Sunday, January 31, 2010

I've Arrived at Post

1-31-10

I’m sitting in my room right now and it is 99 degrees Fahrenheit! THIS IS THE PEACE CORPS!

Getting here was an adventure. After we had our swearing in ceremony, Maya and I got a flight via Air Madagascar from Tana to Sambava. A Peace Corps escort and a driver met us. We did some shopping for pots & pans and other household items. We then drove about an hour and a half to Maya’s town. There are police stops along the road where the gendarmes stop everyone asking for ID cards and vehicles are inspected. Peace Corps has given us a “Laissé Passe” ID card, so we can travel freely.

Maya has a lovely house that is completely furnished with electricity and running water. Basically all she had to do was move in. I was not so lucky. We (Maya) came along too, continued northward another hour to my village. The Mayor of the village had the keys to the house, but he was not there. We were told that he was, “on his way”, but in Malagasy terms that doesn’t mean a whole lot. He could have been there in a couple of hours or a couple of days. We continued on another hour to my banking town, the closest major town to me which is 30Km away, to set up bank accounts and get our post office boxes. We spent the night at a hotel in Vohemar and it was lovely.

We then drove back to Fanambana and I finally got to see my house on Friday. The house was completely empty. There is no electricity and no running water. We went drove back to Sambava and bought a gas camping stove, then back to Vohemar where I purchased a bed, table and chairs. I have no refrigerator, nor oven.

The house itself has 2 rooms (sort of). It is made of corrugated tin and reinforced with some wooden beams. A bamboo wall separates the living area from my sleeping area. The tin walls are painted white. The bathroom is a separate little building – nothing more than a hole in the ground and filled with creepy crawly things. I wash my clothes with a bucket. I wash my dishes in a bucket and I wash my body with a bucket. The town well is about 200 meters down the road and yes I have to get my own water and carry it back to my house.

There are tons of mosquitoes, especially at night and in the early morning so I am sleeping with my mosquito net tucked in around my bed.

I did go to a Catholic Church Service today, but there was no Communion service. The people seemed very friendly. I did meet the Malagasy nurse/midwife who I will work with. She is going to teach me Malagasy and I will teach her English.

Well that is it for now. Send magazines. I am dying for news updates.


Love,

Jessica

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