I'm down with Mada and the mud

Welcome! We left off with me arriving in Madagascar, but not yet at my “site”, for lack of a better word. So I have been at site for 4 days now! I LOVE it! The house that I will be living in is not ready yet, there are 2 volunteers that are living there at the moment since Honko is building a new volunteer cabin. Once that is finished (this upcoming week), I will be moving into my new place. There is a women that cooks our food Monday to Friday, and we cook our own food during the weekend.

Right now there are 4 volunteers here. One is doing a nutrition study in the villages we work with and 3 are doing the mangrove monitoring project. They are from all over, France, America, Germany and Belgium. I went to the mangroves with them yesterday and man was it hard!!!! The thing with mangroves is that the water in them flows with the tides, so depending on what time of day you go, it can look like a completely different place. To do the work, we have to go during low tide, this also means that there is a TON of mud that you have to walk through…a good way to keep those legs in shape. There are times where you sink down to your thighs, and have to get help getting you out! My problem was that I went barefoot and ended up cutting my feet with the roots….Ow! It is very hard work out there and I have a lot of respect for the volunteers that are here doing it.

The food so far has been good; lots of rice and beans. Their sauces are great, thank you France, and so are the pastry’s! It is very beautiful here, dry with plenty of wind, which makes it feel not quite so hot. Since I have been here 4 days, I of course already have sunburns on multiple parts of my body….stupid white skin and strong sun. I have adopted a dog….even though we don’t really need another one, but she is pregnant and I can’t say no to a dog. Her name is Mama and the baby daddy’s name is Dog. There is also another dog named BB who comes and goes, and a lazy cat named Sally, even though she’s a he.

My house is not yet ready, so i am living in a different house. The houses in the villages are made with reads, both the roofs and walls are made of this. My house will is on stilts and made from small plant wood. It is at the edge of the mangrove and  has an amazing view (pictures to come soon when it is finished.)

The hardest part of life here is not comparing EVERYTHING to Ghana! It is hard to stop and just appreciate what is in front of me and not make comparisons. My French and Malagasy are coming along, I know it will take time, so I will be patient. Over all life here is going to be great! I am enjoying myself and feel very comfortable here. Till next time and Merci!