Internet, finally (but not for long)

I'm on my tech trip with the 8 other awesome Small Enterprise Development (SED) Trainees in Moramanga, Madagascar. We visited two beaches this week and also had a 3 hour SEDavenger hunt this morning. Last night, we all went to a karaoke bar to start celebrating Minnie's birthday. They don't have Journey, but we definitely rocked out to Livin' on a Prayer and We are the World! I probably won't have internet again until May, so please feel free to write me snail mail to keep me sane and I will write back as soon as I can! I will love you so much if you can send me some hand sanitizer (I'm down to the last 1/4 of my bottle!) and a bacon wrapped hotdog with extra onions! =) Love and miss you all!

My previous entries:

Thursday, March 25, 2010; 8:57pm at my host family’s house in Lake Mantasoa, Madagascar

This morning, I took my first oral language assessment test which was recorded and will be evaluated in the next few days. At this point, I can carry a short conversation in Malagasy, talk to my Dada on the phone, find my way around town, and bargain at the market. When I did a mock test with my teacher yesterday, I finally realized why I have been getting a lot of strange looks for using the word “hafahafa” to describe something that is funny (as it was listed in the English-Malagasy dictionary). It does translate into English as funny, but in a bizarre way. I don’t know how to describe it, but I probably won’t need that adjective for a while!

We started technical training this week, which consisted of three visits to a local beekeeper association and a small carpentry business. With our limited Malagasy, we have been able to assess the needs of the business and will work on future presentations to make suggestions. Peace Corps training is not like anything I’ve gone through before. Everyday imposes a new challenge, but I can’t express how fun and rewarding it is at the same time.

On Saturday, we’re taking long road trips to Andasibe, Vatomandry, and Moramanga for our 7-day tech trip. I am extremely excited to see lemurs and spend more time with all the volunteers. Since I may have some internet access at the hotel, I’ll save the details for later.

For now, I’m uploading some pictures to my flash disk and will hopefully upload it to Picasa next week. Some of the pictures you will be able to see include language games (flashcards on heads and scrabble), sceneries on the way to class, Peace Corps Staff vs. Volunteers Soccer game, Mantasoa vs. Antananarivo Soccer game, and some older pictures which include staging in D.C. and the journey to Madagascar. There is one picture I took today through my window of two mother chickens keeping their chicks warm. The one on the right has 5 babies under her feathers! (Behind is also where I take my cold showers in the morning).

One last thing to note – food. I found my somewhat equivalent of chips! It’s called Cracky because they’re addicting! I’ve only tried the cheese flavor so far, and it sort of tastes like a combination of Cheetos and Funyuns. I have also really enjoyed eating Frego, which are wafers that come in various flavors. My favorite one so far is vanilla.

Random facts: 1) Chickens don’t pee. In order to request a bathroom stop on a taxi brousse, you say “Olombelo tsy akoho”, which literally means “People are not chickens.” 2) There are no franchises in Madagascar. (Sorry Cat, that means no McDonalds if you visit!) 3) Every year, at least 4 cyclones cross the island, with an average of one category 4. As of the report two days ago, 78 people have been killed by Cyclone “Hubert” (category 1) in the southeast coast and approximately 300,000 people have been affected.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010; 8:57pm at my host family’s house in Lake Mantasoa, Madagascar
Happy birthday to my sister, Loi!

I’ve been holding back on my blog entries because my netbook has been running low on battery, but I get to charge it at the Peace Corps Training Center tomorrow. It’s been raining pretty hard here (for CA standards), but apparently there is still a lot more to come. My typical day is from 8-5 with a 2 hour break for lunch. The training covers health and safety, cross-cultural exchange, and lots of Malagasy lessons! I am learning so much everyday and enjoying every minute of it. I taught my host siblings the chicken dance and how to play Go Fish, or “Maka Trondro”. They say the numbers in English while I say it in Malagasy. It feels like a party everyday here, with lots of dancing, singing, and laughing. Even when we clean the floor with half of a coconut shell (AKA “coco brossy”), the kids do it so fast that it’s almost like they’re dancing while waxing the floor. The only songs I know on their karaoke player so far are Britney Spears and Westlife, so my goal at the end of the 10 week training is to be able to sing some Malagasy karaoke songs. =)

Madagascar is very green and beautiful. In the town that I’m staying in, there aren’t any lemurs, chameleons, or baobab trees, but I hope to visit those areas during my service. Yesterday, I found out that my site after training will be in Arivonimamo, which is not too far from the capital, Antananarivo (AKA Tana). I don’t have the specific details about my assignment yet, but I can’t wait to learn more and share my knowledge in a community that has never had a PC Volunteer. I have also signed up for World Wise Schools, a program that matches Volunteers with an elementary school teacher in the U.S. to teach the children about my project and the business process here.

Overall, I am extremely happy with everything so far and have not had any problems with food or water. My favorite foods here are “mofo sakay” (a deep fried bread cake with vegetables) and “totom-voanjo” (sort of like a homemade peanut butter, but not as creamy). As of right now, it seems like my two years will go by really quickly since I’ve already been here for 2 weeks and it feels like just yesterday when I walked out of the Tana Airport thinking “OMG, am I really here?!?” I know I’ve already come a long way when the pigeon poo in my room and lack of napkins (among many other things) don’t bother me anymore!

Side note - In order for you to get a feel of what the Malagasy language is like, I’d like to share that the verb “to jog” is translated as “miazakazaka mora mora”.

Funny Volunteer quotes during language lessons:
1) “How do you say cheers in Malagasy? Would it be cheersnananana?”
2) “Is this shock therapy?”

Wednesday, March 3, 2010; 7:39am at the airport in Johannesburg, South Africa
Happy Birthday to my sister, Phoenix!

Recap of the past week:

2/20/10 - Thanks to everyone who came to my going away BBQ and bowling party. Special thanks to Paige, Karina, and David for flying to LA to see me before my departure! Good times, as always! Sorry I did not send out all my thank you cards, but I will write you when I’m in Madagascar! If you did not make it to the party and in case I don’t have your mailing address, please write me at the address listed on my blogroll and I will make sure to write back!

2/21/10 – My last AYCE Korean BBQ meal at Road to Seoul and my first time crying when saying goodbye to my friends.


2/26/10 – I received my Solio solar charger in the mail and bought my Acer Aspire One Netbook, thanks to my UCLA colleagues! I stayed up till 4am finishing my packing and transferring files to my new netbook.

2/27/10 – My mom bought Dim Sum for breakfast before we headed to the airport. Saying goodbye to my family and Virgil was especially hard, and I will miss everyone dearly! I arrived in D.C. around 9pm with Minnie, who is also from LA and will be a business volunteer in Madagascar as well. Our cab ride was a bit scary, but we met Soraiya at the hotel and the three of us went to Capitol Hill Brewing Company for dinner. I had a delicious American meal – meatloaf with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes with gravy.

2/28/10 – staging at Washington Plaza Hotel in D.C., filled with group activities (flip chart brainstorming/drawing, skits, etc.). There are 17 environment volunteers and 8 business volunteers going to Madagascar. Although the past week has been an emotional rollercoaster, meeting the other volunteers made me more excited and less sad to leave. During the orientation, there were many opportunities to reflect on our commitment to the Peace Corps as well as discussing our anxieties and aspirations. It was really reassuring to see that everyone was in the room for the same reason and feeling the same emotions. I wanna ROCK in Madagascar!

Before going to bed, I repacked all my things and had a bag of Funyuns and Arizona Mucho Mango. I hope there will be an equivalent of chips in Madagascar!

3/1/10 – I went to Whole Foods for breakfast and ate all the things I will miss – bacon, eggs, sausage, tator tots, and fresh tomato and mozzarella caprese. Lots of food, but I didn’t care because it was one of my last chances to splurge on American food. Before getting on the bus, I bought some Obama souvenirs, postcards, crayons, and candy for my host family. The bus ride to the airport felt like a band trip and I wanted to chant Ole! =) However, since I was in D.C., the song that was stuck in my head the most was “…and I’m proud to be an American, at least I know I’m free!”

3/2/10 – 18 hours later with a stop in Dakar, we arrived in Johannesburg safely. The flight didn’t feel that long – I watched Shallow Hal (which coincidently references Lisa Kudrow’s character joining the Peace Corps) and Marley and Me. I also got really pumped when I found the Journey CD in the airplane media player! I was probably singing too loud, but I don’t care as long as I’m having fun! When we arrived in Dakar, I met my first African roach crawling around my window. It was only about a centimeter long, but was interesting because it was a see-through yellowish color with spider legs! Johannesburg Airport is really nice – fun American music playing and World Cup advertisements everywhere. We stayed in the Southern Sun Hotel about 5 min away from the airport. Around 3am, there was a huge thunderstorm and lightning that woke me up, but I managed to go back to sleep till 5am. We checked out of the hotel at 6am, and here I am sitting at the airport. We’re all in business casual attire and excited to finally arrive in Madagascar!

Random facts I learned: 1) In Madagascar, children think White people eat babies! 2) In addition to giant hissing cockroaches, there are also jumping rats in Madagascar! 3) Hawaiians don’t cut their hair short because each section tells a story of their life.