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Just another work day in Antsirabe

Sunday, 23 July 2023 (160)

It was quiet here as expected - just security and me. I went over the medical building where Doctor T did my vitals and took more pictures. All their findings are updated with Pretoria or go straight to Washington now. They have been told that I should stop taking the 4 tabs of Trimethoprim daily and instead double up on the anti-malarial drug I take daily.

I'm feeling fine except for the calves which are slightly swollen, red and that cause of all these issues.

Monday, 24 July 2023 (161)

Pioneer day though not going to be celebrating it here.

Another vitals check-up this morning where I was told that I probably won't be leaving here till Sunday. They want the bacteria and all its symptoms gone. So many PCVs return to their sites and systems return if the problem isn't completely taken care of here. I have mixed feelings. Mostly it's just about Dobby. I have no idea how they are treating her or how she is doing without me there. Hopefully, Salva is spending some time with her so she isn't feeling abandoned.

Grace from G57 stopped by and asked if I wanted to go into town with her. She is in Tana to get a new pair of glasses. We took the bus in and I promptly told her the wrong directions. I was a bit lost as there is construction on the street I was looking for.

We spent a little time and then she was off to meet a friend. I got some shopping done at the hardware and grocery store but am obviously at the end of things I am in need of.

Tuesday, 25 July 2023 (162)

I am hoping to get some editing done today. It would be a waste to have all this down time, peace and quiet, and great internet connections if I don't use it to catch up at least a little with the backlog of footage I have.

Will and Ally

Thursday, 27 July 2023 (164)

Another day at the hub. Another morning visit to the doctor here to check on my progress. I am healing well. The redness of the infection is going away. Technically it has only been fur days since the antibiotics have taken effect. They can't rush results and my body is not a fast worker. I've had no other symptoms than the infection in my legs. No fever, aches, chills - nothing. As usual, I discover what I was supposed to do with this ointment, this medication, only after I've started it, not before. "You've doing this twice a day" - Ok you didn't mention that before. "You're taking that at night," no, you didn't tell me that.

I wish I could say I've been very busy editing but I haven't. Yesterday I came back from my morning physical and slept till 2:30 in the afternoon. I was tired and chilled. Then went out like most days and hit the grocery store for something - anything. I've avoided treats, cookies, chips, sugar for the most part. I've been off the soda for several days now, drinking only juice - and water, if I must.

I have picked up some parts to build a camera slider. I've decided a couple things - until I change my mind again. One is that I probably will end up leaving Dobby here in Madagascar. Not that I want to, but I worry that if I ET (early terminate), some complication will arise that will see me on a plane and not her. I doubt the Peace Corps would care or even make the necessary arrangements to reserve me a flight with the dog. The last thing I want is to turn up at the airport, Dobby in hand and for them to say, "Sorry, no arrangements have been made". Leaving her here is one thing. Leaving her stranded at the airport is another. I need to plan for her to have a good home or at least a home. I will try and get her the necessary fix to keep her from getting pregnant though. Others have been saying this is a gift. I wonder how keeping her from her having her other pups is anything but interfering in the natural way of things.

The second thing is to stay until after IST at the end of next month. That's the two weeks of follow-up training after we've been installed for three months. We're to have some additional health training. And we're going to bring one of our counterparts with us for one of those weeks.

I don't know when I would leave after that but more likely will. That would have put me here more than six months and we'll see if I feel my projects are done by then. Now if the Peace Corps can use my skills and let me help them with training videos, that would be another thing. Doctor A was just telling me this morning that he would love to do a video on wound care for the volunteers. He had started one a while back with a third year volunteer but has no idea where that footage went. I told him to talk with the powers that be.

So that gives me a month to do things on my agenda. Maybe teach a little in Antsirabe, finish the interviews I started. Maybe do more interviews. Worry less about the Health aspect and focus in on my secondary projects (painting, videos, making friends, telling their stories).

I seriously do not see the desire to do the two years. I also worry another illness could decide that for me. I need to find a home for Dobby and try and tie up loose ends and get footage for new stories.

Two volunteers from G58 turned up this morning (Will and Ally) They had to report to the office and were told they can voluntarily ET or be dismissed. They were in a tourist town far south of here and just happened to run into Doctor T who was there connecting with an NGO he has worked for. The odds of him running into these two were very extreme yet he did. Unfortunately, he found them with a motorcycle Will had purchased. They now have a day or so to wrap up their service here and be transported home.

We went out to lunch at an expensive Italian restaurant (my cut was 50,000ar). They were fine with the Peace Corps decision and they plan on returning in a month to finish up a secondary project of theirs. They only have issues with the Peace Corps organization and its rules. They love Madagascar and the friends they have made. I can't say I agree but understand. But Will really could not have expected this wouldn't eventually be found out. 

Kristy and Ben

Friday, 28 July 2023 (165)

Met up with Kristy and Ben who were in Tana for their COS (Close of Service conference/Interview) They still have another month or more. I admire them for their dedication and how they decided to return to Madagascar even after they had been sent home when Covid hit. They are the only two of their cohort who returned to finish. Very Impressive.

I was told this afternoon that if everything looks the same on Sunday I should be able to return to Sahanivotry Monday/Tuesday.

Saturday, 29 July 2023 (166)

Just got back after an afternoon with a friend of mine who is in from out of town. We dined at KFC. Good to get out but need to edit.

Sunday, 30 July 2023 (167)

Last day in Tana. Amanda had asked to meet with me for tea at two. She had another guest, Elsie a PCRV who returned to work a Vanilla business on the East coast near Tamatave after her service.

I was hoping the reason for the visit was to discuss doing some videos for the Peace Corps. Now that Tojo has quit being an LCF he has asked for more money to produce videos as a freelancer and I think they are not waiting to pay those amounts. Instead they may be looking at me as an option. The question remains, how long it takes them to get this started. Some have said that this kind of additional service is reserved for third year volunteers but that will likely never happen with me. But yes, they are thinking of some site overviews to give prospective volunteers the reality of what they can expect their living conditions to be like. I also brought up the wound care video Doctor A would like to see done.

Other than that, I knew I should be careful before sharing additional information and sure enough when I did, it got turned around on me. I tried to express my "guilt" feelings as a pampered American here. We live above everyone else in terms of our lifestyles, our coming and goings, our better furnishings, clothing, food choices, everything. Perhaps, I could better have phrased it by saying I have much empathy and compassion for the people and their circumstances here. 

When I gave examples of what I did to compensate for my lack of health related service - I was told that maybe I should feel "guilty" doing those things and instead focus solely on health instruction. Easier said than done. With my poor language skills I am fortunate to have a basic conversation but yes, I could do more language study and work on it until I no longer have to read the flip charts. There's something about being in the middle of all this "guilt", this lack of communications skills, and facing the reality of what good or uselessness we think our roles are here. I did not appreciate the sentiment that I'm compensation in all the wrong ways and that I should feel "guilty" doing those things. I am sorry that I try doing different things, that I'm helping in ways I am both comfortable, familiar with and able to. This is what I can do regardless of my communication skills, regardless of my limited health limitations. The Peace Corps says all the time to provide the people with what they need and want yet we are forcing us to only addressing the health aspect, which we are sorely able to provide and in so little capacity (me at least) and saying no to any other needs.

Samson and I met up. Will came back in from his site. He and Ally would be flying out in a couple days back home. They had already made arrangements to return in a month and get back to finishing a project they had started here.

Dobby

Monday, 31 July 2023 (168)

Samson had made a reservation on Soatrans for 7am but decided to take a different transportation bus back to his place. I tried to arrange for a taxi to pick me up early but it kept ending the call when my credits weren't liked. Thus I never was able to arrange a ride and figured I'd just find a taxi early. I was up at 5am and out the door before six. I ended up walking a mile before a taxi did stop for me.

Fortunately I did get to Soatrans but could not communicate the reservation very well. It was difficult raising Rindra on the phone but she communicated the reservation and I was soon on my way. Otherwise I probably would have been at the Soatrans station for hours it being a very busy Monday morning with no reservation made.

It took an hour alone just to get out of Tana and arrived in Antsirabe well after noon. I bought some dogfood and just a few items for meals in Sahanivotry. Salva had been texting me several times and I think he was growing impatient. Dobby was happy to see me but no more than usual.

The Doctor, Salva and I talked for a bit. I gave the doctor the letter from Peace Corps explaining officially that I had been away due to illness. The doctor said he was happy to have me back. He showed me the now somewhat finished patient room that Salva had indeed pulled the tape from. They had made a compromise on the curtains and the one window still needs to be painted but it looks a lot better than the at the start.

I paid Salva another 40,000ar (80,000 total). He asked me for more, specifically 20,000ar and I reminded him before I left that I would pay him 5,000 a day to let her in at night and out during the day, and feed her (which he didn't run out of dog food after all), yes he did do some cleanup of the place as Dobby does make a mess in the room at night. But I did feel Salva was pushing it. 100,000 would have been closer to 10,000 a day and so I held firm as I was still paying him more than I agreed to. In three weeks I'll have to make another arrangement when I leave for IST for two weeks.

Generally, the place was in good condition. Maybe Salva didn't notice the cache of shoes, paint brushes and other items Dobby had stored around her bed under the computer desk. They had also moved all the items off the lower two shelves as Dobby has now moved into her destructive chewing phase as a puppy. Before her teeth didn't bite into items but now she's tearing them into pieces.  She had also broken her flea collar making it impossible to tie her up with. Instead, they had fashioned a very tight surgical tube as a collar. I replaced with a new collar I had bought in Tana anticipating this was soon to happen.

It was good to be back. I cleaned up where needed and gave Dobby a flea shampoo shower.

Tuesday, 1 August 2023 (169)

I was surprised that Dr. Clertant wanted me to interview him this morning. By lunchtime I had edited his as far as I could without translation and also completed the ECA school interview with Eleanor though I would like to get some B-roll for it.

Wednesday, 2 August 2023 (170)

A busy day. Manda and Salva both turned up earlier than I had expected. I explained to Manda my need to find a new home for Dobby and that I might not be here the full two years. We went over the need to translate some of the interviews and I lent him the smaller laptop to view and translate the videos I had ready.

It was interesting to see one of the interns with a pair of headphone that looked suspiciously like mine. Sure enough I could not find mine anywhere and I can only believe that he somehow got them out of my place while I was gone. Why he would so brazenly be using them in front of me I am not sure.

Eleonore and her husband (also the president of ECA) drove their motorcycle down from Antsirabe to meet with me. They are excited for me to come and teach there. My plan was to run up to David, the carpenter's place and paint but he stopped by and said it was too cold and windy (I think). That or something about the river being too cold and deep. So we put it off until I don't know when. I did propose the prospect of his family taking in Dobby, or at least trying to find her another family. I offered my solar panels (which I probably was going to give him anyway and possibly another 500,000 to buy a battery. I also explained how I'd like to build dobby a doghouse and gave him a 60,000 advance to get some wood.

He said he had to ask his family as they already had a female dog. Later this afternoon he stopped by again while we were playing a game of risk with the interns. They hated it and thought it too long. We ended it after maybe half an hour deciding blue should win. They had absolutely no idea of strategy and would weaken their positions on every turn depleting every country down to one army. Fortunately I wasn't playing just being the rule giver and referee. Otherwise I could have easily won.

Anyway, David came back to say his family was for taking in the dog. My plan is to deliver her over just before going to IST on the 19th of this month. We'll try and get the house built by then as well as many of the video interviews we've been collecting.

Thursday, 3 August 2023 (171)

I gave the Doctor's wife most of my coloring books and crayons today. She is on the board for the local school and I think she understood me when I asked if she could give them to the kids. I also noticed some of the kids were digging through the trash when they found some of the beads that Dobby had gotten into when I was in Tana. I went and got the rest of the couple hundred beads, letters and charms I brought and let them have at it. I'm never going to find more times and opportunities to give this stuff away.

Interns leaving us today

Friday, 4 August 2023 (172)

Doctor and I both took a Taxi-brusse this morning but he didn't go all the way to Antsirabe. I bought a new faucet as ours is leaking very badly. Resources may be scarce here but that doesn't keep them from being wasted. Bought some polyurethan as well for the doors to protect them from scuffing and basketball marks. Buying more dogfood to stock up though that won't last more than a month or two.

I think I've decided to tell Dr. Clertant when I come back from IST that I'll be leaving within a week or two. Give them some heads up and start doling out my possessions as meager as they are. I'm thinking the doctor gets my new, unused fan, first dibs at my cookware, while the girls get the gas stovetop. Manda will probably get the Chromebook and the large monitor will also likely go to the Doctor. It might be nice for them to have my big space back again.