Cyclone!!

First of all we were hit with a cyclone and evacuated to headquarters- I will blog about it later but send prayers to the Malang people who have been affected. I am safe at the moment.

“M”’s to Deal With

I am somewhat reluctant to mention these next few things.  Several people are excited to visit me and I don’t want to discourage anyone.

Madagascar has malaria- the deadly kind. There are about 4 different types of malaria world wide.  Central America has the “mild” form – very few people die from it. Madagascar has the “falciparum” type which is deadly.  When the female mosquito bites, and it is only the female who carries it, it is swift and attacks the brain. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has called it “the worst disease on the planet” and have donated billions to disable the disease.

The good news – it is easy to stay malaria free.  I take a doxycycline every day, sleep under a mosquito net, screen my home, use insecticide, long sleeves and pants and remove standing water around my living area.  Anyone visiting should get doxycycline and take this while here and for 4 weeks after getting home.  I have had no side effects what so ever from it.

I have a “rapid malaria testing kit” so that I can test myself for malaria at my site if I come down with any symptoms. I also have the treatment if the test is positive, so that I can start medication immediately while seeking medical help from the Peace Corps doctors.

No water is safe – not even in the best hotels.  So unless you are treating your water as I am- passing it through a filter and then adding Clorox – 4 drops to a liter, then you have to go with bottled water. Which by the way is 1,000.00 AriAri’s per liter!!! ( about 35 cents). That adds up and is expensive if you are only making the equivalent to about $2.00-$3.00 dollars a day (6,000-9,000 AriAri’s) Exchange rate today is about 3,000 AriAri to a dollar.

I have not been sick or had any stomach problems.  My host family has attended classes and has been trained in safe food handling and preparation.  They try to give me a fairly balanced diet.  It is not easy for them, so much depends on what is available and the cost.

One day we had rice and homemade peanut butter for breakfast, then rice and boiled yucca for lunch with bread, then a banana and dinner was rice, potatoes and some boiled greens- the only colored food I had all day was the boiled greens. If we have meat at all it is just a few little pieces in a stew. On a positive note I am living farm to table. I have not had anything in a can or jar or processed. I pass the men and women harvesting rice in the fields on my way to class and eat it a few days later.

Last week I made peanut butter with my host mother(Neny). We bought freshly picked peanuts from the market, then we came home and my host father (Tada) made a fire outside. We roasted the peanuts on a flat metal plate careful to stir and shake so they would not burn. When they cooled we rubbed them between our fingers to take the outer shell off.  Neny carefully and deftly shook the peanuts and bounced them a bit on the flat plate at the same time blowing on them so the shells all flew off. Then we put them in a large wooden carved out tree trunk and Tada took a big carved thick pole and beat them until they turned into what we call peanut butter- Neny added some salt and a little sugar.  Then she put it in a jar and we add it to the hot rice for breakfast.  It took us two hours from start to finish.

Yesterday Tada went to the market and bought a live chicken, killed it, defeather it, gutted it and cooked it.  It cost him 10,000 AriAri’s and it was the most pathetic chicken I ever saw.  I did not even recognize the leg as a leg it was so small.  The entire chicken had as much meat on it as a large chicken leg from the states. But I know it did not have any hormones, was force fed or caged.  Did I mention how tough it was!  I was extremely grateful and mentioned after each bite how good it was – I know it was a treat to have chicken on Sunday.

I don’t dare waste a grain of rice on my plate. I eat everything and it is hard to swallow it sometimes. I cut the fatty tough meat up in small little pieces. We don’t have a refrigerator so nothing can really be stored.

I dream of pasta with Italian sausage, red sauce with lots of Italian herbs. A glass of red wine on the side – oh and a nice Caesar salad !  Only in my dreams for now, but I am hoping to find a nice restaurant in the capital when I visit. 

Toto we are not in Kansas!!!

On my way to class today I was struck by the passing of two oxen pulling a cart on the deep red dirt road. I stopped dead in my tracks to take in the view of them walking slowly down the road, a young boy seated in the cart urging them on. Then three women crossed over with colorful lambas. (long fabric pieces tied around the body)  They looked beautiful in their colorful fabric, barefoot, tall and graceful as they balanced large woven baskets on their heads, one with a small baby wrapped in the lamba on her back.

It is in these moments I am reminded that I am not in Missouri anymore. Like so many things in life – after a short while of having something new it becomes old. The advantage of being here in a developing world is that everything has been turned back by about 50 years and everything slows down. I take the time to breath in scenes and the newness. I hope I never take those rice fields for granted.  I regret taking anything for granted in the past – especially a flush toilet. 

Ego says “Once everything falls in place, I will be at peace.” Spirit says” Find your peace and everything will fall in place.”