Well, I’ve been in my town, Alakamisy, for about a month. A strange change. The town rolls up its sidewalks around 7pm, but I could use a rest after 8 years in Miami Beach. Fortunately, about an hour south is a city, Fianarantsoa, that I’ve frequented a few times. It’s got hills like San Francisco, restaurants and a few establishments to grab a cold one.

Pre-Service training is over and I’ve finished the documentary of those 3 months. I made it so we can always look back and see ourselves as we were, young and vibrant, and playful. Memories fade and become bad copies of the original, film is forever. While in training, time moved so slow. I came close to a few people, made many friends, conflicted with a few, and went a little loco. I miss them, but also glad to be a Lone Wolf again. I’ll treasure those 3 months because spending 24 hours a day with such a large group of people for so was like being in a movie, or on that show, Survivor.

I teach at a high school and the students are friendly and want to learn. Some are a little rowdy but that’s to be expected. As a kid I was a class clown yearning for attention, so I bring that skill as a teacher. I walk 3 km every day to work going through picturesque rice fields and mountain views while everyone looks at me like I just walked out of a spaceship.

One afternoon I decided to hike up one of the tallest mountains in the area. I packed a lunch and my camera and crossed the rice fields that separate the mountain and my town. A group of little kids began following me. We got to a small stream that I had to jump over. I knew I could do it, but just barely. The kids saw my hesitation and laughed like crazy. Reacting from this I made it look like I wasn’t going to make it over the water, so they were anticipating a funny fail. I played it up right until I landed safely on the other side. They were surprised. I grinned and gave them a nod. 30 seconds and 50 meters later, one of them yelled, “Snake!” in Malagasy. My childhood instincts took over. “Where?” I chased it through the muck and the mire. I know how to safely catch snakes. I once grabbed a rattle off a giant rattle snake. It was 13 years old cause the rattle had 13 sections. I grabbed this one behind the head. It wrapped its tail around my forearm as I raised it high. The kids scattered. I need more snakes. Eventually they returned and we looked at the snake and talked before I let it go. I said good bye, shook their hands and 30 minutes later I was on top of the mountain, which had a big cross on top. I gazed, pondered, and worked on my fledgling tan.

There’s a family that sells food, bbq style, on the side of the road. They’re open late. It’s real rustic. I go there almost everyday. Sometimes when I have nothing to do, I’ll just stop by and have a coffee and BS with them.

I hung out with a few fellow Peace Corps Volunteers in Fianarantsoa. They’re a wonderful bunch who live nearby. I’m the only one from my training group here. We did some Karaoke the first night. Unfortunately I got too tipsy before they played my song so I called it an early night. Maybe someone called it for me, it got a little fuzzy. The next day we hung out by a hotel pool. The music was extremely loud and there were lots people everywhere. A little kid ask to play with a ball that I bought to help teach English with. She was so cute. I said yeah, “But bring it back when your done.” Never saw the kid again.

I still don’t feel that my Malagasy is up to snuff. I should be studying more, but I’m so busy trying to get a grip on my new life here.

I visited the town of Rano Mafana. It’s about an hour east from my town, but the climate and landscape are 180 degrees different. It’s pure jungle teeming with lemurs and creepy crawlies like centipedes and strange insects that look like they just stepped out of a tiny spaceship. I walked around town checking the scene. I checked into a rinky dinky motel with communal bathrooms and showers. The lady working there was so friendly and the surrounding vegetation was trying it’s best to take the place over. Very Narnia-like. It had me at hello.