It’s cold here. Now, people often wonder what I mean by “cold,” and it can be tough to describe. If you saw the World Cup, you know it was very cold in South Africa (they are, after all, right next to Antarctica). It hasn’t been as cold here in Madagascar, and we certainly don’t have snow or ice storm threats where I live. A good comparison would be South Bend, IN in Septemeber/October. Most days I wear jeans and a sweatshirt (and still my signature flipflops), and some days are still teeshirt-worthy. But when your mudbrick (and dung-finished) house has no insulation and the winds are strong, it can be bone-chillingly cold. Plus, it is always overcast in my village, and it drizzles/rains once a day at least. [See, just like South Bend!] One plus of this cold, rainy time of year is that we get daily rainbows. Yep, daily, usually just before sunset. Can’t complain about that! So, in short, I live near a (sub) tropical rainforest, yet have been wearing a snow hat, sweatshirt and drinking tea (courtesy of Jen and 8ball MidWest – yes, Tarv, I can “make hot water”) or even hot cocoa (courtesy of my sister Megan) every day!
My address may be changing soon, but I’m not sure to what (or even if it is definite), so if you plan to send letters any time soon, I suggest the “Tana” Peace Corps address, which will reach me eventually wherever I am:
Chris Planicka, PCV
B.P. 12091
Poste Zoom Ankorondrano
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
That’s all for now, short and sweet!
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI'm a PCV in Azerbaijan and will be COSing in November. I came across your blog and have been fascinated by your experiences--it sounds quite different from what we've experienced in AZ.
Another PCV and I are planning a trip down to Madagascar for about three weeks after COS and we were hoping to get an insiders recommendations about where to go and what to do. If you're free to offer up any advice we'd really appreciate it. My email is saranevius@gmail.com.
Thanks and keep on fighting the good fight!
Sara