And so it has come to pass, another month in Madagascar. I have returned to my wonderful little sleepy rural town of Sadjoavato, and now I get to buckle down for the last year of work in my community.
I was hoping to share with you the wonderful pictures of the woodworking club that you helped fund this month, but due to some minor, and most unfortunate, setbacks that will have to wait until next month, so instead let's go back to school.
Every year the teachers gather on the first day of classes to figure out the schedule for classes. It can sometimes be a little hectic, but it always gets sorted, and here is the final schedule for the first trimester at the Sadjoavato Middle School for the 2015-16 school year!
Being back in town means getting back to my market too. I enjoy my market and finding great food to prepare for myself. Here is my haul from this past week: hena'omby (beef), baranjely (eggplant), karoty (carrots), tongolo vert (green onion), tomaty (tomatoes), zariko vert (green beans), poivron (peppers), and savony poudre (laundry soap). All told this ran me about 5000 Ar, or approximately $1.66. That seems cheap to American ears, and it is, but that's about a third of what I spend each week on food at my site!
Of course, I don't just eat it whole, and here was a tasty new dish I made for myself. Beef with tomato onion sauce and carrot salad. Delicious and filling.
Being back at site now, I couldn't just stop at making food though, I've also gotten back to making other things as well, like this new cutting board. I salvaged a piece of wood from a tree that someone had cut most of down already and took it home. A little sanding and oiling later and voila, a new cutting board. The wood came from a custard apple tree, and I will definitely try to find some more for projects in the future as it finished very nicely.
I have also put in some work on my chairs to make them a little more comfortable. Here we see the first step, I glued a second slat across the back.
Then I cut it into an arc for improved sitting comfort. Still haven't quite finished sanding and shaping this one yet, and eventually I plan to hack off the back rest entirely and reattach it at an angle, but those projects will just have to wait a little while.
I haven't been the only one busy building, my neighbors have started construction on a new house! I haven't had a chance yet to get in on the construction, but when I have free time over the next month I really want to assist as much as possible.
They've been moving quick on the frame, and with good reason. When the house is finished, they will prep it for a new Peace Corps volunteer to move in. I'm gonna have a site mate!
That won't be for a while of course, but I'm already excited. First they'll have to go through training just like I did, and that means they get to see Stuffy!
I saw him too at the beginning of the month as we had a brief training and here he was being a ham and soaking up the attention.
Continuing on with the animal report for the month, here's Poppa! He stopped by for a quick nap and some behind the ear scratchings, and then he was off on his important dog business again.
Mamma had puppies! Again! This litter started out at 8, but has unfortunately already shrunk to 7. Momma takes very good care of her babies though, and she kept them out only for a day, until it was safe to move them.
Which she did. Right under a house. They still haven't opened their eyes; only about a week old in this picture, but I look forward to getting to play with some puppies in the coming weeks.
Now for a sad tale I like to call "All Chickens are Assholes, or How I Almost Adopted Two Kittens"
I was sitting with a neighbor the other day when they brought over a yellow bucket and said to look inside. I saw what you see above, two week old kittens. I asked why they had two week old kittens in a bucket as I picked one up and began to pet it. They informed me that not long before they had three kittens, and that a chicken had come along and killed one. With some disbelief I inquired as to the mothers whereabouts and was informed that the chicken drove the mother away. Trepidation filled my next question; when did this happen? Three days ago.
I put the kitten back down, said goodbye, and excused myself. I could hear them mewling as I walked away. I would have loved to have two little kittens to nurse to health over the next few weeks, but unfortunately I don't have the time or resources to dedicate to said project to make it feasible. So I had to put them out of my mind and remember that all chickens are assholes. And that's how I almost adopted two kittens.
In a little more lighthearted news, I saw a pack of lemurs. Understandably not shocking given my current country, but these guys were hanging out in Diego Suarez. In the middle of the city, jumping around on apartment balconies! At first I thought I'd just seen a cat on the wall near me, but a quick double take proved it was indeed a lemur. I then proceeded to watch as the gang came out to play.
There were at least 7 or 8 of them jumping around. They moved from the balcony into the trees and from there who knows, but see if you can spot the three in this picture*. It was a nice surprise on an evening walk through Diego and I believe a nice way to cap off another month here, living the Peace Corps life.
*One in the air, one on the balcony, and the last on the power line between the telephone pole and trees.
