Hi everyone! I hope your holiday season is off to a great start! I am typing this quickly on a French keyboard, so I am sorry for the errors and if I missed sending this to anyone. It is also on my blog... this is my latest entry; I encourage you all to read it when you have a chance.
www.themasoandro@blogspot.com
My mom tries to update it for me every week or so. I miss you all and wish you the happiest of holidays! I am thinking about and praying for each of you all the way over here.
Dec 17th, 2007
Hey yall! I miss you each so very much! I've been at site for about 2 weeks now and I really like it most of the time. I have definitely broken down to my mom a couple times because it's really the most challenging experience of my life, but I get through those moments and the next day, or even just a couple hours later, I feel great and remember why I am here.
My village is absolutely beautiful! I literally live in paradise. I don't really have a "typical" day but I usually wake up around 6, eat something, take my malaria meds, and hang out until school starts at 7:30 with my site mate and around 40 little 5-16 year old boys before they go to their elementary school. We practice English and Gasy, throw a ball around my front yard of bright red dirt, play cards, or just pick fun at each other and laugh a lot. I also really enjoy making homemade peanut butter… some of the boys will bring by peanuts to sell and I shell them, roast them, skin them, then pound them in my mortar with my pistol – yeah, that's right – I have a mortal and pistol! HAHA! Then I add a little sugar and salt and oil and pound away, it's a great way to get out the frustration of the begging children and utter poverty I live with. I've been making a lot of food with the peanut butter – one of my fav meals is peanut butter and hot sauce pasta, I think I may even eat it back in America. But who knows, those lines are so blurred by now. I cannot even image what it is like to be able to put something in the microwave and eat it 2 minutes later and feel full. It blows my mind how easy it is to make food at home. We have to catch and pluck and kill and clean and cook a chicken over a fire before we can even think about how "good" it’s going to taste. Anyways, I hope my community will catch on to my peanut butter making because it's a decent source of protein for them to add to their sole rice meals.
One of my other favorite stress relievers is my daily runs or hikes with the boys. The little girls are really shy still, but hopefully next time I write I can tell you about the progress I'm making with them. Before it gets too hot out, or once the sun begins to set but in the special middle time before the mosquitoes perpetrate, they take me just a few minutes away to the most beautiful places I've seen in my life, more wonderful than any scene I could have ever dreamt up. I also enjoy going to the small market and hanging out with all the women, most of whom are pregnant, I have a lot of family planning to teach, and just letting my eyes enjoy the sparkling colors of the tomatoes, the limes, the papaya, mango, crazy jack fruit that tastes like starbursts, the rice bread and coconut candies, and the flowing in the delicate breeze lambas the women all wear around their little bodies and their heads with weaved baskets and water buckets pilled high. The ground is the brightest red, even redder than Georgia clay, and the sky is huge and the blue of so many of your eyes that I miss, and the thousands of different palm trees and flowering bushes are every kind of green… but this market just bustles with life and color among the otherwise scene of blue, green and red. Sometimes I feel like these parts of my day, which sometimes go on all day, are just a playground for my eyes – it's all so new and lovely. I have never seen flowers like the ones in my village. Near the water pumps there are a plethora – I am going to send my mom home with a CD full of pictures when she comes in June so yall will all finally be able to see the graceful wonders soon! Then, on the hikes, the flowers are even more unbelievable. Yesterday we hiked for a couple hours through this dry grassland packed with huge strong zebu cows and ended up stumbling down these huge red boulders all the way to this massive lake surrounded by a swamp filled with big Australian type swamp birds, crocodiles and these lily pad/orchid hybrid flowers floating throughout the muddy green bullet-type thick leafy grass bubbles – they were huge, the size of my forearm, and bright purple with white inside full of yellow spots that looks like stars dancing inside them.
These people I am living and working with may be some of the poorest in the world, but G-d's presence cannot be doubted with this sheer beauty all around us. Even the little boys gasp and enjoy and frolic in the fairyland just down the road from their little shacks. It is so cool to be able to enjoy these moments of freedom and happiness with them when so much of their life is about barely getting by and simply trying so hard to survive. Erin, my great, laid-back, amazing with these boys, thoughtful and so helpful site mate, and I play soccer with the boys most afternoons. Well, they play, and I try to get a hold of or block the ball, I have a lot of progress to make with both the art of Gasy soccer and language. I work, too, I swear, it's not all amazing hikes and games. I work three days a week at the rural health clinic. My doctor speaks French to me, which I don't understand, still need to learn that better, too. But, despite our lack of clear communication, we've been working pretty well together. I hope it grows and improves. We give vaccines once a week with a cooler full from Diego since we have no power to keep them cool all week. He gives the vaccines and I explain them to the moms, kids, or pregnant girls. We also give out mosquito nets and explain how to use them, how important they are, and we help them clean and re-medicate them, too. A lot of my work there is while the young ladies and babies are waiting for the doctor. Gasy time makes it okay for him to be late, it's just the culture. I give little speeches and demos about cleaning water, family planning, getting tested for AIDS, preparing cheap but healthy foods, brushing teeth, mosquito-proofing their homes etc. Let me know if y'all have any fun ideas for me to teach them!
Once a week I come in to Diego. It's just like New Orleans – both good and bad points. It keeps me in touch with yall, lets me get a cold drink or ice cream, and reminds me that Madagascar is progressing and I need to work hard to help my village improve, too. Today is my first day to work with PSI (Population Services International) so next time I will tell you more about how great it is. It's an American NGO funded by USAID. Everyone who works in the Diego office is Gasy, they speak French more than Sakalava, too, so I really need to improve both languages – one for my village and one for the city. Any pointers are warmly welcome! I will be working with them and their peer educators who help empower the tons of young commercial sex workers. Diego is a huge tourist town, and everywhere you turn, you see a precious 14 year old Gasy girl with a 65 year old French man. I'm not trying to be hard on the French, it's just a fact of life here – there are many great French people here, too. Anyways, I will work on helping these girls realize that they are better than that, that they should value themselves more, and find other ways to make money. Many families kick the girls out and they have to fend for themselves and this is the easiest way. It's so sad, this sexual tourism, and I am thrilled to be a part of fighting it.
Lastly, there are a few projects I am really looking forward to making happen here. I have become friends with a couple of the big musicians here and I'm hoping to work with them in some cool ways. I am not supposed to start planning big things like this until after 3 months at site, evaluating their needs etc… But I do have a few goals that I hope work out and I know will do a ton of good. Just something to pray and think about in the meantime. Let me know y’all’s ideas… I am writing songs in Gasy with health, environment, community messages in them and Fandrama (y’all should all check him out, he's a rocking artist and also a government rep from Diego and only 28!) is hoping to be able to sing them… not sure if it will actually happen as I hope, but I wrote my first last night and it would be so cool because thousands of people go to his concerts and everyone listens to him on the radio – radio is the best way to reach Gasy people because so many are illiterate and almost none have power for TV etc. Erin and I really love the kids in our community but they fight and beg so much, again, it's their culture. There are a lot of vacant and decaying cement buildings in Sakaramy because it used to be mostly French, I would love to start up some sort of music resource center for the kids and a kind of youth development center where they can hang out when it's raining or too hot or there's too many mosquitoes outside. (There is a great model of one in Cville!) Again, I cannot really start any of these projects for a few months, but please think about them and let me know any ideas you have, thank you! Lastly, soccer and music being the biggest two things here, it would be my dream to have an AIDS/Malaria awareness raising festival with soccer and music. There are a lot of wealthy vahaza (white folks from France etc.) in Diego so I'm hoping we could charge them to come, give out free AIDS testing, mosquito nets etc to the Gasy and use the money to help with some kind of safe house for the very young commercial sex workers. There are a few really cool orphanage/girls home type places in Tana and I haven't found one here yet, so I would like to help or help start one – or even just plant the idea because these wishes of mine may be much more than I can do in 2 years in this laid-back red island. Please let me know any idea you have, thank you so much!
Finally, a very simple and easy idea you can directly help with for almost free! Whenever you go to a fast food restaurant and get a free toy, please send the toys to me here or to my mom to send me and it can be the beginning of something for the kids to play with to keep them out of the street. Thank you so much! I love and miss y’all so much! I hope everything is going great back there for you! Have a very HAPPY HOLIDAY season and know you're in my thoughts and prayers.
Please keep in touch!
xoxo,
Erin
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Ankitiny from Erin Again (Really from Erin Again)
Hey y'all...I'm not sure why the last blog written appears twice!?!?! This time, though, you are not seeing double...the title is almost the same as a blog from a couple of weeks ago because this, too, is really from Erin. I received an e-mail today asking me to post this for her -- it's very current! (And current in Madagascar is quite unusual! You may notice Erin referring to the nearby city as Diego -- and you may not be able to locate Diego on a map. Diego's name was changed to Antsiranana in 1975. You can probably find Antsiranana on the map; however, change is slow in Madagascar and the local people still call it Diego.) Now for what you really want to be reading...ENJOY! (Remember, Erin is writing on a French keyboard so there could be some little oddities.)
Hey y’all! I hope you are doing great, had a very happy Thanksgiving and are now looking forward to the rest of the holiday festivities. This past month since I had internet to write you last has been quite a ride.
I would like to share my thanks as I missed that chance back home in the States with y’all:
THANKS…
For the constant amazement God lets me stand in
For my supportive friends at home, serving around the world and my new and priceless friends here in Madagascar
For the Peace Corps… this is the most humbling, exciting, exhausting, real, overwhelming, simple, inspiring, frustrating, empowering experience I have ever had. I love its mission and goals more each day – to foster peace and friendship in this world, to share our skills with those in need in a sustainable way together, to learn a new culture which is the best reflection of our own, and to share our American ways in which, thanks to Mr. Sabato, it is engrained in me that "politics is a good thing." I was afraid my idealism would get lost and flounder, but instead, in these 3 months which have flown by but in which some moments have felt like eternity, a sense of pragmatism and reality has been sprinkled among my lofty dreams in a way in which I will forever be grateful for the incredible Peace Corps training.
For the laughter and joy felt amid the expectations gone awry… the resilience and support and positive attitudes of my training group and our outstanding trainers, PC staff, host families and other rockin' volunteers.
For a clear mind as I walk into my new home tomorrow.
Of course, in the back of my rainbows and sunflowers mind I have some plans which I would love to have be a significant part of my service here (holding a huge soccer tournament and concert in which we raise tons of awareness about AIDS and Malaria for all the Malagasy in the Diego area, in which we raise money from the wealthy vazahs to open a safe house for learning for the overflowing amount of commercial sex workers who are precious 14 year old girls being pressured by their families to makemoney in order to merely survive, to teach all the wonderful children I meet how to actually speak English so they can have a chance at making an honest living as a tour guide and helping promote a greener Mkar so they can maintain their unbelievable landscapes and plant and animal life like nowhere else in the world, installing solar panels at a nearby rural health clinic so the villagers can finally get vaccinated, persuading people to drink clean water, use mosquito nets and plant their own gardens, helping with a country-wide PC effort with my friends through bike races, marathons, concerts and camps to help give the Gasy the knowledge to improve their own lives…) but this is not my job. My job for these first 3 months as a volunteer is to observe. To take it all in and try to grasp what my community wants and what they feel they need. I wish I could jump right in and see my great impact, but it's gonna be slow, it's also going to be something I only facilitate, they will do it all on their own, because they can.It's pretty awesome but also scary as hell.
For this beautiful country I now get to call home!
For the wonderful Peace Corps doctors who got my through my first tropical belly ache.
For Ellen reminding me that that there is no language barrier to a smile...and also for the success of immersion in Sakalava
For giving a 15 minute speech in Sakalava about Malaria prevention and treatment
For the conversations and encouragement among the volunteers and our Gasy friends as we all work together here
For the PC approach to development as we share our love, hope, passion and skills with these great but needy little villages… how we take the ingenious Gasy resourcefulness and encourage our new friends, students, Gasy families to work together to better their own lives.
For the relationships. A week ago I was thinking too much and becoming slightly overwhelmed. Julia reminded me that we need to work one person at a time. Building relationships is the key to stirring about a better knowledge, attitude and behavior changes.
For y’all's support and love across oceans, keep it up, I love and miss y’all!
Thought y’all may be interested in my journal entry and reflections as I walked away from my host family's home for the last time, into the amazing sunrise and future of 2 years serving in this special country:
"How do I feel so okay leaving this home, it's like looking back atall the beautiful places and people I left in Costa Rica, Australiaand other great vacations. Is my heart hardening as I learn to notexpect anything, as I grow frustrated but my mind and eyes open more widely with every step. Life really is a merry-go-round – a carnival – but this is more than a vacation. This is my life – this come and go and leave some hopefully lasting and helpful footprints along the way. I passed the rolling hills streaming up smoke as they burn what's left of their precious forests so they can plant more rice, the rice paddies that go on forever and are more shades of green than all of Ireland. Ireland, what a special place, special trip with my grandma. I think about all those I left at home. My beloved friends and family. I realize how much I miss everyone. I think about my friends also doing mission trips and volunteer work all across this world. We are so lucky, but there is so much need. Because we are so blessed, it is our moral duty to help others. Imagine what John Lennon was singing about – all the people living life in peace. I smile and look behind me, then beside and fast far in front of me. The young school children giggle, yell ino voavoa (what's up), giggle more, stop to quickly wash their bare feet in the dirty puddle and then scurry off to class wherethey will learn in the ancient French style of teachers writing on the board and they copy in their falling apart notebooks. The red dust flicks up and makes my legs look tanner than they actually are in these temperate highlands. I dream about my new site. The intense heat which will soon melt my heart up North. I refocus on the now and feel the cool early morning breeze on the back of my neck through my fully braided head. I begin to pass the homes which housed and comforted my dear friends. We all walk, one big white pile, down the hills which so acutely feel like the Virginia/West Virginia border. I remember our killer rafting trips and the good ole song of wahoowa. Back here, we laugh at our last nights amusements, our precious families and our final understanding of that tiny village which nourished us with rice3 times a day but with the patience and love of a real family, wevent, we stand amazed at the sky. I remember that its beauty is partly from the intense pollution. I remember why I am here. This is it, this is my life in Madagascar. But it's all abruptly about to change. I pray for peace, friendships, safety, health and more fun-packed adventures to come – most importantly, that I actually continue to make a great impact on these Malagasy brothers and sisters of ours."So, I'm off to site. I will write y’all again hopefully aroundChristmas. Please stay in touch! Also, let me know what y’all wouldlike to read about… what should I relay to my sweet momma for you?What questions do y’all have? And fill me in on all life where you are right now!Oh yeah! My site! Haha, sorry, that's probably the biggest thing y’all want to know… My village is called Sakaramy. It is named after the Ramy trees which used to be all over. There used to be these beautiful trees everywhere, as well as many lemurs. However, they burnt them all for need of wood and ate all the lemurs. Lucky, I have an amazing site mate whose focus is eco-tourism and environmental education. Her name is Erin, too. She's from Wisconsin and 25 and really great and laid back and helpful, caring and fun. I am so lucky and blessed to have someone to work with and really make a great lasting impact in our community. Sakaramy is a commune, so we have a mayor and 4 tiny villages around us. There are around 1,200 people that I will be reaching out to around my community. We are only a short 17 miles away (which takes about an hour on our roads) from Diego which is the coolest city I've been to in the world. It is colorful, clean, has great old French colonial architecture, a peacock blue bay, nice hotels and restaurants for the slight occasion in which we can splurge on ice cream and visiting a 5 star resort with a swim-up bar! The city is about 25 minutes away from a beautiful beach and 3 white sand bays on the Indian Ocean. I cannot wait to go there in a few weeks for Christmas! Sakaramy is right between this rocking city and another great little town called Joffreville. Joffreville is the base for Amber Mountain National Park. We are a 10 minute drive/hour walk andwill be working there and Diego a lot as well. Amber Mountain is an ancient volcano with a rain forest on top of it, waterfalls, lemurs and chameleons galore. From the top (which I will see any day now!) you can see all the tip top of Madagascar and where the Indian Ocean, Diego Bay and Mozambique Channel all meet in a beautiful, unique blue. We have 2 elementary schools right by our house and I will be working a lot with these kids on early empowerment and youth development. I will teach them about clean water, brushing their teeth, teach them some English, nutrition, gardening, malaria prevention, life skills through fun games… I will also be going to the middle and high schools and clubs around Diego to explain that AIDS is a real threat and weneed to prevent it while we have this special chance. I will help give confidence and facilitate peer education for the sexual tourism girls so they can continue and education and find a healthier, safer career. I am so excited about the next 2 years! It is going to be pretty rough at times… sometimes I just want a real shower, air conditioning in this intense heat (it's around 100 at day and 86 at night but there is no way to cool down at all), to be able to talk as often as I want to y’all, to hug y’all for goodness sake! But, my training has been outstanding, I am so grateful for the challenges I've already made it through and I am pumped for this adventure, this journey and this incredible way to make a difference. Thanks for all of the encouragement, I love and miss y’all so much!
Please stay in touch and keep me posted on everything you are up to! Come visit!
xoxo,
Erin
Hey y’all! I hope you are doing great, had a very happy Thanksgiving and are now looking forward to the rest of the holiday festivities. This past month since I had internet to write you last has been quite a ride.
I would like to share my thanks as I missed that chance back home in the States with y’all:
THANKS…
For the constant amazement God lets me stand in
For my supportive friends at home, serving around the world and my new and priceless friends here in Madagascar
For the Peace Corps… this is the most humbling, exciting, exhausting, real, overwhelming, simple, inspiring, frustrating, empowering experience I have ever had. I love its mission and goals more each day – to foster peace and friendship in this world, to share our skills with those in need in a sustainable way together, to learn a new culture which is the best reflection of our own, and to share our American ways in which, thanks to Mr. Sabato, it is engrained in me that "politics is a good thing." I was afraid my idealism would get lost and flounder, but instead, in these 3 months which have flown by but in which some moments have felt like eternity, a sense of pragmatism and reality has been sprinkled among my lofty dreams in a way in which I will forever be grateful for the incredible Peace Corps training.
For the laughter and joy felt amid the expectations gone awry… the resilience and support and positive attitudes of my training group and our outstanding trainers, PC staff, host families and other rockin' volunteers.
For a clear mind as I walk into my new home tomorrow.
Of course, in the back of my rainbows and sunflowers mind I have some plans which I would love to have be a significant part of my service here (holding a huge soccer tournament and concert in which we raise tons of awareness about AIDS and Malaria for all the Malagasy in the Diego area, in which we raise money from the wealthy vazahs to open a safe house for learning for the overflowing amount of commercial sex workers who are precious 14 year old girls being pressured by their families to makemoney in order to merely survive, to teach all the wonderful children I meet how to actually speak English so they can have a chance at making an honest living as a tour guide and helping promote a greener Mkar so they can maintain their unbelievable landscapes and plant and animal life like nowhere else in the world, installing solar panels at a nearby rural health clinic so the villagers can finally get vaccinated, persuading people to drink clean water, use mosquito nets and plant their own gardens, helping with a country-wide PC effort with my friends through bike races, marathons, concerts and camps to help give the Gasy the knowledge to improve their own lives…) but this is not my job. My job for these first 3 months as a volunteer is to observe. To take it all in and try to grasp what my community wants and what they feel they need. I wish I could jump right in and see my great impact, but it's gonna be slow, it's also going to be something I only facilitate, they will do it all on their own, because they can.It's pretty awesome but also scary as hell.
For this beautiful country I now get to call home!
For the wonderful Peace Corps doctors who got my through my first tropical belly ache.
For Ellen reminding me that that there is no language barrier to a smile...and also for the success of immersion in Sakalava
For giving a 15 minute speech in Sakalava about Malaria prevention and treatment
For the conversations and encouragement among the volunteers and our Gasy friends as we all work together here
For the PC approach to development as we share our love, hope, passion and skills with these great but needy little villages… how we take the ingenious Gasy resourcefulness and encourage our new friends, students, Gasy families to work together to better their own lives.
For the relationships. A week ago I was thinking too much and becoming slightly overwhelmed. Julia reminded me that we need to work one person at a time. Building relationships is the key to stirring about a better knowledge, attitude and behavior changes.
For y’all's support and love across oceans, keep it up, I love and miss y’all!
Thought y’all may be interested in my journal entry and reflections as I walked away from my host family's home for the last time, into the amazing sunrise and future of 2 years serving in this special country:
"How do I feel so okay leaving this home, it's like looking back atall the beautiful places and people I left in Costa Rica, Australiaand other great vacations. Is my heart hardening as I learn to notexpect anything, as I grow frustrated but my mind and eyes open more widely with every step. Life really is a merry-go-round – a carnival – but this is more than a vacation. This is my life – this come and go and leave some hopefully lasting and helpful footprints along the way. I passed the rolling hills streaming up smoke as they burn what's left of their precious forests so they can plant more rice, the rice paddies that go on forever and are more shades of green than all of Ireland. Ireland, what a special place, special trip with my grandma. I think about all those I left at home. My beloved friends and family. I realize how much I miss everyone. I think about my friends also doing mission trips and volunteer work all across this world. We are so lucky, but there is so much need. Because we are so blessed, it is our moral duty to help others. Imagine what John Lennon was singing about – all the people living life in peace. I smile and look behind me, then beside and fast far in front of me. The young school children giggle, yell ino voavoa (what's up), giggle more, stop to quickly wash their bare feet in the dirty puddle and then scurry off to class wherethey will learn in the ancient French style of teachers writing on the board and they copy in their falling apart notebooks. The red dust flicks up and makes my legs look tanner than they actually are in these temperate highlands. I dream about my new site. The intense heat which will soon melt my heart up North. I refocus on the now and feel the cool early morning breeze on the back of my neck through my fully braided head. I begin to pass the homes which housed and comforted my dear friends. We all walk, one big white pile, down the hills which so acutely feel like the Virginia/West Virginia border. I remember our killer rafting trips and the good ole song of wahoowa. Back here, we laugh at our last nights amusements, our precious families and our final understanding of that tiny village which nourished us with rice3 times a day but with the patience and love of a real family, wevent, we stand amazed at the sky. I remember that its beauty is partly from the intense pollution. I remember why I am here. This is it, this is my life in Madagascar. But it's all abruptly about to change. I pray for peace, friendships, safety, health and more fun-packed adventures to come – most importantly, that I actually continue to make a great impact on these Malagasy brothers and sisters of ours."So, I'm off to site. I will write y’all again hopefully aroundChristmas. Please stay in touch! Also, let me know what y’all wouldlike to read about… what should I relay to my sweet momma for you?What questions do y’all have? And fill me in on all life where you are right now!Oh yeah! My site! Haha, sorry, that's probably the biggest thing y’all want to know… My village is called Sakaramy. It is named after the Ramy trees which used to be all over. There used to be these beautiful trees everywhere, as well as many lemurs. However, they burnt them all for need of wood and ate all the lemurs. Lucky, I have an amazing site mate whose focus is eco-tourism and environmental education. Her name is Erin, too. She's from Wisconsin and 25 and really great and laid back and helpful, caring and fun. I am so lucky and blessed to have someone to work with and really make a great lasting impact in our community. Sakaramy is a commune, so we have a mayor and 4 tiny villages around us. There are around 1,200 people that I will be reaching out to around my community. We are only a short 17 miles away (which takes about an hour on our roads) from Diego which is the coolest city I've been to in the world. It is colorful, clean, has great old French colonial architecture, a peacock blue bay, nice hotels and restaurants for the slight occasion in which we can splurge on ice cream and visiting a 5 star resort with a swim-up bar! The city is about 25 minutes away from a beautiful beach and 3 white sand bays on the Indian Ocean. I cannot wait to go there in a few weeks for Christmas! Sakaramy is right between this rocking city and another great little town called Joffreville. Joffreville is the base for Amber Mountain National Park. We are a 10 minute drive/hour walk andwill be working there and Diego a lot as well. Amber Mountain is an ancient volcano with a rain forest on top of it, waterfalls, lemurs and chameleons galore. From the top (which I will see any day now!) you can see all the tip top of Madagascar and where the Indian Ocean, Diego Bay and Mozambique Channel all meet in a beautiful, unique blue. We have 2 elementary schools right by our house and I will be working a lot with these kids on early empowerment and youth development. I will teach them about clean water, brushing their teeth, teach them some English, nutrition, gardening, malaria prevention, life skills through fun games… I will also be going to the middle and high schools and clubs around Diego to explain that AIDS is a real threat and weneed to prevent it while we have this special chance. I will help give confidence and facilitate peer education for the sexual tourism girls so they can continue and education and find a healthier, safer career. I am so excited about the next 2 years! It is going to be pretty rough at times… sometimes I just want a real shower, air conditioning in this intense heat (it's around 100 at day and 86 at night but there is no way to cool down at all), to be able to talk as often as I want to y’all, to hug y’all for goodness sake! But, my training has been outstanding, I am so grateful for the challenges I've already made it through and I am pumped for this adventure, this journey and this incredible way to make a difference. Thanks for all of the encouragement, I love and miss y’all so much!
Please stay in touch and keep me posted on everything you are up to! Come visit!
xoxo,
Erin
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Feo of Erin - Feno Sary (The Voice of Erin - Full a Picture
The title is the best I can do for Sakalava to English word choice – limited words!
Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and have plans for a fabulous holiday season! Before taking y’all through Erin’s very eventful past 2+ weeks, I know Erin would first want to wish each of y’all a very healthy, happy new year!
Now, let’s go back to the Monday before Thanksgiving…
Erin got sick…REALLY, REALLY sick and had to be taken to Antananarivo (Tana, the capital). We still don’t know what she had…we do know that she was very, very dehydrated. Finally, by Thursday (Thanksgiving) she was re-hydrated, but the doctors would not allow her to leave Antananarivo, so she could not join her PCT group at the PC Thanksgiving celebration. Erin was disappointed and then…WOW! The head of PC Madagascar had some of Erin’s clean clothes delivered to her, she was cleaned up and she went to the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy's home Thanksgiving. She said it was amazing! She learned so much – some of the information was disheartening. There are no factories in northern Madagascar which would provide jobs and help tremendously in this greatly impoverished area. One reason for this is to perpetuate the situation since this area of the country isn’t supportive of the current government. Can you imagine – lack of integrity in the government!?! Thanksgiving was a very unique and enjoyable experience for her! By Friday, the doctors decided that Erin was well enough to return to her host family. Erin was very pleased…her time with them would be ending soon.
The next week, Erin and the other PCT’s left their host families to go to Antananarivo for the last of their training. I think I had mentioned in earlier blogs that Erin had some serious concerns about her site placement. Safety and security are HUGE issues and the PC Security man agreed. The village had not built Erin’s house although they said they had done so…this is of great importance since it indicates the village is committed to having the volunteer - and the volunteer needs a place to live. (Saying that they had done do when they hadn’t is a big concern, too!) The PC wanted Erin to go to the site-the house was finally built- and try to open the new site. Erin was uncomfortable with this for several reasons. Her safety was her first concern. She was also uncomfortable with the idea of “trying” the site since commitment to the site is very important. To make a long story, actually a very long night, short…last Thursday afternoon through Friday morning…Erin’s returning home was a possibility. If Erin were given the ultimatum to go to the site or to come home – as heartbreaking as it would have been, Erin would have come home. (That’s how very seriously endangered Erin was!) Happily, Erin is going to another site. They, too, have not had a healthcare communicator. This site is also in challenging northern Madagascar. Most importantly, Erin feels safe in this village. The village has an environmental PCV – also named Erin. (I think her name is Erin Cross.) Our Erin is SO HAPPY!!!
This morning, I heard from Erin after her swearing in. She said the ceremony was incredible! She sounded as thrilled as she had been after her walk down the Lawn. She is enjoying her last evening with the other PCV’s (no longer PCT’s…officially volunteers, not trainees!), She’s also enjoying running water and electricity…as of 6:00 AM tomorrow morning – she’s off to Sakaramy where there is no running water, no electricity…back to poverty-life. And she will enjoy her two years of service helping her people to be healthier.
Y’all, please write Erin…including CD’s and small surprises is great, too! During her 10 weeks of training, she was with the other PCT’s…now she is quite isolated, so hearing from y’all is even more imperative. Remember, y’all are a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement, strength and love!
There are several funny stories that I have not included out of respect for y’all’s time during this busy, busy time of year. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions/concerns/etc. (See previous blogs for my contact information if needed.)
Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to thank y’all for being here for Erin. Every time we speak, she first mentions y’all – missing y’all, appreciating y’all for the letters she’s received (and e-mails I’ve received – copied and mailed to her), talking to y’all, occasionally….THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I do my best to reply to y’all, leave messages of thanks…and for anyone I’ve missed, I apologize. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…from the bottom of my heart!!! I, too, wish y'all a new year filled with much happiness and good health!
Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and have plans for a fabulous holiday season! Before taking y’all through Erin’s very eventful past 2+ weeks, I know Erin would first want to wish each of y’all a very healthy, happy new year!
Now, let’s go back to the Monday before Thanksgiving…
Erin got sick…REALLY, REALLY sick and had to be taken to Antananarivo (Tana, the capital). We still don’t know what she had…we do know that she was very, very dehydrated. Finally, by Thursday (Thanksgiving) she was re-hydrated, but the doctors would not allow her to leave Antananarivo, so she could not join her PCT group at the PC Thanksgiving celebration. Erin was disappointed and then…WOW! The head of PC Madagascar had some of Erin’s clean clothes delivered to her, she was cleaned up and she went to the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy's home Thanksgiving. She said it was amazing! She learned so much – some of the information was disheartening. There are no factories in northern Madagascar which would provide jobs and help tremendously in this greatly impoverished area. One reason for this is to perpetuate the situation since this area of the country isn’t supportive of the current government. Can you imagine – lack of integrity in the government!?! Thanksgiving was a very unique and enjoyable experience for her! By Friday, the doctors decided that Erin was well enough to return to her host family. Erin was very pleased…her time with them would be ending soon.
The next week, Erin and the other PCT’s left their host families to go to Antananarivo for the last of their training. I think I had mentioned in earlier blogs that Erin had some serious concerns about her site placement. Safety and security are HUGE issues and the PC Security man agreed. The village had not built Erin’s house although they said they had done so…this is of great importance since it indicates the village is committed to having the volunteer - and the volunteer needs a place to live. (Saying that they had done do when they hadn’t is a big concern, too!) The PC wanted Erin to go to the site-the house was finally built- and try to open the new site. Erin was uncomfortable with this for several reasons. Her safety was her first concern. She was also uncomfortable with the idea of “trying” the site since commitment to the site is very important. To make a long story, actually a very long night, short…last Thursday afternoon through Friday morning…Erin’s returning home was a possibility. If Erin were given the ultimatum to go to the site or to come home – as heartbreaking as it would have been, Erin would have come home. (That’s how very seriously endangered Erin was!) Happily, Erin is going to another site. They, too, have not had a healthcare communicator. This site is also in challenging northern Madagascar. Most importantly, Erin feels safe in this village. The village has an environmental PCV – also named Erin. (I think her name is Erin Cross.) Our Erin is SO HAPPY!!!
This morning, I heard from Erin after her swearing in. She said the ceremony was incredible! She sounded as thrilled as she had been after her walk down the Lawn. She is enjoying her last evening with the other PCV’s (no longer PCT’s…officially volunteers, not trainees!), She’s also enjoying running water and electricity…as of 6:00 AM tomorrow morning – she’s off to Sakaramy where there is no running water, no electricity…back to poverty-life. And she will enjoy her two years of service helping her people to be healthier.
Y’all, please write Erin…including CD’s and small surprises is great, too! During her 10 weeks of training, she was with the other PCT’s…now she is quite isolated, so hearing from y’all is even more imperative. Remember, y’all are a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement, strength and love!
There are several funny stories that I have not included out of respect for y’all’s time during this busy, busy time of year. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions/concerns/etc. (See previous blogs for my contact information if needed.)
Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to thank y’all for being here for Erin. Every time we speak, she first mentions y’all – missing y’all, appreciating y’all for the letters she’s received (and e-mails I’ve received – copied and mailed to her), talking to y’all, occasionally….THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I do my best to reply to y’all, leave messages of thanks…and for anyone I’ve missed, I apologize. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…from the bottom of my heart!!! I, too, wish y'all a new year filled with much happiness and good health!
Feo of Erin - Feno Sary (The Voice of Erin - Full a Picture
Feo of Erin – Feno Sary (The Voice of Erin – Full a Picture)
This is the best I can do for Sakalava to English word choice – limited words!
Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and have plans for a fabulous holiday season! Before taking y’all through Erin’s very eventful past 2+ weeks, I know Erin would first want to wish each of y’all a very healthy, happy new year!
Now, let’s go back to the Monday before Thanksgiving…
Erin got sick…REALLY, REALLY sick and had to be taken to Antananarivo (Tana, the capital). We still don’t know what she had…we do know that she was very, very dehydrated. Finally, by Thursday (Thanksgiving) she was re-hydrated, but the doctors would not allow her to leave Antananarivo, so she could not join her PCT group at the PC Thanksgiving celebration. Erin was disappointed and then…WOW! The head of PC Madagascar had some of Erin’s clean clothes sent to her, she was cleaned up and she went to the Deputy Ambassador’s mansion for Thanksgiving. She said it was amazing! She learned so much – some of the information was disheartening. There are no factories in northern Madagascar which would provide jobs and help tremendously in this greatly impoverished area. One reason for this is to perpetuate the situation since this area of the country isn’t supportive of the current government. Can you imagine – lack of integrity in the government!?! This was a very unique and enjoyable experience for her! By Friday, the doctors decided that Erin was well enough to return to her host family. Erin was very pleased…her time with them would be ending soon.
The next week, Erin and the other PCT’s left their host families to go to Antananarivo for the last of their training. I think I had mentioned in earlier blogs that Erin had some serious concerns about her site placement. Safety and security are HUGE issues and the PC Security man agreed. The village had not built Erin’s house although they said they had done so…this is a big thing since it indicates the village is committed to having the volunteer. (Saying that they have when they hadn’t is a big concern, too!) The PC wanted Erin to go to the site-the house was finally built- and try to open the new site. Erin was uncomfortable with this for several reasons. Her safety was her first concern. She was also uncomfortable with the idea of “trying” the site since commitment to the site is very important. To make a long story, actually a very long night, short…last Thursday afternoon through Friday morning…Erin’s returning home was a possibility. If Erin were given the ultimatum to go to the site or to come home – as heartbreaking as it would have been, Erin would have come home. (That’s how very seriously endangered Erin was!) Happily, Erin is going to another site. They, too, have not had a healthcare communicator. This site is also in challenging north Madagascar. Most importantly, Erin feels safe in this village. The village has an environmental PCV – also named Erin. (I think her name is Erin Cross.) Our Erin is SO HAPPY!!!
This morning, I heard from Erin after her swearing in. She said the ceremony was incredible! She sounded as thrilled as she had been after her walk down the Lawn. She is enjoying her last evening with the other PCV’s (no longer PCT’s…officially volunteers, not trainees!), She’s also enjoying running water and electricity…as of 6:00 AM tomorrow morning – she’s off to Sakaramy where there is no running water, no electricity…back to poverty-life. And she will enjoy her two years of service helping her people to be healthier.
Y’all, please write Erin…including CD’s and small surprises is great, too! During her 10 weeks of training, she was with the other PCT’s…now she is quite isolated, so hearing from y’all is even more imperative. Remember, y’all are a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement, strength and love!
There are several funny stories that I have not included out of respect for y’all’s time during this busy, busy time of year. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions/concerns/etc. (See previous blogs for my contact information if needed.)
Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to thank y’all for being here for Erin. Every time we speak, she first mentions y’all – missing y’all, appreciating y’all for the letters she’s received (and e-mails I’ve received – copied and mailed to her), talking to y’all, occasionally….THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I do my best to reply to y’all, leave messages of thanks…and for anyone I’ve missed, I apologize. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…from the bottom of my heart!!!
This is the best I can do for Sakalava to English word choice – limited words!
Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and have plans for a fabulous holiday season! Before taking y’all through Erin’s very eventful past 2+ weeks, I know Erin would first want to wish each of y’all a very healthy, happy new year!
Now, let’s go back to the Monday before Thanksgiving…
Erin got sick…REALLY, REALLY sick and had to be taken to Antananarivo (Tana, the capital). We still don’t know what she had…we do know that she was very, very dehydrated. Finally, by Thursday (Thanksgiving) she was re-hydrated, but the doctors would not allow her to leave Antananarivo, so she could not join her PCT group at the PC Thanksgiving celebration. Erin was disappointed and then…WOW! The head of PC Madagascar had some of Erin’s clean clothes sent to her, she was cleaned up and she went to the Deputy Ambassador’s mansion for Thanksgiving. She said it was amazing! She learned so much – some of the information was disheartening. There are no factories in northern Madagascar which would provide jobs and help tremendously in this greatly impoverished area. One reason for this is to perpetuate the situation since this area of the country isn’t supportive of the current government. Can you imagine – lack of integrity in the government!?! This was a very unique and enjoyable experience for her! By Friday, the doctors decided that Erin was well enough to return to her host family. Erin was very pleased…her time with them would be ending soon.
The next week, Erin and the other PCT’s left their host families to go to Antananarivo for the last of their training. I think I had mentioned in earlier blogs that Erin had some serious concerns about her site placement. Safety and security are HUGE issues and the PC Security man agreed. The village had not built Erin’s house although they said they had done so…this is a big thing since it indicates the village is committed to having the volunteer. (Saying that they have when they hadn’t is a big concern, too!) The PC wanted Erin to go to the site-the house was finally built- and try to open the new site. Erin was uncomfortable with this for several reasons. Her safety was her first concern. She was also uncomfortable with the idea of “trying” the site since commitment to the site is very important. To make a long story, actually a very long night, short…last Thursday afternoon through Friday morning…Erin’s returning home was a possibility. If Erin were given the ultimatum to go to the site or to come home – as heartbreaking as it would have been, Erin would have come home. (That’s how very seriously endangered Erin was!) Happily, Erin is going to another site. They, too, have not had a healthcare communicator. This site is also in challenging north Madagascar. Most importantly, Erin feels safe in this village. The village has an environmental PCV – also named Erin. (I think her name is Erin Cross.) Our Erin is SO HAPPY!!!
This morning, I heard from Erin after her swearing in. She said the ceremony was incredible! She sounded as thrilled as she had been after her walk down the Lawn. She is enjoying her last evening with the other PCV’s (no longer PCT’s…officially volunteers, not trainees!), She’s also enjoying running water and electricity…as of 6:00 AM tomorrow morning – she’s off to Sakaramy where there is no running water, no electricity…back to poverty-life. And she will enjoy her two years of service helping her people to be healthier.
Y’all, please write Erin…including CD’s and small surprises is great, too! During her 10 weeks of training, she was with the other PCT’s…now she is quite isolated, so hearing from y’all is even more imperative. Remember, y’all are a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement, strength and love!
There are several funny stories that I have not included out of respect for y’all’s time during this busy, busy time of year. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions/concerns/etc. (See previous blogs for my contact information if needed.)
Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to thank y’all for being here for Erin. Every time we speak, she first mentions y’all – missing y’all, appreciating y’all for the letters she’s received (and e-mails I’ve received – copied and mailed to her), talking to y’all, occasionally….THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I do my best to reply to y’all, leave messages of thanks…and for anyone I’ve missed, I apologize. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…from the bottom of my heart!!!
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