In coming
to Madagascar I
had to learn a completely new language which was nothing like any language I
had ever heard before. During the first
three months of training we had language training everyday to ensure that we
would be able to converse with people once we arrived at our sites. There are some words that did not have direct
translation into English, relate a more direct meaning than the English
translation, or are just easier to use than the English words. In these cases many Volunteers will just use
these Malagasy words when speaking English to each other. It has become our new normal of
speaking. It is so much a new normal
that I find myself quite often using
Tour de Sud
For those
of you that have been following my blog you know that I recently completed a
bike ride along the south eastern coast of Madagascar,
from Vangindrano to Fort Dauphin. This of course, for me, was the most epic
part of my travels during the holiday season, but it was far from the end of
them. The rest of my travels during the
holiday took me all the way around the southern tip of the island in a big
circle ending back at home (see picture below).
During this trip I was able to see the southern most point of
Madagascar, visit the sites of a few other volunteers, see the spiny forest,
Top 5 of Vondrozo
Most people
will never see Vondrozo in their life, which includes Malagasy people, so I
have compiled a top 5 for what you must see/do in Vondrozo.
#1: The view
of Vondrozo from the hill over looking it in the south
This
is the #1 pick by every Malagasy person asked, as well as my own. Although this view does not give a good view
of the town proper, it does give a good view of the area as a whole. From this vantage point you can see the tree
filled town backed by the Corridor (mountain range) with views of things like
the High School and Middle School, Protestant Church, both the public and
Labels:
Culture,
Peace Corps Journal,
Peace Corps Service
Proverbial Wisdom
Translation from one language to
another can be hard. There are many
words that do not have
Labels:
Culture,
Peace Corps Journal,
Peace Corps Service
Hurry Up and Wait
All
volunteers in Madagascar
have to travel by taxi brousse at least sometime during their service;
if not every time they want to go somewhere.
Though it gets easier for some, catching a brousse at the station can be one of the more
trying and chaotic times during our service.
This is intensified at the stations in the capitol, Antananarivo.
I am one of the few volunteers that do
not mind the regular brousse ride back to my region. Usually for me it is an easy comfortable
ride, especially when compared to my brousse ride to my town. But the thought of having to go to the
station sometimes fills me with apprehension and has me thinking of what else I
can do to put of the
Labels:
Culture,
Peace Corps Journal,
Peace Corps Service
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