I Got the Rat Patrol on the Gat Patrol

There are many problems that affect a volunteer at site. Two that quickly come to mind: loneliness and rats. Amazingly, there is a simple solution to both of these issues. Yes, you guessed it, I recently got a cat. He is a cute little orange and white kitten that I named Hobbes, after the voice of reason to the grandiose Calvin. Both Calvin and I may imagine our discussions with Hobbes are two-sided, but that doesn’t make us crazy! He should prove the perfect foil for me.
Other than that, there is not a whole lot to report here. My gardening classes continue to go well (though slowly), and we recently made a tree nursery addition to each. The potential library project I mentioned in a previous post had fallen apart, due to lack of community input and the quickly-approaching end to my service here. Indeed, late November 2010 is my current COS (Close of Service) date, 1 year after re-swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. But I probably will not be coming home then. I plan to extend my service for another 6 months or so, ending in time to head directly (more or less) to graduate school. Still working on the grad school details, but I am planning on studying international development / economics. As for my extension, I am looking to move to a bigger town and hopefully work directly with a NGO or organization. This would be a big change for me, as both of my sites have been in very small towns with no defined job or partner organization. Work-wise, things have been very frustrating. I am uncertain how things will play out, as I am still researching options and networking, but I will be sure to keep you updated.
On a more positive work-related note, our Tour de Lac plans continue unabated. We (the Lac Alaotra area PCVs) are organizing a two-week long event to promote AIDS Awareness. We will travel to 8 area towns and culminate with a large event in our banking town, Ambatondrazaka. Throughout, we will use skits, games and activities to educate people about AIDS, as well as sexually transmitted diseases and other risks. Also, we will use the time to promote the other (non-Health) sectors of Peace Corps, namely Environment, Small Enterprise Development, and Education. The events in each town will culminate with a PSI (Population Services International, a health organization) cinemobile presentation – they have a car that goes around presenting films about AIDS and other health issues. The whole event is taking a lot of organization, of course, but everyone we are partnering with / working with seems really excited about the event. We hope to have testing available as well, as access to AIDS testing is extremely limited in our area (in fact, in the country as a whole, as there is a shortage of testing materials). I will surely have more to say about this event as we approach its late July start date (the event will be the last 2 weeks of July).