This is a summary of our conversation with Maribeth on August 13, 2007.
--posted by Louise Black, Maribeth’s Mom
Hi! Things are going well, but every day is a bit overwhelming. Absolutely everything is new and different here!
Recently, I visited the village where I will be living for 2 years, beginning at the end of September. It took 2 days to get there. It is located in the temperate rainforest and yes!!! I DID see lemurs!! J The village is located about 10 miles from a national park, which should be great! It is located on a national route, so there are markets and shops along the road. It is a small, safe town. They have had other female PC volunteers so hopefully this fact will help with my adjustment to living there.
I will be living in a house with one long room. There is a make-shift divider constructed of wood and a tarp so that there are actually 2 rooms—a bedroom, and a living area. The bedroom has a huge dresser, a desk, and a big bed. I actually slept at my house one night which was nice. The kitchen will be furnished with a camping-type stove, lots of shelf space, a table with 4 chairs, and a big water filtration container. I will not have running water, so I will need to pay someone to carry water to my house a few times a week. The house has a front porch and is attached to a church and youth center. I’ll have my own shower room (for bucket showers) and my own outhouse. In the front yard are 2 banana trees and a mango tree. Yum!!
My teaching assignment will be teaching 3, 7th grade classes (2nd year English) and 2 or 3 10th grade classes. I’m sure that it will be a challenge!
Once a month, I will travel to a bigger city to do my banking. There will be a Peace Corps building there where I can stay and see other Peace Corps volunteers. They will also have some “luxuries” for us to enjoy like hot showers.
The Malagasy language has very long words, but I seem to be doing fine in learning it. I have always loved languages, so I suppose that helps!
Last week, I attended an exhumation. They laid out all of the dead bodies. Some were 2 years old, while others had been dead for decades. Believe me…it was an intense experience.
On Tuesday, August 21, I will be leaving my homestay. I will spend about a week in TANA and will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps volunteer on August 28. On August 29-30, I will be moving to my own home. A Peace Corps representative will travel with me and inspect my home before I am left to live there on my own.
I know that living on my own is going to be a new challenge for me. I will be the only American living in the small town. I have made GREAT Peace Corps friends that will be scattered all over
Thanks to all of you that have written to me! It means SO MUCH!! Please continue to write. I will still be able to receive your letters through the Peace Corps headquarters address that you have already been using. Mom can give you the updated address, too, if you want it. So far, I have written back to everyone whose letters I have received and I will continue to do so! I LOVE receiving mail!!
(Note from Maribeth’s MOM: If you want to send small padded envelopes, Maribeth would LOVE some hard candies & peanut M&M’s J )
Well, I guess that’s all the news for now. Take care and keep in touch! I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me to hear from you!
Love, Maribeth
