First letter to her parents

Trip Start Nov 02, 2003

Trip End Feb 14, 2006

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Flag of Madagascar Mantasoa, Madagascar
Thursday, November 6, 2003

Hello from Madagascar! The flights were fine; I watched movies, read a bit, and slept lots. The flight to Paris and the layover were uneventful, but the flight to Madagascar was amazing. We crossed the Sahara while it was still light out. The dunes and the rock formations were stunning and it was incredible to see absolutely no signs of humans for thousands of miles. We stayed in a decent hotel in Tana last night and didn't get to see very much on our way there. This morning, though, we drove to the training center 3 hours away in Mantasoa and got to see lots of Tana and the surrounding countryside. Tana actually reminded me a lot of Costa Rica--market stalls crowding the roads, shacks with tin roofs or thatched straw, people of many colors in various states of dress. When we got in the car in Tana, we were accosted by begging children, which was difficult; we gave them the snacks Peace Corps had given us last night, but they kept begging until we drove away. Otherwise, though, the experience was really positive, especially seeing the gorgeous rice fields outside the city

babies having babies

. The paddies are in different stages and are irregularly divided by sculpted mud, creating a wavy pattern of colors ranging from brown to kelly green, which sets off the red, red, red hills magnificently. I got a little carsick (more hills and potholes, though the road was somewhat paved in some places), so I didn't get any photos, but I will on my next trip.

Peace Corps has also been treating us really well. They had cold bottled water and snacks waiting when we got in the vans last night--they knew just what we were craving after airplane food and dehydration. This morning, they gave us beautiful woven bags (a Malagasy specialty) filled with notebooks, Aerograms, stamps, postcards, a calling card, a national map, and a small Malagasy flag. The staff has also been incredibly nice. The training center is a combination conference center and summer camp; we're 6 to a room (with mosquito nets hanging romantically above our beds) and located on a beautiful lake (though we can't swim because of schistosomiasis.) There's a cozy dining hall, a big TV/VCR with comfy couches, and lovely views everywhere. So far today we've gotten shots (just tetanus for me, since I'd already had Hep A & B), had a traditional Malagasy lunch (rice, potatoes, collard-like greens, fried zucchini, and pork (but not for me), and started our interviews on our French abilities (the man kept telling me that I speak very prettily, despite my nervousness and the fact that he'd overheard me practicing how to say "I have not studied French since 1999"), health concerns, home stay preference, site /job preference, etc. They're going fine. In terms of my health, so far I'm still pretty wiped out from the flights and I'm having some dry mouth from the Doxy (anti-malarial) but otherwise totally fine--just really excited.

really cute kid

We won't find out our training sites until tomorrow; I don't really care which site I have, but I'm anxious to know who'll be there with me. I've made some good friends (namely my Philadelphia roommate Fran, 26, from Hampshire College, Katherine, 22, from B.U. and Jen, 38, a social worker), and I'd like to be placed with some of them! Also, Katherine is interested in celebrating Shabbat with me, so it would be really nice to be close. I really like virtually everyone, though, so I'm sure to enjoy no matter who I'm with.

I just discovered on our list of objectives for our home stay, in addition to learning Malagasy, how to cook, how to purify water, etc, --how to slaughter a chicken! Maybe I'll stay vegetarian after all!

No rain yet- the weather is about 80 degrees with a light breeze and clear blue skies. Yay!

When I meet my host family on Sunday, I'll send you either their home address or that of the village training center, so mail should be more likely to arrive.

Tonight we played Yahtzee and watched "Wonder Boys"; it was surreal how normal in seemed. Halfway through the movie, I was shocked to realize that we were still in Madagascar.

Now my friends are laughing at me for writing so much after 2 days, so I'll go. Feel free to post all of this and send my love to everyone

skit about our new training site

.

Love, Jess

11/7/03

Happy birthday to me! We just had our first language class and it was really exhilarating; we only learned basic greetings and descriptions ("I am American; she is a teacher"), but our mouths were forming Malagasy words with relative ease by the end. Yay! And I learned that my training site is Samba and I have a great group, including Beth Rubinstein.

Love, Jess

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And now, some legalese:
The opinions expressed and experiences described in this travelogue are those of one individual Peace Corps Volunteer. Nothing written here should be interpreted as official or unofficial Peace Corps literature or as sanctioned by the Peace Corps. I have chosen to write about my experience online in order to update family and friends; I am earning no money whatsoever from this endeavor.