Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning’s End

(Written Sat. 4/19/08)

Training is wrapping up, and in a little over a week we will all be leaving for our permanent sites as official Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)! The time here in our training village had flown by, but at the same time I can’t believe it has only been two months. I feel like so much has changed for me since I left the US. Perhaps I should give a recap of my training activities so you can all see what I have been up to here.

Since we all need to be proficient language speakers, we have had to do a lot of activities in Malagasy. I have given a presentation on the Bonara tree (Albizia Lebbek), a cool nitrogen-fixing tree used for erosion control. I gave a second presentation on a cool form of charcoal made from dead grass to preserve wood while still providing energy. And I have a final presentation in a few days on Vetiver, an awesome erosion-controlling type of grass. Also, with Tara & Austin, I taught a class at the primary school on Erosion. As you may have guessed, erosion is a huge problem here, in Madagascar (Aerial images show Madagasar apparently ‘bleeding’ because the red soil is all eroding into the rivers and being taken out to sea).

We have worked on lots of projects in our technical training, including: gardening, composting, building improved cookstoves, planting trees and vetiver as erosion control / prevention, teaching environmental education, solar cookers, tree nurseries, etc. Hopefully I can put a lot of these skills to use and eventually post pictures of what I do at site.

Also, just this past week, we finally got to the rainforest. We saw some amazing chameleons and lemurs. I want to upload some pictures here, but as usual other people are more “Mahay” * at phots than I am, so check out some of the other blogs for better shots. I am going to add some more blogs, including some of the SED (Small Enterprise Development) volunteers, so you can read about all the cool people here and the great stuff they will be doing.

My fellow volunteers and I have been training with really are amazing. I was not expecting to form such a strong bond with so many of them, but we all get along well and I think we have already enhanced each other’s experiences. It will be tough to leave such a great group, but I think we can all find solace in the fact that we are finally going off to do what we signed up for: exciting, challenging development work immersed in a foreign culture and community. Plus we can all visit and support one another throughout our service.

I went a little off-topic there, as is my style. I have also had lots of time to read. Mostly it is technical books, like finding trees good for firewood that are also leguminous [nitrogen-fixing] – say, Albizia Lebbek, for instance. Or which trees are En Vogue in the development world and how useful they really are - like Moringa or Jatropha. I have also been reading real books, like A Farewell to Arms and The Brothers Karamazov. If you come across anything you think I should read, whether it is a book or magazine/newspaper article or internet story, please send it my way! In return, I have a recommendation if you have any interest in agricultural development or want a better idea of the concepts behind my type of work here. It is a book I read through quickly and loved called Two Ears of Corn by Roland Bunch. It gives an awesome view of the philosophy of “sustainable” rural development. Worth checking out if you have any interest in the subject.

Well that wraps up another installment here. Any letters to my old address will be forwarded to me, so don’t fret about that (or use it as an excuse for not writing!) Also happy birFday to the Mac Attack, your quarter-century is tomorrow, even though this won’t be posted til well afterwards. Live it up Kid!

*Mahay – pronounced “Ma-Hi” – Malagasy verb used in many different ways. Basically it means “to know” but it can also mean “smart” or “to be smart,” like someone who is awesome at farming rice would be “Mahay Mamboly Vary” (Mamboly=to farm and Vary=rice). Mahay is a great word, especially when used in Englasy/Malagasish combos like the “Mahay Five”, our local version of the high five. Haptic Closure Baby.