vita ny training

that means...training is done. in malagasy.

i should warn you all that my english is TERRIBLE now, so i apologize for any grammatical errors. in exchange for this failure of my first language, i am officially intermediate high, the level required by peace corps to go live in a malagasy village. awe$ome.

i also apologize for my last blog entry...i had JUST gotten back from visiting vohitsara and i was WAY tired. but since i realize many of you haven't heard from me at all since mid-september (if you write to me i WILL write back, your own personalized response, just a ps), i want to try to actually update everyone as to what's going on in my life, even though i think my mom's updates in the comments on various posts are probably actually more informational.

so training is basically over...we just spent the weekend at the SWEET peace corps training center in mantasoa, this town about an hour or two away, and now we're back in tana until wednesday morning. we're doing various pre-swearing-in things, and shopping for our houses at our sites, and whatnot, and then tuesday is swearing-in, when we actually officially become peace corps volunteers. wednesday morning we leave to go get "installed" at our sites, which essentially entails going to the bank, going shopping for everything (my house is sweet but it's totally empty), and meeting various officials in and around our towns...the mayor, police, etc. then peace corps leaves, and it's us and the town...and about seven bags of stuff to unpack, awesome.

my town, as i've mentioned, is vohitsara, a little town about 7k or so down a dirt road from the main road that goes along the west coast of lac alaotra, a big lake kind of northeast of tana...look on a map, you'll see it. vohitsara will NOT be on the map, don't get confused. vohitsara is really close to the lake. the doctor at my hospital and i rode bikes from the main road through town down to the lake when i visited...there are a bunch of people who just live out there and fish and canoe all the time. and there are a LOT of fish in vohitsara, which is good because i got really good at eating whole fish with my fingers during training. i can't do it with a fork yet, too many bones, but i'm awesome at pulling all the bones out with my fingers. ok, what are things that you all actually WANT to know...i have a house in vohitsara. it has two rooms, the front of which is really big and the back of which is smaller...big enough for a twin bed and a little bit of stuff. but i can get more furniture and stuff for the front room, and hang out there and stuff. there's a front door and a back door, and a window in each room. and a little room off the front room for bucket showers. the latrine is outside, but at training the shower room was outside too, so it'll be sweet to be able to shower inside now. there's no electricity, but i mention that almost as an afterthought because i know people want to know...we didn't have electricity in our town at training, and it actually really is way easier to get used to than you probably think. i'll have to find a way to charge my cell phone, but otherwise it's fine.

ps MOM and DAD...i got the solio in the mail on friday! it came in like two weeks. speaking of charging things, that is...i can charge my phone with it BUT it's missing the cord that connects the solio to the tips that you use for different things (phones/ipods/etc.) apparently this happened to someone else (erin) that i'm here with, and her mom was able to order just the cord off solio's website, sooo maybe that can happen? don't go to too much trouble or anything, and i'll talk to you about it when i get some credit and can call, but in case you see this first, just a heads up. the charger is here, though, so that's good that it made it in one piece, and i got the candy and stocking and whatnot too, AND it made it in record time, right before i had to start using my new address. thanks!

ok, back to the rest of you...so i'm off to vohitsara really really soon. we all can't believe training's over, after all this time that all of us have spent together. i may not have internet for a while after next week. hopefully before we leave tana or during installation i can check my email one more time at least, but after that you never know, because apparently the internet in my banking town, ambatondrazaka, is terrible. and if i'm there over christmas or new year's that probably greatly decreases the likelihood of internet availability. so the moral of the story is, if you want to stay in touch, as much as you may not believe it, it really will be faster to send me a letter, NOT an email. AND this is the address that you should use, as it will get to me much much faster than if peace corps has to forward it from the training address (especially packages...they don't forward those so i have to wait till i go back to tana to get them):

Kathryn Waller, PCV
B.P. 12 Tanambe 504
Amparafaravola
Madagascar

it's only 90 cents from the u.s.! and i respond to every single letter i get, i promise! AND i love getting mail, like you wouldn't believe. also, should you desire to call me, remember we're 8 hours later than the u.s. and i go to bed at like 8:30, but call 261.32.51.556.82. i may not have service, or electricity at my site, but if you can get a hold of me i would LOVE to hear from you.

what else...i want to get a puppy. at my site. if you have name ideas you need to send them to me asap (but via mail, not email, if it's after like...december 4 or 5). i also need name ideas for the sweet bike i'm getting...i don't know if any name can be as good as good ole' scarlet fever, on the loose in williamsburg, but i'm going to try.

alright i need to go try to read a few emails and whatnot. we're taking our language tutors out to dinner at this nice restaurant here in town tonight, so i gotta do that soon. keep in touch and let me know what's up with you all!