2/15/15

How did I spend my Valentine’s Day? Three words: Mountainy. Winding. Wet.

Four more: Sunburn. Shoulders on fire.

One more: Mud.

I want people to see this town. Really visualize it. “Madagascar” is an abstract idea to most Americans, or a kid’s cartoon about assorted jungle animals. I want people to really see the faces of who/what  really exists here.

That is why yesterday, I set out with a team to make a video about this town and this bridge project.

My team consists of:

-                        My sitemate, Julia, who teaches English at the town’s Lutheran school. She has a lot of students that need this bridge to see their families on the weekends (they rent houses by themselves next to her school during the week).

-                        Visiting Peace Corps Volunteer Olivia Markwalder, who has agreed to do all the film editing for this project.

-                        My counterpart, Madame Bako, a fellow English teacher who is very passionate about making this bridge happen. And…

-                         Bernard, the architect who will lead a team to design and physically build this bridge.

The five of us set out with bikes and sandwiches for a day of what turned into rugged journeying.

Maneuvering our bikes over rocky, winding paths, we found ourselves surrounded at first by sprawling green fields of rice and corn. Also, the occasional cow-cart.

We first biked 7 kilometers to a small brick shop, where we interviewed one of Julia’s high school students who lives there. His family owns the shop and he talked about commuting back home every weekend to see them.





After leaving him, the journey got much rougher as we set out to the actual bridge site.  We balanced our wheels on the thin spines of paths, pushing through large puddles and badly dodging mud and loose rocks.

(Whew!)

We eventually came to a tiny village, with smoky brick houses and a very small group of people. We stopped at one house where there was a gaggle of children. They were young and do not attend school. When they saw us, they were frightened.

Bako interviewed the parents, who felt much more comfortable with her than with us strange “foreigners.” The atmosphere was slightly tense. The kids were unbearably shy. It was immensely different from how it feels by my middle school, where I've lived and taught the past 20 months.

( At the middle school, some of my students, who can’t get enough of the camera).

We then went to the brink of the river where the bridge will be built. The water was mostly still, but deep enough to deter any kind of crossing.

(Bernard, the architect, at the bridge site.)

We wanted to find some students who had agreed to be interviewed. But the sky was letting out angry rumbles. Nature was slowly forcing its hand over us, demanding we head back to the main commune. As if in warning, the sky opened up and started to drizzle.

The route we took back was insane. We walked through paths of water, and over a log to cross a small river. My legs could barely handle the muddy/rocky terrain as we peddled through it.

                                                       

(We had to ask some guys to help us get the bikes over. They very naturally balanced the bikes above their heads as they crossed this. Skills, man.)

(And you thought your socks would stay dry. Haha.)

We finally returned, exhausted and dripping wet, but with tons of footage.

We talked to some students by the Lutheran school on the main commune. A ton of students live in special housing next to the school. They just live with their siblings, and many are very very young. They must make the crossing we’d made that day to get back to their families on the weekends.

The trek was an adventure for the day. But having to do that both ways EVERY weekend… I think the adventure would get drowned out by the mud and rocks suctioning against tired skin. These kids are TOUGH.

Can’t wait until all the editing is done. We think that by the end of March, we’ll be able to unleash the video in its full glory.

In the meantime, I hope these photos shed some light on these student’s situations. Please consider making a donation to make this bridge possible.

https://beta.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/bridge-to-education/
A huge thanks to all who have donated so far. You are the support to this bridge!