This is a letter I received from Erin on 11/26/07 that she asked me to post on her blog. (Mail is a little slow!) Erin sends this with her love and appreciation for each of y'all! Enjoy!
"10/22/07
…this is a compilation of why I love the Peace Corps and Madagascar…
WHY I LOVE PEACE CORPS MADAGASCAR:
1. Our trainers are amazing! Ex. Franka (my Sakalava
mpamplanatra [teacher]) figured out how to say “you rock” in
English so she could tell me that I rock – she is botrabotra-be
[so cute]. She also remembers everything…even if I only tell
her once. The first week I told her “ zoky-tanynaka pihira,
Eric anarany” [My older brother is a musician; his name’s Eric]
and when we get mail or a call from home, she always asks,
“How is Eric?” She has been miasa [working] for the PC efitra
taona [four years], so former PCT’s taught her the funniest
things – when she forgets something, she always says “brain
fart” – it’s precious!
2. As you can tell, I am finally beginning to think in “Gasy”. The
volunteers taking mefloquin (malaria prevention medicine which
gives you crazy dreams) are starting to dream in “Gasy”. The
PC does an unbelievable job with our language training. Y’all
better keep in touch mahay [super well] so that I don’t forget
English – HA! HA! Seriously, though, what really stands out for
me about the PC is the fact that we go into our villages speaking
their specific dialect. It’s such a great way to go to these “off
the map” places and really express how much we care about
them. They feel so worthy to have us come all the way bokany
Ameriky [from America] and work with them in their own
language. Many NGO’s (non-government organizations) here
only speak French although only the well-educated know French
and we can truly help the masses of illiterate people because we
can communicate with them.
3. PC totally knows when we are at our last wit and prevents us
from breaking down by being very thoughtful. For both
Halloween and Thanksgiving during training they are taking us
to a PC house with great American food, hot showers, lake we
can canoe in, etc. I can’t wait! Every Thursday during training,
we eat lunch as a group and Gaby, the Tana cook (who used to be
a chef at the nicest restaurant in Tana – but we stole him!)
makes us a delicious lunch. They make the transition very
doable. Also, once a month, when I get to my site, I will get to
go to the prettiest city in Madagascar for phone/email/hot
shower/bank/market/etc. I am so lucky to get to live near
Diego. By the time you read this, I may have already visited it
:-).
4.The volunteers across the country/across sectors work on
killer projects together. I can’t wait for the bike races, soccer
tournaments, etc. We get to go on “business trips” for these.
5. After a long hard day, on my walk home up the hills, through
the rice fields…I get to see a magical sunset – maty maoandro –
the sun dies – and I know that G-d is nigh because amid the
poverty, the lack of comforts, the stress of learning so much,
the pain of missing y’all, the adorable curious kids are
ambitiously wanting to always hand out with us, the super muddy
paths, the rain-soaked clothes, the dirty EVERYTHING, the
smelly kabone (the area where people go to the bathroom
outside), the rooster which crow way too early, the akoho we
have to learn how to kill [chicken] with our bare hands, the
setroko [smoke] which blazes all harivo [evening] and gives
every tsaiky [child] in our village aretin-tratra [ARI], I know
G-d is with us here; He’s everywhere. We are all humans and
neighbors and because He said we need to take care of each
other, it’s the greatest honor to me that I get to be here
learning so much about life, about the other (something that I
can’t read…sorry y’all!) of the world’s population sharing their
joy under the big blue sky.
10/24/07
6. I am so happy today! Three environmental volunteers from
around Madagascar came to talk to us. One named Erin, too,
lives only 15 miles away from me (when I move to my site)!
She told me all about Diego. It sounds great! There are 9 of
us who will bank there. (The nine are not from Erin’s
training group…they are nine PCV’s who are from another
sector.) There’s a nice hotel near the PC House where we can
use the pool! She also said the beaches and national parks up
north are incredible. She said you get use to the heat quickly
- plus I would much rather be in the tropical part of
Madagascar because the weather here on the plateau is not good. Diego has no electrical
towers – all of the power is through generators so sometimes internet/phones don’t work but
we are learning a lot of patience already so I will survive. I only get mail/phone/internet
once a month for 3 days and will only be able to mail y’all once a month, too, when I go to
Diego. Sorry you will have to wait for so long! Y’all better write a lot so I can take the letters
back to site and read them all month. It was so great to hear more about where I’m going!
The volunteers up there work together a lot which will be awesome! Emily, on e of the super
mahay [great] volunteers who trained us is almost done with her service and lives near Diego
so she left me a ton of her supplies – pots, silverware, etc. in Diego which is incredible! Oh,
and the music and the dancing up north sounds so much fun, too! I can’t wait for my site
visit! My new address is:
Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant
Marchard-Place
Kabary 201
Antsiranana MADAGASCAR
Please send mail there starting by Nov. 15! I hear we need more DVD’s, so feel free to send
those! THANKS!
7. My sister, Meltine, is adorable! She has a notebook where she writes down the song lyrics
she hears on the radio, radio is huge here, and half the songs they play are in English so last
night she made me sing them to the whole family and I had to try to explain what they mean
which was so hard! 1 – I don’t speak the same language as my host family – they speak
Malagasy and are from Merina – Indosian Island tribe – and I an living far north and speak
Sakalava – they are from south western Africa. 2 – I have a horrible voice. 3 – Some of the
songs are a bit dirty – lots of Shakira and Fergie, etc. It was hilarious – like something out of
Saturday Night Live. J (Y’all, I don’t know what kind of radio Erin is talking about since they
have no electricity…maybe some sort of transistor radio…y’all may be much to young to even
know what that is!)
8. We are already making a difference. I had a huge fear that I would get here and be totally
consumed with the poverty and become disillusioned. However, because we live in the
poverty, it becomes a way of life and we realize what we need to do to survive and can share
these skills mixed with our wonderful American educations and seriously improve the
conditions of life for all those around us. For example, my Mom is sitting right next to me
right now reading a newsletter I gave her in Gasy about getting vaccines for children and
where around our village, babies get vitamin A pills, weighed, etc. She will go tell everyone
around us what she learned! News here travels very fast somehow – especially when it is
something a vazah [white person] tells them. It’s really cool here, though, because our
families consider us real family now and not even vazahs anymore. Looking different, but
speaking their language, is the most advantageous way to disseminate information. People
flock to us and really listen to us. The challenge is really persuading and training them that
these behavior changes are crucial and good for them. Luckily, our training is the best and I
love talking to people – I’ve just got to take baby steps! Awww….my Mom just showed me
where is says that sweet potatoes and carrots have lots of vitamin A because that’s what we
had for lunch and she’s so proud! AND, my sister, Chantall, who is 22, just came in with her
botrabotra [very cute] 2 and 3 year old daughters who are in their church dresses because
they just went to the CSB [clinic] to get vaccinated! YEA! These are the moments when I feel
like here really has so much hope for this world to be better.”
(This is a letter that Erin wrote and asked me to post on her blog. Later this week, I will write
a lot from the conversation we had, so stay tuned…Erin is feeling much better – however, she
had been taken to Antananarivo – the capital – because she had to get re-hydrated after
getting very sick…still waiting for the lab reports to, hopefully, learn what she had. After 4-5
days of re-hydration, she’s back in her host village. There are lots of stories that go with this…
her Mom lamenting over her sick child that was taken away for 5 days and her sick cow! Hope
everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please know that both Erin and I are so very
thankful for the support, encouragement and love y’all share through your letters/packages to
Erin.)
With tremendous gratefulness,
Erin’s Mom
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Jijy miaro Erin (Conversation with Erin)
Fitiavana (love) from Erin to all of y’all! She is asking that y’all keep her in your prayers and that y’all, please; continue to be so supportive – she needs y’all now – more than ever! Erin is concerned about her site placement. She was up there last week and there are security issues. Erin is not certain that she – as a Peace Corps Volunteer – is really wanted in the village. Her house was not built even though they had told the Peace Corps that it was. (The building of the house/hut is important because it demonstrates their want and willingness to have the Peace Corps come into their village.) Without going into detail, Erin’s visit was nothing like when she first arrived in the village of her host family – and remember, she’s in that village without the other (17? or less now) volunteers who are with families in a nearby village where she goes for training. Please write letters sending encouragement – help Erin to maintain her incredible attitude; help her to ward off disappointment and disillusionment. Whether she is placed in Sadjoavato (where she is feeling fearful to go) or Sakaramy (where I think we are hoping for), there is SO MUCH work to be done. The northern region is even more impoverished than the plateau region we have described in earlier blog entries. The northern region is the poorest, most neglected area of this country – which is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Erin said that with all the hard work she will be doing over the next two years, she will not even see a difference – she will be laying the groundwork for change. Giving so much of oneself and not seeing the outcome is difficult and Erin really wants and needs the encouragement, strength and love that y’all have been giving to her. She differentiated the plateau region from the northern region by comparing the plateau to the poorest areas of West Virginia – with rice patties, though – and the north to the Sudan. Erin asked that we help her to see the bright side – “this is much harder than I ever thought it would be. Everyone, please help!”
Erin was a little naïve…perhaps an understatement!!! She was upset to learn that prostitution is legal for those 18 years and older, that khat is legal and that there is corruption. When the taxi busse is pulled over by the “police” and the driver gave him money, Erin thought they driver was paying a toll…not a bribe because of something that was been done illegally! Seriously, thought, Erin is VERY concerned about the “sexual tourism”. Many YOUNG girls 11, 12, 13 year olds are being made up to look 18 and “sold” to French businessmen or tourists because they and their families desperately need the money. Erin wants to find a way to empower these young girls; she wants to help them find other ways to earn money and to break this horrible cycle. She is even thinking about establishing some sort of “safe” house for these young girls so they will be safe, they can learn a money-making craft/skill, and they will no longer have to prostitute themselves. Erin was hoping that some of you may have some ideas that you could share with her; that y’all may have some advice. (I know that WSB is going to have a segment on something similar to this right here in the Atlanta area, so I’m going to call them tomorrow to get a transcript.) Also, Erin is very concerned that most of the people in the north believe that AIDS is not real; that it was made up by governments to get money for drugs and that condoms were to be used to stop procreation and end their survivial. Erin wants to find some visual testimontials from other African nations that demonstrate the harsh realities of HIV and AIDS. Do any of y'all have any ideas to help Erin with this challenge? Please share whatever you know. Thanks!!!
And now for a little Erin humor…
Erin just completed an intensive survival course – starting a fire without matches, first aid, etc. For the last activity, the PCV’s were going to make their own “snack” according to the trainers. Erin had to catch a chicken, wring its neck, clean out the insides, pluck it and fry it…that was to be her snack! After doing all that she HAD to do, she no longer had an appetite for chicken!!! As gross as this is…imagining Erin doing all this may make you laugh…hey, I don’t eat chicken, anyway!!!
Please, please keep those encouraging letters, the CD’s she so very much enjoys and everything else coming to Erin. Y’all mean so very much to her and she is going to begin her MOST difficult challenge! Remember, if you’d like to send small packages, use the bubbled envelopes and don’t go over 3 pounds. Tape up the bubbled envelope to detour people from breaking into it. Send “religious books”, “educational items” and “personal, feminine hygiene items” if you have to fill out the little customs form. Her new address is:
Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant
Marchard-Place
Karaby 201
Antsiranana MADAGASCAR
If there’s anything I can do to help you help Erin, please, do not hesitate to call (770) 403 – 2141 or to e-mail me levinb@fultonschools.org or brl259@aol.com or write
695 Saint Regis Lane
Alpharetta, GA 30022
And, please know how very much I appreciate each of you for being the incredible friend you are!!!
With tremendous thanks!
Brenda
Erin was a little naïve…perhaps an understatement!!! She was upset to learn that prostitution is legal for those 18 years and older, that khat is legal and that there is corruption. When the taxi busse is pulled over by the “police” and the driver gave him money, Erin thought they driver was paying a toll…not a bribe because of something that was been done illegally! Seriously, thought, Erin is VERY concerned about the “sexual tourism”. Many YOUNG girls 11, 12, 13 year olds are being made up to look 18 and “sold” to French businessmen or tourists because they and their families desperately need the money. Erin wants to find a way to empower these young girls; she wants to help them find other ways to earn money and to break this horrible cycle. She is even thinking about establishing some sort of “safe” house for these young girls so they will be safe, they can learn a money-making craft/skill, and they will no longer have to prostitute themselves. Erin was hoping that some of you may have some ideas that you could share with her; that y’all may have some advice. (I know that WSB is going to have a segment on something similar to this right here in the Atlanta area, so I’m going to call them tomorrow to get a transcript.) Also, Erin is very concerned that most of the people in the north believe that AIDS is not real; that it was made up by governments to get money for drugs and that condoms were to be used to stop procreation and end their survivial. Erin wants to find some visual testimontials from other African nations that demonstrate the harsh realities of HIV and AIDS. Do any of y'all have any ideas to help Erin with this challenge? Please share whatever you know. Thanks!!!
And now for a little Erin humor…
Erin just completed an intensive survival course – starting a fire without matches, first aid, etc. For the last activity, the PCV’s were going to make their own “snack” according to the trainers. Erin had to catch a chicken, wring its neck, clean out the insides, pluck it and fry it…that was to be her snack! After doing all that she HAD to do, she no longer had an appetite for chicken!!! As gross as this is…imagining Erin doing all this may make you laugh…hey, I don’t eat chicken, anyway!!!
Please, please keep those encouraging letters, the CD’s she so very much enjoys and everything else coming to Erin. Y’all mean so very much to her and she is going to begin her MOST difficult challenge! Remember, if you’d like to send small packages, use the bubbled envelopes and don’t go over 3 pounds. Tape up the bubbled envelope to detour people from breaking into it. Send “religious books”, “educational items” and “personal, feminine hygiene items” if you have to fill out the little customs form. Her new address is:
Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant
Marchard-Place
Karaby 201
Antsiranana MADAGASCAR
If there’s anything I can do to help you help Erin, please, do not hesitate to call (770) 403 – 2141 or to e-mail me levinb@fultonschools.org or brl259@aol.com or write
695 Saint Regis Lane
Alpharetta, GA 30022
And, please know how very much I appreciate each of you for being the incredible friend you are!!!
With tremendous thanks!
Brenda
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Mbalatrara Jiaby (Hi everyone)!
(This is actually from Erin - sent via facebook since she didn't have gmail access, Please excuse any misspelled words, other errors and oddities - she used a French keyboard and did the best she could in a limited amount of time. Tomorrow, I will post another addition to this blog based on the conversation we had early this morning. Y'all, please enjoy this one from Erin and please read tomorrow's addition because Erin REALLY needs y'all! I hope y'all realize y'all's importance to Erin and that the support Erin receives from y'all truly helps her to help others. So, y'all, too, are making a difference through Erin's Peace Corps experience - MUCH THANKS!!!) ENJOY!
Thank you all so much for your letters, emails, calling me back when I can talk, thoughts, prayers, friendship and love. The past six weeks have been quite a ride…
I have:
-Checked my Gmail ONE TIME. I should be able to check it once a month when the weather is good and I can get to Deigo… but snail mail is still the best. Even better, email me then also print it and send it
to: Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant
Marchand-Place
Kabary 201
Antsiranana Madagascar
Don’t forget to write Airmail and Par Avion! If it is a package, please send it in a package envelope which is hard to break in to… the Antsiranana
(Diego) Post Office is known for breaking into boxes which are not over-tapped. In other communication news, I have a tiny, tiny bit of cell phone service when it is windy at my site! I will text message you and then you can call me back – yay!!! Phone Number: (must dial 011 to get out of states on some phones) 261-33-088-1952 and/or
261-32-514-0123
-Seen 6 types of lemurs (ankomba) which are so cute and totally worth a trip to Madagascar if I’m not a good enough reason… you all need to visit! This place is beautiful! Every few miles whole landscapes change. It’s so incredible that through the poverty there is this innate beauty here. Through the trash, smoke, shacks and millions of babies everywhere, there are the cool waterfalls, the volcanoes with rainforests on top of them, the thousands of miles of beaches with peacock blue (that’s right mom!) or turquoise or red waters. There are the plentiful fruit trees full of mangos, bananas, papaya, coconuts, lechees, jack fruit, and pibosy.
-Hung out on the side of the road with 30 Gasy (in a car which in America would hold a max of 12) because our Bush Taxi (taxi-brousse) broke down… 4 times and counting. This is actually REALLY fun once you get used to it. It’s a great chance to get to know folks and prove that you are not a vazah (foreigner). All the people in Mahitsitady (the village we live in with our host families), Ambatalona (the town on the main road near our village)… and now starting in Deigo (my AMAZING banking town) and hopefully soon in Sadjoavato (my site for 2 years) call me Gasy now. It’s really cute. Even today when I was visiting my site this weekend, I sort of found a host family there. I will be living behind the rural health clinic (they are building my house right now – it’s made out of palm – pretty cool, huh?) The mom and older sister and her fiancé (who is a rainforest guide so actually speaks some English) showed me all around and when the precious little kids would yell “Salute Vazah!” (Most white people are rich French businessmen), I shouted back “Mbalatsara Gasy!” which totally blew them away because “Hello” in Gasy is “Manao Hoana” but up here they speak Sakalava and the kids can not believe I do too, so by the end of the day they were all calling me Gasy too which made my day! It’s so hot here that by the end of 25 more months I may even look like one, but with white hair
-Seen a dozen types of geckos and chameleons which are really cool creatures, I kind of want one as a pet
-Learned a language, yeah a whole language, I am not quite fluent but I am shocked at how well I got by on this week on my own up here… thank goodness for our incredible Gasy PC staff and Franka, my amazing Sakalava teacher! Fa Mbala Mianatra (But Still Learning) Mbalatsara – literally means, “still good?!”
-Built a clay stove (fantana mitsitsy – improved stove) for my host family so they will have less smoke and less colds and use less wood and charcoal and save themselves and their precious forest which they are tearing away everyday by burning massive amounts of trash, slash-and-burning the land to plant rice paddies, etc. Here, the people live day to day. They work in the fields today to put rice on the table tonight. It’s very hard for them to think about tomorrow, needless to say 10 years from now. If they keep going this rate with slash-and-burn, their beautiful country full of lush rainforest, animals and plants which exist only here, will disappear way too soon.
(Just another reason you all need to hurry up and visit me). It’s so amazing that these small feasible actions, if taught to enough people and disseminated widely and actually implemented, can truly make them healthier, happier and sustain their lives and land.
-Learned to cook (mandoky) for the first time in my life and learned to make the best peanut butter (tutu-pistasy) ever!
-Slipped down cliffs of red mud (teny mena) and still sat through class all day
-Mastered the art of purifying water (rano madio – clean water)
-Begun to learn how to carry buckets of water and bags of rice and peanuts and veggies and fruits on my head… it is way harder than it looks
-Been constantly stared at and shocked many people when I burst out the Gasy
-Pretty much only used a “kabone” hole in the ground, and “ladosy” rock with a “lamba” cloth or kakazu “palm-type tree sticks – around it to go to the bathroom and bucket-shower. Oh and washed all my insanely dirty clothes in an even dirtier river/rice paddy… I will not be clean until I get home December 2009. BUT it’s totally cool. The no power, no water, no nothing was pretty easy to get used to. I think it took about 20 hours to feel comfortable enough with it. A huge point of the Peace Corps, and why it is working, is because we all actually live with the people we are working with and helping at the same level they are at.
Having so little is actually more rewarding to me than having so much.
It makes me feel equal to my friends and family here and hopefully it will hugely help me integrate into Sadjoavato. I am opening the site and they are a bit skeptical but I will hopefully win them over. It is the most humbling and challenging experience of my life and I have never felt God’s presence so strongly. Everyday is a rollercoaster but thankfully because our purpose here is so evident, it is worth it for me.
-Eaten rice (vary) three times a day every day… except on the rare occasion in Tana or Diego where there is pizza, cold cokes, ice cream etc
-Woken up every morning at 4:30am to the rooster… but it’s okay because there is nothing to do after dark so I’m usually fast asleep by 9:30pm (candles only last so long for letter writing/reading and there are only so many batteries and sunlight for the music…)
-Taught 46 seven and eight year-old how to brush their teeth and seen the biggest smiles on their faces when we got to give them tooth brushes
-Become a part of two new families – my host family in the Highlands and in Sadjoavato. I love them both dearly and it should warm all of your hearts to know the patience, kindness and love they have so openly shared with me. Compared to even a homeless family in the states, they have nothing, yet they find a way to share with me. Even if it is just teaching me how to pick a mango or jack fruit that’s ripe or find a place with shade and a breeze.
-Watched a soccer (labolle) match packed with an audience that would make up 5 surrounding villages on a cliff 3 miles away from anything… it was nuts!thanks again .)
-Had one of my good PC friends family’s cow have a baby cow and that night they ate the placenta for dinner (sakafo gasy – Malagasy food they say)
-Seen the most beautiful sunsets and stars of my life and been totally refreshed by them in a way I never thought imaginable
-Made friends with an incredible Gasy band called the Spesialista and had them teach me the Gasy drums, Velia and rain-shaker. Benja-Gasy, the lead singer got so excited when I said I was a PC volunteer and told me that he was one of the very few men in Madagascar with a vasectomy and that he is famous and will come tell all the men I want him to. It was pretty awesome and hilarious. I am going to buy a valia from him (it’s a very think piece of bamboo that’s about at long as my shoulder to elbow and has 20 strings around it, I love it!
-Rode on a ferris wheel moved by hand and made for people way tinier than I am
-Had this realization about what I am doing here: Because my new friends, neighbors, and family here do not quite understand seeing past today, it helps so much to empower them by letting them know how much we care. If they feel worth it, they will change their behavior to prevent STDs and AIDS and having too many babies too young, and they will take advantage of the free vaccines for their babies and the free vitamins and mosquito nets and because they are promoting eco-tourism so much back home, they will take my free English lessons so they can be tour guides and they will see the future and they will stop burning every tree so that their soil will not totally erode and their children can live a better life than they did. The ideal “American dream” is a possibility here and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help.
However, whatever “help” I am providing is nothing compared to what I am receiving from their everyday lessons of grace and humility and sharing and cheer amid poverty.
-Arrived at my site for a visit and there was no home for me. The one thing the community must do to prove to the PC they deserve and want a volunteer badly enough is build us a house all together. It was my first time crying since the first day here. It hurt so bad to think I was giving 2 years to them and they did not even want me. However, it’s been a great few days because of that. First of all, what I am giving is so small compared to what I am learning from the Malagasy people and my time living here. I saw Gasy time put in to action, it’s slow and laid-back to the core. I have this challenge to explain my purpose and prove myself to them. I am the first American they have ever met. I am trying to make yall all look good . I got to squeeze out the energy from my toenails and make everyone laugh with the few Sakalava jokes I can say. I got to introduce myself to the town in a meeting and have every man’s hand pop up to ask if I was married, have Jean-Claude (the great nurse) shout that yes I am and that my husband lives in America (haha) and every man said “that is far, she needs a boyfriend here” and Jean-Claude said my husband is strong, it was hilarious because only me and his great family knew the truth. Everyone asked Jean-Claude questions about me and it was so fun to understand them and quickly respond myself. I am learning to be tough enough to get by, patient enough to wait, kind enough to care, and hopeful enough to stay. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I can continue to grow in this way and stay healthy, safe and happy. Thank you
-And so much more… It’s been amazing, it’s been rough, it’s been dirty, it’s been peaceful, it’s been life altering and mind-opening and it’s only been 6 weeks. Here’s to the next 25 months… please be in touch often and stay well and enjoy your life to the fullest and keep me posted on it!
Sambitsara (both good, goodbye),
Erin
Thank you all so much for your letters, emails, calling me back when I can talk, thoughts, prayers, friendship and love. The past six weeks have been quite a ride…
I have:
-Checked my Gmail ONE TIME. I should be able to check it once a month when the weather is good and I can get to Deigo… but snail mail is still the best. Even better, email me then also print it and send it
to: Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant
Marchand-Place
Kabary 201
Antsiranana Madagascar
Don’t forget to write Airmail and Par Avion! If it is a package, please send it in a package envelope which is hard to break in to… the Antsiranana
(Diego) Post Office is known for breaking into boxes which are not over-tapped. In other communication news, I have a tiny, tiny bit of cell phone service when it is windy at my site! I will text message you and then you can call me back – yay!!! Phone Number: (must dial 011 to get out of states on some phones) 261-33-088-1952 and/or
261-32-514-0123
-Seen 6 types of lemurs (ankomba) which are so cute and totally worth a trip to Madagascar if I’m not a good enough reason… you all need to visit! This place is beautiful! Every few miles whole landscapes change. It’s so incredible that through the poverty there is this innate beauty here. Through the trash, smoke, shacks and millions of babies everywhere, there are the cool waterfalls, the volcanoes with rainforests on top of them, the thousands of miles of beaches with peacock blue (that’s right mom!) or turquoise or red waters. There are the plentiful fruit trees full of mangos, bananas, papaya, coconuts, lechees, jack fruit, and pibosy.
-Hung out on the side of the road with 30 Gasy (in a car which in America would hold a max of 12) because our Bush Taxi (taxi-brousse) broke down… 4 times and counting. This is actually REALLY fun once you get used to it. It’s a great chance to get to know folks and prove that you are not a vazah (foreigner). All the people in Mahitsitady (the village we live in with our host families), Ambatalona (the town on the main road near our village)… and now starting in Deigo (my AMAZING banking town) and hopefully soon in Sadjoavato (my site for 2 years) call me Gasy now. It’s really cute. Even today when I was visiting my site this weekend, I sort of found a host family there. I will be living behind the rural health clinic (they are building my house right now – it’s made out of palm – pretty cool, huh?) The mom and older sister and her fiancé (who is a rainforest guide so actually speaks some English) showed me all around and when the precious little kids would yell “Salute Vazah!” (Most white people are rich French businessmen), I shouted back “Mbalatsara Gasy!” which totally blew them away because “Hello” in Gasy is “Manao Hoana” but up here they speak Sakalava and the kids can not believe I do too, so by the end of the day they were all calling me Gasy too which made my day! It’s so hot here that by the end of 25 more months I may even look like one, but with white hair
-Seen a dozen types of geckos and chameleons which are really cool creatures, I kind of want one as a pet
-Learned a language, yeah a whole language, I am not quite fluent but I am shocked at how well I got by on this week on my own up here… thank goodness for our incredible Gasy PC staff and Franka, my amazing Sakalava teacher! Fa Mbala Mianatra (But Still Learning) Mbalatsara – literally means, “still good?!”
-Built a clay stove (fantana mitsitsy – improved stove) for my host family so they will have less smoke and less colds and use less wood and charcoal and save themselves and their precious forest which they are tearing away everyday by burning massive amounts of trash, slash-and-burning the land to plant rice paddies, etc. Here, the people live day to day. They work in the fields today to put rice on the table tonight. It’s very hard for them to think about tomorrow, needless to say 10 years from now. If they keep going this rate with slash-and-burn, their beautiful country full of lush rainforest, animals and plants which exist only here, will disappear way too soon.
(Just another reason you all need to hurry up and visit me). It’s so amazing that these small feasible actions, if taught to enough people and disseminated widely and actually implemented, can truly make them healthier, happier and sustain their lives and land.
-Learned to cook (mandoky) for the first time in my life and learned to make the best peanut butter (tutu-pistasy) ever!
-Slipped down cliffs of red mud (teny mena) and still sat through class all day
-Mastered the art of purifying water (rano madio – clean water)
-Begun to learn how to carry buckets of water and bags of rice and peanuts and veggies and fruits on my head… it is way harder than it looks
-Been constantly stared at and shocked many people when I burst out the Gasy
-Pretty much only used a “kabone” hole in the ground, and “ladosy” rock with a “lamba” cloth or kakazu “palm-type tree sticks – around it to go to the bathroom and bucket-shower. Oh and washed all my insanely dirty clothes in an even dirtier river/rice paddy… I will not be clean until I get home December 2009. BUT it’s totally cool. The no power, no water, no nothing was pretty easy to get used to. I think it took about 20 hours to feel comfortable enough with it. A huge point of the Peace Corps, and why it is working, is because we all actually live with the people we are working with and helping at the same level they are at.
Having so little is actually more rewarding to me than having so much.
It makes me feel equal to my friends and family here and hopefully it will hugely help me integrate into Sadjoavato. I am opening the site and they are a bit skeptical but I will hopefully win them over. It is the most humbling and challenging experience of my life and I have never felt God’s presence so strongly. Everyday is a rollercoaster but thankfully because our purpose here is so evident, it is worth it for me.
-Eaten rice (vary) three times a day every day… except on the rare occasion in Tana or Diego where there is pizza, cold cokes, ice cream etc
-Woken up every morning at 4:30am to the rooster… but it’s okay because there is nothing to do after dark so I’m usually fast asleep by 9:30pm (candles only last so long for letter writing/reading and there are only so many batteries and sunlight for the music…)
-Taught 46 seven and eight year-old how to brush their teeth and seen the biggest smiles on their faces when we got to give them tooth brushes
-Become a part of two new families – my host family in the Highlands and in Sadjoavato. I love them both dearly and it should warm all of your hearts to know the patience, kindness and love they have so openly shared with me. Compared to even a homeless family in the states, they have nothing, yet they find a way to share with me. Even if it is just teaching me how to pick a mango or jack fruit that’s ripe or find a place with shade and a breeze.
-Watched a soccer (labolle) match packed with an audience that would make up 5 surrounding villages on a cliff 3 miles away from anything… it was nuts!thanks again .)
-Had one of my good PC friends family’s cow have a baby cow and that night they ate the placenta for dinner (sakafo gasy – Malagasy food they say)
-Seen the most beautiful sunsets and stars of my life and been totally refreshed by them in a way I never thought imaginable
-Made friends with an incredible Gasy band called the Spesialista and had them teach me the Gasy drums, Velia and rain-shaker. Benja-Gasy, the lead singer got so excited when I said I was a PC volunteer and told me that he was one of the very few men in Madagascar with a vasectomy and that he is famous and will come tell all the men I want him to. It was pretty awesome and hilarious. I am going to buy a valia from him (it’s a very think piece of bamboo that’s about at long as my shoulder to elbow and has 20 strings around it, I love it!
-Rode on a ferris wheel moved by hand and made for people way tinier than I am
-Had this realization about what I am doing here: Because my new friends, neighbors, and family here do not quite understand seeing past today, it helps so much to empower them by letting them know how much we care. If they feel worth it, they will change their behavior to prevent STDs and AIDS and having too many babies too young, and they will take advantage of the free vaccines for their babies and the free vitamins and mosquito nets and because they are promoting eco-tourism so much back home, they will take my free English lessons so they can be tour guides and they will see the future and they will stop burning every tree so that their soil will not totally erode and their children can live a better life than they did. The ideal “American dream” is a possibility here and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help.
However, whatever “help” I am providing is nothing compared to what I am receiving from their everyday lessons of grace and humility and sharing and cheer amid poverty.
-Arrived at my site for a visit and there was no home for me. The one thing the community must do to prove to the PC they deserve and want a volunteer badly enough is build us a house all together. It was my first time crying since the first day here. It hurt so bad to think I was giving 2 years to them and they did not even want me. However, it’s been a great few days because of that. First of all, what I am giving is so small compared to what I am learning from the Malagasy people and my time living here. I saw Gasy time put in to action, it’s slow and laid-back to the core. I have this challenge to explain my purpose and prove myself to them. I am the first American they have ever met. I am trying to make yall all look good . I got to squeeze out the energy from my toenails and make everyone laugh with the few Sakalava jokes I can say. I got to introduce myself to the town in a meeting and have every man’s hand pop up to ask if I was married, have Jean-Claude (the great nurse) shout that yes I am and that my husband lives in America (haha) and every man said “that is far, she needs a boyfriend here” and Jean-Claude said my husband is strong, it was hilarious because only me and his great family knew the truth. Everyone asked Jean-Claude questions about me and it was so fun to understand them and quickly respond myself. I am learning to be tough enough to get by, patient enough to wait, kind enough to care, and hopeful enough to stay. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I can continue to grow in this way and stay healthy, safe and happy. Thank you
-And so much more… It’s been amazing, it’s been rough, it’s been dirty, it’s been peaceful, it’s been life altering and mind-opening and it’s only been 6 weeks. Here’s to the next 25 months… please be in touch often and stay well and enjoy your life to the fullest and keep me posted on it!
Sambitsara (both good, goodbye),
Erin
Monday, November 12, 2007
Be Manoratra (Much to Write) Erin - fatatra, fitiavana & mahomby! (Erin - strong, love & to succeed!)
Ah ha! Y’all noticed the language change!?! We’ve switched from Malagasy to Sakalava…less words from which to select; however, I’ll do the best I can. There truly is so much to tell…here goes…
I’d like to think the phone call that awakened me a few nights ago was really just a scary dream…and I’m very thankful that we can laugh about it now… Erin had made her first visit to her site and was returning to Antsiranana (also known as Diego) when the taxi-brusse (a form of transportation that is any motorized vehicle that crams as many people – and more – as humanly possible into it along with chickens, other animals and various cargo) caught on fire leaving the occupants on the side of the road. As Erin was trying to describe her situation, there was constant pecking on the phone and it was not the connection…it was chickens flying onto Erin pecking at the phone. As directed, I called her back in 22 minutes – she had said to wait 30 minutes, but y’all I just couldn’t. She was happily riding again and nearly in Antsiranana. (Whew! We survived that little mishap!) Since then, I have enjoyed several conversations with Erin and even an e-mail that I’d like to share a section of with y’all. (Remember, when I add parentheses, I’m adding an explanation not included in what I’m quoting.)
“I love Jean-Claude (that’s the “nurse” with whom she will be working in her village) and his family and all of their friends in Sadjoavato (that’s her site). Each day of the three days there got better. The kids stopped calling me Vazah (that’s “foreigner” which is somewhat derogatory) and started calling me Gasy because I speak to them in Sakalava. The English teacher in the middle school explained to me that he is not mahay “good” so I told him I would help which made the whole town happy. The Mayor, who at first did not want me, is the only person in town with power – she has a generator – and today told me I can charge me cell phone at her house and told me that she will help me to get girls to use girl condoms since the men will not use them. (Y’all, I’m tempted to make a comment here, but I won’t.) She had the whole town get tested for AIDS and no one has it here but there are a ton of STDs and she wants me to help her talk to all the teenage girls about that. Things are looking way up! They are almost done building my house. It’s made of palm wood, tin and leaves. Kamar (he’s a wonderful man – the Peace Corps driver) came to pick me up today and looked at the house, ladosy and kabone (y’all, I don’t know what ladosy and kabone mean). The kabone and ladosy are nice and private which is great. (HOORAY for the kabone and ladosy!!!) He said he is going to check on my house before I get there to make sure he approves of it. He is making them put some mosquito nets in the cracks to prevent the rats and mosquitoes. There is room for a bed, a chair and a dresser and there is a small room to the side for a small table and stove and there is a place for me to hang a hammock in the shade. They are fixing the fence around the clinic and making a lock so only we can get in it. They promised me and Komar all of these things so it should all be done by the time I get here Dec. 5th – 6th. If not, I will stay at the Meva (the Peace Corps House in Antsiranana) until it’s done, and if it is never safe enough for the PC standards they will not get me. Relax, smile. I am smiling so you should too. I love you and be thrilled that I sort of have cell service and can talk to you more than we thought!”
Here’s some very important information for y’all. Erin will text message you and if you can, please call her back immediately because cell service is sporadic. One cell phone works in one place and the other in another place. The first number I give you is the one I think she will use more often-
011 261 325140123
The other number is – 011 261 330881952
Please do not leave messages for Erin –
Retrieving messages is difficult and very costly.
Please write Erin as often as you can – she is very isolated and hearing from y’all means the world to her. Please make and send CD's. Her new address is –
Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant Marchand-Place
Kabary 201
Antsiranana MADAGASCAR
Erin couldn’t get her g-mail to work so she had to make any internet connects through face book. I’m not sure what I’m talking about, I just know that she face-booked a friend so I could receive an e-mail from her. Y’all, please keep Erin in your thoughts and PRAYERS!!! Y’all take care!
Iraka (a messenger),
Brenda
I’d like to think the phone call that awakened me a few nights ago was really just a scary dream…and I’m very thankful that we can laugh about it now… Erin had made her first visit to her site and was returning to Antsiranana (also known as Diego) when the taxi-brusse (a form of transportation that is any motorized vehicle that crams as many people – and more – as humanly possible into it along with chickens, other animals and various cargo) caught on fire leaving the occupants on the side of the road. As Erin was trying to describe her situation, there was constant pecking on the phone and it was not the connection…it was chickens flying onto Erin pecking at the phone. As directed, I called her back in 22 minutes – she had said to wait 30 minutes, but y’all I just couldn’t. She was happily riding again and nearly in Antsiranana. (Whew! We survived that little mishap!) Since then, I have enjoyed several conversations with Erin and even an e-mail that I’d like to share a section of with y’all. (Remember, when I add parentheses, I’m adding an explanation not included in what I’m quoting.)
“I love Jean-Claude (that’s the “nurse” with whom she will be working in her village) and his family and all of their friends in Sadjoavato (that’s her site). Each day of the three days there got better. The kids stopped calling me Vazah (that’s “foreigner” which is somewhat derogatory) and started calling me Gasy because I speak to them in Sakalava. The English teacher in the middle school explained to me that he is not mahay “good” so I told him I would help which made the whole town happy. The Mayor, who at first did not want me, is the only person in town with power – she has a generator – and today told me I can charge me cell phone at her house and told me that she will help me to get girls to use girl condoms since the men will not use them. (Y’all, I’m tempted to make a comment here, but I won’t.) She had the whole town get tested for AIDS and no one has it here but there are a ton of STDs and she wants me to help her talk to all the teenage girls about that. Things are looking way up! They are almost done building my house. It’s made of palm wood, tin and leaves. Kamar (he’s a wonderful man – the Peace Corps driver) came to pick me up today and looked at the house, ladosy and kabone (y’all, I don’t know what ladosy and kabone mean). The kabone and ladosy are nice and private which is great. (HOORAY for the kabone and ladosy!!!) He said he is going to check on my house before I get there to make sure he approves of it. He is making them put some mosquito nets in the cracks to prevent the rats and mosquitoes. There is room for a bed, a chair and a dresser and there is a small room to the side for a small table and stove and there is a place for me to hang a hammock in the shade. They are fixing the fence around the clinic and making a lock so only we can get in it. They promised me and Komar all of these things so it should all be done by the time I get here Dec. 5th – 6th. If not, I will stay at the Meva (the Peace Corps House in Antsiranana) until it’s done, and if it is never safe enough for the PC standards they will not get me. Relax, smile. I am smiling so you should too. I love you and be thrilled that I sort of have cell service and can talk to you more than we thought!”
Here’s some very important information for y’all. Erin will text message you and if you can, please call her back immediately because cell service is sporadic. One cell phone works in one place and the other in another place. The first number I give you is the one I think she will use more often-
011 261 325140123
The other number is – 011 261 330881952
Please do not leave messages for Erin –
Retrieving messages is difficult and very costly.
Please write Erin as often as you can – she is very isolated and hearing from y’all means the world to her. Please make and send CD's. Her new address is –
Erin Levin, PCV
Peace Corps Regional House
6 Rue Commandant Marchand-Place
Kabary 201
Antsiranana MADAGASCAR
Erin couldn’t get her g-mail to work so she had to make any internet connects through face book. I’m not sure what I’m talking about, I just know that she face-booked a friend so I could receive an e-mail from her. Y’all, please keep Erin in your thoughts and PRAYERS!!! Y’all take care!
Iraka (a messenger),
Brenda
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Bebe kokoa filazana avy Erin avy tsia vaovao manoratra 10/12/07 sy vaovao filazana sahona telefaonina antso (Short version - old & new news from Erin)
Bebe kokoa filazana avy Erin avy tsia vaovao taratasy manoratra 10/12/07 sy vaovao filazana sahona telefaonina antso (More information from Erin no new [I couldn’t find the word for “older”] letter written 10/12/07 and new information from telephone call)
Hey, y’all! Hope everyone is well and enjoying life! Oh, before I begin, I must make a correction in my past blogs for Erin. I referred to Erin and those going through training with her as “PCV’s”. Well, until they are sworn in around Dec. 5, they are NOT PCV’s, they are PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees)…I send Erin copies of the blogs I post for her and she made me aware of my mistake. OOPS! Let’s start with the information that Erin requested I post on her blog from the letter –
“1) Tell Pat that I LOVE the CD that he made me and that
EVERYONE else should send me CD’s they make, too!
Please!!!
2) I need Sydney’s address so I can write her back. (So Sydney, wherever you are in this whole wide world, please send me your address so I can get it to Erin –
levinb@fultonschools.org or brl259@aol.com
or better, yet, write Erin again enclosing your return address: Erin Levin, PCV
Bureau du Corps de la Paix
BP 12091
Poste Zoom Ankorodrano
Antananarivo 101
MADAGASCAR
Thank you!)
3) That I love it here! It is so beautiful, peaceful and simple.
There is so much purpose for us here on a daily basis. I
feel like I am really helping my family and village live more
healthy lives by washing hands, using a latrine, washing food
in clean water, etc. I also learn so much everyday from the
PC staff, PCV and my fellow trainees…especially from my
family and the villagers. They are so happy and having bare
minimum stuff – no toys, no power, no showers, no
chocolate, no beach, no money, TOO MUCH RICE but they
love each other fully and always have a sincere smile on their
faces. While at times it is vary, very hard to be here with
no comforts we are used to, they are so thankful to us for
being here. They manage to share so much with us even
when they don’t even have enough –it’s how the world should
be. Together, joyful, grateful for the little things like the
amazing sunsets and stars that go on for miles.
A note on Grandma’s card –
It is precious! She even sealed it with a smiley face sticker! I know that I am not one to talk because I have HORRIBLE handwriting, but I think I get it from Grandma! Please see if you can get her to manage to write more neatly! Thanks! I really want to see what she has to say because I love her so much!
I am going to write the other folks back and write you more this weekend. I love and miss you so much! Oh, and about my site, I am getting much more excited because one of the volunteers training us this week lives up near me and loves it. I will get to wear lambas (cloth made/scarf dresses) to work and every day. She says it’s much, much more “African” than here on the plateau and that it’s even more laid back – plus, Sakalava, our dialect – is the easiest!”
And now from yesterday’s phone call –
Erin and the other PCT’s are spending the weekend at this place that was once a French camp and is now owned by the Peace Corps. (Erin was so excited because she was on US property!) Every year, there is a huge festival/carnival held here. The PCT’s are here for the “cultural” experience. There are a lot of French people at the festival and they’re speaking French. The Malagasy people are very taken by the PCT’s because they look similar to the French people; however, they are speaking Malagasy – their language. The festival has rides and Erin was allowed on the Ferris wheel because she is small. There is no electricity, so energy producing the rides to move is by hand! There is lots of music and dancing. The BIGGEST, BEST band in all of Madagascar had a concert there. The band’s name is Specialiste and the leader is Benji-Gasy. Now this probably won’t come as a big surprise…Erin has gotten to be friends with Benji-Gasy and the band. She’s now hoping that she will have them up to her new village and they can do some fund-raising and some health awareness projects with her. Benji-Gasy in the only one in the country who makes a very special Malagasy instrument. I’m looking forward to his making one for Erin and her learning to play it…who knows!?!
Erin did ask that y’all please, please, please make her CD’s and send them to her. I don’t think each of you knows how VERY important your letters, CD’s, etc. are for Erin. In every conversation we have and in each letter I receive from her, it is clear that much of her strength comes from the support she is receiving from each and every one of you. Please know that I, too, greatly appreciate each of you! (And, if you let me know that you’re being so sweet and supportive – just send me your address and I’ll make you some brownies!)
After the festival ends for the PCT’s this weekend, Erin will spend Mon. and Tues. at this location with the “doctor” from her new site and then Wed. or Thurs. she’s off to her new village for a week. Y’all, Erin is really VERY NERVOUS about this and asks that you include her in your prayers…and if you don’t do a lot of praying, please start now!
I’m hoping to hear from her when she’s on her way back from her new site to her host family village. (She has to fly through the capital, so she should be able to call me – HOORAY!) Until then, y’all take care and please write to Erin!
Brenda
Hey, y’all! Hope everyone is well and enjoying life! Oh, before I begin, I must make a correction in my past blogs for Erin. I referred to Erin and those going through training with her as “PCV’s”. Well, until they are sworn in around Dec. 5, they are NOT PCV’s, they are PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees)…I send Erin copies of the blogs I post for her and she made me aware of my mistake. OOPS! Let’s start with the information that Erin requested I post on her blog from the letter –
“1) Tell Pat that I LOVE the CD that he made me and that
EVERYONE else should send me CD’s they make, too!
Please!!!
2) I need Sydney’s address so I can write her back. (So Sydney, wherever you are in this whole wide world, please send me your address so I can get it to Erin –
levinb@fultonschools.org or brl259@aol.com
or better, yet, write Erin again enclosing your return address: Erin Levin, PCV
Bureau du Corps de la Paix
BP 12091
Poste Zoom Ankorodrano
Antananarivo 101
MADAGASCAR
Thank you!)
3) That I love it here! It is so beautiful, peaceful and simple.
There is so much purpose for us here on a daily basis. I
feel like I am really helping my family and village live more
healthy lives by washing hands, using a latrine, washing food
in clean water, etc. I also learn so much everyday from the
PC staff, PCV and my fellow trainees…especially from my
family and the villagers. They are so happy and having bare
minimum stuff – no toys, no power, no showers, no
chocolate, no beach, no money, TOO MUCH RICE but they
love each other fully and always have a sincere smile on their
faces. While at times it is vary, very hard to be here with
no comforts we are used to, they are so thankful to us for
being here. They manage to share so much with us even
when they don’t even have enough –it’s how the world should
be. Together, joyful, grateful for the little things like the
amazing sunsets and stars that go on for miles.
A note on Grandma’s card –
It is precious! She even sealed it with a smiley face sticker! I know that I am not one to talk because I have HORRIBLE handwriting, but I think I get it from Grandma! Please see if you can get her to manage to write more neatly! Thanks! I really want to see what she has to say because I love her so much!
I am going to write the other folks back and write you more this weekend. I love and miss you so much! Oh, and about my site, I am getting much more excited because one of the volunteers training us this week lives up near me and loves it. I will get to wear lambas (cloth made/scarf dresses) to work and every day. She says it’s much, much more “African” than here on the plateau and that it’s even more laid back – plus, Sakalava, our dialect – is the easiest!”
And now from yesterday’s phone call –
Erin and the other PCT’s are spending the weekend at this place that was once a French camp and is now owned by the Peace Corps. (Erin was so excited because she was on US property!) Every year, there is a huge festival/carnival held here. The PCT’s are here for the “cultural” experience. There are a lot of French people at the festival and they’re speaking French. The Malagasy people are very taken by the PCT’s because they look similar to the French people; however, they are speaking Malagasy – their language. The festival has rides and Erin was allowed on the Ferris wheel because she is small. There is no electricity, so energy producing the rides to move is by hand! There is lots of music and dancing. The BIGGEST, BEST band in all of Madagascar had a concert there. The band’s name is Specialiste and the leader is Benji-Gasy. Now this probably won’t come as a big surprise…Erin has gotten to be friends with Benji-Gasy and the band. She’s now hoping that she will have them up to her new village and they can do some fund-raising and some health awareness projects with her. Benji-Gasy in the only one in the country who makes a very special Malagasy instrument. I’m looking forward to his making one for Erin and her learning to play it…who knows!?!
Erin did ask that y’all please, please, please make her CD’s and send them to her. I don’t think each of you knows how VERY important your letters, CD’s, etc. are for Erin. In every conversation we have and in each letter I receive from her, it is clear that much of her strength comes from the support she is receiving from each and every one of you. Please know that I, too, greatly appreciate each of you! (And, if you let me know that you’re being so sweet and supportive – just send me your address and I’ll make you some brownies!)
After the festival ends for the PCT’s this weekend, Erin will spend Mon. and Tues. at this location with the “doctor” from her new site and then Wed. or Thurs. she’s off to her new village for a week. Y’all, Erin is really VERY NERVOUS about this and asks that you include her in your prayers…and if you don’t do a lot of praying, please start now!
I’m hoping to hear from her when she’s on her way back from her new site to her host family village. (She has to fly through the capital, so she should be able to call me – HOORAY!) Until then, y’all take care and please write to Erin!
Brenda
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