andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: January 2013
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html
Friday, January 25, 2013. The Conclusion to the "Long, Lost Blogpost". HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! You may think I’m late here, but in. It is totally normal to wish someone a happy new year all the way up until February. I’ve even seen someone do it as late as March. Did you have Happy Holidays? Anywho, back to the story…. Finished, flushable, ventilated latrine. Environmental Camp with local students. In November, my friend Leah came out to visit. Before I left. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). The Conclusion to ...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: November 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html
Friday, November 18, 2011. About once a month, I work with one of the guides to do a lemur transect. This consists of walking the trails quietly and recording the species and location of lemurs we encounter. It’s an awesome opportunity and I am usually fortunate enough to spot a few. It can be tough as three of the five species (I think? Sleep during the day. In general, they are all pretty fearful of humans and will move away from the trail quickly if they feel threatened. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom).
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: May 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html
Friday, May 27, 2011. Life a few weeks in. It’s always tough to find a starting place when I write blog posts and also to choose what to include and what to leave out, but I guess this time I will start with my house. My house is fairly decent considering I’m in the Peace Corps. It has a concrete foundation, wooden frame, and two rooms (a kitchen and a bedroom). The walls are made of some type of thick grass-like material and the roof is made of ravinala leaves. Apparently, the last volunteer gave small ...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: December 2010
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html
Tuesday, December 14, 2010. In the meantime, perhaps to keep my spirits up, I've been "researching" Madagascar. Well, turns out, its a really beautiful country with a lot going on. Here are a few things I've found:. According to wikipedia, 80% of all plant and animal life in Madagascar is only found there. Deforestation is a real problem. Rosewood, a scarce hardwood, is illegally logged, shipped to China, and made into furniture worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Uh, it's beautiful. One. The content...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: December 2012
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html
Thursday, December 20, 2012. Part II: The Long Lost Blogpost. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll get right in to it. Here is a Part II of The Long, Lost Blogpost, continuing where I left off last week…. 8230;After vacation, I headed out on my second vacation (Peace Corps, the toughest job you’ll ever love), back to. A lot of people have asked me, “so, did you have reverse culture shock? Is it weird going back? When I finally got off in. I was pretty exhausted, but… there was my family! Was cancelle...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: June 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html
Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Writing blogposts is always a really difficult task for me. I never know what to focus on. There is no way I can tell everything worthy of telling, but somehow I need to say something. Should I tell you about the fete national and the all night dance parties they have on the hill above my village? What about when, through a series of misunderstandings, the mayor brought half the town to my doorstep where I made them a single serving of popcorn? Thanks to everyone who has written...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: January 2012
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html
Saturday, January 7, 2012. A list of observations, lessons learned, and things that don't surprise me anymore. What makes a good blog post from a Peace Corps volunteer? So what am I trying to say? 1 It is not inappropriate for young children to play with big knives or to drink a little beer from their parents. 2 The black people in my magazines from America are actually Malagasy. Why? Because they are black. 3 Rihanna and Beyonce are Malagasy… or at least part Malagasy. Why? Because they are black. 12 I&...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: October 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html
Tuesday, October 11, 2011. So, man, have I been busy. After spending a good amount of time at site without seeing another American (a whole month! Well, very quickly. Looking ahead, I can see how the months already gone will start accumulating faster and faster. After 14 hours, we arrived in Manakara and took a pousse-pousse (a hand-pulled cart) to the nearest hotel to crash for the night. Since, I’ve been enjoying the beach, a bit of karaoke, and visiting with the other volunteers. The contents of this ...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: August 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html
Friday, August 26, 2011. A day in the life. So here I am, flying down a rocky hill on my Peace Corps-issued Trek mountain bike when I come upon three men hauling coconuts into town. Each one has a thick stick of bamboo slung over his shoulder with a basket hanging from each end. This is how people transport everything around here: bananas, charcoal, chickens… anything. There are just too many hills and rutted-out gullies on the road for an oxcart. 8220;Is 800 Ariary, okay? 8221; I ask. I’m a little...
andrewbourret.blogspot.com
Andrew in Madagascar: April 2011
http://andrewbourret.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html
Monday, April 11, 2011. Life as a Peace Corps Trainee six weeks in. Have I really been here for six weeks? Training has flown by and I have hardly had a chance to process everything that is happening. Peace Corps manages to pack our days with as much as they can. On the average day we sit through four hours of language class and three hours of technical or medical training with other random activities tucked into any other free time we might have. Eaten rice two to three times a day on average. Honed my ...
