Lizard Palace

The clock keeps ticking and its not too much longer for me in this country. I'm saying goodbye to some really good friends, and its making me feel ready to get myself moving towards the exit, but I still have a little bit left to go. Let's buckle in and see what we can turn out in the home stretch.

No rest for the rains so far, and boy what a mess have they made of my fence!

Here's what I came home to one day. The fence had been starting to lean the day before and I made a note to fix it the next day. I never got the chance. I cleaned it up a bit, and this was the end result. After this I let my school principal know that my fence had broke and he informed me that since I've done such a good job for the school so far that they needed to fix my fence to pay me back. I'm not one to argue when someone offers free labor, so...

Here's the fencing crew. A group of students who came over the day after the fence fell over and cut down the saplings for the posts, dug the holes, wired the cross braces, and shored everything up. They were unprofessional, late, lazy, noisy, sloppy, and the trampled everything. I loved every minute of it! They were very happy to have their picture taken too!

Speaking of fencing work, here's a cow that had very little appreciation for my fencing work. As you can tell he knocked over my fence and also ate my corn... All of my corn. I was, needless to say, extraordinarily frustrated. Even more so when I learned that this was my neighbors cow, and it was put next to my corn to graze on purpose. I guess its Malagasy corn from here on out, no American corn for anybody!

Other animals I encounter are usually less destructive, for instance:

Momma girl. She's taken a real shine to coming over each afternoon for some behind the ear scratching. I am also a complete sucker and will sit there and pet her for hours on end if uninterrupted, so I often do. I'm fairly certain she's pregnant again, and, if so, I look forward to meeting another wonderful batch of puppies shortly!

This guy was crossing the road and I almost ran him over with a wheelbarrow. That would have been a tragedy, because the Malagasy people believe that if you kill a chameleon, you will die in the same way that you killed the chameleon. I am not ready to perish by wheelbarrow, so thankfully he was noticed and lived to finish crossing the street.

Here's a furry example of the local fauna from a neighbor's shack. You might not be able to see in the picture, but hanging down from the rafters is a black rope that was tying this lemur to the beam. Someone was keeping it for either consumption or as a pet, either way not good for this poor lemur.

By contrast, this guy is much freer, and will hopefully remain so for a long time. I caught him on a trip to Ankarana National Park. He was hopping around with some friends which makes for some blurry pictures, but I got this one off before he sized up his next leap and departed for greener pastures.

Also in Ankarana was this interesting forest crab. They live on the ground in forested areas and not in or even near water! They only come out during rainy season, so they're not completely lacking in the water department, but by normal crab standards they're practically in the Sahara.

 We also ran across this really cool snail that eats particles off the rocks and helps promote their erosion which turns them into the tsingy (pointed rock monoliths) that the park is famous for. I took a picture just because I thought the shell design was really neat. Also, I was in Ankarana hoping to see a similar spiral but on a massive scale.

Unfortunately there wasn't enough rain in the preceding days to fill the rivers leading to the sinkhole, so we didn't get to see the eddy. However, we did get to see this stream dropping a few gallons down the hundred foot drop to make up for it.

It was a long and hot hike through the park, so we escaped to a hotel afterward to relax. In the hotel I saw this wonderful advertisement for:

Tsunami! Tsunami is a camphor and mint rub that is being sold as a panacea to the malagasy people. Around the chart are drawings of people using their tsunami to make their ailments disappear. We had a lot of fun trying to distinguish what it is we thought each person was doing, and we finally gave up as some of them were just too convoluted to try and decipher, but if you have any fun guesses, please let me know!

 Of course I didn't just go traipsing through a national park this month, I also did some work. First up, I visited another volunteer friend doing some amazingly good work at the La Maison d'Arnaud Orphanage in Diego Suarez. She helps them try to improve the lives, health, and education of a small group of orphans, but who helps her when a bigger problem arises? I stepped in when called to try and aid La Maison to find a solution for their road washing out in the heavy rains. They are still investigating options, but if I'm called in to do any further work I'll be sure to post as many pictures as possible of this awesome and potentially large undertaking!

If you want to learn more about La Maison d'Arnaud then please check out their link here. They do great work and could always use a helping hand.

 I've been keeping my own hands busy back at home too finishing my cutting board. Here is the finished product with a few coats of oil and wax for protection. It's amazing how the color really pops when you put some protectant on it. I broke it in with a fish that I filleted and it stood up to the task beautifully. I look forward to having a nice new non-smelling cutting board for the remainder of my service now!

 Of course there was some leftover from the cutting board wood, so I had to find another project to do as well. Enter my new house sign. Last month you saw the beginnings in the lettering that I made, and here it is transferred to the board.

After much sweat and hard work with a small brush and some paint thinner and a steady hand, here is the lettering. And its almost ready at this point. I had to do a few touch ups on the paint job over the next few days, but they were mostly for minor issues in the lettering. After that it was time to apply a finish sealer for protection.

And here it is all finished and ready to hang on the house. I'll be sure to post a shot of it in its final place when I get it finished next month, but for now I'm just glad that it's finished and ready to hang up. It was a long way to get to this point!

After all that detail work and road construction estimating, I worked up some steam and what better way to blow off steam then attending a nice concert?

So that is what I did. I saw Stephanie (yes, THE Stephanie) in concert in Diego Suarez. Stephanie is a pop star here in Madagascar with a string of hits including Mahatsiaro which is particularly over-played. It was a good time and a great way to vent some energy. It left me feeling ready to tackle the last few months and hopefully finish up strong. I've got a good feeling that everything's going to turn out just right!

New AND Improved!

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.

Foreign Contaminants and Fresh Eyes

To start off, thank you so much to everyone who helped me with funding my project that I posted last month. I've received all the money necessary to complete the project, and will shortly begin the construction to help improve the elementary school. Look forward to pictures by next month's post.

I've been in Madagascar for over a year now. Somethings that I see on a common basis have by now become so normal to me that I can forget how odd they would appear to an outsider seeing them for the first time. I have thus tried to capture one of the phenomenon of this country; non-motor vehicle usage of the roadways.

 Here is a common site on bridges all over the country, an ox-cart taking up the one lane. They move reliably, but slowly and can cause some pretty fantastic bottlenecks. Especially since its already a natural point for bottlenecks with the road narrowing to one lane for almost all the bridges in the country.

 Even when they're not on a bridge they can still provide a fun driving obstacle. Here a farmer is transporting a few sacks of rice and a friend.

Of course the cows aren't always harnessed, and occasionally they like to cause a good old-fashioned road block. Here a herd of zebu cross the road at there own pace.

Also, not all carts are ox powered. This appears to be a furniture delivery in the capital city. Complete with a moving crew ready to spring into action on the couch.

All this road travel was due to a few special guests that I was taking around. Their fresh off the plane eyes helped me see things here in a bit of a new light. Here are some more highlights.

 We stopped by the Ankarana National Park. This is a sinkhole about 100 feet across and the same deep. In the rainy season three rivers converge on this point and create an eddy to an underground river. The water is then filtered out to the ocean via underground river.

The other amazing feature at Ankarana is the tsingy. The word comes from the Malagasy verb to walk on tiptoes because the tsingy are razor-sharp limestone formations. If you walk on them you need to be careful not to cut your feet. They were formed in the ocean, rose from the sea floor over time, and carved by erosion from acid rain. Local indigenous Malagasy tribes used to use them as a protected hiding spot from enemies.

We also got out to some islands like Nosy Tany Kely (Little Island) pictured above.

 We explored some of the urban ruins in Diego Suarez and saw some of the local graffiti artists' work.

A trip to the rooftop bar afforded a cool shot of the neighboring market building with outlying shanty shops finishing the look.

We even indulged in some beach glass hunting and had to stop after about 30 minutes of searching because we ran out of pocket space to carry it back!

A trip to the weaver's market was in order to look for some souvenirs and also check out the local handicrafts. Basket weaving is a widespread activity here and they can make some really nice and colorful designs.

A brief stop over at one of my favorite places in Diego, the mighty ficus tree. Such a beautiful, big tree and a wonderfully relaxing spot.

Eventually we made it down to the capital Antananarivo. We made a stop at the Rova (royal fort) and saw the Manjakamiadana (Queen's palace). The King's palace is the little building on the right. The Rova is the highest point in the capital and as such affords some stunning views of the city.

Here is the view to the east where you can see some rice fields. Rice is currently out of season so they are growing watercress and other similar vegetables. Antananarivo (or Tana for short) is a city of anywhere from 2-4 million people depending on whose estimates you like the best.

One of the other oddities my visitors noted was the brick kilns on the side of the road. Definitely a necessity for the architectural styles of the highlands where it can get fairly cold in the winter.

Now without further ado, I present to you my wonderful traveling companions and fresh eyes filled with wonder...

 My mom and dad! Sharing a beautiful view from the balcony of our hotel on Nosy Be.

 We made it out to the Emerald Sea near Diego and my dad caught a beautiful shot of my mom on a swing staying out of the sun and enjoying the beach.

We made it to one of my favorite places to eat, Kamar's Restaurant. We are having feliky mahogo (crushed cassava leaves with beef chunks) one of the national dishes of Madagascar and coconut beans with rice.

My parents also helped with this month's animal roundup too.

 Here's Mio, the cat who lives at the Peace Corps house in Diego. Mio loves scratches, chasing mice, and making new friends!

 We even got some lemurs to jump on us. Here's my dad in the process of being peed on by his new friend on Nosy Komba (Lemur Island).

My mom had better luck in the not-getting-peed-on department and got to make a new friend with this cute girl.

While we stopped in Ankarana we were visited by this ring-tailed mongoose. They often travel in pairs, but this day we just had a brush with the one out for a stroll.

Our driver pointed out a chameleon on the side of the road waiting for his picture to be taken. He seemed a little skittish so the driver got out, picked him up with a stick and posed him before the camera.

A stop in Lemurs' Park which rehabilitates lemurs that have been reclaimed from captivity provided us another up close view of some different species. Heres one looking to see if we have any bananas on us!

This bird decided to give us a flight show on Nosy Diego in the Emerald Sea. The winds were so strong that he couldn't make forward progress, but just sat there over top of us hovering for a few minutes before he turned off to go back to the mainland.

Our last faunal encounter was at our hotel in Tana where we met Coco the Parrot. Coco has a great personality and liked to sit in front of the specials menu and try his hand at writing just like he's seen all the other people do. Every so often he'd scrape his beak across the menu board to write in his own specials!

Unfortunately my parents couldn't stay forever, and so I bid them adieu and settled in to finish my last year so I can see them again! I can't thank them enough for their support and assistance in making my service here possible. Also, thanks to the both of them for the pictures because I decided to step out from behind the camera while they were here to enjoy their visit in person only. 

I know they had a great time, and I hope they can look back fondly on their time here in Madagascar for a long time to come. I love you mom and dad, and I'll see you in a year!