Big mistake, going to my banking town for Easter. My plans were to stay at site but, everyone left to visit family. Even the nuns left for the mother house in another town. I was unaware that my banking town is THE place to be for Easter break, which starts the week before Easter. The... Continue Reading →

Back in the 70’s when I heard this song, 64 sounded so old and here I sit today writing this at age “64”!!   Recently here at Peace Corps Madagascar, it was decided to hold a workshop on diversity and guess who was invited to speak about “ageism”. They wanted to know how it feels... Continue Reading →

No really, it is not the beginning of a joke, a goat walked into my house last week, he stood not 3 feet from me and we both looked at each other and said “what the heck!!” But his came out a loud BAAAAA!   Such is life here in Madagascar. I live in a... Continue Reading →

I am an avid reader, 225 books to date while joining Peace Corp! As a young girl I would ride my bike to the Burkhart Library once a week and check out the limit of books you could take home. When I arrived in my village of Manandona over a year ago, and discovered no... Continue Reading →

I found myself celebrating New Year’s Day with the Sisters of Assumption, the nuns I teach English and Spanish to. They invited me to lunch with them after mass, a 3 hour and 42 minute new year’s day mass! And I would like to mention here that on Sunday, New Year’s Eve day, I already... Continue Reading →

It is official, I have not spoken to one child in my village who received a Christmas gift!!!  And it is not because they were too poor, naughty or that the reindeer missed the location on google map. It is just that they keep to the fact that it was the day Jesus was born,... Continue Reading →

Mornings  are always the best part of my days. Standing on my small porch on the second floor, so small it will not even fit a chair, I have a good view of my village waking up.   Two little girls about 7 or 8 waiting for another little girl to catch up so they... Continue Reading →

My calendar tells me that Christmas is just four days away, but I would never know it. There is no snow, Christmas trees or Christmas decorations. There are some Christmas songs in English on the radio now and then. Although advent is being observed, there are no advent candles in church. My banking town is... Continue Reading →

I was taking my customary evening stroll around the rice fields, feeling a little down, lonely and discouraged when suddenly a young boy, barefoot and in ragged clothes, came running out of his red clay, thatched roof house, down a dirt path yelling “Tamara, Tamara”. I turned to greet him and when he reached me... Continue Reading →