Several days a week I go running and then study English with a group of little girls who are between the ages of 6 and 12. The group is fluid, it’s members shifting a little from day to day, depending on who’s home and who’s free to run and study and play with the Vazaha.
Our greetings have evolved along with our relationship. First it was “EH VAZAHA. AIZA VOLA?” which translates to. “HEY WHITE PERSON. WHERE’S THE MONEY?”. This was, obviously, not acceptable to me. One day, fed up, I stopped and told them (in Malagasy), “Don’t call me Vazaha, my name is Felicia. NEVER CALL ME VAZAHA. When you call me Vazaha, I don’t like you. Don’t ask me for money, it’s rude and you’re a bad person if you do this”. Harsh, perhaps, but effective, absolutely. The next day, they said “Mbalatsara Felicia!”
Since then, my relationship with them has grown. We now run together and study together. And now, our greetings (and leave-takings) consist of every single one of them running up to me, jumping on me, and getting spun around. We’ve worked it out to where they now do this one at a time, and give me plenty of room so as not to get hit in the head with flying feet. Most of them run for a few steps, slow down a bit just as they reach me and then jump up to get spun around. Some of them walk up and hold their arms up to me, waiting for me to pick them up. Some of them try and pick me up after.
However, there is one little girl, Fabiola, who has her own fomba (custom).
For this to make sense, let’s review some physics. Momentum (Inertia of Motion) = Mass x Velocity. Fabiola’s Momentum = Mass (She’s a little under shoulder high and SOLID muscle. I think this girl spends most of her day toting around a couple of babies while a gunny sack of rice is strapped to her back) x Velocity (from the moment she sees me she runs full speed screaming my name at the top of her lungs, there is no slow down just before she launches herself at me either – Think: human projectile).
It could therefore be written that Fabiola’s Momentum is directly proportional to Feliciasterrorshesgoingtodropthiskid.
It doesn’t matter that I’m terrified, it doesn’t matter that I’m not sure I’m strong enough to catch her, it doesn’t matter that I worry every single time that I might drop her – SHE is absolutely 100% sure that I will catch her and spin her around and put her down safely. So that’s what I do, every time (so far anyway).
It hit me one day. This must be what parents live with EVERYDAY, times about a million. This blend of fun, delight and ABSOLUTE TERROR. The knowledge that even if you’re not sure about your own strengths, your child is, which means that you have to act like you are as well.
So I wanted to give a shout out to all the parents out there. I can’t imagine it’s easy, and I know we often take it for granted, but Thanks, for raising us up, spinning us around, and putting us down safe, every day.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Uganda: Critters
Uganda was awesome. I had a great time and saw some awesome creatures, among them: Elephants, giraffes, almost bacon, birdy’s, crocs, hippos, the rare and elusive Ted, Belgium Beauties, surfing Thomas, and some neat reptiles. Enjoy.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Madagaskara: Poetry, Friendship and Translations
Madagaskara: Poetry, Friendship and Translations
Many thanks to my new friend Clamiras, who helped me translate my favorite poem.
Song
By Christina Rossetti
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
Hira
Lerany maty zaho, malalako
Aza ihiranan hira mampalahelo
Aza amboliana roy na hazo maloka
Marikitry ny lohanaka
Anaboko misy bozakara manso
Misy orona ndreky ando mando
Afaka mitadidy anao
Afaka mandino anao
Tsy hizery aloka zaho
Tsy hanatsapa orona zaho
Tsy hahareny vorona
Hihira karaha malahelo zaho
Ndreky hanonofy masoandro
mody foana
Mitadidy zaho, faly
Manadino zaho, faly
(translated by Shuria Clamiras and FM Tobias)
Many thanks to my new friend Clamiras, who helped me translate my favorite poem.
Song
By Christina Rossetti
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
Hira
Lerany maty zaho, malalako
Aza ihiranan hira mampalahelo
Aza amboliana roy na hazo maloka
Marikitry ny lohanaka
Anaboko misy bozakara manso
Misy orona ndreky ando mando
Afaka mitadidy anao
Afaka mandino anao
Tsy hizery aloka zaho
Tsy hanatsapa orona zaho
Tsy hahareny vorona
Hihira karaha malahelo zaho
Ndreky hanonofy masoandro
mody foana
Mitadidy zaho, faly
Manadino zaho, faly
(translated by Shuria Clamiras and FM Tobias)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Madagaskara: VaoVao Vovo
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the inauguration ceremony for the final wells built using money my family and friends were generous enough to donate.
One of the ideas that Peace Corps stresses during training is to let the community tell you what it’s needs are. Vohemar, through Sister Rosalie, told me it needed water.
Clean, safe, water, or the lack thereof, is a problem in Vohemar. Most homes do not have running water. The people living here have to get their water from public taps, which often go dry. There are not enough on the main road, and none the farther you get from the center of town. There is often a long wait at these taps as well, with buckets pilling up as people wait for water. As a result, people do not have enough water and will sometimes fetch it from dirty, dangerous sources.
I had been volunteering at a dispensary run by Sister Rosalie. A Malagasy nun from my region who had travelled to the US and Canada before returning to her region to attend to the needs of her people.
This woman is amazing, she has a handle on every health, environment and education challenge the people in this region face. From not enough water in a major town to a single child’s health problems in a small village, she knows it all.
She pulled me aside one day and informed me that the thing Vohemar needed that I could provide would be wells. She worked out a budget, obtaining quotes from local vendors and I put in the proposal to Peace Corps partnership.
A few weeks after being put on the website it was funded, thanks to my amazing friends and family back home.
After I received the funds, I transferred the money to Sister Rosalie’s account and the work began.
It took a few months longer than anticipated, which means things went very fast by Madagascar standards :).
There were a few snafu’s, for a while there were two “Peace Corps / USA / No. 3” wells, but that was quickly cleared up.
I had missed the inauguration of Wells 1 and 3 and ended up just travelling to them to take photos once I returned, but I made sure to be in town for 2 and 4.
I didn’t know what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the Mayor in attendance. Malagasy ceremonies tend to be looooooooooooooooooooong. I expected to be at each well for several hours while everyone thanked everyone. The event at each well was long, but the ceremony part of it was very brief. The Mayor thanked both me and Sister Rosalie for our help in the community. He said the wells would be Vohemar’s “souvenirs” of my stay here when I returned to the United States. I gave the key to the well to a key community member and that was the ceremony.
Then the mayor gave a long talk on the importance of proper maintenance and clean drinking water. He stressed that the well was the responsibility of those living around it. He encouraged them to keep it clean to keep the area free of grass and debris, explaining that this could attract cows and other animals which would defecate and potentially dirty the water source. He explained the importance of closing the well when it was not in use and of locking it at night to ensure that nothing found its way in there. He explained that dirty water could lead to cholera, dysentery or any number of diseases which require expensive medication to cure, so it was better to take preventative measures.
He then proceeded to set a date the following week to work out a schedule and budget that was to be filed with the Mayor’s office. The people living near the wells would be responsible for buying replacement buckets and ropes and maintaining the area around the wells. He wanted to have a community meeting where everyone could come and work out a schedule for maintenance and payment, which would be filed with the mayor’s office and which would be available to anyone who wanted to access it. He’s pretty much awesome :)
I feel very very lucky. Not only do I have awesome people back in the United States, but I have a great community here as well.
Thank You to the following people for their donation: Watercharity.org, Anne-Marie, Chris, Elizabeth and Rhett, Ellen, Erin, Isadora, Jason, Leonor, Maddy & Paul, Nancy & John, Sarah, Shirley, Tara, and to those who donated anonymously. You have helped to make a difference in these people’s lives.
If you would like to donate to more water projects, please be sure to check out watercharity.org. This awesome organization works with Peace Corps volunteers to bring clean drinking water to people worldwide.
One of the ideas that Peace Corps stresses during training is to let the community tell you what it’s needs are. Vohemar, through Sister Rosalie, told me it needed water.
Clean, safe, water, or the lack thereof, is a problem in Vohemar. Most homes do not have running water. The people living here have to get their water from public taps, which often go dry. There are not enough on the main road, and none the farther you get from the center of town. There is often a long wait at these taps as well, with buckets pilling up as people wait for water. As a result, people do not have enough water and will sometimes fetch it from dirty, dangerous sources.
I had been volunteering at a dispensary run by Sister Rosalie. A Malagasy nun from my region who had travelled to the US and Canada before returning to her region to attend to the needs of her people.
This woman is amazing, she has a handle on every health, environment and education challenge the people in this region face. From not enough water in a major town to a single child’s health problems in a small village, she knows it all.
She pulled me aside one day and informed me that the thing Vohemar needed that I could provide would be wells. She worked out a budget, obtaining quotes from local vendors and I put in the proposal to Peace Corps partnership.
A few weeks after being put on the website it was funded, thanks to my amazing friends and family back home.
After I received the funds, I transferred the money to Sister Rosalie’s account and the work began.
It took a few months longer than anticipated, which means things went very fast by Madagascar standards :).
There were a few snafu’s, for a while there were two “Peace Corps / USA / No. 3” wells, but that was quickly cleared up.
I had missed the inauguration of Wells 1 and 3 and ended up just travelling to them to take photos once I returned, but I made sure to be in town for 2 and 4.
I didn’t know what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the Mayor in attendance. Malagasy ceremonies tend to be looooooooooooooooooooong. I expected to be at each well for several hours while everyone thanked everyone. The event at each well was long, but the ceremony part of it was very brief. The Mayor thanked both me and Sister Rosalie for our help in the community. He said the wells would be Vohemar’s “souvenirs” of my stay here when I returned to the United States. I gave the key to the well to a key community member and that was the ceremony.
Then the mayor gave a long talk on the importance of proper maintenance and clean drinking water. He stressed that the well was the responsibility of those living around it. He encouraged them to keep it clean to keep the area free of grass and debris, explaining that this could attract cows and other animals which would defecate and potentially dirty the water source. He explained the importance of closing the well when it was not in use and of locking it at night to ensure that nothing found its way in there. He explained that dirty water could lead to cholera, dysentery or any number of diseases which require expensive medication to cure, so it was better to take preventative measures.
He then proceeded to set a date the following week to work out a schedule and budget that was to be filed with the Mayor’s office. The people living near the wells would be responsible for buying replacement buckets and ropes and maintaining the area around the wells. He wanted to have a community meeting where everyone could come and work out a schedule for maintenance and payment, which would be filed with the mayor’s office and which would be available to anyone who wanted to access it. He’s pretty much awesome :)
I feel very very lucky. Not only do I have awesome people back in the United States, but I have a great community here as well.
Thank You to the following people for their donation: Watercharity.org, Anne-Marie, Chris, Elizabeth and Rhett, Ellen, Erin, Isadora, Jason, Leonor, Maddy & Paul, Nancy & John, Sarah, Shirley, Tara, and to those who donated anonymously. You have helped to make a difference in these people’s lives.
If you would like to donate to more water projects, please be sure to check out watercharity.org. This awesome organization works with Peace Corps volunteers to bring clean drinking water to people worldwide.
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