Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa...then the US

I find it humorous that on my flight home to the US, that I watched a cartoon titled: "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" because that is in essence what I did!

I spent about a week in a very lovely hotel in Joberg, South Africa going through the process of closing my service with my fellow Mada volunteers. I don't want to dwell in this place, just note that it was an overall enjoyable last few days with my many good friends of paperwork, writing, sitting in lines, doctors exams, contemplations, french fries, wine, beer, more french fries, more contemplations, etc. I officially closed my service with Peace Corps Madagascar on March 20th, found out that Direct Transfer was not in my future, and decided I was not in the mindset to begin a travel expedition of Africa, Asia, Europe, etc, as many fellow volunteers did. Instead, I opted for the free ticket home that PC arranged for me including my transport to the airport and a little per diem money too.

And so here I am. I am officially a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with all of it's rights and privileges and I have decided that my taste of volunteer life in Mada was not enough. After about 2 months being home, I am on my way to ECUADOR! I will be working in Youth Development and couldn't be more excited. :D

My time away from PC service has not all been in vain. I have spent some good time at home with my family, including my giant cats! I have visited my dear best friends from Seattle all the way down to Phoenix, and it was all lovely. :D It also has given me some time to process what happened to me in Madagascar - what I saw, what I learned, who I have become. You can't live for 10 months in a place so different from where you are from, a place that you can't even begin to find the words to explain it to someone who has never been, and not be changed. Madagascar is Madagaskara. That is the only way I can explain it. It is unlike any place I have ever seen, smelled, and experienced, and I don't believe that anything will ever quite compare to it again. Nor can I explain it with the justice it deserves in words or pictures. It just is - it is a place that I will take with me forever.

The things I did in Madagaskara are amazing:

I learned a spoken, repeated sound language in a few months!
I became a teacher.
I lived alone and adapted in a new place.
I made friends.
I ate mangoes from a tree in my backyard.
I picked litchis and ate them directly.
I navigated public transportation in a new place with limited language and knowledge.
I learned to carry water in buckets on my head!
I shopped at an open air market daily.
I survived with no refrigeration!
I bathed daily with a single bucket of water and it was the highlight of my evening!
I lived quite well and comfortably on $170 USD a month!
I swam in the Mozambique Channel and the Indian Ocean.
I ate from communal dishes served on the floor.
I gained an awesome sense of patience.
I can occupy myself for days on end...
I learned that life in the developing world is beautiful and simple, challenging but manageable.

(I will keep adding to this list...this is just what comes off the top of my head at the moment!)


I hate to be cliche and end my blog this way, but I feel the lyrics of this song appropriately convey a lot of my emotion in processing my experience in Madagaskara.

3x5 by John Mayer

I'm writing you to
Catch you up on places I've been
And you have this letter
You probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it
When I'm in the mood to lose my way with words

Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy cliche'
And its strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
Are next to mountains anyway

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when
I'm in the mood to lose my way
But let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
It brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
No more 3x5's

Guess you had to be there
Guess you had to be with me

Today I finally overcame
Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to
Lose my way but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
It brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
No more 3x5's
Just no more 3x5's


I hope that those of you who followed me in my trials and tribulations, my joys, sorrows and frustrations on this blog realize the magnitude of this experience for me. I didn't know how much I loved Madagascar until I left it. On days, and sometimes weeks, it was hard to sort through the good and bad and see that where I was, what I was doing, and what I was learning was exactly what I needed. I have grown so much as an individual, as a human, as a teacher, and as a development worker in the 10 short months I spent in Madagascar. Not a moment was wasted. And every memory brings a smile to my face and some warmth to my heart. I thank the Peace Corps staff in Madagascar for all of the hard work and support they lent to all of us; for so warmly welcoming us and honestly sharing their lives with us volunteers, so that we could be as successful as possible in our service. What an amazing gift they all gave us. I wish I could thank all the kind of people of my community who welcomed me into their homes and lives. I will remember their faces forever and cherish their friendships even longer.

...with that said, here are some links to my facebook albums of photos from Madagascar, Mazatoa! (enjoy!)

Photos from Training:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029244&id=27500865&l=faf9f00dbf

Photos from Training and Installation at site:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037873&id=27500865&l=d9bc711792

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038851&id=27500865&l=61adb30dba

Photos from my Service and Town:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039072&id=27500865&l=97f59ac215

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039078&id=27500865&l=b8709d2952

Photos from my winter break with my friend Laila at her site:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039518&id=27500865&l=30586863d3