Written on: 7/12/2014
We've
been at our host families for four weeks now and to explain this
experience is nearly impossible.
For
starters, my Neny (Mom)is the same age as me - 21. She is adorable
and hilarious - she is one of those people who tells a story and
starts laughing before she can finish. With the language barrier -
there are so many times I have no idea what she is saying but I can't
help but laugh. Watching her play with my lil bro is my favorite
activity in the world. She is so silly and reminds me of my own mom
playing with me as a kid. She loves learning english, but is a
fantastic Malagasy teacher as well. I owe my knowledge of random
words like butterfly (lolo) and tree (hazo) to her.
My
Dada is 23 and is always being called in every direction. (His name
is Mampionona but they yell “Mpono!” Which sounds like
mm-poon-yea without the. When I was teaching them English at the
dinner table he loved that “spoon” sounded so much like his name)
He drinks more coffee than I ever did back in the states. He runs a
little store that sells Telma* credit and snacks and takes care of
our animals (cow, pig, chickens). Seeing him play with my little
brother - Tendry - is the cutest thing ever. He is such a great (and
invovled) Dad. When he is fixing something (usually his moped which
always seems to be broken) Tendry is right there picking up tools and
imitating whatever my dad is doing.
My
lil bro (They call him Tendry (pronounced sort of like Ten-gy) but
his full name is Tendriniavo) is slowly becoming my bestie. I
seriously love that little nugget more and more everyday. At first,
we were both really shy to eachother - but eventually he accepted
that the giant white woman is actually pretty cool. He is 1 1/2 and
loves to copy everything I do. When I cough he covers his mouth and
mocks me and giggles. Gosh, even thinking of his giggle makes me miss
him! I want him to stay little forever! Except for when he throws a
fit - thats never fun. He is working on eating big people food
instead of breast feeding and he doesn't like that one bit. When my
Neny finally gets him to eat people food we all (including Tendry)
clap and dance. He loves it! I am honestly going to miss that lil'
guy and he is only going to remember pictures of me!
My
Neny said she wants to have another baby once Tendry is 2. I hope I
get to meet him/her before I leave Mada. She really wants a little
girl and I think their little girl would be so precious. I bet Tendry
would be a good big brother...
My
Nenybe (grandmother) is a delightful woman who welcomes me back home
every time I enter our yard. She loves teaching me new words and on
the weekends when we don't have anything to do she will show me
pictures of my dad (her only son). My Dadabe seems like he is
probably full of wisdom and I wish I had the vocabulary to actually
speak with him. He is the chief of our community – which I learned
the other day means that when there are problems people come to him
and he sets up community meetings and represents our neighborhood
when he goes to speak to the mayor. Its great to watch him play with
Tendry because he is so much like any grandpa ever. Sort of making
fun of him but in such a loving and beautiful way.
I
feel so at home with them that at times I have to remind myself how
far from home I actually am. The way they interact – from watching
the world cup on TV or joking around with eachother and being silly –
remind me of just how alike people are. Which sounds really cheese-y,
and is also completely over-simplifying the thousands of reasons we
are different. Its complicated and impossible to explain. All my
friends, family, and anyone reading this really need to know is that
I'm with people who I can say that I love whole-heartedly and that I
feel so lucky to be loved and supported here as well as at home.
Vocab
*Telma
Credit - What we use for our pay-as-you-go phones. Telma is like the
"AT&T" of Madagascar
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