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

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.

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.