Rainforest Adventure

Sorry that it has been so long since I wrote last. I had some crazy hectic weeks of correcting my students’ papers and final exams, and then finally writing their grades on their report cards by hand. With 600 students, that was not an easy task. It took two weeks of straight grading to do and afterwards I had to serve as a test proctor for the practice graduation exam that the “seniors” were taking. These tests bring on major stress to these students, who can’t graduate unless they pass them. The worst part is that most of the teachers don’t test their students on what they have been taught in class, but instead on what is in the national curriculum. The teachers don’t write the national exam question, it’s the same for the entire country, so there could be things on the test that the teacher never taught in class and the students are just out of luck. Two students puked on the first day of the practice test because they were so nervous. In many schools, if you don’t pass the exam the first time, you can repeat the same grade the next year and try the test again. But in my school, it is too competitive of a school, and those students aren’t allowed to study there anymore. They must find a private, more expensive school. The weirdest part is that even though these tests mean so much, the teachers who are assigned to proctor them don’t care at all what the students do during the test. While I was walking up and down isles and watching wandering eyes intently, the other teachers were outside of their classrooms smoking, chatting with other teachers, or talking on their cell phones. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe they do that to give the students a fighting chance and make their chances of passing fairer. I don’t’ know. Anyways… with that done, I am now done with the school year and it’s the beginning of the big vacation!!

The second week of June I went to the Peace Corps training center in Mantasoa for a training of trainers. I was chosen to help train the new education stage that just arrived to country. They will live with a host family for three months in the same town and do language and cross cultural training with Malagasy PC staff, and technical training, which is all about teaching for my sector. In my training group, there were only three people that had any teaching experience, so the other 23 got a 2 month crash course on how to teach. There is also a teaching practicum, where students from the training village come to the local school and take a three week English course that all of the trainees teach. During which, the trainers evaluate and critique their teaching and get feedback on how to improve. I will be involved in this portion of the training schedule, so I will be with the new volunteers for three weeks. It’s exciting to meet all the newbies and feel like an older, more experienced volunteer with knowledge to pass on. In Malagasy, the term for that is “zoky”. I’m already over the mid-service hump because as of July 2 I only have 1 year left in my service! Scary to think I have to cram so much work into that short of time, but yet relieving that I am that much closer to seeing my friends and family!!

After the training I returned to site with my friend, Lisa, who is also a PCV. We packed up all of our outdoorsy stuff that we haven’t had time to use yet, and met up with other PCV’s to head up north of my site to the National Park called Zahamena. It is a rainforest that is protected by the Malagasy government and is mostly untouched by humans except for the tours of mostly scientists and hardcore tourists. So the first day consisted of us taking a taxi brousse up to the town that is closest to the Park, called Antanadava. As we were on our way, the brousse lost the ability to go into 3^rd gear, so we had to turn around and go to a mechanics shop, with all of the passengers still inside. I’m already used to this sort of thing, so I just got out of the vehicle and started my usual diversion of playing with the small children around. I like to teach them the hokey pokey because they love wiggling their body parts and I get to make a dork of myself. Plus, it may make them learn a word of English or two. So, as I was doing that, the car was not able to be fixed and we had to drive to two other shops before finally trading everyone out of the broken car into a new one and heading out on our way, two hours after first leaving the station. Oh, Madagascar ! When we finally made it to the small town, we dropped out huge packs off at the ANGAP office, which is like the national parks association, and wandered into town to find the guide and porters for our trip. We bought lots of dry beans and lots of rice to bring with us, and had to bring in our own water as well, so the stuff was way too heavy for us to carry. I brought a sleeping bag, one change of clothes and a bar of soap. I pack light these days. The town had no place to eat so we asked a woman if she could cook for us if we paid her and she agree. She gave us crazy amounts of rice and beans and rano’mapango (burnt rice water) and we were suddenly in better spirits after the car fiasco of the morning. So, we had to stay overnight in the office and the next morning we headed off to the rainforest with a guide and 6 porters. It was a 15k hike the first day, and all uphill. The first half was walking to the edge of the rainforest and we stopped to eat lunch at a small house in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty funny that our “hiking path” was also used by people who were just going about their daily chores of bring things to the town we had left to sell or buy things. They walk that everyday! It drizzled that whole morning and we had to cross a few streams that left a few volunteers with wet feet. Then, we finally got into the forest and started our ascension to the top of the hills. It was beautiful, but I hardly noticed because of the 600 or so steps we had to climb. The steps were just trail steps built with logs and dirt. We were all sucking wind by the end of the day. We finally came to our “camp” for the nite and set up the tents and tried to dry all of our stuff out in the campfire. I ended up burning my hiking boots a little, whoops. But, they dried! I totally have to thank Sunny, Doug, Becca, Tina and Steph for all the high tech gear you bought me before I came here. The Smart wool socks were AMAZING and kept my feet dry and the hiking boots were so comfortable! My rain jacket and North face pants also worked wonders and I remained dry and happy for most of the hike. After getting into the forest we were the only humans we saw for the next three days. We hiked 50k in total and saw a male and female lemur and many birds. During most of the hike the guide carried machete and had to cut our path for us because no one had visited the forest since the last cyclone and we had to be rerouted a few times because trees were down and land was washed away. We had to cross rivers and streams with no bridges or a single log as a bridge. It was really fun! A few PCVs fell in, but I am happy to say that I remained dry. The second day we came upon a huge waterfall and just stood under it for a good half hour in silent awe of its beauty. Don’t worry, I took pics. The last day was the hiked out of the forest and back to the town, where we tried to wash off some of the filth that had accumulated as well as mend the wounds on our feet. But, it was an awesome experience!

That next week, I took Lisa up to the bungalows that allow you to go on the lake in a canoe and I once again saw the Bandro lemur that lives on the reeds above the lake. We saw so many this time and I got a lot of pics. The ride up to the bungalows consisted of Lisa taking a bicycle taxi and me riding a bike, serving as the taxi for Kateri, who road on the back! It was a funny site to the people we passed because normally vazaha ride in cars, but PCVs can’t afford that so we improvise in any way we can.

The next week was the Independence Day celebration for Madagascar . The night before, all of the children go out with paper lamps and candles in it and parade around town and there are people with cheap fireworks and music as well. The town was supposed to have fireworks as well, but they arrived the morning after they were scheduled to go off and everyone who had gathered to watch them went home thinking they had missed them. Only in Madagascar can the fireworks arrive late for the Independence Day celebration. The next day, Lisa and I went to a concert of Melky and Firmin, who have popular music on the radio. It was fun and I took video of one of their songs so you can all view when I get home. Then, Lisa and I headed off to the capital, where I am now. On Saturday we attended the swanky wedding of my boss’s son. This wedding was nicer than my wedding ever will be. It was no normal Malagasy wedding. The Minister of Justice was there and many other heads of the country. The food (not just rice) was plentiful and the cake had giant sparklers on it! They even had a local music star sing during the reception! It was a lot of fun to dance with Peace Corps staff and other volunteers. This week I have been chilling in Tana waiting for Monday when I begin the three week stint of training the newbies. I’m excited to meet them and share my experiences with them.