Feeling 22?

Feeling 22?

Written on 4/21/2015

Last week was my birthday, and although I usually make my birthday a big day, I just wasn't feeling making a whole debacle over my special day. In the morning I taught two of my classes "When?" and "When is (holiday?" I taught them "birthday." And then the final question on their exercise was "When is Miss Elizabeth's birthday?" I wrote the question hoping to check their comprehension, and it worked! The student's said they didn't know, and when I told them it was today, it was fun to see them get excited. After correcting the exercise, I taught my students the birthday song and they sang to me. It was a precious little lesson.

I went about my normal day, made a special meal of mac n' cheese. Went to the center where the librarians excitedly greeted me with a "Happy Birthday!" and hugs. And then I bought a big chocolate bar with my dinner and went to sleep.

But before I went to sleep, I found myself feeling kind of down. I wasn't quite feeling 22 (thanks Taylor Swift). I found myself thinking about all the things I am missing out on. I missed my friend's senior year of college, and a full year of all of us being 21 and together. My friends are getting in increasingly committed relationships and going on dates. Basically, I have almost no social life here. I questioned myself, "Am I even enjoying my youth!?"

But alas, I was hit by a moment of clarity. Although I am not enjoying the same type of 22 as most of my friends, I'M PURSUING MY DREAMS AND LIVING IN MADAGASCAR. And when I get back, it's not like I will be an old maid. And although I'm thinking of going back to grad school (I'm not sure if I said that in my blog yet....I'm thinking about doing Grad School for a Master's in Public Administration following Peace Corps)....Even though I am doing grad school and continually working on my dreams - and no so much my social life - I still have wonderful people in my life.

I just worry, like many worry, that maybe I am focusing too much on my career and my professional goals instead of my personal goals (although I'm not even sure what those are yet). But I am still proud of myself for all I have accomplished and just because I am working hard to get to where I want to be professionally, the personal part of things will fall into place with it - because you can't plan everything. I can't even, really, plan my professional life! I just need to focus on now, and start thinking about my next steps, but remember that nothing is ever set in stone.

So maybe I'm not dressing up like hipsters, or making fun of my Ex's, or going out at midnight...but I'm still feeling 22!

Into The Wild Book Review

Into The Wild by Jon Kakauer

Written on 4/27/2015

During my four month long battle to start, read, and finish this book I the story of Chris McCandles fatal adventure into the Alaskan wilderness, mixed reviews from other Peace Corps Volunteers who's eyes had landed on the same pages I finally just put down.

A few were positive, one PCV said that while she read the book, she felt she was going through a similar experience - submerging herself into the wilderness. Another volunteer erupted with rage over the stupidity of the book. Arguing that it was a how-to for losing your life into the wild and pleaded people to do copy cat adventures and losing their life to hubris.

After reading it, I can see how both perspectives are valid. Although, I see why Jon Krakauer, as a journalist, saw this book as an important story to put into paper. Before making a fatal mistake in the Alaskan wilderness that undoubtedly made him an infamous adventurer, McCandless had a interesting affect on the lives of people he encountered on his journey, relentlessly pursued his dream, and tragically changed the lives of his family forever.

At first, the repetitiveness of McCandless encountering people, changing them ever-so-slightly with his veracious nature, and then leaving quickly seemed very selfish and was difficult to get through. With each new person McCandless met, it seemed he soon would be leaving them anyway. So why waste the time reading more about them? But, Krakauer was illustrating the impact of McCandless death on everyone he reached - he wasn't just an aimless youth with a overwhelming sense of wunderlust.

Many people, like my fellow PCV, found his story pointless and negative. Krakauer printed just a few of the angry letters that flew in after he wrote the first feature story on McCandless. And I realized then why he wrote the book, he wanted to prove that McCandles wasn't just a ignorant, prideful young man, he had a purpose that was deeper than that.

Krakauer argues that McCandles followed a his dream and moral code in a religious way. He wanted to test himself and test his limits, which many people can relate to. Krakauer relates McCandless to teens driving too fast, taking too many drugs; young men and women joining the military (or the Peace Corps...), and otherwise doing things that seem reckless to the older generation. And it's the daring nature to try new things and embrace that danger that makes changes (both positive and negative) in the world, or in McCandless place in a few people's lives, and that makes his story and other's like his worth writing about.

Although, McCandless story isn't just an inspirational one, its also a tragic tale of loss. He left his family without a word and didn't leave a trace of where he was headed. They spent years worrying about him only to experience the loss of their son and brother. After reading the entire book, a possible copycat would hopefully be discouraged by the hurt of the people McCandles spent only a short time with, his friends, and his family.

Billie McCandless, Chris's mother, states at the end of the book "Some days are harder than others, but its going to hard every day for the rest of my life."

Although Chris McCandless story is interesting, inspirational, it is still a tragic one of a life ended much too soon.

P.S. I also watched the movie and I can honestly say that although the book and movie share a title and a story - the story telling is drastically different and cannot be compared. Both are artful ways to tell the story, both are worth your time.

Adventures in the Fianarantsoa Area

Adventures in the Fianarantsoa Area

Written on 4/7/2015

After my last vacation of resting and relaxing on the beach, I told a few of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer friends that I wanted to do something more adventurous. We looked into some options, and decided to go to the Fianarantsoa (AKA Fianar) area because of the National Parks in the area.

Thankfully, we had the idea to break down the 11 hour brousse ride into a few days, stopping at Andsirabe and Ambohistra along the way. We adventured through Andsirabe, the third largest city in Madagascar. It was really relaxing to just walk around the city. We had all seen it before on our Tech Trip, but we were just shuffled from place to place by Peace Corps Cars. It was fun to be able to explore at our own leisure. We also sang karaoke (a Malagasy Favorite) the night we stayed there - needless to say, it was quite a great time. I rocked a few Beyonce songs  and we hilariously butchered Bootylicious together.

We then headed to Ambohistra - which is known for its Artisan Crafts. It was a quaint little town and a nice visit. I made friends with a few woman who were selling silk scarves they made, and ended up buying some of their scarves. Although I'm pretty sure they overcharged me a little bit more than usual - although I did bargain down to half their original price - they were wonderful women and I felt like I was putting money into good, hardworking hands. Its nice to have something that has a story and a face behind it!

Next, we headed to Fianar - where the real adventures began. From Fianar, we decided to take a short trip to go PARAGLIDING. I highly recommend it if you ever have the chance. It was so exhilarating and oddly relaxing. Its so quite up in the sky and the view from up their - priceless. But you do have to hike up a huge mountain and then jump off it..and then land on the ground. We had a few crash landings - including my own - because of the lack of wind at the ground level. Luckly, nothing serious - just not the pretty, soft landing you hope for. More of a hitting the ground and falling over. I was the first to go, and luckily got quite a bit of air time. It was fun being the first because I was greeted by the children who live in a town nearby. They are used to foreigners who don't speak Malagasy, so it was fun to chat with them and teach them a little bit of English while I waited for my friends to glide down. Afterwards, we enjoyed a beer with our paragliding pals and talked about his qualifications...which, in hindsight...would've been a good thing to ask before we jumped off a mountain with him. (Just so you know, he was very qualified and can even teach others to paraglide alone...fewww).

The next adventure was a trip through Ranomafana (probably the most well-known of all the National Parks). We went on a six hour hike and saw five different types of lemurs and a beautiful waterfall. I don't think we walked on a flat surface the whole time - it was either hiking up a steep hill or cautiously stepping down hill. Two days later and my legs are still sore. But it was worth it to see more of this beautiful island!

Now I'll be spending a few days in Tana working on a grant for a teacher's training and celebrating my upcoming birthday with a few other volunteers! And then back to teaching I go!