A Day in the Life

“Abby, what are we going to do today on this glorious American Saturday afternoon?” BEEP!, BEEP!, BEEP!

Ahh, damn, it’s just a dream I think as I roll over at 5 AM to hit the snooze button to prolong my sweaty slumber for another couple of minutes. Finally, I summons all motivation one can have at 5 in the morning and roll off the mattress that has been deeply creviced by 7 months of hard sleeping. Fumbling around with my headlamp I finally get my bearings and set myself in motion for my early morning jog. Hearing me stir, the cat begins crying without pause to be let out of the kitchen. I throw on my workout clothes, grab the ipod, drink some water and stretch the morning stiffness away. Five in the morning is the best time for me to get a little exercise for two main reasons. First, waiting only one hour later would mean the sun would be out and it would be significantly hotter outside. Secondly, I stand out, no doubt about that, but a bandana wearing white guy running around Port Berge would create quite the stir if done during the day. At five, it’s still dark, its cool, few people are out and I will get to see a spectacular sunrise. My run takes me to the outskirts of town to the old airstrip which is still occasionally used but consists of only a dirt runway and an old tattered orange windsock. It gets lighter as I get to the landing strip and upon my return a rising bright orange sun is shining on the parched landscape.

After finishing the run I return to the house for a little breakfast. In order to drink coffee, I must roast the greenish, gray coffee beans on my stovetop until they are black and smoking. I then crush two pestle’s worth of coffee in order to have an adequate amount to fill my coffee sock and still get the much needed kick in the pants that my body asks for every morning. Boiled water is then poured through the sock and my morning java only needs a good pressing from my camper-press and we’re ready to rock. Food is either toast with butter or cheese spread, or Mokary, a small doughy rice cake purchased from a lady down the street who makes and sells them fresh every morning. Mokary is subtly sweet and is great for dipping in coffee. No matter what form it comes in, rice is the Gasy staple food and is eaten for every meal. My morning’s meal costs no more than 500 Ariary, or a quarter. I enjoy my breakfast while perusing a month old news magazine keeping me informed, but not up to date.

Post meal, I hop in my cell-block like shower for the dreaded, but much needed cold shower. The cold water is a great wake up call and prevents me from wasting water. I consider myself very fortunate as I am one of the very few PCV’s who has a real shower in their house. In fact, I am one of the only PCV’s I know that is not adept at bucket showering. Jeans, polo shirt and top-siders make up my work attire and after dressing I leave the house at 8:15. After a ten minute bike ride through the heart of the Port, I arrive at the hospital.

If it’s a Wednesday or Friday there are usually a good number of mothers with babies already waiting around the vaccination room. Many of these women have spent the early morning hours walking many kilometers with babies strapped to their back in order to get to the CSB. This is due to the fact that Wednesday is BCG day, the only day that newly born babies can get their first vaccination, and Friday is the only day that babies nine months and older can get their final shot of the five shot program. Other days of the week are considerably less busy with the occasional mother bringing a child in to get vaccinated and weighed, or just weighed. All babies should gain weight every month and so it’s important for the mothers to consistently bring their child in each month to get weighed and have their growth plotted. If a baby is not gaining weight then I convey this to the mother and tell her to either continue breastfeeding frequently or discuss ways to properly wean the child with good, healthy food for babies. These little conferences are usually done one on one but sometimes there are a group of mothers who can benefit from hearing the message. The hospital has devised a nice weaning program for babies six months and older which uses foods found locally that are not too expensive. We also try and make it clear that the best and cheapest way to keep their baby well fed is by breastfeeding all the time and continuing it through the child’s second year. The added benefit to exclusive breastfeeding is that it is a natural form of contraception. On Wednesdays and Fridays I give a kabary, a small presentation in Malagasy, on subjects such as healthy food for children, the vaccination program, preventing and treating diarrheal disease, good hygiene and/or preventing malaria. Any kabary could have an audience ranging from 4 to 30 women with babies. I have a written script that I loosely follow, but I have found that the better talks are the ones in which I stray from my notes. My visuals include information written on colored construction paper, posters produced by the Health Ministry, and my own puerile artwork. I have never had any issue speaking in front of groups and usually find the women to be interested in either what I’m saying or how I will mangle their language. My talks are often conducted amidst a cacophony of screaming and yipping zazas. The best presentation is one that is short, easy to follow (i.e. few statistical facts or complicated health terms), and show/teach the women something they don’t already know (i.e. how to make a homemade Oral Rehydration Solution for diarrheal disease or that exclusive breastfeeding for the child’s first 6 mos., is a natural form of contraception). I give the same presentations over and over again and they can get a little monotonous; however, the fact remains that the women can’t hear these health messages enough.

My work at the hospital is usually finished on Mon, Tues, and Thurs around 9:30 AM and I stick around until 11 AM writing letters and studying Malagasy. On Wed and Fri it is not unusual for me to finish weighing and cataloging weight statistics for the final babies right around my departure time of 11AM. Despite it being winter time in June and July, I am always aware of the heat as I return home. After changing into shorts and t-shirt, I make my way to the market. I usually stop and purchase some Tiko yogurt from some nice epicerie owners in order to break the large bills that they only give me at the bank in Antsohihy. Apparently the large bill scheme is employed by many a developing nation and it serves two purposes. It helps stave off inflation, and it makes people like me put money into the economy. For example, it’s a guarantee that the people selling veggies at market will not have change for large bills, so I have to buy things such as yogurt on a frequent basis in order to get smaller bills to buy bananas, tomatoes, carrots, etc. Thus, anytime I want to buy food I have to purchase more than I really need that day in order to have usable money. So after my yogurt purchase, I wind my way around the various vegetable stalls always with an eye out for large green peppers or pineapple. I can always find tomatoes, potatoes, onions and carrots but veggies/fruit such as peaches, apples and peppers are brought in from Tana and are found infrequently. The market is divided into three general sections, rice and beans, veggies and fruit, and various butcher blocks. Surrounding the pavilion that makes up the roofed market, are many people selling chickens, milk, knock off clothes from China, cheap knick knacks and odds and ends also made in China. There are several stalls set up that serve meals of lasopy (soup), sakosako (corn in coconut milk) and various bean and meat dishes over rice. Lining the front of the market are women and children serving a selection of fried foods such as fish, peanuts, cassava and bread. It’s impossible to accurately describe the sights, sounds and vibe of the market- it must be seen. I love weaving my way between the various stalls and sellers and briefly shooting the breeze about the size of the carrots or who will win the World Cup. Many of the sellers know what I like and know my habits, so they call out to me if they have something like chicken eggs or something unique that is selling fast.

Lunch is usually leftover food from the night before served over rice; however on Mondays when I get fresh ground beef I make a fine Philly cheese steak. This is done using La Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow processed cheese, the only cheese that can stand the heat) along with hamburger sautéed with onions and green peppers. And, I've always got to make a little extra rice for the Piso (cat) as her meals are made up of dried fish and my leftovers. I try to finish my lunch as quickly as possible in order to maximize the hour and a half of electricity, thus fan time, before it’s cut off for the afternoon. Because of the heat, everyone takes an afternoon siesta. I tried to withstand this as I always considered the post lunch nap a dangerous habit to start, but my will power did not last long. I read and nap until the electricity cuts out at 2 PM (coincidentally, the hottest part of the day). The afternoon is then spent taking care of practicalities such as letter writing, kabary preparation and/or meeting with people. Around 4:30 or 5, I go out to get a little snack and do any final food purchasing. Almost everyday I buy some peanuts and then stop off to eat fried cassava or kida (unsweet banana) and chat with a group of ladies near my house. The lady that sells the food helped me find Gigi the cat so she is always interested in how it’s doing and if I have any rats. I may do some of my best work as a PCV in this setting. There is a table with food surrounded by women sitting on two benches and they get a kick out of chatting with me. They ask me about things such as preventing intestinal worms or different forms of oral contraception, and because it is a casual, friendly atmosphere I feel that I give good solid advice and that they really absorb what I tell them.

More reading is in store while I eat my afternoon snack and think about what to cook for dinner. More often than not, the sautéed vegetable medley over rice wins out due to the quick and easy prep time. I cut and dice whatever veggies I have on hand and then sauté them in olive oil. Many times ground beef or a scrambled egg is added for a little protein kick. While I eat the same thing on a very frequent basis, I have found it to be quite tasty and healthy. Despite my lack of motivation to make creative cuisine every night, I have managed to make some very good meals. Highlights would include fresh tuna steaks marinated in a ginger/sesame butter sauce, cheesy pasta with packaged salmon in a mustard/with balsamic vinegar sauce and I baked chocolate chip cookies for the first time in my life (they turned out ok). I have creative culinary bursts of energy, and then I flat-line for a while and eat my veggie medley. One of my favorite things to do, in the U.S. and here, is eat my dinner while watching Seinfeld episodes. I have now probably seen every show from the 4^th season at least twenty times. After eating and cleaning up, I will eat some yogurt and maybe brew a cup of Rooibos Tea and settle in for more reading or a game of hearts on the computer. Or like right now, type up a lengthy, overly detailed blog post. Around 8:30 PM, I light a mosquito incense coil and lay out my therm-a-rest for a little pre-sleep exercise. Despite trying to go up in sets every week or two, I have recently plateaued at 5 sets of 20 pushups and 5 sets of 40 sit-ups. After exercising, the cat goes in the kitchen; I take my second shower of the day and then hit the sack a little after 9PM. I have started reading this book called the Bible that apparently has been creating quite the stir over the past few years. While there are many people who have very rigid religious views and like to use their narrow interpretation of vague biblical passages to fit their own moral/political agenda, I feel that the majority of us are very uninformed about what the Bible has to say and adhere to our parent’s religious views like it’s politics. I have thus started on a quest to inform myself in regards to differing religious beliefs by reading cover to cover all important religious tracts in the course of my lifetime. I think I will delve into the Koran after the Bible; however my focus now is finishing the book of Leviticus. The Old Testament of the Bible is quite interesting after getting through the lengthy genealogies and building instructions. Lights out happens around 10 PM.

I have found that my life eerily resembles Phil Connor’s in the movie Groundhog Day. Despite every day being more or less the same, I think I’m at the turning point where I grow accustomed to it and take the opportunity to make that sameness as profitable and soul enriching as possible. Recently, I have started going out into the outlying fokontanies (small villages comprising all of Port Berge) to deliver health messages and discuss the possibility of starting some well or latrine building projects. This new type of work is what I thought my Peace Corps experience would be more like and so I have welcomed this opportunity to interact with my fellow community members in a proactive, health conscious way. I expect to be busier in the future and feel that my “real” work as a Peace Corps volunteer may just be starting. Well, time to do some more reading and sleeping. Good night, all!