Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas at Site

Church on Christmas Day


So the only touches that remain are a few islands (i.e., I need to find a smaller brush), the Gulf of Thailand (oops, just forgot about it), and the labeling of the continents and oceans.  The map is a bit to small for labeling each country.  In any case, it looks a little bit cleaner presented in this way.




Sunday, November 13, 2011

Brief Update

I am briefly in Diego Suarez for some farewell festivities and just wanted to check in and let you all know I am doing well.  October, November, and December have been, are, and will be busy months for me with regards to travel. For example, in a little over a week I will be back in Diego celebrating Thanksgiving.  Between the Peace Corps volunteers located here and the small number of expats we hope to make the holiday fun and delicious (yes, you can find turkeys here, though I think we will be butchering ours).  And December is the beginning of rice planting season. 

Promise to post more soon.
Love,
Ted
Thought this was adorable....

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Updated Reading Request List

Thank you so, so much for sending a few of the books that I requested!  Here are a few from the original list that I would still really, really enjoy.

Ted


  • A History of Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch




  • Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary edited by Steven R. Weisman




  • I Found this Funny: My Favorite Pieces of Humor and Some that May Not be That Funny at All by Judd Apatow
  • Tuesday, September 20, 2011

    Rats and Rain Oh My!

    So this is my new rat trap and the book is for perspective

    Hiding under my roof in the rain. 

    The road in front of my house after a single evening of rain. 

    An Open Letter to the Man Across From Me

    Inspired by a trip on a taxi-brousse with a criminal. 

    Dear man across from me, how are you?  No, I'm sorry, that is a terrible way to start what I hope will be a pleasant and enlightening imaginary exchange.  I can easily tell by the way your eyes and lips are set that today is not panning out.  Of course, there are those uncomfortable handcuffs.  Did the officers really need to tie them behind you?  After all, you are about to spend five hours in a van.  Plus, you are sitting directly opposite me and, between your knee in my groin and the smell of your breath I am already uneasy.  Maybe you could politely ask to be cuffed in front?

    Then again, you are directly opposite from me and the handcuffs allow me to deduce that politeness is not a strong suit.  Why exactly are you being escorted by two jovial officers?  Do they give you a phone call?  A lawyer?  Why the life of crime?  I'm sorry, these questions are just tumbling out of me.  Or, they would be, but there's the language barrier again.  Where do I even begin?  This is such a tremendous opportunity for cultural exchange. Don't you agree?  And here I am thinking about running my mouth... 

    Ah..., no, you don't.  No, I understand.  Yes, sleeping is a much wiser choice.  Before you completely give in to exhaustion though, might I ask that in the event that you do get car sick to remember there is a window.  A mess like you throwing up on me would just create one of those even messier cascading effects. 

    Thanks for your time and, uh....wow, I really don't know how to end this hypothetical exchange. Sweet dreams?
    Theo

    Sometimes I'm Just Not Sure

    Language can be confusing for me here in Madagascar.  As an example, I would like to highlight my recent adventure in translating a text message.  A gentleman at my site informed me by text to bring back a 12V battery...I think.  But, as with most anything I read or hear, there were some lingering questions.  For example, ampoly.  It's just not in my dictionary.  Though it sounds electrical, and confirms my suspicion regarding the battery, it is good to be thorough.

    Enter the online "Encyclopedia of Madagascar and Malagasy Dictionary." Ominous title, yes, but it's the subtitle which I think is the kicker, "everything known about all Malagasy words."  Perfect, all should include "ampoly".  Here is where my trouble begins anew.  According to this authoritative source, an ampoly is "a shrub used to bring back deserting wives."

    I feel that, one way or another, this gentleman will be very disappointed by what I bring back.

    Mbalatsara!

    Just wanted to quickly say hi (mbalatsara) and let you all know that I am well.  This week begins the first of several away from site as I fly to the capital for training.  This will be the first time to connect with some of the other 39 volunteers I arrived here with.  I am very, very excited. 

    I promise to post several more times while I have the internet.  But, before I end, here is a link to an article someone brought to my attention.  Apparently Madagascar has the dubious distinction as the world's worst economy?! You can read more here.

    Monday, August 29, 2011

    August Pictures

    Unfortunately, not mine...

    Trying, unsucessfully, to make a friend...

    A local group of women that build hand crafts...

    Tuesday, July 26, 2011

    An Obituary

    Green Mens Chacos, Size 12
    of Antsiranana Madagascar
    formerly Kalispell, MT USA
    Passed, peacefully, from complications of punishing wear on July 17, 2011, at the tender age of 2.  The adored product of the state of Colorado is survived by two, ever adoring, feet.  You will be missed.

    Any memorials (preferably in the form of new Chacos) may be sent to PCV Ted Koenig, 6 Rue Commandant Marchand, Place Kabary, 201 Antsiranana, Madagascar

    Pictures

    My Garden

    The Local EPP (Elementary School)

    Nosy Be with fellow volunteers

    Movie Night

    Sunday, July 24, 2011

    Thoughts from the Road

    Let me first say that I am happy and well (if not a few pounds lighter) after my first solid month at site.  I have just arrived in my banking town and hope to catch up on a few things, including adding some pictures and substance to this blog. 

    I also want to make a few remarks regarding the trip from my site, Analasatrana, to Diego-Suarez.  In leaving the valley floor and ascending into the highlands north of my home one is confronted by both extreme beauty and extreme poverty.  It is the latter that I fail to notice most often.  This would seem counter intuitive, because I live amongst the people of Madagascar and, everyday, share there plight.  But as I travel to the city to enjoy the luxuries of running water, electricity, and general abundance I cannot help being afflicted by a certain pang of guilt.  The children filling potholes on the road for extra change or those, with anvil and hammer, turning stones into gravel, make me feel helplessly selfish.  

    The second remark is that transportation in Madagascar can be pathetically slow and endlessly frustrating.  The vehicle I traveled in this morning managed to turn 137km of highway into five and one half hours.  Mainly because of mechanical issues.  To begin, there was the leaking break line.  Always a concern when ascending and descending on two lane highways.  This was followed shortly after by a broken throttle linkage.  The only reason I am here, writing now, is because on my way out the door this morning I happened to grab my Leatherman; the tool that proved indispensable in helping get us back on the road.

    Random Journal Entry, July 22 "On Happiness"

    Happiness depends on wisdom - Sophocles
    This is a quote that I have been considering quite frequently today.  My day, for its slowness, did not match my expectation.  And when I find myself frustrated or restless my mind wanders.  Typically, that wandering will force me to confront the trappings of life in the States that I dearly, dearly miss.  Not just the ability to watch Sports Center on the couch in my shorts over a bowl of cereal, but things more substantial.  Family, friends, and the ability to be understood and to understand.

    But thinking this way also forces me to confront the fact that life is what you make it to be.  True, I cannot will myself to be happy all the time.  All of us are allowed our days in the rain, so long as they don't interfere with the task of getting on in life.  If I were a bit wiser, in those moments when I am down, I could stop and consider how fortunate I am to be here, in Madagascar, now. 

    For example, the financial crisis and gloomy economy are a only of secondary interest to me.  I do not have to worry about rent and utilities and the rising price of fuel.  Yes, in many ways, my life is one of luxury and I would do better to remember that from time to time.

    Le me close with a simultaneously frustrating and poignant quote from the prairie sage Garrison Keillor.

    Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted,
    but getting what you have, which once you have it
    you may be smart enough to see is what you would've wanted had you known.

    Random Journal Entry, July 15

    I am very pleased to report two items.  The first is that Score (Malagasy equivalent of Wal-Mart) is finally opening in my banking town.  That means that once a month, as long as I don't loiter, I will be able to enjoy air-conditioning and other Vazaha (white people, generally) delicacies.  So excited!  The second bit of news is that today marks my largest continued stay at site.  A paltry two weeks.  Granted, I hope to make it to three or more in the weeks ahead, but this is my high water mark thus far.  On a related note, these have been fairly eventful weeks.  Ok , last weak at least.  And I look forward to staying nominally busy in the week ahead.  Did I mention there will be a grocery store in town? Yes, sorry, I did.  But I really am that excited.

    Wednesday, June 29, 2011

    Birthday Wishes (or things I would really like sent my way)

    So my birthday is coming up in August.  And, since the poste is so slow, I thought I would take the time to make a few requests now.
    • Kool-aid/Crystal Light mixes
    • Flea collars, medium dog collar(s?), and any material on obedience training.  No, this is not for me (despite the fleas and lack of discipline), but in a few months I hope to get a dog
    • Anything snack worthy.  Including, but not limited to, Oreos, Cheezits, gum (Trident)... You get the idea  

    I read a lot, so really anything in print is great, but here are a few things that would really make my day...

    • The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
    • A History of Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch
    • Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary edited by Steven R. Weisman
    • I Found this Funny: My Favorite Pieces of Humor and Some that May Not be That Funny at All by Judd Apatow
    • Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
    • Any poetry or short story anthologies (Best American Short Stories ...)
    • But really anything...

    Random Journal Entries, June 19

    As I pen these words I sit on the stoop of my humble home in the North of Madagascar.  Peace Corps life affords ample opportunity for reflection and today i have chosen country; the U.S.A.

    Madagascar, the place where I have been training, learning, and working since February is celebrating its fifty-first anniversary of freedom from French rule on June twenty-sixth.  I say this only to draw comparison.  For if Madagascar, a country still marred by political chaos, can find reason to celebrate itself, what does that say of us. 

    Namely, that excluding the Fourth of July - a day where all men are patriots - we find so much to fuss about.  True enough, the U.S. still has problems.  Politicians are politicians, money is misspent, and a great deal of time is equally wasted amidst the noise of bureaucracy.  But put these things in perspective, as living overseas has allowed me to do.

    We as Americans, everyday, enjoy the privileges of an affluent and above all free society.  Not only are most of us (I will not say all) free to choose our educations and careers, but the road is paved to get there (and I say this literally and figuratively.  Trust me, you don't appreciate your highway department until you realize what life would be without one.)  Each day, we as Americans could choose something new and unique to celebrate.  And, by the end of the year, still have many things left unpraised and unacknowledged.

    So on the Fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and everyday for the rest of the year, celebrate the place you call home.  Until you are very, very far away it is far to easy to take it for granted.

    Random Journal Entries, June 18

    So I simply am too lazy to write anything new.  Please enjoy these journal entries instead.

    Today, more than any other day, has tested my resolve to be a Peace Corps volunteer.  As a short summary, the day began well enough.  I enjoyed my morning routine and departed for my garden patch.  This is where i began to crumble.  The seeds that I planted Wednesday morning have yet to adequately sprout.  This concerns me only because it may have repercussions on my image.  If the intelligent white man can't get seeds to sprout, than how intelligent is he really?  Following this disappointment, I hurried to break my angady (shovel), snapping the handle cleanly into two pieces.  That in itself should have been omen enough.  But the day got worse.  I discovered I had missed a meeting this morning.  Oops.  And shortly following that error I waited, in vain, for a meeting to begin.

    By the time lunch came I was on the verge of tears.  Shamed by my own omissions and errors, for failing to live up to my expectations.  The meal, however, turned my day around.  It was crab, delicious crab, and when you have that sitting on your plate the day becomes a little brighter.  Following that appetizing meal the meeting that I thought would never materialize took place, albeit two hours late.  Round out the day was a leisurely visit to a neighboring village, some gifts for the return, and a refreshing shower.  Justifiably or not, I sit here writing and feeling remarkably buoyant about my day and the prospects in the week ahead.

    Saturday, May 28, 2011

    Pictures! (finally)

    My house is more than I could have hoped for.  With two rooms, a cement floor, and plenty of windows I consider myself to be very fortunate.


    Home for me is roughly a fifteen minute bike ride from tsingy (amazing limestone formations) and an equally stunning tourist lodge, where this photo was taken.

    
    Myself and 38 other environment and business volunteers the day of our swearing-in ceremony

    New Mailing Address

    First things first, here is my new mailing address...

          Theodore Koenig
          Rue Commandant Marchand
          Place Kabary
          Antsiranana 201
          Madagascar

    Saturday, May 7, 2011

    Volunteer at Last

    On Tuesday, May 3rd, at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Antananarivo, I and 38 other trainees officially became Peace Corps volunteers.  That swearing in ceremony was the culmination of a sometimes exhilarating, usually exhausting, and always tightly scheduled two months of training.

    Since I last wrote, so much has happened.  Let me provide you with the highlights, in no particular order...
    • I became sick, terribly sick, for the first time here in Madagascarar during the sixth week of training.  What made things worse is that the entire week I spent feeling miserable was also the week of our first tour of Madagascar.  Spending hours and hours in two very, very full vans we were able to view some amazing sites (including my first lemurs) and meet some amazing individuals. 
    • I, for possibly the first and last time in my life, have become a millionaire.  That is to say, my in country bank account is currently stuffed with $1,092,705.25 Ariary, or the equivalent of roughly $500 U.S. dollars.  With this modest amount I will not only furnish my house, but provide for a month of necessities.  
    • Much to my relief, I have completed the language component of PC training.  All volunteers in Madagascar much reach a level of proficiency called "Intermediate Mid".  With limited, each of us is expected to survive and interact at site.  There is much yet to learn, but training has given us a foundation and the confidence we will need to thrive at site. 
    I am writing this blog post at the Peace Corps house in Diego-Suarez, many, many miles of separation from the Madagascar I experienced in training.  The intense heat and the ocean being only two obvious examples.  On Monday, assuming my house has a floor by that time (fingers crossed), I will be officially installed at site.  I have nerves, of course, but I also am immensely excited for the opportunity to live and work in my new community.

    On a final note, I want to say a special congratulations to my sister Marg.  Let me, as well, extend that congratulations to other graduates.  Enjoy your day, take pride in your accomplishment, and know that I am wishing you the best.

    Until next time,
    Ted  

    Saturday, April 2, 2011

    Alive and Well

    Though there isn't much time for me to write, I wanted to make sure my first trip to the capital of Tana included a brief blog post. 

    Things are moving very quickly here in Madagascar.  It's hard to believe that it has been a month!  Last week our permanent sites were announced and I will be spending the next two years of my life in the far north of Madagascar, near Ankarana Special Reserve.  I am very happy about my site and have a lot to prepare for before we are installed as volunteers in early May.  Secondly, the language aspect of our training is at times overwhelming.  Our first language test as trainees was this past Tuesday.  Consisting of a 15 minute interview in Malagasy, the goal was to gauge our performance and identify our weaknesses.  Though I left the test feeling a little defeated I was happy to learn that I am doing well and passed.

    Our host stay has ended and after four weeks of being coddled by our host families we will spend the next several weeks between the Peace Corps Training Center and different locations in Madagascar.  Internet connections are a rarity, as you may have guessed, and there is no guarantee when I will next be able to send a message. 

    If you have some extra time and care to write a letter I will be happy to read anything you send.  Also, if you are feeling particularly generous, I would love some reading material.  From what I understand, flat envelopes with magazines/etc. are fairly inexpensive to send and arrive within two weeks. 

    For my part, I will try to send a couple letters/post cards here in the next few days.
    Ted

    Saturday, February 26, 2011

    Departure

    This is pure imagination, but I like to believe Montana is doing its best to wish me farewell.  Considering that I have extreme lows of fifty degrees to look forward to in Madagascar, the recent blizzards and negative temperatures seem oddly appropriate.  Somehow, perhaps, I will look back fondly on not being able to feel my toes, or my nose.

    Sunday morning United Airlines will take me from Kalispell, through Denver, and on to Philadelphia for staging.  The next few days will be a whirlwind.  After spending less than forty-eight hours in Philadelphia, we as trainees are bussed to New York's JFK airport for a fifteen plus hour direct flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  From Johannesburg we fly to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.

    Communication during the nine weeks of training will be sporadic.  And, though I may not be in touch as much as I would like, it's best to remember that "no news is good news."

    Here goes nothing...

    Wednesday, January 19, 2011

    Welcome

    On February twenty-seventh I will be departing for Madagascar as a Peace Corps volunteer.  This will certainly be an adventure and one I would love for you to follow.

    Choose to receive updates by following this blog (option on the right of your screen) or simply check in as often as you like.  Thanks for being a part of my Peace Corps experience!