Home Sweet Home

Here is a video of my lovely home! It is a very nice (cement!) house. I have 3 rooms and a nice bamboo fence. The front door leads into my office which leads into my bedroom which leads into the kitchen. From the kitchen you can access my shower stall and latrine. The other half of my house is a “grande salle” (big room) which the mayor’s office uses for something, although I'm not sure what exactly. My house is right behind the mayor’s office. And although there aren’t many neighbors close by I feel safe, especially because there is a night guard at the mayor’s office. So I am working on getting settled in slowly but surely.



I live in a nice, rural town. I cannot disclose the name of my town due to Peace Corps rules, sorry! (Something about terrorists, although I don't think Madagascar is a hotbed for them.) Since it is often described as having "a lot of dirt, a lot" I will refer to it as the Dust Bowl. The dirt is actually more like a red clay dust. Anyways, here is some background info: There are fokontanys in Madagascar, villages in English, that are governed by the commune. There are 17 fokontanys in the commune "Dust Bowl" and I live in the commune head, with about 7,000 people. So the structure is like this: fokontany --> commune --> district --> region --> province. One might think that a town of this size might have electricity but such is not the case. I fetch water everyday from a pump that isn’t too far and cook and read by candlelight at night. It’s really not as bad as it sounds. I have established a daily routine which has helped with the transition/settling in. A good part of my day is spent doing things around the house, like fetching water, preparing meals, and sweeping to keep all the critters away. The rest of my day is spent walking around, talking to people, getting to know my community and trying to integrate. Sometimes I go to meetings, like with the local women’s association, or attend programs, like one last week about preventing tuberculosis. Things are finally rolling with a couple projects, which I give details about once things are a little more solid. In the words of my mother, quoting a very well-known song, "it's a slow ride, take it easy." Although nearly 7 months have passed, I still have 20 left to work and accomplish (hopefully) many things.

Need a haircut? The barbershop is open every Wednesday, which is also market day.

My town is home to the second largest cow market in the region. Moo.