Overwhelmed, Excited, and Getting Ready

As I gear up to live for my Peace Corps experience in Madagascar, I am overwhelmed by the excitement of returned volunteers from Madagascar, even returned travelers. To me, Madagascar was always a far away place. It could have just as easily been Kenya or Morocco before, an unknown. Now, after I listen to the stories from these returned volunteers, I am beginning to understand how special and unique the culture and environment is of this country. When a stranger spends an hour with you on the phone or sends you a three page email about how amazing their time was and how they are excited for you, you tend to get a little excited yourself. Thank you again to the returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs, as the lingo goes) and college students who studied abroad in Madagascar who have shared their stories, passion, and knowledge about the country with me.

As an island, Madagascar has been somewhat separated from its mainland counterparts. This separation has created an amazing amount of biodiversity. Check out this National Geographic article to learn more about it. Yet, the biodiversity is being threatened by growing deforestation and other issues. Many of the other volunteers work on protecting the country's unique environment. Other projects include teaching and community development. My project will be health related and will focus on the mothers in the community, young children, and adolescents (most likely). To learn a little more, check out the official Peace Corps page for the country here. Another cool site to check out is the CIA World Factbook page.

I am not sure what my access to internet or electricity for that matter will be while I am in Madagascar, but I do hope to send emails and blog whenever possible. Even if that is every couple months, sharing my experience is one of my goals. Not to mention, hearing from home and people I care about is a necessity. I will, however, be able to live by good 'ol snail mail and look forward to conversing that way. In fact, I will be sending letters back and forth with my former 6th grade teacher and his classes. I hope to stay in touch and hear about your lives in the States. This experience means a great deal to me; I can't wait to go and I can't wait to come back home in late September 2012 as well.