Its been about a month since the first cyclone and people seem to be right back to normal. If it weren’t for the houses still flattened, or the huge food distribution (thanks USAID) or the Unicef tarps serving as temporary classrooms, it might be easy to forget that Giovanna ever happened. It seems people have moved on…back to gossipping about maditra guys in town, what couples are fighting and why the crazy woman is drunk at 8am. As long as another cyclone doesn’t hit the East Coast again…I think things will be fine!
One of the most obnoxious post-cyclone problems is the huge increase in mosquitos. Luckily my 8 yr old friend takes it upon herself to come over every night, and with bug spray in one hand and a towel in the other, kill as many mosquitos as she can. I admire her ambition. She doesn’t let the impossibility of her task get in the way of trying. I could probably learn from that.
March 8th was international women’s day. When I opened my doors in the morning there was a huge group of people holding brooms. My first thought…WITCH HUNT. (The day before my friend told me-in all honesty-there was a witch in town making the little boy next door cry). It turns out they were doing a town clean-up for international womens day. But they wouldn’t let me (an international woman) help. Ironic?
I’ve also done some detective work to figure out why the houses are destroyed so quickly…they cost $15. For the whole thing.
And while my new house is mostly done…there are still some minor issues which are driving me crazy. One day I went to go for a bike ride but when I went to lock my house, the door broke so locking it was impossible. So rather than being locked out, I was locked in. I couldn’t leave because I had to wait for the builders and of course there was no time estimate. I waited all day and then when it was getting dark the builder came to say he couldn’t do it before dark. FML. They fixed it enouch so I could sleep without my door flapping in the wind…but anyone frustrated with home repairs in the US should come to Madagascar.
And the last few days I went out in the country side with Sahondra. And while the first day we hiked an hour on a nice, paved road. Day two was quite the opposite. We pretty much swam through flooded rice paddies. I was midthigh deep in mud. My counterpart was wearing a dress and I was a vazaha, so of course we were a sight to see. When we showed up in the village, 2 hours later, the women laughed and asked why we didn’t take the new, dry path. That would have been nice to know.
And now I’m here in Mahanoro for a day or two, using the internet, charging things and catching up on tv shows while I have electricity. But the countdown has begun. Two weeks until Easter vacation. And 8 weeks until my dad comes! Until then, I’ll weigh babies, figure out how to get 1000 kilos of books to Tsarasambo, work on planning a girls camp…and read of course.
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