madagascar; the island is called Sainte Marie. It is a big tourist place because of such things as: Whale watching, being on the Indian Ocean and (be jealous Cyndi and Justin) Pirate graveyards!!!!
I also wanted to share with all of you in cyber-land, a horoscope I found at the beginning of this year. It is an overview for the whole year:
“This is a fab year to follow your dream as Jupiter lights up the education and travel sector of your chart. 2011 is all about expanding your horizons! Think international travel, blogging, maybe even a program abroad... if you decide to do this, you will likely have a magnificent teacher and gain skills that will greatly help you down the road. Your planetary ruler is the sun, center of the solar system so naturally you enjoy being center of attention. Though this year you will do well to spend more time alone, working on an important project that will broaden your wingspan.
August and September are stellar months where you will shine brightly and take center stage, your natural domain as a Leo. Dreaming about foreign shores? It's your year to pack!”
I think it fits VERY well! J
Peace and Island love <3
