November 25th to December 1st 2023
This week was the first week in my new apartment, which is in the neighborhood of La Corniche. The apartment is relatively new, has AC, and an amazing view of the ocean. Through my living room window, I can watch the fleet of fishing boats go out every morning and return in the afternoon. I also appreciate that I am in the same building as Pastor Miguel and Natalie because it gives me a sense of community and makes me feel like I’m not on my own here. I am lucky to be able to call this place my home for the next 7 months.
I was able to meet the new four Peace Corps Volunteers that will be staying in the area for the next two years. There’s 2 guys and 2 girls and they are agriculture volunteers. While they are all located in the countryside, Majunga is their banking town where they’ll come every other weekend to stock up on food and get anything they might need before heading back to site. During their time here they will integrate into the community, start a garden, and help teach their community about new farming techniques. While I have had my struggles with adjusting to life in Madagascar, they will be faced with even more because most of their sites do not have any running water or electricity.
On Sunday, I went to Malagasy mass at the Catholic Church. All of mass was in Malagasy so I didn’t understand anything, but it was still nice to be there. The church is big, and it was completely full. Malagasy people are very good singers and hearing all of the people in the church sing was rather peaceful. I got lucky because the bishop did this service. Malagasy services are normally pretty long. I really appreciated being there, but after close to 3 hours of mass, I was ready to leave. There is a service in French on Saturdays so I think I will go to that in the future since I will be able to understand more of it and it’ll be shorter.
Teaching went well this week. On Monday and Tuesday, I had 8 hours of classes which was long, and my voice was struggling by the end. But the rest of the week I didn’t have as many classes to teach. It was really nice because it gave me a chance to unpack, settle into my new place and catch up on some much-needed rest. I think the stress that came with the bugs, moving into a new home, and not sleeping enough eventually made me get a bit of a cold, but I am feeling much better now.
Overall, it feels good to be settled in my new apartment and have more of a routine. Also, my parents and my brother are coming in a few weeks, so I am excited about that and to have them here for the holidays. Life is good in Madagascar, and it was another successful week.