My life in Madagascar began in 2017 when I joined the Peace Corps, where I taught English in two locations, Mahajanga (west coast), and Mahambo (east coast). I’d dreamt of joining the Peace Corps since I saw my first PC commercial in 1964. Slightly over 50 years later, I decided to change my life, utterly and join the Peace Corps. I was 59, recently divorced, living in Oakland’s Trestle Glen neighborhood, and struggling to make the kind of money in I.T. that I’d made when I was younger. Age discrimination was real and it was getting harder and harder to keep my head above water financially.
Joining the Peace Corps allowed me to sell my home, pay off all my debt, sell and/or give away pretty much everything I owned, and finally live the simpler life of which I’d dreamt. I was so looking forward to living outside the u.s., in a country where no one knew me, and where I didn’t speak the language. I know this sounds crazy, but this had been my dream for most of my life. I had NO idea how it would manifest, but I truly believe we’re not given a dream without the power to make it come true. And as luck would have it, one day the cosmic tumblers of my life all locked into place, and all these dreams came together at once. I was moving to Madagascar, the country from where my Malagasy ancestors had originated.
NOTE: Malagasy are the people, and Malagasy is the language spoken. The Malagasy people speak Malagasy on Madagascar. Got it?
From the moment I arrived Jun 13, 2017, I was in love with the country, one of my ancestral homes,