pics.

a family meal.


drive from mahajanga to tana.

oh the way from mahajanga to tana.

emarld sea.

a really dirty street in mahajanga.

the view of a market in diego from above.


hugging one of madagascar's oldest baobab tree.



new years eve.

emerald isle.

on the way to emerald isle.

a hotel in diego.

lemurs!

Christmas tacos with friends.

some scenery.

onward and upward.

So our training at the good ol' Mantasoa was good. I did get my first illness where I couldn't keep any food down for a few days, but am feeling completely back to normal by now. Besides that, our training went well. It was great to see everyone and catch up after 9 months! After our training we were back in the capital for a few days. On Sunday, my old Country Director from Guinea and his wife had a potluck/bbq at their house for all RPCVs and PCVs. It was really great to see them and catch up. And their dog, PITA, has gotten so big and fluffy. He reminds me of my parent's dog, Samson. We left the capital today, me, Alison, Brian and Ralf. We are in our Regional Capital, Fianarantsoa and are taking the train to our banking town on Thursday. I'm excited for that. Enuf room to get up and walk around rather than being stuffed in a seat way too small for any person taller than 5'5" to sit in.Not much more to report. I'll try to get some pictures up while I'm here. After we leave here I won't have good internet until mid-April.

Which brings me to another point. I booked my ticket to Thailand! Me and 2 other Volunteers are going over Easter for 2 weeks! We leave April 15th and fly back on April 30th. It's a 8.5hr flight so not too shabby. One of the girl's parents sent her the Lonely Planet Thailand book and we were reading thru it at our training and I absolutely cannot wait! I wish it were next week. But I'm not ready yet. I'll be back in my village and hopefully the beans and corn that we planted before I left are sprouting nicely. However, there has been talk about how late the rains are. They were supposed to start in November and have barely been falling. So this could cause a huge problem in the project but I guess I'll find out soon.

But yeah not much else new in this girl's life. I won't be able to skype until mid-April again but add me if you haven't. I think my full name is my first and last name. Otherwise my username is my first and last name backwards without a space. I luv you all and thank you so much for all your letters and packages. They all mean the world to me. I am very grateful for all the luv and support I get from all my friends and family. It helps me get thru the tough times. Sending much luv your way! LUV YOU ALL!!!!

Happy holidays and happy trails.

Back in the capital again. Man has the last couple weeks been great. Me and Julie and Esther went up to visit Diego, north Madagascar. It was a long journey but well worth it. I didn't feel like I was in the same country. Became jealous of the volunteers that live around there but am happy we took vacation up there. We hung out with another volunteer that lives there and she was a great hostess....Dorothy what what!!! But we spent a little over a week up there. Went swimming in a fabulous pool with a marvelous lunch to go with it. Saw lemurs while on a walk. Met some guys from Tanzania on vacation that treated us to a few fancy meals and beverages. It was overall one of the best times I've had yet here in country. Oh saw my first Baobabs!!!! Didn't get a picture because my battery was dead but it'll be in my mind FOR-EVER!!!! We celebrated Christmas at the volunteer house in Diego by making homemad TACOS!!!! Yeah it was delicious. We had a really relaxing day and it was great and much deserved.

After a little over a week there we started the trek to Mahajanga. This is Northwest of the capital. It was HOT there. Oh my!!! I think I may have gotten heat exhaustion after a couple days. But nothing rest and relaxation couldn't cure. There was a huge baobab tree there and it was so beautiful and amazing. That's the word I've been using the most to describe my trip....amazing....it was nothing short of it! But yeah. We then made the trek down to Tana to prepare ourselves for our Mid-service conference. Whoohoooo. Yeah it's another week of training at Mantasoa. All us volunteers that were transferred from Niger will be together. It shall be a week of chaos and hopefully volleyball and chilliness. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrr!!! I am never prepared for the coldness of Mantasoa. But I'll deal. It was great to be able to skype with the few of you that I was able to. So lovely to hear your voices and see some of you! But anyhoo. I hope all is well and Happy Holidays to you all! Hope they were full of luv and happiness and good food. LUV YOU ALL!!!!!