When they don’t want to make you go blow your brains out,
Malagasy people, especially kids, are pretty amazing in the sense that no
physical or mental obstacle is too big to overcome. It is the intellectual
obstacles that seem to throw everyone into a never-before-seen state of
lethargy.
These kids are so much tougher than kids in the states. No
child is too young to begin manual labor or start trying new things that
American kids probably wouldn’t start until they are in their mid-teens.
Walking up and down my road from my house into town I will see kids carrying
buckets full of water or bundles of sticks for firewood (usually on their heads
without using their hands for balance) that are bigger than them. Toddlers will
herd cattle that weigh 15 times as much as they do – and the only thing they
have to defend themselves is a small stick. These kids will fearlessly bark out
orders in incomprehensible Gasy and jump between the herd without regard for
their own, frail little bodies when a particular cow starts losing its mind.
Herding cattle is an everyday affair that obviously requires very little
intellect (or perhaps none if you choose to work with these unpredictable
beasts). These cattle herders (or cowboys as they like to call themselves when
an American asks) rise before most (and all people here are up before the sun)
and spend the entire day walking through outrageous heat that would have most
of us crying for an ice cream and our A/C on full blast without regard for the
electric bill. But, when you have no idea what A/C is or that is even exists,
then who cares, right? That is life here and ignorance is bliss. Another thing,
could you ever imagine a child of any age waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning on
a Saturday to do physical labor or walk a cow around in the blistering heat for
hours? When I was a teenager I slept comfortably until 10 am in my fluffy duvet
comforter in the middle of the summer with the A/C on high and an extra fan
pointed at me for good measure. God forbid if I still couldn’t sleep well on a
particular night because everyone would know it the next day.
Another thing is kids aren’t afraid to try new things here.
This might have just been me as a kid, but I’m gonna go ahead and generalize it
on the entire population of American youth. In Madagascar it is not crazy to
see a 5-year-old riding on a bike made for an adult. They see people riding
around on bikes and they want to give it a go. Since you don’t need a license
to ride a bike, why not? Training wheels? In Madagascar? Not a chance. These
kids skip right past the Barbie and Hot Wheels bike with the streamers on the
handles and big, sturdy training wheels and head straight for the big boy ride.
I have seen kids spend an entire day on a field trying to figure out how to
mount a bike and pedal even though they can’t reach the seat and the pedals at
the same time (its possible). It doesn’t matter how many times they fall
because each time it seems to get funnier and become less of a reason to cry
and quit. Once they get it there is no stopping them. I think what I’m saying
is that being here I have realized that kids in the states, including myself,
are pampered divas. This is not just because we have training wheels back home,
but for so many other reasons that you really have to see for yourself to
understand.
Speaking of kids in this country, there is no social stigma
attached to older people befriending young kids which takes a hell of a lot of
getting used to coming from our culture. So often you will see people in their
mid-to-late 20s who appear to be best friends with a 10-year-old. In the states
most 18-year-olds wouldn’t be caught dead playing soccer with a person younger
than 10 unless they were in a place where the public eye couldn’t see them and
their reputation wouldn’t take a hit. On the other hand, such a scenario might
be even more of a cause for concern for bystanders if an 18-year-old only wants
to hang out with someone younger than them if they are alone. A lot of times
volunteers will get packages with American food in them (a huge deal and a
great day for any volunteer). Sometimes, these volunteers are good enough to
share (definitely not me) with kids and friends. But could you imagine a person
in the states in their mid-20s luring a child or teen into their house with the
help of food? Yikes. I believe such a thing is illegal in most of the 50
states. Before I start sounding like a pedophile myself, I’m going to stop
talking about kids. The whole point of this blog is to share some of the things
that have surprised me in this country and this is definitely one of them. The
relationships that people have here, despite age differences, blows me away. No
one cares about what others thing. The idea of befriending someone who is older
or younger than you has not been tainted by the social hierarchy or deranged
pedophiles (at least in my village).
So, switching gears…
Library is going well. All the books are inside and sorted.
I still have to label all of them and then organize them on shelves.
Unfortunately, my lycee is responsible for getting all the furniture for the
library, but getting anyone to pay for anything or even to show a little
interest in helping me wrap this project up seems nearly impossible. I may have
mentioned this already, but Peace Corps requires the local community to give
25% participation to each volunteer project. I got some money for the library
from the head of education in my region as well as the equivalent of a
governor, but the lycee pledged a material donation for the furniture in the
library. Unfortunately, I still don’t have it, but I will be sure to post more
pictures when they arrive and the books are stocked. Right now, its just the
same building with books all over the inside.
School is also going well. We are well into our second and longest
trimester of the year. I’m really starting to see a huge difference in these
students’ (particularly the ones that I have now had for almost two years)
ability to speak English. It’s a pretty cool feeling. There are about a handful
of students who come over pretty regularly now just to talk and another bunch
of students who only speak English to me when I see them outside of class.
Seems like this whole Peace Corps thing might actually be working. Who knew?
I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I
represent my region three times per year in the capital for a meeting with the
country’s senior staff. This march will be my third and final meeting as the
VAC representative for the southeast. Before the national meeting, each region
gets together to discuss new Peace Corps policies and changes that we think
should be made. My last regional meeting that I will be in charge of organizing
will be in two weeks in a town called Manombo. I just went there last weekend
to check it out before we all get there (another volunteer also lives there)
and I’m really excited. It’ll be a few days of camping, little to no phone
service and just each other’s company. We always seem to really enjoy these
meetings and I’m thinking this is going to be just as good, if not better.
In regards to the possibility of me extending my service for
another year here in Madagascar. It is still very much a possibility. My
supervisor just gave me approval to look into a job that I proposed so that is
exciting. Right now though it is nothing more than a proposal, but I do enjoy
my work here and I’m not always so sure the grass (and by grass, I mean job
opportunities that you truly love doing and don’t necessarily consider work)
will be greener on the other side of the Atlantic. Then again, I found this
Peace Corps job, right? What’s to say there aren’t hundreds of more jobs that I
would love just like it either back in the states or in another country?
Decisions, decisions. Stay tuned.
One of my friends who really helped me advertise my library
project now has a project of her own right now. She is trying to send a fellow
English teacher to the states for a training. Here’s the website: www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-jemima-present-at-the-international-tesol-conference#&ui-state=dialog Please pass
the word along.
I gave a training to English teachers in my region a few
weeks ago. It focused pretty much on techniques of presenting new material,
different ways to prepare for class, and how to teach to people who
learn/retain information in different ways. Unfortunately, a lot of this was a
little over their heads because none of them are actual teachers (although,
neither am I really). The entire training was in Malagasy because they would
have never understood what I was saying if I spoke English. They simply cannot
speak it. I mean can you imagine an English teacher who doesn’t speak English
or any language teacher who is unable to speak the target language? That would
be like an 800-pound gym teacher holding a taco and telling young students to
run laps. Like hell anyone is going to listen to that dude (actually my gym
teacher in middle school used to chase us around the football field in her car
when we ran the mile. She was a big lady). The English teacher that I work with
at my lycee (who can speak very good English actually) just called it one of
the saddest things she had ever seen.
Until next time.
