Aug 19
cheers to the end of training... its been creeping up on us slowly. We've moved out of our homestay families and out of the horrible boring village of alarobia from which we've been eager to escape. This friday we had a 'community goodbye lunch' before leaving for a relaxing day at mantasoa. It was incredibly awkward, especially when they announced that the families were free to take any leftovers... it was like a stampede of people stuffing cookies and chunks of meat into napkins. My family took more meat than they'd eaten in the entire time i lived with them (though that's not saying much). To summarize, we wanted to get the shit out of there. We were swept off to Lake Mantasoa, which was much more fun this time as i did not spend the entire time on the toilet (to put it mildly). (Speaking of which, my amoeba has vacated the premises.) Our night at Mantasoa was wonderful. There was a lunar eclipse and we were in perfect viewing conditions. We had a bonfire and enjoyed rounds of THB while taking in the views of the eclipse reflecting on the waters of the lake (actually, many of us were a bit too intoxicated to really appreciate the full splendor...). Sunday we were pleased (but slightly startled) to find ourselves with no schedule for the entire day. Of course my drinking buddy and i seized the day! This morning we woke up 'bright' and early to come to Tana (yay!) They carted us around for while on awkward visits to places like the American Cultural Center and the teachers college. We got to talk to some students. It was really great to interact with young Malagasy people in English. They are very eager to practice English and make American friends so it was very encouraging.
Now we've got some down time in Tana (yay!). Let me take a moment to get a little sappy... I know this sounds generic, but I've made some great friends in the last 10 weeks. Most of my friends at home have been my friends for years... in fact, upon reflecting on the matter, i realized that my 'newest' friend is probably Andrew, which seems crazy since we've been friends for... dare i say it... five years now. Anyway, my point is, it's been a really long time since I've made new friends (for whatever reason). Even though we've only known each other for 10 weeks, I feel like I've really connected with a lot of people and we've shared so much of ourselves in such a short time. We're already scrambling to make plans to meet up again as soon as possible. We've been so stuck together it's going to be weird to start my life in Madagascar without them. I'm used to experiencing this culture alongside these crazy Americans, it's going to be scary to start to do things alone. (scary but exciting...). I feel like I know myself better now just because how I understand myself to be perceived by new people. It's amazing how well they know me, even the things about me i thought i was doing a good job hiding. (One girl calls me Sunshine- because she knows how hard I try to be mean but always have a smile on my face while doing it). I love all the new friends I have, and love that they are so different from my friends at home. If it weren't for the Peace Corps and our happenstance of being placed in the same country at the same time, I would have never met these amazing people. They are truly wonderful people, and I hope their good qualities have and will continue to rub off on me. Ok, enough gooey talk...
Aug 22
So, today was swear in... it was actually very anticlimactic... It was at the American ambassadors house, which was very fancy. We had to drive 2 hours back to Tana from Lake Mantasoa on a really shitty road. We still aren't sure why they had us go all the way to mantasoa and back to Tana... especially since we had to get up around 5:30 to get there on time. We're going to be tired tonight. now we're sitting around waiting to go out. It's Ronda's birthday (birthday shout out... woo!!!) so we're going to have a good time. It's our last night together as a group before spreading out all over the island.
The last few days were... pointless... it's like they were just drawing training out longer than needed. We had a basketball game and volleyball game... obviously i wasn't too eager to participate and questioned how exactly it was relevant to teaching English. Then we had 'Olympics,' which I again questioned in bitch sessions with the other cynics while the competitive people battled it out for our amusement :)
Last night we had a party with the training staff. They did a performance where they did impressions of us. It was hilarious because they were so accurate. It was funny because we didn't know that's what they were doing, and we did a performance where we did impressions of them. There was much laughter.
Aug 23
I went to my counterparts wedding with the girl i'm replacing. It was my second wedding ever. It was an interesting experience, but the most interesting part was being able to ask lots of questions about my site from the girl who i'm replacing. It was insanely informative. I don't have much to say about the wedding, except that it was very normal. But Malagasy men can be very aggressive. Our cultural training emphasized that the Malagasy people are very indirect; i have found this to be very false. When a guy would ask Amy and I to dance I tried to say that i didn't know how to do the dance, or i was too tired, and they kept trying. Take a hint; isn't that supposed to be indirect communication? Instead it seems like you have to say something like “listen, i just don't want to...” which seems rude and not indirect to me... i don't understand.
I'm moving to my site tomorrow... speaking of my site... here's my new address:
Dorothy Mayne PCV
B.P. 3
Anjozorobe 107
Madagascar, Africa
I know it seems like a fake address, especially when you compare the length to the old one. You can send letters and padded envelope packages there, but if you send a box (not that i expect you to or that you should) send it to the old address.
I know it sounds really clique, but that last week has been a blur (which is probably accurately represented by the discombobulated style of this blog entry. i might add more elaborate descriptions of these events later, but right now i don't want to waste time typing on a computer when i could be having fun with my friends on our last night before I move to anjozorobe... sigh...) I feel like i've done so much i can't begin to explain everything (I'm actually physically sore and my dogs is barking fo sho). I haven't been writing any mail at all, but i will be writing a lot soon (A LOT) when the loneliness of living alone at site sets in...
oh, and this just in... my town doesn't have electricity anymore... it's “being fixed” but who knows what that means... so if i stop answering my phone or sending texts, it's because my phone is dead and i haven't yet found a way to charge it... but as life keeps reaffirming, where there's a will there's a way.
On a final note... tonight was one of the best in Madagascar... I went with a few people (obviously Ronda and Evan, Lauren, Sarah, Brian, Megan, and Michelle and Jordan for good measure) to this hotely a few k from where we stay here... they had beer, pizza, and karaoke... comeon, what more could you ask for? the song list was crazy... we got hype for If You Wanna be my Lover by the Spice Girls and some good Bob Marley and Queen... good times, really. Now i will go enjoy my last ice cream for who knows how long and the good company of my favorite vazahs for a few weeks/months (ill see some of them as soon as the first weekend of october, yay)
oh, and i gotta say mad props to Kinsey for helping me with my mattress :)
and super mad props to Sosous (sp?)
Keep sending mail!! i'm not sure how long it will be before I'm on the internet again... maybe 3-4 weeks?
Wish me luck at site... here goes life as a "real" volunteer (even though school doesn't start for another month...)
wow, can i stop adding stuff... time for ice cream...
oh, and here's a link to an NGO in my town I'll be working with...
http://www.fanamby.org.mg/en/anjozorobe.htm
ok... one LAST thing... if you go to my older posts (particularly the first) there are comments from other people in my group from which you can access their blogs... some of them have pictures and more detailed accounts of the events of this week... and they're my friends :)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
a few pictures
me enjoying the first meal i cooked for myself at my house during site visit
This is my house in Anjozorobe... yay!
this is the view from my room at my host family's house in Alarobia, where, as of friday, i will never have to return!a text blog is coming soon, but i wanted to try and throw some pictures up here...
i know these couple of photos are just a tease, but if you knew how long it took to upload them you'd be proud of my patience for posting these few...Sunday, August 3, 2008
Post Site Visit Report
greetings from Tana, again... I love Tana.
I'm freshly returned from site visit (well i've had some ice cream and a few beers since then, but you know...) and decided to leave a sweet party and be antisocial so i can use the internet. There are only 2 computers for 24 internet starved americans... the line can get a bit nasty, so i wanted to take advantage of the computer while everyone else is playing and having a good time.
I just got back from a party at Colby's, the PC Madagascar Administrative officer, house. It was amazing... I hadn't seen wine since I've been here! There was a buffet of wonderful American food (Tortia chips, yay) and a lot of interesting people. The party was for someone at the American Embassy (I didn't ask questions, it was a party with food and drinks) so there were a bunch of fancy Americans who had a lot of crazy interesting stories. There was also another education volunteer who lived in Dayton for 6 years and worked for the DDN. We had a nice chat about places in Dayton; it was fun to talk to someone who had context to understand jokes about Xenia ave. Colby's house is probably the nicest house I've ever been in anywhere ever... the Peace Corps is loaded or something...
Anyway, you're probably interested in my site or something, right? It was a 2 hour taxi brousse ride from Tana, via a paved road the entire way. My house is in the school and had a lot of Peace Corps charm! It's much nicer than any dwelling I could have envisioned for myself when imaging my life in the Peace Corps. Three cheers for sinks and stoves! I was at my site for 4 nights... I had a lot of much needed alone time, and actually barely left my house (of my own accord). I read a few books and cooked myself food, which made me feel more human and independent than I've been for the last 2 months... My site is a large village up in the mountains on the threshold of the rainforest. The variety of flora there is amazing. I didn't see any interesting critters except the animals that live in the street (dogs, cats, chicken, turkeys, pigs, cows). The pig market is right down the hill from me, so on pig market day i was serenaded by constant pig slaughter fun... The children in my village were very welcoming and were eager to say the few English phrases they know to the new white lady. My qualms with Malagasy men were only further insighted by the men I met; I plan to spend my time here in the company of women and children. My counterpart (our 'go-to' person at our sites, usually another teacher) is wonderful and very welcoming. She's only 20 and has been teaching English for a year. Her mother is an English teacher too, and they welcomed me into their family with open arms. ("you have problem, you come here. I am your Malagasy mom.") I did have some issues with Malagasy though... people kept talking to me and I had no clue what they were saying... I hope it wasn't important. A woman knocked on my door and spoke to me for about 10 minutes before I could cut in to say that I had no idea what she was saying, but she continued for a long while... it was so awkward, but I'm getting used to being in a constant state of awkwardness. Today I broussed back to Tana by myself. I was the first one to the Taxi brousse so they put me up front next to the driver where 3 people can fit. As the brousse filled, no one moved up to sit with me. The row behind me literally had a pile of children and about 5 adults, everyone was completely jammed in, but still no one moved to the front with me. I said to the children "Afaka mipetraka eto ianao" (you can sit here), but they stared at my like I was a monster. I felt really awkward and bad that they were so uncomfortable and I had tons of room... Life of a vazah, I suppose. I feel awkward about the unearned privledges I get here. We are respected for being white. The racial divide is palpable.
What else? We're in Tana until Tuesday, and then we had back to Alarobia for 2 weeks. After that we float around for a while in Tana and other places finishing some business. We swear in on August 22nd. My counterpart is getting married on the 23rd, so I'll be going to her wedding in Tana, and then moving to site on the 24th. I'm excited to renew my independence, but will be sad to lose the company of the good friends I've made during training.
Today I went with some people to downtown Tana to seek out food and beverages. We went to an ice cream shop, outside of which there were several begging children. It's a strange feeling to pass starving children to spend more money than they'll have in a week or even month on ice cream while they sit outside. I feel guilty for partaking in luxury when there are so many around me with so little. It's humbling and sobering. I don't have an uplifting comment to add...
Oh, a fellow trainee posted a comment on my last post. From his comment you can click on his name and go to his blog where he's posted a few pictures. Other people have posted pictures on facebook, if you care to dig, you might be able to access some of their profiles. I'm sending a memory card with pictures home, so my pictures might be enjoyed by some soon :)
I still don't have a new address, but keep sending mail to the old one; i'll get it. Thanks to everyone who has sent me letters and packages, though I know I haven't gotten them all yet (they haven't given us our mail for almost 2 weeks!! another mail riot is on the horizon!). Sorry about the temporary lull in my correspondence due to being busy with practicum ('student teaching' during training... zzz) but there's lots of fun stuff on the way!!
Until next time!
I'm freshly returned from site visit (well i've had some ice cream and a few beers since then, but you know...) and decided to leave a sweet party and be antisocial so i can use the internet. There are only 2 computers for 24 internet starved americans... the line can get a bit nasty, so i wanted to take advantage of the computer while everyone else is playing and having a good time.
I just got back from a party at Colby's, the PC Madagascar Administrative officer, house. It was amazing... I hadn't seen wine since I've been here! There was a buffet of wonderful American food (Tortia chips, yay) and a lot of interesting people. The party was for someone at the American Embassy (I didn't ask questions, it was a party with food and drinks) so there were a bunch of fancy Americans who had a lot of crazy interesting stories. There was also another education volunteer who lived in Dayton for 6 years and worked for the DDN. We had a nice chat about places in Dayton; it was fun to talk to someone who had context to understand jokes about Xenia ave. Colby's house is probably the nicest house I've ever been in anywhere ever... the Peace Corps is loaded or something...
Anyway, you're probably interested in my site or something, right? It was a 2 hour taxi brousse ride from Tana, via a paved road the entire way. My house is in the school and had a lot of Peace Corps charm! It's much nicer than any dwelling I could have envisioned for myself when imaging my life in the Peace Corps. Three cheers for sinks and stoves! I was at my site for 4 nights... I had a lot of much needed alone time, and actually barely left my house (of my own accord). I read a few books and cooked myself food, which made me feel more human and independent than I've been for the last 2 months... My site is a large village up in the mountains on the threshold of the rainforest. The variety of flora there is amazing. I didn't see any interesting critters except the animals that live in the street (dogs, cats, chicken, turkeys, pigs, cows). The pig market is right down the hill from me, so on pig market day i was serenaded by constant pig slaughter fun... The children in my village were very welcoming and were eager to say the few English phrases they know to the new white lady. My qualms with Malagasy men were only further insighted by the men I met; I plan to spend my time here in the company of women and children. My counterpart (our 'go-to' person at our sites, usually another teacher) is wonderful and very welcoming. She's only 20 and has been teaching English for a year. Her mother is an English teacher too, and they welcomed me into their family with open arms. ("you have problem, you come here. I am your Malagasy mom.") I did have some issues with Malagasy though... people kept talking to me and I had no clue what they were saying... I hope it wasn't important. A woman knocked on my door and spoke to me for about 10 minutes before I could cut in to say that I had no idea what she was saying, but she continued for a long while... it was so awkward, but I'm getting used to being in a constant state of awkwardness. Today I broussed back to Tana by myself. I was the first one to the Taxi brousse so they put me up front next to the driver where 3 people can fit. As the brousse filled, no one moved up to sit with me. The row behind me literally had a pile of children and about 5 adults, everyone was completely jammed in, but still no one moved to the front with me. I said to the children "Afaka mipetraka eto ianao" (you can sit here), but they stared at my like I was a monster. I felt really awkward and bad that they were so uncomfortable and I had tons of room... Life of a vazah, I suppose. I feel awkward about the unearned privledges I get here. We are respected for being white. The racial divide is palpable.
What else? We're in Tana until Tuesday, and then we had back to Alarobia for 2 weeks. After that we float around for a while in Tana and other places finishing some business. We swear in on August 22nd. My counterpart is getting married on the 23rd, so I'll be going to her wedding in Tana, and then moving to site on the 24th. I'm excited to renew my independence, but will be sad to lose the company of the good friends I've made during training.
Today I went with some people to downtown Tana to seek out food and beverages. We went to an ice cream shop, outside of which there were several begging children. It's a strange feeling to pass starving children to spend more money than they'll have in a week or even month on ice cream while they sit outside. I feel guilty for partaking in luxury when there are so many around me with so little. It's humbling and sobering. I don't have an uplifting comment to add...
Oh, a fellow trainee posted a comment on my last post. From his comment you can click on his name and go to his blog where he's posted a few pictures. Other people have posted pictures on facebook, if you care to dig, you might be able to access some of their profiles. I'm sending a memory card with pictures home, so my pictures might be enjoyed by some soon :)
I still don't have a new address, but keep sending mail to the old one; i'll get it. Thanks to everyone who has sent me letters and packages, though I know I haven't gotten them all yet (they haven't given us our mail for almost 2 weeks!! another mail riot is on the horizon!). Sorry about the temporary lull in my correspondence due to being busy with practicum ('student teaching' during training... zzz) but there's lots of fun stuff on the way!!
Until next time!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Mom has access to Dorothy's blog
I (Mom/Kati)did some internet research about phoning Madagascar yesterday. If you're calling with a cell phone, go to your carrier's website to look for rates for overseas (uber expensive...but worth it.) There's a free download called skype at www.skype.com This program allows you to use your computer to call Dorothy for a tiny fraction of your cell phone rates (at least it was that way for mine.) Check it out. I'm going to radioshack today to buy a little headset thingy since my computer isn't equipped with the telephone stuff.
Madagascar is 7 hours later than here...Our 10 a.m. is her 5 p.m.
Meanwhile...keep sending her letters nonstop. It's easy. You write and/or draw. Put it in an envelope and attach 94 cents worth of postage. The post office has 94 cent stamps. Go buy ten of them. Write "Par Avion" and "Air Mail" on the envelopes for "express delivery" Also remember on the return address to write "U.S.A." Maybe the rest of the world knows as much about Ohio as we did about Madagascar...except Ohio hasn't had a Disney movie...so I doubt it.
Madagascar is 7 hours later than here...Our 10 a.m. is her 5 p.m.
Meanwhile...keep sending her letters nonstop. It's easy. You write and/or draw. Put it in an envelope and attach 94 cents worth of postage. The post office has 94 cent stamps. Go buy ten of them. Write "Par Avion" and "Air Mail" on the envelopes for "express delivery" Also remember on the return address to write "U.S.A." Maybe the rest of the world knows as much about Ohio as we did about Madagascar...except Ohio hasn't had a Disney movie...so I doubt it.
i love tana
they released us from the grips of alarobia for the weekend and unleashed us upon the capital to wreck havoc... also known as go to internet cafes, buy cell phones, eat overpriced american food, and drink beer. it was much needed... i can't believe i've only been gone a few weeks... it feels a lot more like months... there's a lot to say, and im watching the counter go down on my internet time. This is not a proper post, and you can expect future posts to be more interesting and less rushed, but now i was more interested in assuring people i am alive and in madagascar.
training is pretty boring if youve ever taken one class on teaching, but it's a valuable cultural experience... living with a host family can be exhausting, but they are all so nice and understanding. Malagasy is an interesting language... i might get a hang of it one of these days...
i have a cell phone... the number is country code 261 - 0325859863... you may or may not need to dail the first 0... i don't know... sorry in advance for any confusion!
i feel ilke i have too many stories to tell and things to mention that i don't know where to start...
I am very happy with my site. i have an awesome house with a kitchen, bathroom with a toilet and shower. my house is in the school so its very safe... there are lemurs close by! i will only be a few hours from the capital, which in my opinion, is a huge bonus.
the training village is so beautiful, and so is all of madagascar that i've seen so far.
i will have pictutres up soon i hope... i won't be on the internet again until late july when i go on my site visit, and i hope to have time to post pictures of my site and the training village...
you know how i am with countdowns, so you know im excited that there are just 47 more days of training! yay!
send me mail!
training is pretty boring if youve ever taken one class on teaching, but it's a valuable cultural experience... living with a host family can be exhausting, but they are all so nice and understanding. Malagasy is an interesting language... i might get a hang of it one of these days...
i have a cell phone... the number is country code 261 - 0325859863... you may or may not need to dail the first 0... i don't know... sorry in advance for any confusion!
i feel ilke i have too many stories to tell and things to mention that i don't know where to start...
I am very happy with my site. i have an awesome house with a kitchen, bathroom with a toilet and shower. my house is in the school so its very safe... there are lemurs close by! i will only be a few hours from the capital, which in my opinion, is a huge bonus.
the training village is so beautiful, and so is all of madagascar that i've seen so far.
i will have pictutres up soon i hope... i won't be on the internet again until late july when i go on my site visit, and i hope to have time to post pictures of my site and the training village...
you know how i am with countdowns, so you know im excited that there are just 47 more days of training! yay!
send me mail!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
group photo attempt
that's us... pretty white, i know... we're all in our "meet ministry officials" clothes, so this might not be exactly what you're expecting a group of peace corps volunteers to look like.
joburg air port! last blog for a while!
I'm writing now from the air port in South Africa (that's right, south africa!)... Our 17 hour flight wasn't bad at all. There were on demand movies. I watched Juno and some cartoons. I was able to sleep much better than i thought i would (but i'm sure that utter and complete exhaustion helped with that.) When we arrived in SA there was some confusion as to what hotel we were staying in and how to get there (and some shady people wanting to “help” for tips.) (Even though I don't have a lot of travel experience, I do have common sense, so it was easy it tell what is legit and what isn't.)
Everyone in my group is really great. There are 26 of us from all over the country. I'm one of the least traveled, and I think I am one of two who haven't studied abroad. I can certainly see the difference in our economic levels... I can easily tell that I am of more humble means than others (that's an observation and not a complaint, by the way), but, hey, we're going to a 3rd world country and I'm already used to living without luxuries they've probably enjoyed all their lives (i.e air conditioning, fancy toiletry products, general fancy things that i don't even know about.) In terms of preparation for Peace Corps life style, I think I'm ahead, even if I don't have as much fancy equipment to help me along the way. We're supposed to be immersed in the Malagasy lifestyle, so I know I will be able to do that on a very genuine level. Who knew being from the East side of Dayton would leave me better prepared for Peace Corps service... I think I brought the least amount of 'stuff'... I don't know if other people have started to form 'cliques' yet... I know I'm not in one (for better or worse, right?)... I've had dinner with different people every night so far. I think I'm just going to go with the flow socially... well, that's what i always do (ha, for better or worse, right?)
We will arrive in Madagascar on Thursday and stay in the capitol for shots and information. i will be with my host family on Friday night (yay and yikes at the same time!). I wont have access to phone or internet until late August. I might find a chance to update this between then and now, but if i find myself able to use the internet, I will probably use my limited time to send a few emails instead!
(actually, i will be likely to use myspace messages over email because a lot of emails accounts dump emails from Africa into the spam box... I have a rich uncle who left me all his money, all i need is 3,000 american dollars and your bank informations...) I will find out about my site for the next 2 years, including where ill be living and electricity, etc) in about a month. I will most likely be sharing that information via snail mail, tough.
The hotel we're at is very fancy. It seems almost cruel to put us up here right before shipping us off to pit toilets and bucket showers. I will be sure to take a long shower in the morning. It's so fancy that I had an 'uh oh' moment when it came to which fork to use at dinner... ha ha...
I really don't know what to expect out of the next week, let alone next ten weeks of training, but I am eager and excited to figure it all out and share it with everyone!
My luggage has not been stolen or lost yet... yay... knock on some wood...
I will finish training and swear in as an official volunteer on August 22nd...
I can't think of any other relevant information I should pass along while I still have the chance.
I'm writing this in my hotel room on wednesday night, and will hopefully get to post it via wifi tomorrow at the airport while waiting to go to Mcar. (well, i suppose that if you're reading this, then i was successful.) I want to put up some group pictures, too, so you can see who i'm spending my time with... we'll see!
In South Africa
Greetings from South Africa!
We all made it here safely with all of our belongings... we are flying to Madagascar today at 3.
I just took my last hot awesome shower for the next ??? days/weeks/months... ha ha... and had my last glass of good wine...
If i have more time at the airport later I will upload the blog I wrote on my computer... but if not, check out the links to other blogs that's on the side... some of them are people from my group and some even have pictures...
I miss everyone, but I'm having a lot of fun.
As far as candy :)... I do enjoy most, so almost anything is a safe bet... but some ideas include: laffy taffy, sprees, skittles, starburst, reeses pieces, m&ms (peanut better is the best!)... but really anything will be great! Thanks!!
We all made it here safely with all of our belongings... we are flying to Madagascar today at 3.
I just took my last hot awesome shower for the next ??? days/weeks/months... ha ha... and had my last glass of good wine...
If i have more time at the airport later I will upload the blog I wrote on my computer... but if not, check out the links to other blogs that's on the side... some of them are people from my group and some even have pictures...
I miss everyone, but I'm having a lot of fun.
As far as candy :)... I do enjoy most, so almost anything is a safe bet... but some ideas include: laffy taffy, sprees, skittles, starburst, reeses pieces, m&ms (peanut better is the best!)... but really anything will be great! Thanks!!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
a certain peter paul and mary song comes to mind...
Ok... I had plans to write a thoughtful and careful departure post... but... hey, i ran out of time... there's a lot to do... cut me some slack.
Here's the important part: my address
Dorothy Mayne, PCV
Bureau du Corps de la Paix
B.P. 12091
Post Zoom Ankorondrano
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
This is my address until August. I will have a new one in a few weeks, but anything you send to that address will be forwarded.
Send me stuff. Please. I like stuff. Especially candy.
Also, if you want to just send me a letter (I hear it costs about 90 cents) and are too lazy to go to the post office, you can send it to my mom and she will forward it to me.
Dorothy Mayne
2430 Periwinkle Dr
Bellbrook, OH 45305
Please send me mail.
Please.
I'm heading out tomorrow morning. I should be able to make another one of these posts before I leave since I'll likely have WiFi in the hotel where we are staying for Staging in Philadelphia until Tuesday.
A note on sending mail:
Padded envelopes are the best. I sent myself a one pound package in one (1lbs was a lot more stuff than I thought. I sent myself a shirt and some candy and some plastic toys... just like you should do). It cost 10 bucks. You'll have to fill out a customes form. If you can describe anything as used that will be good. You have to give an estimated value. Estimate down :)
Thanks to everyone for all their support and help.
thanks to andrew for the dvds and being my awesome friend
thanks to jacklyn for not keeping my prisioner in her fairborn basement to prevent my departure
thanks to jen for wanting to watch lots of lost and hopefully finding a way to get me dvds
(wow, two of my thanks so far have regarded dvds...)
thanks to Katie for cleaning up the house and moving without me
thanks to everyone who came to my party and had fun with me before I left
thanks to Craig for being super awesome
thanks to shannon for the luggage logistics and ordering me my entire amazon wish list
thanks to matt for being matt
thanks to mom for throwing me the awesome party and cooking really good food for me before i left (and all the time, but whatever) and not conspiring with Jacklyn to kidnap me and the knife and the raincoat etc etc and giving birth to me and all that kind of stuff. and teaching me how to pack really well.
For cereal, thanks! I can't wait to share all my stories! Posting will be slow at first, but stick around, there's good stuff coming.
Peace Out!
*edit*
I'm at staging in Philadelphia now... There are a lot of cool people (generic, i know) and it's nice to be surrounded by people who are feeling some version of how I'm feeling. The staging director guy is from Dayton and that's cool. yay dayton! We just had a big group conversation about how we're going to miss our family dogs. I like peace corps people.
Here's the important part: my address
Dorothy Mayne, PCV
Bureau du Corps de la Paix
B.P. 12091
Post Zoom Ankorondrano
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
This is my address until August. I will have a new one in a few weeks, but anything you send to that address will be forwarded.
Send me stuff. Please. I like stuff. Especially candy.
Also, if you want to just send me a letter (I hear it costs about 90 cents) and are too lazy to go to the post office, you can send it to my mom and she will forward it to me.
Dorothy Mayne
2430 Periwinkle Dr
Bellbrook, OH 45305
Please send me mail.
Please.
I'm heading out tomorrow morning. I should be able to make another one of these posts before I leave since I'll likely have WiFi in the hotel where we are staying for Staging in Philadelphia until Tuesday.
A note on sending mail:
Padded envelopes are the best. I sent myself a one pound package in one (1lbs was a lot more stuff than I thought. I sent myself a shirt and some candy and some plastic toys... just like you should do). It cost 10 bucks. You'll have to fill out a customes form. If you can describe anything as used that will be good. You have to give an estimated value. Estimate down :)
Thanks to everyone for all their support and help.
thanks to andrew for the dvds and being my awesome friend
thanks to jacklyn for not keeping my prisioner in her fairborn basement to prevent my departure
thanks to jen for wanting to watch lots of lost and hopefully finding a way to get me dvds
(wow, two of my thanks so far have regarded dvds...)
thanks to Katie for cleaning up the house and moving without me
thanks to everyone who came to my party and had fun with me before I left
thanks to Craig for being super awesome
thanks to shannon for the luggage logistics and ordering me my entire amazon wish list
thanks to matt for being matt
thanks to mom for throwing me the awesome party and cooking really good food for me before i left (and all the time, but whatever) and not conspiring with Jacklyn to kidnap me and the knife and the raincoat etc etc and giving birth to me and all that kind of stuff. and teaching me how to pack really well.
For cereal, thanks! I can't wait to share all my stories! Posting will be slow at first, but stick around, there's good stuff coming.
Peace Out!
*edit*
I'm at staging in Philadelphia now... There are a lot of cool people (generic, i know) and it's nice to be surrounded by people who are feeling some version of how I'm feeling. The staging director guy is from Dayton and that's cool. yay dayton! We just had a big group conversation about how we're going to miss our family dogs. I like peace corps people.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sorry to get political... but...
Dear Mr. President Bush,
First I'm inclined to thank you for your kind words in my Peace Corps invitation kit. I know you're really busy, so it means a lot. Especially since you planned so far ahead and wrote it while I was still a junior in high school...
I should also make a point to give my thanks for acknowledging the "difficult times" we're dealing with economically in your news conference today. And super-big thanks for signing that (too little too late) economic stimulus plan. (I'll be sure to invest it the Madagascan economy while it only produces misleading and very temporary results at home.)
I have to say, however, that I found your suggestions on improving our economy laughable. The solution to our gas prices woes is drilling ANWR? Even if I thought it was a good idea (I don't), it's not going to happen. Fight as hard as you want; there's too much opposition. But to suggest it on the pretense that you care about how hard gas prices are hitting middle America and not because drilling ANWR is the long-time goal of the people who got you where you are today is an affront. (Not to mention that this proposed drilling wouldn't benefit American gas prices for years, all the while the oil companies would be, excuse my cliche, laughing all the way to the bank.) We need both a short term and a long term solution. Drilling ANWR is neither. (Besides, those poor polar bears have enough troubles as it is!)
I understand and sympathize with (in a way) your assertions that congress won't work with you. Oh that pesky democracy thing you're spreading can be annoying, can't it. Checks and Balances... what a stupid idea.
But my biggest complaint about your news conference today was your tone. You talk like you're burdened by trying to explain something to a child for the third time. (My boss suggested that you talk like that because that's how it had to be explained to you... and he voted for you... both times...) As if one of the grandest aspects of democracy isn't transparency and accountability of the leaders to its people. You have the audacity to actually say "If there was a magic want to wave, I'd be waving it of course." (Insert your own Harry Potter joke here. I'll go with: oh, well then why didn't you get Dumbledore as a running mate?) Magic wand references? Seriously?
I know this doesn't have much to do with Madagascar. But it does. If I weren't leaving the country for 27 months, I would have all different worries about managing to pay back loans, to pay for health care (yeah, I had to go there), on top of rising gas and food costs while seeking a post-college 'real' job. Now I can put those inevitable troubles off for a while.
Don't get me wrong; I understand that there are far worse problems in Madagascar. Their problems make paying $3.59/gallon a trivial annoyance. (In many cases, they don't have roads to drive on even if they did have cars, anways). America is one of the greatest countries in the world (but it's no Norway). It's very American of me to complain about the state of things, after all. I know I am lucky to have the right to do so, and I try to not take that for granted.
But, Mr. President, I will feel a whole lot better about it on January 20th, 2009.
Sincerely,
a little liberal PCV
First I'm inclined to thank you for your kind words in my Peace Corps invitation kit. I know you're really busy, so it means a lot. Especially since you planned so far ahead and wrote it while I was still a junior in high school...
I should also make a point to give my thanks for acknowledging the "difficult times" we're dealing with economically in your news conference today. And super-big thanks for signing that (too little too late) economic stimulus plan. (I'll be sure to invest it the Madagascan economy while it only produces misleading and very temporary results at home.)
I have to say, however, that I found your suggestions on improving our economy laughable. The solution to our gas prices woes is drilling ANWR? Even if I thought it was a good idea (I don't), it's not going to happen. Fight as hard as you want; there's too much opposition. But to suggest it on the pretense that you care about how hard gas prices are hitting middle America and not because drilling ANWR is the long-time goal of the people who got you where you are today is an affront. (Not to mention that this proposed drilling wouldn't benefit American gas prices for years, all the while the oil companies would be, excuse my cliche, laughing all the way to the bank.) We need both a short term and a long term solution. Drilling ANWR is neither. (Besides, those poor polar bears have enough troubles as it is!)
I understand and sympathize with (in a way) your assertions that congress won't work with you. Oh that pesky democracy thing you're spreading can be annoying, can't it. Checks and Balances... what a stupid idea.
But my biggest complaint about your news conference today was your tone. You talk like you're burdened by trying to explain something to a child for the third time. (My boss suggested that you talk like that because that's how it had to be explained to you... and he voted for you... both times...) As if one of the grandest aspects of democracy isn't transparency and accountability of the leaders to its people. You have the audacity to actually say "If there was a magic want to wave, I'd be waving it of course." (Insert your own Harry Potter joke here. I'll go with: oh, well then why didn't you get Dumbledore as a running mate?) Magic wand references? Seriously?
I know this doesn't have much to do with Madagascar. But it does. If I weren't leaving the country for 27 months, I would have all different worries about managing to pay back loans, to pay for health care (yeah, I had to go there), on top of rising gas and food costs while seeking a post-college 'real' job. Now I can put those inevitable troubles off for a while.
Don't get me wrong; I understand that there are far worse problems in Madagascar. Their problems make paying $3.59/gallon a trivial annoyance. (In many cases, they don't have roads to drive on even if they did have cars, anways). America is one of the greatest countries in the world (but it's no Norway). It's very American of me to complain about the state of things, after all. I know I am lucky to have the right to do so, and I try to not take that for granted.
But, Mr. President, I will feel a whole lot better about it on January 20th, 2009.
Sincerely,
a little liberal PCV
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