Week 3...Fety, Pictures and Address!

So, I've officially been at site for three weeks now and am loving it! Finally unpacked and adjusting to up at 5:30, bed by 9 with walking, talking, working and often a surprise or two in between, life is moving along in Katsepy. Stories...last week, the women's group in my community had a meeting and I had asked to be invited. So, they pick me up on their way and turns out the meeting was entirely doing Malagasy dances. They crank up the generator, blast the music and for the next couple hours they teach me Malagasy dances (even better, specific to my region). Thank goodness for my dance background, so I was able to pick up the moves no problem, but I will never be able to move my hips like they do. The next day they had a 'meeting' again, so after a morning working in my garden, I show up and we dance and then there is some talk about a ball, most of which I don't understand, but catch that something is happening the next morning in town...a women's fety (party/festival). So the next morning I show up to check things out...they're not ready yet, but they're working on something...come back at 1. I come back at 1, still not ready yet, but a corner of town has been blocked off and decorated. Too late to work in the garden, so I do my usual walk around and talk with some of the friends I am making in town. Finally 5 o'clock rolls around and someones comes up to me asking, "Where is your lamba (Malagasy sarong), you need it for the fety?" I think okay, go home, grab the beautiful lamba I was given during site visit and return. Next thing I know, the 'fety' has filled up with spectators, I'm dressed up Sakalava (tribe/culture of my region) style in my lamba and performing the dances with the women. It was completely surprising and wonderful! They continued without me with an even more impressive rice pounding dance after. It was amazing. Later on in the evening we did have a proper ball...with everyone in town dancing...old to young. The community is so culturally rich and in enjoyment of life. I feel very lucky to get to experience it and hopefully become a part of it all over the next two years.

I'm still hitting many languages walls, but hopefully I will get a tutor soon and that will improve too. And I'm not quite used to sharing my space and privacy with both curious Malagasy people showing up at my house to 'talk' (or sit and stare) and critters...the lizards are totally cool, giant incredibly fast wolf spiders not. The other night I made so much noise trying to kill one on my tin wall that my neighbor came over to check on me...armed with my headlamp and a giant stick and telling her that it was 'just' a spider, I'm not sure what she thought. :) Despite my oddities and lack of simple knowledge (Here Tara, why don't you just let me crack that coconut open for you, or this is how you cook a fish, or how you did a hole), I think that I'm definitely working my way into the community...the fact that it takes me close to an hour to walk the equivalent of four blocks around my town because everyone talks with me I think is a good sign. :) I promise I do work too, more on my 'job' will have to be the topic of my next post. Today I'm in the big city again and have meet some more wonderful new volunteers who also bank in Majunga. And I have set up a post office box!

**My address now is:
PCV Tara Smiley
BP 200
Mahajanga Principle 401
Madagascar

So enjoy a few pictures from my site...scenes from town and the women's fety. It is lunch time and I'm about starved for some rice, so I'm out, but please write...letters and emails are wonderful! I'm just as curious to hear how everyone back home is doing...and thanks again to those who have already been in touch...letters are on their way! I love you all so much and miss you!

~Tara