Previously in Madagascar... Our beloved hero was waylaid with a mysterious illness that required medical intervention! There was a dramatic training event scheduled for the near future! And somebody shot JR!
To answer the questions you no doubt are asking, the doctors confirmed that I did indeed have a massive allergic reaction! They also didn't tell me what caused it, but through tireless testing efforts of my own, I have determined the cause... Mangoes! So, no more mangoes for me, which is unfortunate, but doable...
Now that the boring health stuff is out of the way, lets get to pictures!
Stuffy Pants! So the whole group from training was back again at the training center for another two weeks of training and of course that meant getting to see two of my favorite dogs again. Stuffy, true to form, slept the majority of the two weeks, and apparently one of the staff said he killed and ate a neighbors piglet recently which would explain how he kept his figure while we were away!
Killer! Such a cute girl, and she looks so much better now that she isn't nursing nine puppies! Unfortunately the puppies have all been relocated to new homes, but Killer's sweet enough to make up for it.
During our training event our Malagasy counterparts from our sites came to have some training and learn how to work with the Peace Corps more efficiently. When they first arrived I was introducing myself to one of them and Killer walked over and so I took the opportunity to introduce her as well. The counterpart looked frightened and backed away until I ensured him that Killer is a great name, but not in any way indicative of her temperament!
Each stage that comes to this country is given a name by the previous stages, and I am proud to report, we have a name... Puppy Stage! I couldn't be happier, I love puppies and dogs, and now we get to be Puppies for life! We created our artwork for the training center walls which every stage does, and with expert drawing skills provided by our very own Sheona, we each got our very own puppy doodle! Each puppy is customized to represent everyone as accurately as possible. Also, each person got their site marked by paw print, their site and name; that's me second from the top!
My Puppy is fishing! And wearing my sneakers too. He's in the bottom left of the big picture above. Around the edge, as you can see, is another of our stages great accomplishments, po puns. The po ("po" said like Edgar Allen "Poe") is a device in almost all Malagasy homes for when you need to use the facilities at night and can't or don't want to go outside to find the kabone. The equivalent in English would be chamber pot, or something very similar. Of course this is a ripe situation for jokes, so we created literally hundreds of po puns, and some of the cream of the crop made it as our border!
Speaking of ripe, did someone cut the cheese in here?
That's right, we did! Here is the first appetizer from our recently ingested Thanksgiving feast - Baked Brie by Kim! After training I returned to Diego with some other local volunteers to celebrate the wonderful American tradition of overeating amazing food with friends and family!
Appetizers part 2 - Deviled Eggs by Aaron! Perfectly spiced too, delicious!
The whole feast! Here's the spread before we sat down to have at it! From lower right there's Dirty Rice made by Lacey (a Louisiana specialty), Beet Root Salad by Chris and Idalia, Quiche also by Chris and Idalia, Baked Bananas provided by our Comoran friends, Roast Chicken by Maryse, Roasted Fish also by the Comorans, Mashed Potatoes by Jacob, and Stuffing by Kim!
From another angle! There was Cranberry Sauce somewhere on the table too which was shipped direct from the USA... Thanks Mom and Dad!
Close up of the Quiche. Very tasty and it went quite well with everything else!
My plate for round 1 with a little of everything!
Desert! Pumpkin Pie by Kim, freshly whipped Whipped Cream by Chris, Oreo Pie by Michael, and Vanilla Ice Cream supplied by yours truly! Overall this was a feast to remember, and even though it's hard being away from family for my first time ever at Thanksgiving, its a lot easier when you're surrounded by great friends and such wonderful Malagasy people here who really are eager to learn about America and all its crazy traditions!
After Thanksgiving it was back to Sadjoavato for me, but I still had some fun things to do!
Now I'm headed back to school to finish up the first trimester and after that, Christmas Vacation! Stay tuned for the next installment...
