she says what she means

Hi again,

Alright, so I’m taking a break from stressing out and feeling sorry for Madagascar/myself. I’m going to meet Ryan in Kuala Lumpur in… about three weeks! We’ve both booked our flights and it’s totally exciting. I’ll be there for two weeks, and we’ll probably travel around Malaysia, maybe Bali, maybe Borneo… Don’t worry, this isn’t all of your Madagascar money that I’m traveling on! (And we’re still working on getting close to a thousand dollars back from South African Airways… #$%^!) I got a pretty good deal, and I’m in desperate need of an adventure – I was prepared for one in February, when I was supposed to leave, so I feel like I’ve been stagnantly waiting since then. This should be fantastic. I’ll take lots of photos.

I had an interview last week for a position as a volunteer in the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps, a program put on by the N.S. Dept of Environment and Canada World Youth. If I’m one of the chosen ones, I’ll get to do conservation projects around N.S. for two months or so (May and June), and then head to Ecuador to do projects until August. Fingers crossed! This would be such an amazing opportunity for me, and I’d love to spend the spring traveling around the best province in Canada. I’ve also been in touch with WWF, and we’re working on figuring out if/how I can still carry out some of the plans that you were all so kind to get behind – mostly environmental education for kiddies. I’ll let you know what happens! WWF was totally great for agreeing to pay my health insurance for my planned foray back to Vondrozo, and I really hope that we can still make something great of the opportunity. In case you haven’t been following the news in Madagascar, the opposition leader was recently sworn in as the new president. I’m not sure if things are getting better or worse, but at least the gridlock has loosened up. The new president is only 34 years old, though, which is a problem – the constitution says that a president must be at least 40. Anyway, it’s interesting to keep up on.

I’ll update again soon, but I’ll leave you with this image of sun-drenched Lawrencetown Beach, complete with nice waves and surfers. What you can’t see is that it’s about -8°C. Brrrrrrawesome.

Alright, it’s true that I’ve been posting shocking news updates with no corresponding commentary. My bad! Leave it to Vicky to call me out. I want to shout out to Vicky, though. She is pretty much my very oldest friend (I mean, we’re the same age, but our friendship is almost as old as we are), and she’s super supportive and loyal. I mean, we went to pre-school together at Mary Poppins Early Learning Academy. We were (almost) next door neighbours. We shared vacations (ski hills, cottages, beaches, and the streets of Paris and London) for years. I am lucky to have her! Here is a photo of us skating on the Bedford Basin in… I’m going to guess Jr. High, based on our outfits. My old house is on the far right, Vicky’s is directly behind us.

Anyway. Vicky is not one for mush, so I’ll cut it off there. But she’s right about my lack of real updates. So, here goes.

There has been a sudden power shift in Madagascar, from the president to the military to Rajoelina. I’m not really sure if that means that things are getting better or worse, but I’ll keep watching. I do know that Rajoelina is only 34 (or maybe 36), and the Malagasy constitution states that the president of the country must be at least 40 years old, and I know that the African Union was saying that they wouldn’t support anything “unconstitutional.” So, we’ll see. www.sobika.com is a really good place for minute by minute updates, if you can read French!

BUT, the twist is that the Peace Corps have suspended the Madagascar program, and have pulled out of the country. They’re in South Africa right now, figuring out their next moves. Some will probably go home, and some will be re-posted elsewhere, so where Ryan goes will definitely have an effect on my plans. I have a few possibilities, and I’ll let y’all know when I have more details, but I really am dedicated to making this happen, especially since you all have been so generous and supportive, and you’ve helped me raise the money I need for this project. (Nasty letters and phone calls to South African Airways though, who have withheld $800 of my plane ticket refund. I’m working on that… Actually, more accurately, my mom is working on that. I know she’s nice, but she’s feisty!) And WWF has put so much into it for me already, paying my health insurance and putting up with (and channeling) my relentless enthusiasm. (Thanks Moia!) So, as it stands, I’m trying to find another way to make this happen and stick with the Explore Programme. I’ll let you know how things are progressing… for real this time.

(Thanks Vay!)

Much love,

Liz

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7946741.stm

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1436

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL9665512