Presentations
A large part of a PCV's life is presentations – large group, small group,
one-on-one, planned, impromptu, etc. Therefore we give many presentations
during PST to practice. Here are a few of the highlights.
Baby weighing. Twice per month mothers get their babies weighed to track growth, determine if the baby is healthy, and get a consultation. This was one huge sob fest. The babies were terrified of me, burst into tears, and then tried desperately to get away from me when I weighed them in the sling and measured their arm circumference. Mampalahelo ahy (it made me sad)!
I gave a one-on-one presentation to a man and his child at his house. The child was so terrified of me, screamed throughout the presentation, then threw up on the man. Poor baby!
I gave a one-on-one presentation to a man and his child at his house. The child was so terrified of me, screamed throughout the presentation, then threw up on the man. Poor baby!
One morning I was practicing informal presentations and went up to a group of
vendors at the market. I asked if I could talk to them about malaria. Then one
of the vendors pointed to the lettuce and very slowly said with intense
pronunciation,"Misy anana," ("these are leafy greens"). I
really questioned my language skills after that.
Last Friday I gave a presentation at the middle school with one other PCT. We
talked to 40 kids for 45 minutes about hand washing. It went well! We made up a
form of freeze tag where some kids were 'poop' and tagged others. The tagged
kids then had to sit and wait for the 'soap' kid to untag them so they could
play again. The kids didn't really get it and ran from everyone but oh well. We
then gave 15 minutes of content and had the kids make up their own skits. I
think they had fun!
My final tech presentation consisted of talking to the host families and PCTs
by myself about a topic of my choice. I chose safe water treatment and storage.
At one point I needed a volunteer and no one moved. Then my neny stood up and I
said "misoatra neny!" ("Thanks mom!"). Everyone laughed. It's great to know that
moms can always help you out.
Recent Happenings
We went to Tana last week to visit the US embassy and the Peace Corps offices.
During lunch we stopped at a mall and grocery store. I spent my entire week’s
worth of money on a few food items and a large milkshake. Lafo be (expensive)
and I won't do that again! I did laugh uncontrollably throughout my entire time
spent in the food aisles.
One morning we had a cooking demonstration. Five or six volunteers killed
chickens. I really struggled to watch. I eventually excused myself to go ugly
cry in the bathroom. I think I will be a vegetarian once at site.
I was on the talent show committee and we held the event last Friday. There
were 35 acts and three hours of performances but I was so impressed with
everyone. I got up and dance for the first time in four years and really
enjoyed it! Other people danced, sang, and played instruments. A few of my
favorite acts: one guy could kick himself in the head, another sang a song in
Spanish while holding his pet duck, two health guys did a comedy act making fun
of the ag volunteers, and one girl did interpretive dancing about farming rice.
Swearing in and Installation
On Wednesday we take the oath and finally swear in as
Peace Corps volunteers. There are a lot of emotions as people are excited,
nervous, and sad to leave each other. My stage will only get together three
more times throughout the two years of service.
On Thursday we will begin installation which is where we
help the people in our region move in to their sites. There are five other
people in my region and we will spend several days helping each other set up
homes and will meet some of the people in their community. I am nervous for
that moment when the Peace Corps car pulls away and I'm on my own. However my
service will have really begun at that point and as I've heard many times
throughout PST: “People join the Peace Corps to become a volunteer, not stay a
Trainee.” I feel very ready for service and am looking forward to getting
started.
One last funny thing that happened to my fellow PCT while she was watching
Superman with her host parents one evening. The movie was in English so she
tried to explain what was happening. Her host parents thought that superman's
alien planet was the U.S. and kept saying how different it looked from
Madagascar. My friend didn't know how to say 'alien planet' in Malagasy so she
just let that go.
You know you're a PCT when:
- many conversations involve the malaria prophylaxis and comparing the side effects
- the realization that everyone in town knows what you are doing. Example 'you're going the wrong way to the hotely!' 'How did you know I was going to the hotely?'
