almost moved in

Just a quick note about how things are going.

I'm meeting other volunteers and very excited to know them. Everyone is doing wonderful work. My friend Mary lives in a national park filled with lemurs and is helping to promote tourism there. Shawn is living in a fishing village and helping people grow papaya trees and is trying to get them to stop killing the giant sea tortoises who live there and who are, apparently, delicious.

I'm not teaching yet, but I'm getting installed in a town called Maevatanana, in the Mahajunga region. It's a crazy, frenetic place and very HOT. I'm pretty intimidated at the moment, but I hope once I get settled in things will stop seeming so insane.

My site partner is Mary Louise, she's in health and works at the local hospital called the CSB. We only spoke briefly but I should see her again on Monday so I hope to have a better conversation with her.

Not much else, just tons of shopping the hot sun. If anyone is considering moving here I reccomend you live as simply as possible, buying anything big is such a hassle.

I love letters! If you want to write me my address is:

Lindsay Redifer
CEG Benoit Bevava
Maevatanana 412
Madagascar
Par Avion France

no camera, no justice

Well, my camera was taken from me and it absolutely kills me. I loved that camera! I shopped around for weeks before I bought it. Sheesh. I'm now the only one in my group of volunteers sans camera. Hopefully my fellow ex-pats will send me some pictures I can post.

I'm sworn in! I'm a volunteer and no longer a trainee. I'm in the process of getting installed and it feels great. No more host family, no more of my host-mom's awful cooking and no more plateau. I definitely prefer the provinces of Mcar to the central region.

I'm burning money in an internet cafe so I have to keep this short. I hope everyone is well.

back in the plateau for a while

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Uploading photos has been more of problem than I expected, but that's how it goes in Mcar. You make plans and then... well, anyhow.

For now I'm finishing up training. The big news at the moment is my friend Colin left. He decided PC wasn't for him. I'm pretty bummed about it, but I don't think someone who doesn't want to be here should be here. However, we both cried a lot the day he left. I wrote him a really sad letter the next day and part of me is dreading the moment he reads it. Too late now.

Today my training group went to Antananarivo, the Capital of Mcar, to talk with university students studying English. It was great. They had wonderful questions for us and wanted everyone's e-mail address. Going to university is a big deal here, so we felt pretty honored to be invited.

Not much else is going on. Lots of language training and some last-minute technical poop, but that's all. Swearing-in is inching closer and closer.

I will do my best to get pics up. I know everyone wants to see some. Or, I think you do.

The Sacred Place

Okay, many adventures, one evening of internet access, no dinner...

So, myself, my friend and fellow volunteer Colin, two German girls and one Columbian guy ended up hanging in the coastal city Majunga. Majunga is where I'll do all of my banking and PC business so I went to check it out with Colin. Colin is the man of many languages, so he made international friends in one afternoon.

All of us decided to go and see the Sacred Lake listed in the Lonely Planet guide. We found a taxi driver to take us and settled the fair. We drove and drove and drove over non-existent roads and horrible bridges and had to stop for directions ten times and then...

It was a pond. A tiny, hole-in-the-ground pond. We all had a moment of shock when we got out of the car. Here were two trees with red and white ribbons, two old guys sitting in the shade and a pond.

Not to be outdone, we decided to make the most of it. We talked to old guys and found out that twice a week there is a big religious ceremony at the lake/pond. Apparently the fish inside the pond are the reincarnations of the royal ancestors who are now tilapia. The locals go there to pray and sing and be blessed and be reminded of where they come from.

I have to stop with that story. I'll wrap up by saying that we hung out, ate some green mangoes and talked with the old guys. By the time we left we all agreed that it was a very pleasant adventure.