Commuting for America

Sandra with Baby Dolin.

Hanitra lecturing about moringa in Ebobaky.

Water dripping on my floor from my drying clothes.

A boy in Ebobaky pounding rice.

The ScratchMap Kelsey sent me, with all the countries I've visited.

 Written February 12, 2012
Fort Dauphin

    The mountain has a name: Ingavo.  Pretty Kenyan-sounding name for a Malagasy mountain.  Only three syllables.
    On Friday I went back to Ebobaky with Hanitra, and another AVIA worker, Dany, to give a lecture on moringa.  I expected to just hold a poster or something while Hanitra talked, but as soon as we started out, she yielded the floor to me.  I quickly improvved a speech about how moringa has massive amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and protein.  So it’s like eating meat, oranges, milk, and greens all at once.  The women who attended the lecture seemed convinced and impressed, although it’ll probably take a while before they really see moringa as an integral part of their diet.
    And the more I looked at Ingavo, the easier it seemed to climb.  I’ll get on that soon.  I should be able to see Sarisambo and the ocean from the summit.
    Earlier this week I figured out that I can actually complete one of the workouts in the Men’s Health Kelsey sent me.  I just have to substitute a pounding stick for a barbell and a bucket of water for a kettlebell.
    Jess has been working with people from the embassy to set up the American Cultural Center all this week.  It finally opened on Friday, and I helped with it yesterday.  Mostly I help kids, some of whom have never used a computer before, figure out our computer games.  The only one that’s really easy enough for most of them is a point-and-click game by National Geographic.
    We also watched movies, various documentaries about America and Madagascar.  When people asked for a change Jess put on the movie Wild America.  I enjoyed explaining to the audience what a moose is: “It’s a big d- oh, you don’t have deer here.  Well, it’s... It’s a really big animal.”
    I’m helping at the center again this afternoon.  They have a few History Channel DVDs; I promised Skar I’d show him Life After People.  Humans disappear, and we get to watch the world crumble until only Mount Rushmore and the flag on the moon remain.  AMERICA!