here are somethings for you to read...enjoy

December 31, 2011

Last day of a big year!

Well 2011 is almost over (and by the time I post this it will already be 2012) and boy what a year it was! Some of the highlights of my 2011 include:

1. Directing Oklahoma! at SLHS
2. Besties Em & Nicki graduating from college!!
3. Learning that I would be spending my Peace Corps service in Madagascar.
4. Going to Madagascar, 15-hour flight from the states… not the most fun part of the year.
5. Learning a new language, well at least trying to J
6. Saying goodbye to my best friends in the states and making new ones here
7. Becoming an English teacher
8. Spending Thanksgiving alone but having a great dinner complete with candlelight
9. Spending Christmas away from my family but with 5 of my good friends here in Mcar.

What a year!!

Here is to 2012 and that it is filled with as much adventure, love and fun as 2011 has been.

Peace, Love and 2012, it’s going to be an even BIGGER year!

December 31, 2011…Part 2

So I’m sure all you blog readers (all 4 of you lol) are wondering what I have been up to since I haven’t written in a LONG time. Well let me fill you all in!

Since last time I have finished my first trimester as an English teacher! I have flown to the big island, seen all my friends, sat through some more training at the PCTC, had a water balloon fight (thanks James), bought a dress and a sweet shirt that says “let’s dance” and has a high top shoe on it from a street vendor (it sounds really lame but it is actually kinda cool) took a taxi ride to Moramanga and saw some lemurs with Carolyn & Steph, spent Christmas with my friends, made spaghetti for xmas eve and soup for xmas day, played the card game Hearts a few times, watched movies and TV shows ( my fav being the episode of The Office where one of them, maybe Andy?, is in Sweeny Todd ) and finally flying back to Sainte Marie. Whew! And all of that happened in the course of about 20 days!

Being away from my family on Christmas was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. But, I think the reason for that is because it didn’t really feel like Christmas. It was hot, I was in a strange house, I didn’t open any presents and there was no Xmas feast, or not one that included all the trimmings like at home. However, with that all being said I do think it was one of my favorite Christmases! I got to spend it with some of my good friends that I made during training, Steph, John, Kim, Carolyn and James. On Xmas eve day we went shopping in the downtown, which was very scary to say the least. Tons of people in very little space. After downtown shopping we went to one the few grocery stores and bought stuff to make spaghetti. After getting back to the PC house all us girls decided to go get changed into our pretty Xmas outfits and get all spiffed up for dinner. After pretty up time we made dinner and then sat down to a wonderful feast of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, egg drop soup and homemade egg nogg! Really good! Waking up Christmas morning was like any other day. All Christmas day the 5 of us (John had to leave early in the morning on the 25^th) sat around and talked, laughed and just had a really chill day. Later in the afternoon we ventured out to buy stuff (mostly veggies for soup and booze, it wouldn’t be Xmas with out some cheap Malgasy Rum lol) We made a stew soup thing for dinner and right as we were sitting down to eat (at 8 o’clock because it took longer to cook then we thought. oops) one of my all time favorite quotes was said by James, an excellent observation of “ none of us are wearing sleeves” which in fact none of us were, we were all in tank tops, a Christmas first for me being used to Christmas in MI with snow and sweaters! The rest of the night was filled with more laughter and good times. If I had to have a Christmas away from my family I am glad that I was able to spend it was the people that I did. J

Peace, Love and a Christmas I will never forget <3

January 10, 2012

Observations from a girl with a lot of time on her hands!

1. Yesterday I saw a little girl with a backpack that said BATMAN! And it had a picture of spiderman.
2. You know those t shirts people make for events like “ Sarah’s Super Sweet Sixteen” or “ Homecoming 2000… the best ever” well I have seen where those end up when people don’t want them anymore… here in Madagascar where they have NO IDEA what they say. Haha ps Bridget think of some of our shirts we wanted to make… or better yet the shorts LOL
3. Because of they way my hair is growing out after my self hair cut, if I were to stick it straight up in the air I would look like a treasure troll. You know with the pointy hair? Haha
4. I don’t know if I have mentioned this on here before but there are roosters here that are the size of small dogs, no joke. But they do run away when you walk toward them so that is kind of comforting.
5. My windows here are the same height as me, if I stand on the ledge I can exactly fit in the window.
6. I really like even numbers and in my classes when I give exercises they always have to have an even number of questions.
7. Today I did a dialogue with my 4eme class complete with props. A hat and sunglasses have never caused this much laughter and never have my students wanted to volunteer this much! Score another point for my theatre major!
8. My house is starting to look like a home. I have put all my cards on my wall over my desk and I put up some pictures that Em sent me. SO… if you send me a letter or pictures, or both, I will put them on my pink walls and look at them all the time <3
9. I can tell what kind of day I am going to have based on how I write the date in my classes. If it is curly and super squiggely then it will be a good day!
10. Some of the funniest things I have seen here in Mcar are baby suits, that is tiny suit coats, vests and pants for babies. If you have seen one you know what I mean if you haven’t, you should they are awesome. It makes me want a baby butler. Lol
11. I figured out that I can wear my hair anyway I want and people will just think that that is what is in fashion in the states. Side ponytails… welcome back!
12. There is a tiny little lizard that lives in my room and he was sitting on my leg the other day. I felt some thing and sat up and there he was just chillin on my leg. He is about a inch long and pink… super cute!

Well that is all for now, I hope this list was informative and made you smile a bit J

Peace Love and Random thoughts from Mada.

a few things to read

November 8, 2011

One hot girl

Never in my life have I loved cold water so much! It is starting to get really hot here and today I bought a cold water from one of the shops here. IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER!!! I don’t have a refrigerator so I only get cold things when I go out and buy them at a store with a fridge, and since I can get water for free, I don’t buy cold water very often. However, today I was so hot after walking to town to go on the Internet that I had to buy something to drink. Oh my goodness I miss being able to drink cold stuff on a regular basis!

The other day as I sat in my window, I was thinking about my life and how much it has changed and how much it will change over then next few years while I am here in Madagascar. Here are some of the interesting facts about myself that I came up with:

1.      I have not driven a car since July 12th 2011 and will not drive one (unless there is a crazy emergency and PC lets me) until September 2013.

2.      I have not seen my best friends since July 8^th - 9^th 2011 and unless one of them strikes it rich in the next 675 days and flies out here I won’t see them till September 2013.

3.      I have been a teacher here for going on 6 weeks already and only have 2 weeks  (including this one) of instruction, a week of review and then it is exam time. In other words I am almost done with my 1^st trimester of teaching!

4.      This year will be the first time that I won’t be seeing any of my family for the holidays. I have mixed emotions about this, on the one I know that I will be a bit sad and miss them but on the other it makes me feel super grown up, which is a good thing because I don’t feel like a grown up very often J

5.      Gross but true, I have not gone to the bathroom in a regular toilet in 7 weeks. Funny how quickly I adjusted to this kinda big change in my everyday life.

6.      I have not gone shopping in a store larger then my bedroom since July 2011.

7.      I have eaten pasta almost everyday that I have been at site and some how have still managed to lose weight. A dream come true; eat pasta everyday and not getting super fat!

8.      Some days I don’t speak English to anyone but myself. *I speak to people just not in English*

9.      In one day here I walk further then I did in a week at home. To be honest I was lazy in the states and didn’t walk anywhere so it is not that hard to walk more here, plus I walk everywhere here… I have no other way to get around!

10.  I have learned to read military time since coming to Mcar.

11.  I never realized how much I like sandwiches. I have had more then one dream about eating BLT and club sandwiches, I miss them a lot!

12.  I know that answer to that old question “if you were stranded on an island what one book and one movie would you want to have with you?’ let me tell you that one of each would not be enough! I have several books and movies and those are barely enough! But if I had to chose just one of each I would chose the 7^th Harry Potter book, b/c it is long and it is a total escape from reality and Singing in the Rain for my movie b/c it has everything, love, conflict, singing and dancing. And if I had to I could occupy my time by learning the dances. Who knows maybe I will get bored enough here and learn them!

Well that is all for now!

Peace, Love & dreaming of cold drinks and sandwiches

November 14, 2011

And on the main stage….

Hello all!

I hope all is well in the good old USA! Everything is going smoothly here on Sainte Marie, it gets hotter everyday but there haven’t been any cyclone or nasty weather systems moving thru so I will take the heat over those any day!

I wanted to share a something with you all that happened to me today.

First let me start off by saying that if you didn’t know I was a theatre major in college and directed plays at SLHS last year. (To any of my high schoolers who are reading this, I hear you did a wonderful job with your performances, last weekend, I’m super proud of all of you!!) Anyway, theatre is in my blood. So I go to walk into my 4eme class this afternoon and there is a platform running the length of the chalkboard. The board is very tall so I guess other teachers complained and they school built this platform. Which is super great for short people like some of my students and myself. However, as I taught today I felt like I was on a stage! The platform makes it so that I am much taller then the students who are sitting. It is already kind of intimidating to stand in front of a class that only understands every 5^th word out of your mouth, now with this new stage at the front it is a whole new ball game. J The fact that I was acting out a dialogue didn’t really help the “I’m on a stage” feeling either. But, I do have to say that I never thought I would be on a stage again so this is a nice little reminder of what it feels like to be in the spotlight… so to speak!

Peace, Love and I’m standing center stage again!

some pretty pictures

i posted pictures 4 of them on facebook... go look

a little hello from me to you

October 27, 2011

Books!

Hello!
 

I realized that I have been asking for reading material and I haven’t told you all what I have read!

Here is a list of the books I have read J :

Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (x2)

Something Blue by Emily Griffin (x2)

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (x3)

The Help

Eat, Pray, Love (x2)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The World Below by Sue Miller

No place for a Man by Judy Astley

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Thank you for Smoking by Christopher Buckley

Where the Heart is by Billie Letts

The Freedom Writers Diary

I average about 1 book every two days!

As I have said before anything you want to send me to read I will read!!

Peace Love and Reading is fun!

Ps If there are any PCVs that read this and want to swap books I am more then willing to do so, the only one that isn’t mine on here is Eat, Pray, Love.

October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!!

Hello blog readers! Happy Halloween! Even thou it doesn’t feel like Halloween here I am trying to get in the spirit. I drew two jack-o-lanterns on my wall with chalk and I bought a snickers bar to celebrate! YAY!

In other news:

I FINALLY swam in the ocean!! It was wonderful, peaceful and everything I hoped it would be! My friend Sandy invited me to go with her church to the beach on Saturday. I got up at 7 am and walked to her church where there were about 50 kids waiting to go to the beach! After a 10 min ride we were there and it was beautiful. The tide was low when we first arrived to no one could go in the water because there were a bunch of sea urchins in the shallows. After about 2 hours the tide had come in a bit and it was time to swim and swim we did! Walking in the shallows was sort of a challenge because I had to be careful not the step on my of the sea urchins but once I got deep enough I was able to swim with out touching the ground, it was super! I still want to try to find a beach closer to my house but Sandy said that there is a better beach by the airport so hopefully I get that one soon (or any beach soon) because it is starting to get really hot here!

I can’t believe that it is almost November, and that NJ and NY have snow! It is going to be weird to not see snow for two years! The weather here, as I mentioned above, is starting to get really hot, we are about enter in to cyclone and hurricane season so keep your finger crossed that the weather doesn’t get to bad.

That is all for now!

Peace, Love and Ocean Swimming!

an update

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:

1. Snooping in people’s rooms
2. Noodles… both food and pool form
3. Car rides to nowhere w/ friends
4. Laughing to the point of no return
5. Old school sleepovers
6. Flirting
7. High-lighters
8. Cheese… and any variation thereof…
9. 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.
10.  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 1^st 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:

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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!
5. 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!
6. 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 2^nd 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 8^th 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!

a lot to say in a short time

The Bear Necessities

August 19^th 2011

Manakory!!

( Hello)

Tonight I watched “ The Jungle Book”

I loved it!

August 22^nd2011

Miss Amel is in the house

Today was the first day of practice teaching!

It was scary

I taught colors to about 50 7-12 year olds who don’t speak any English. I didn’t plan enough for the 1 hr 30 min class so I had them play a dumbed down version of Simon Says. It was basically me saying “ Simon Says touch the color ______” They seemed to like it and they REALLY know their colors now so I guess that is good. Tomorrow I teach a 2nde class which is 15-17 year old who have had 4 years of English so hopefully they understand me better and I can teach more. We will see!

Peace, Love and Rainbow Bright <3

PS

Thank you to everyone who has written me letters!! Keep them coming and I will try to write you back :)

If you haven’t written and want to I would love to hear from everyone!

September 19, 2011

Cheeseburger in Paradise

So it has been a month since I have written a real blog entry… I don’t count the one from the 17^th of sept cuz well I just don’t.

A lot has happened since last I wrote, I have become an official peace corps volunteer, I am living at my permanent site, an island of the eastern coast of Mcar called Sainte Marie (more on this later), I start work at the lycee (the high school) on Sept 27^th and I will be teaching 2nde which is like 10^th grade kinda.

Crazy what a month can do!!

More about my home for the next two years,

First things first here is my new address so that you can send me wonderful letters and packages J

Amel Berg

Volontaire: Corps de la Paix

EPP Ambodifotatra

IIe Sainte Marie

Madagascar

Fun story: I went to the post office to set up a PO box and was told that they are all full, but one of the guys that works there said that I can have stuff addressed to my home and he will deliver it to me. He is doing this b/c he is a part of the “PTO” at the lycee where I will be working!! Yay for small island favors and my own postman!

Ok here are the details:

I live on the EPP compound, which means, basically I live at the elementary school in what I think is supposed to be an office. I live in one room about the size of a typical American bedroom; this serves at my bedroom, living room, and kitchen. I have a random shack to the right that I will “ shower “ in, I use the quotes because well basically I will be taking sponge baths for the next few months till I go back to the PC training center and have a real shower J Smelly Melly for sure!! But I’m not complaining b/c if I open my window and look out of my room, I can see the ocean, it is right across the street!!! My walls are also pink so that is kinda cool and uplifting and better then say brown or something!

I have to admit it is kinda scary being here, I don’t really have a handle on the language so I can’t really communicate and I miss my friends from the PCTC but I have a good feeling that this is where I belong.

Peace, Love and an Ocean View

P.S. You may or may not have noticed that the title of my blog has changed,

(Sorry Bridget)  it is now called “ Poor in Paradise” and here is the story why:

 I have two friends here in the Peace Corps, I mean I have more then two friends but these particular two are two boys named Harry and James. James and Harry decided that I needed a nickname, the nickname they gave me was Iceberg, you know like the thing that sunk the Titanic? Yeah, not my favorite, it’s ok for a boy, i.e. my brother Alex, to be called Iceberg but I didn’t really like it. So, Harry and James, but mostly Harry decided that I could choose between two nicknames one being Iceberg and the other Cheeseburger in Paradise (why you wonder, Cheeseburger in Paradise, b/c I like cheese my last name is berg and I will be living in paradise for two years, clever right? Lol) I chose, due to the lack of choices to be called Cheeseburger in Paradise which ultimately lead to the jimmy buffet song being sung when I entered the room and finally was shortened to Cheeseburger. I missed the paradise part so James, being the smart Mpamasovy, (wizard) he is, (It a long story as to why he’s a wizard, the short of it is that people think there are wizards in our training town and parents said not to open the doors at night even if it is James, and somehow it became James was the wizard, IDK anyway) He decided I should start a blog and call it Poor (b/c I’m a PCV and everything is expensive here) in Paradise. I liked it and I changed it, so here it is, Poor In Paradise, James Approved!

September 20, 2011

 The walls are talking

Well sad news I won’t have internet on my computer b/c the USB modem doesn’t work with my old version of MAC L so as I write this in my room I don’t know when I will post it. I had a sad morning of no electricity last night so my phone had one bar of power left and I need it to connect to the outside world of friends, and then I found out the USB won’t work and all I wanted to do was cry, I walked home after getting groceries and right as I walked in the door my electricity came on!! and so I did what any normal 24 year old does when they see lights, I cried b/c I was so happy and sad all at the same time.

On to better things:

Today I had a fairly productive day. I walked to town, about 10 mins from my house and bought some groceries. I bought pasta, cheese (like laughing cow but a knock off) oil, flour, chocolate and dish soap. It was all very expensive and I don’t care. I FINALLY cooked for myself!!! I had pasta and fried bread for lunch and more fried bread for dinner… YUMMY YUM!!! I know that eating all those carbs is bad but, I have been losing weight from all the walking and I ate peanut butter and salt for the last two nights for dinner so I deserved something yummy J

Later I took a nap.

Upon waking up I discovered that my one and only light bulb had burned out. So I walked to town again. I walked in to a store holding the old light bulb and said  “ Misy “ and held up the light bulb. Misy means do you have and you know what me holding up the light bulb means and so did the young man at the check out, he said in French, “no we don’t have those but they do” and pointed across the street.  At least I think that is what he said I don’t speak French. I walked over to the other store and was hugged by a small Asian baby as his dad sold me a light bulb.  I then wondered around town for a few mins bought pain au choco, bread with chocolate in it, and a coke and walked home.

After changing the light bulb and eating dinner, I heated up some water and took a “shower” in my shack. I am all-clean and ready for bed and it is 6:42pm here. I am like a 3 year old, crying, taking naps and in bed by 7.

The walls are talking…. As I mentioned I live in one room on the elementary school compound, I share my “house” with a family of 6, a mom, dad and 4 kids. They live in the room right next to mine. I can hear them talk like they are right next to me. It is a little odd to be waking up in the morning hearing people talking and not know who they are or what they are saying. I’m hoping that I will subconsciously learn more Malagasy this way. We will see.

Peace, love and language learning thru osmosis <3

September 23, 2011

Sad Panda

HI Hello!

Today I had a rough go at life. I thought my computer died, it didn’t I just don’t think it likes the humidity. I cried about it on and off for about an hour. It’s weird to me how normal everyday things are affecting me here. I get sad about really dumb stuff, like electricity not being on and not being able to charge my Ipod and really happy about other things, like taking a bucket bath or texting my Mcar friends. I’m an emotional basket case.

Here's hoping that when school starts and I have some kind of schedule again I won’t be the weird white girl on the verge of tears over spilling some water out of her bucket (I didn’t do this but it gives you an idea of how freakin’ fragile I am)

*** By the way, I write these things, not so that you will feel bad for me but for two reasons, one so that all of you who read this can know what it is really like for me here, and so that I have a creative outlet. ***

My friends.

There is an old song that I learned in Girl Scouts,

Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the others gold.

Cute right?

I don’t think I ever really understood it until very recently, like yesterday.

Let me start by saying, I have AMAZING friends in the states, Emma, Bridget and Nicki are my 3 favorite people in the world. I would do anything for them and I know they feel the same about me. I have always been the kind of person who has a bunch of different friends; I have never really stayed friends with people for an extraordinarily long time. But with B, Em and Nic I have. So when I was getting ready to meet all the other PCTs in Philly on July 11^th I was not expecting to make strong friendships. Now I know what you are thinking, of course you are going to make friends Amel, you are all in a new place and having new experience together. And I get this but the friends I have made here in Madagascar are just as strong as the friendships that I hold so dear in the states, and I have only known these people for a little over 2 months. It’s weird how the people we meet and the places we go all seem to serve a purpose, without these strong friendships, both here in Mcar and back in the states I know that I would probably not still be here.

So I guess this is my way of saying thank you to ALL my friends. I love you all in a variety of ways… that sounds odd but you know what I mean. You are all gold to me. ©

Peace, Love and Lasting friendships!

September 24, 2011

It’s a whole new me!

I gave myself a haircut!!!

I had been thinking about it for a while and this evening on a whim I took scissors to it. It looks pretty good. It’s about 2 inches shorter and less layered then normal!! Yay!! I think from this point on I will try to grow it out... but we will see J

Also the other day I took a 4-hour walk and got super sunburned. It doesn’t hurt that bad but my face and neck are super red and hot. Oops. 

And wait for it… I shaved my legs!! I know super awesome.

I don’t do this as often as I did in the states for two reasons,

1. I’m already the weird white girl, so if I have hairy legs its just one more thing that is weird and different about me.

2. I’m lazy and shaving my legs every time I “shower” is time consuming and a huge chore.

But they are super smooth and pretty because I used sunflower oil to shave them. I didn’t have any soap or shave cream so I used my college education (thanks AC) used oil and it all worked out!

Sorry that I’m weird and just wrote about these things but I’m in a good mood and felt the world needed to know about my little self-improvements here in the great Madagascar.

Peace, Love & spontaneous haircuts

September 29, 2011

Teacher time

HI!

Yesterday I scheduled my classes for the year!!

I will be teaching 3 sections of 2nde and 2 sections of 4eme.

A total of 15 hours a week and I have Fridays off.

The scheduling meeting for the lycee was kinda intense because I didn’t totally understand everything that was being said. It’s a very odd feeling to be in  room where everyone is speaking in a different language and you can only understand 4 words . Kinda scary, except not.  I understand the basic things that are being said and I’m going to get a tutor so hopefully that will help.

That’s all for now I have to go lesson plan and get ready for school to start on Monday!!

Peace Love and I’m a teacher!!

Ps I can’t believe it is almost October… these last few weeks have gone by SO fast. <3

I dont know when i will be back on here.... love you all