I do believe that I mentioned puppies last time, so lets see what we can do to satisfy that requirement.
Here is the newest puppy from Mama dog! She had a litter of three this time around, but unfortunately two were lost in birth, so she's focusing on this one cute little fluff ball. The kids were taking turns passing her around and trying to get her to eat avocado, hence the green smudge on her nose.
She's already out and walking around. Because it's just her, she doesn't have competition for Mama's milk and has plumped up accordingly. I like seeing her around and giving her lots of love whenever I get the chance. I'll post more pics as she gets bigger, and maybe I'll even think of a name for her too.
Of course there were other animal sightings this month, like these ducks above. The ducks are tied by the foot to the bamboo pole, as are the chickens off to the side, and then carted around to different people's houses to be sold. These ducks were around 60,000 Ariary or approximately $20. I thought the mallard was particularly good looking, even if a little inconvenienced by his situation, so I took a quick shot of his sale and inspection before heading off to do some work.
While this isn't an animal, its become a sort of Rorschach test amongst me and my fellow volunteers. I have come up with unicorn-rabbit, but let me know if you see something different. Either way, the grain pattern in the piece of mango wood is stunning. I helped a fellow volunteer out to make some cutting boards, and this was lurking under the bark for us to find.
Here's an overview of the pair of cutting boards. The one on the right had already been sanded on top while the one on the left is still rough cut as it came off the tree. They will make a lovely pair when finished, and I can't wait to see how great they come out when she's done sanding and finishing them.
Here she is sawing the boards out of the tree. The limb was already cut off from someone who used it to make charcoal, so we just harvested a few inches more to do our project while leaving the tree intact and ready to keep growing.
I also decided to add a fence to my kitchen shelf. It's been a while since I made the shelf, and originally I had intended to just put some banding around the edge to create a small lip, but recently I had some glass jars decide to leap to their fates after conversing with some subversive snails... This was most inconveniencing, and as I didn't want to go the Foxconn route, I added a fence. It was a fun afternoon project, and it adds much peace of mind and a nice touch of security to my kitchen.
I was also back at Alyssa's house for many hours this past month. We had a lot to do, and we buckled down and got it done so she can install in just a few days! Here's an interior shot right after we ripped out a large section of the flooring and replaced it as it had rotted out in the rainy season.
This was taken on a day when the middle school sent over a bunch of students to help build the fence for her yard. You can see the house and unfinished bathroom in the background. The kids were a big help, and we got the whole fence done in two days thanks to their hard work.
Here a neighbor is finishing the walls on the bathroom with a little supervision from an eager helper. She was very vocal as he put each raffia slat into place and nailed them down; telling him to "move it to the left more!" or "you made a hole, fix it!" and "the nail's already in, stop hammering!" I took a break to watch and enjoyed her antagonizing him greatly. I don't have any finished pictures of the house, because I was too busy building to remember to take any, but when Alyssa moves in, I'll be there and take pictures to show you next month of the final product and new homeowner.
I also had a chance this month to help out at a conference for English teachers in Diego Suarez. I taught a session on diversifying reading and listening examples for students, and helped out with the panel discussion at the end as well. The conference was a lot of fun, and the Malagasy teachers were very enthusiastic and eager to participate. It was a short, two-day affair and the volunteers seen above with me all contributed to make it a success.
I also got to help out the teachers at my school too. I'm going home soon, and I can say for sure that I will miss this group of people very much. From the left we have Clovis the disciplinarian and PE teacher, Ursula the Malagasy teacher, Barthelemy the assistant principal and science teacher, Eliane the history and geography teacher, Angela the French teacher, Pierre the principal, and our newest teacher Patrick the English teacher. I took this picture when I distributed LuminAid solar lights to all the teachers that were graciously donated by LuminAid! We had two teachers miss the meeting, so I got Francklin the physics teacher and Maurice the math teacher the next day. I can't express how grateful I am, or the teachers are to get these lights, and it was in large part due to the wonderful people at LuminAid. Please check out their work, and support what they do in any way you can because they are a great, socially-minded business.
The three ladies on the faculty wanted to get a picture with me, so after I took everyone's photo, we took a shot of the four of us. Every time I show up to the school, or pass by one of them on the street, they ask me when I'm leaving and make a big deal about how much they will miss me. They've been very welcoming and warm-hearted to me and I will miss them greatly.
A new NGO has started operating around my town too, and they recently put up this new sign to advertise their work. Jardins du Monde is a French group that works to promote the use of medicinal plants in areas where other options are hard to find, expensive, or unavailable. I've seen them driving through town many times now, and I hope they can make a positive lasting influence.
Another new sign got put up this past month too. This one is advertising the arrival of the annual sports competition for the greater Diego region. My school is hosting the event this year, so I'll have some great things to report next month hopefully. Either way, the mayor and principal of the school are expecting around 1500 students to come to the town for the week, so it'll be interesting to see how it all turns out.
Ashley and I decided to partake in some sport as well with a nice hike to the top of the hill nearby. She had never seen the view before and we needed an afternoon activity to get the blood pumping after working on her cutting boards in the morning. I will definitely be missing this view when its gone too, and that's in just three months!
I'm ready but anxious for the next chapter in my life. I can't wait to leave and begin working on my next steps, but I also have some things I still want to accomplish here too. Stay tuned and find out how it all turns out as I wrap up my service in style!
