October 1, 2011
Ten things from my happy book
Hello blog reading people! I hope you are doing well!
I am fine. I can’t believe that it is October already! It sure doesn’t feel like October here, at least not the Octobers I’m used to!
I just wanted to write a quick entry about my happy book.
My happy book is a notebook where people write things that make them happy and then I read them when I am feeling sad. It has help me a great deal these last few month (and especially these last two weeks that I have been at my site) So I thought I would share ten things that people have written and then that way if you are sad you can maybe get a little happy from the things that have been written :)
In no particular order ten things that make my friends happy:
- Snooping in people’s rooms
- Noodles… both food and pool form
- Car rides to nowhere w/ friends
- Laughing to the point of no return
- Old school sleepovers
- Flirting
- High-lighters
- Cheese… and any variation thereof…
- Cheesy pick up lines. IE If I gave you a dozen roses & you looked in the mirror you would be looking at the 13 most beautiful things in the world.
- Riding my bike (Ms. Schwin Caliente)
I hope that these bring a smile to your face and that you feel a little bit happier now that you have read them :)
Peace, Love and Smiles
October 3, 2011
I’m ready to teach!! … Where is everyone?
So today was the first day of the school year!
I was all set, I had a lesson plan and rules that I wanted to teach these kids. My 1st class was at 7 so I show up at the school at 6:45, all ready to teach. No one was there. Ok I thought it’s fine Malagasy time means 7ish anyway so I’m way early. I walked the school grounds and walked some more and then 7 o’clock came and still no one. Huh? Did I get the date wrong, no b/c I can see students just no other teachers.
After a brief internal freak out I see one of the teachers. I ask in broken Malagasy “where is everyone?” She says that they will be there soon; it is now 7:20. A few mins later one of the teachers that speaks English comes into the office and I ask, “What is going on?” She tells me that today; tomorrow and Wednesday are all prep days where the students clean and vote for stuff. So no teaching for me this week!
Peace, love & Malagasy school cleaning!
October 4, 2011
A few little things that are on my mind
So first off I made a friend!!!! Two actually, they are both teachers are the lycee where I work. One is the other English teacher, he is super nice and speaks great English, he has also agreed to tutor me, so that is a huge help. My other friend is the science (I think) teacher. Her name is Sandy and she has a 7-month-old daughter, which she brought to school today! It’s nice to have someone to do things with, today she showed me around the back part of the island where I hadn’t been yet. Yay!!
Also I have been thinking about the follow stuff and wanted to share with you:
- How time seems to stand still and speed up all at once. It feels like yesterday that I got here to Madagascar and yet I have been here for almost 3 months. It was 5 months ago (about) that I told my friends and family that I was going to be coming here and that feels like forever ago!
- The fact that I was a pretty good cook in the states and here I can barely boil water! I loved cooking in the states, but for some reason I just can’t muster that love here. I guess there is something to be said for being able to find everything you could ever want in one place and having a place to keep the leftovers if there are any. Here I have to hunt to find every ingredient and I have to eat everything I make or it has potential to go bad.
- I have lizards living in my room, in the ceiling to be precise. I think they are a family, a mom, dad and baby. I’m not sure how I feel about this, they are not a problem but I can here them at night and they sometimes take stuff out of my trashcan. Although I have to say I would rather have lizards then rats. They look just like the GIECO (sp?) gecko, expect they don’t speak with an accent or at all really.
- How come in Mean Girls, Kady, who lived in Africa for part of her life, doesn’t speak English with an accent? I know her parents don’t but wouldn’t she, if she learned to speak both English in African? Just thoughts as I listen to non-native speakers speak English!
- It feels weird that it is October and I am wearing shorts and tank tops and it is getting hotter! Never in my life have I experienced this… so weird!
- That my new friend here found me on facebook and said something about Bridget, one of my best friends at home. SO WEIRD!! All she said was that she noticed that I had a friend named Bridget but still it’s so weird that this world and that world are connected even in a small way like that!
Well that is all for now,
Peace, love and October heat
PS
I thought I would make another list of things that you can sent me (if you feel the need!)
· Wheat-thins
· Drink mixes
· Reading material, anything you want to send me I will read, I’m reading about a book a week (or more) so… yeah!
· Any cheese related product, Easy Mac (I don’t have butter or milk so the kind with just water is best, or the kind with the liquid cheese), goldfish crackers, cheese-its, Ritz bits, anything cheese related!
· Hand sanitizer
· Peanut butter
· Facial cleansing cloths, it’s hot and dirty here so these are nice to wash my face with at night
· Soup and sauce mixes
· And of course letters!! I love to get mail, and getting letters and hearing about life in the states is great, I would love to hear from all of you!
Here is my address again!
Amel Berg
Volontaire: Corps de la Paix
EPP Ambodifotatra
IIe Sainte Marie
Madagascar
October 7, 2011
The view from my window
Right now I am sitting in the window of my house looking out onto the ocean. I look out into a bay where there is a marina and at least 10 boats parked in the water. I can just make out the coastline of the big island, Madagascar. It has been a cool day here today. I didn’t have anywhere to be today so I slept in till 8 and then read in bed all morning. I went into town and bought some VERY expensive olive oil, cheap onions and tomatoes, along with some credit for my phone. I think I am going to try to make a pizza for dinner, well a make shift pizza with garlic, olive oil and tomatoes.
** My pizza turned out ok, kinda doughy, but when you have expensive olive oil and garlic who cares! I took a picture and will try to post it. J **
I officially start teaching on Monday!!! I’m so excited and kind of nervous. Some other PCV have already started and they say it is amazing…that makes me hopeful.
That is all for now!
Peace Love and AMAZING views from my window J
October 8, 2011
Dreams
During training a PCV told me that I would start to have dreams about food and stuff that I missed in the states. I sort of half believed thinking that yeah I’m sure I will but what’s the big deal about that?
Well let me tell you…
I had a dream last night that I was sent on a field trip with one of my classes here in Mcar. We were bused all over the place and ended up at… wait for it… The MJR movie theater by my house in Michigan!! There was popcorn and soft pretzels with cheese and all sorts of awesomeness!!
Can you guess what I’m missing about the states? Hahaha
Also all my friends were there, both friends that I have made here and my friends from the states. So crazy!!
Peace, Love and dreaming of food & friends
October 11, 2011
The life of Amel as a PCV in Madagascar.
Yo!
Yesterday I taught my first classes, 5 hours at the Lycee and 2 at the CEG. Let’s just say they were less then wonderful and I was mad at myself that they didn’t go better. I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been but…. today I taught again and it went so much better!! I over prepared for today and only got thru a small portion of what I planned; which is ok and actually good because that means that I have tons to teach next time!!! I taught one 2-hour block and an hour block both of which were 2nde students. Later today I teach a 2-hour 4eme class and then I only have 3 more classes for the rest of the week. One on Wednesday (2nde), and the last two on Thursday (both 4eme).
And now a word about the weather.
It rains almost everyday, usually in the morning or during the night. Today it has rained off and on all day. When I was leaving for school at 6:45 this morning it had just stop and so I didn’t bring an umbrella or my awesome lime green rain jacket. Bad Plan! When I left the school at 10 it was POURING. I ended up using the rain protector from my backpack to cover my head so that I didn’t get totally soaked, but the rest of me was sopping when I got back to my house, about a 5 min walk from the school. So, the lesson I learned is always have some sort of rain gear with you here on Sainte Marie! I asked one of the teachers about the rain and he said we are about to head into cyclone season (next month), which is a scary thought :-S, so there will be rain on a somewhat regular basis and then it will be really hot in the summer.
** Side note: One of my PCV friends here, Steph, who lives almost directly across from me but on the big island, suggested that I buy candles, matches and start saving water just incase there is a cyclone. She did this and told me to do it too. Well, I got these things yesterday! Thanks Steph and let’s hope that there is no need to use them! **
In other news today is the 3-month anniversary of me joining the Peace Corps!! I left home 3 months ago!! Wow how time flies! SO much has happened in the last three months and not just to me, but to my family and friends in the states as well. Crazy that time marches on no mater where you are!
Heres' to the next two years and that they are just as awesome as the last three months!!
Peace, Love and 3-month – iversary!
October 13, 2011
Classes of 66 and no electricity
Sup?
I wanted to write a bit about my classes. As I have mentioned before I have a total of 4 classes that I see twice a week. Once for 2 hours and then again a different day for one hour. My smallest class has 63 students and the largest has 69 students. I teach in the mornings at the high school, and there is electricity so no matter the weather the students can see. At the middle school it is a different story. I teach from 4-6 on Monday and Tuesdays, both of the 4eme classrooms don’t have electricity so when it is rainy or gets to be about 5pm it is really dark in the classrooms. I am going to have to figure out a way to teach in the dark!
Fun story time!
The other day during one of my 4eme classes the students would not stop talking. I tried everything I could think of, I stood at the front with my finger to my mouth, I Shh’ed them, I yelled “Quite!” I stood by them when they were talking. All of these things worked for about ½ a min and then the talking would start again. So I had them write out the numbers 1- 20 in words (IE one, two etc) and then when the answers were written on the board and because it was almost completely dark in the classroom, I whispered the spelling to them. All the kids in the front of the room were yelling at the talking kids to be quite so that they could hear me, which was what I wanted but then it was really loud in the classroom. After I spelled all the numbers for them, I dismissed each row when they were quite, like in elementary school. It was very stressful and kind of fun! I met with that class again this morning and they were not nearly as talkative so maybe my tactics worked! We will see Tuesday when I see them again at 4.
My life here has started to fall in to a schedule, kind of. Now, that I’m teaching I have things to do like lesson plan and then teach said lessons. It is still really pretty here and I only wish that I could find a place to go swimming. I have been surrounded by water for 3 month and haven’t gone swimming once. When I asked my teacher friend where she goes swimming she told that it is long walk from where I live. I will eventually get a bike, from the PC, and then hopefully I will be able to find a wonderful white sandy beach to be lazy and swim at. Until then I will just be lazy and sit on my windowsill and watch the boats in the harbor!
Peace, Love and about 63 days till I get my bike!
October 14, 2011
A word about my potty
OK so I have a pit latrine that I use as a bathroom. It is located behind the school that I live at. It has a lock and I am the only one that uses it. All is good in that respect; my only problem is EVERYONE stares at me when I walk to go use it. All the kids literally stand in the classroom doors and watch me walk in lock the door and then wait for me to come out. It is a little bit awkward to potty when you know that there are twelve 9 years olds watching the door.
In other news:
My first official week of teaching is over! It was a week of ups and downs but for the most part I LOVE TEACHING!!! Now that I am actually teaching lessons it is great. I have a few kids in each class who are super smart and who want to learn so that is a huge help. It’s nice to know that at least a few kids want to be there even if the majority look at me like I have antenna growing out of my head.
Peace Love and a bit more privacy please?
October 20, 2011
Cootie catchers and popcorn
Hi!
I just finished my 2nd week of teaching!! So far it has been a mixture of crazy ups and low lows. But, I wanted to share my favorite thing that I taught this week.
As I have mentioned a few time I teach a 4eme class which is like 8th grade, the students’ range from 12- 18 years old. The first unit and lesson in their curriculum is “predicting the future” Which in my opinion is not the most pressing part of the English language that should be taught but none the less it is what I had to teach. So in a stoke of creative genius I came up with the idea to have them make cootie catchers in order to “predict” each others futures. If you don’t know what a cootie catcher is, it is made of paper that you fold into a puppet looking thing. You then pick a number written on it and then a fortune is written on the inside. Anyway I had the kids write 8 sentences and then showed them how to make the cootie catcher. THEY LOVED IT!!! YAY!! Also the other day another teacher told me that the kids want me to teach them to dance… I have never danced in front of these kids… I’m not sure if they think all Americans are like Britney Spears or what but needless to say I don’t think I will be teaching a dance to my classes anytime soon (unless the curriculum calls for it!)
EXCITING NEWS!!
I got popcorn in the mail from my parents!!
I got packages, which means my address here works!! So if you want to send me stuff it will get here.
A word about getting packages as a Peace Corps Volunteer,
I can’t speak for all 150 of us here in Madagascar but for me:
You know that feeling when you were a kid on Christmas morning and you saw all the stuff Santa left under the tree for you? Getting packages here is like that, only times 1000! It is a great feeling!
I was at school about to teach when the lady in the office handed me a piece of paper that said I had packages waiting for me at the post office. After, class I walked to the post office and got my three packages, two from my parents and one from a family friend (thank you Mrs. Lock and family!) I opened them as soon as I got home. It’s funny (and kinda sad) how getting a pair of pants can make a 24 year old so happy! I think it is because the pants are clean and smell like home. Before I left the training center another PCV got jeans in the mail and we stood around and sniffed them for 15 minuets. Crazy what you come to miss when you are on the other side of the world!
Peace, Love and clean jeans!!
October 24, 2011
I’m a celebrity!
Hello blog readers!
When I was in college me and my friends used to pretend that we were famous and that photographers were following us around. It was fun and make walking across campus in the snow more enjoyable. Before you judge and think that we are weird or super conceded keep in mind we are theatre majors and generally dramatic people. Ok.
So fast-forward to now.
I’m in Madagascar as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am one of very few white people who live here. There are white people around but most are French vacationers and don’t speak the local language, Malagasy. So due to the fact that I have been living here, on Sainte Marie, for a little over a month and I haven’t left people are starting to notice me. Which is great except that EVERYONE wants to talk to me and offer me rides places (don’t worry I don’t go with them) Now don’t get me wrong I’m very happy that people are excited that I am here, I’m over the moon about the response that I have gotten form the locals. My point is that I sort of miss my anonymity. I don’t particularly like walking to go take a shower and having people point at me and say
“ That’s my English teacher… Good evening Miss!” So the moral of my story is: Pretending to be famous and the center of attention is fun, actually being “famous” and standing out in a crowd, not as much fun but still exciting in a “ you know me and I have NO IDEA who you are” kind of way!
Until next time!
Peace Love and Miss. Amel, she’s famous!
