Cyclone!

Been here just over two weeks now and have experienced my first cyclone! Not fully as it was worse further north and to the east, but I still got to experience the insane wind and rain! Sadly my visit to a project had to be cancelled as the roads would have been too bad, but its hopefully being rescheduled for this friday!

I spent most of the week working on ideas for the new Treemad fundraising campaign, whilst also looking at the original feedback madagascar website and seeing what needs to be updated and what can be improved on. I've also been working on ways to integrate the reporting process for the team and project managers out here so that information for donors/funding proposals/website information/treemad updates can all be collected and stored in the same place to make things a lot simpler and easier- having worked on that I am now doing research into the different projects in order to fill up this database with all the relevant information.

I have also been hearing rumours that I will be going to visit one of feedback's projects in a couple of weeks time for an opening ceremony which the prime minister will be attending!  This should be an interesting experience aha

Was introduced to some more english speakers at the weekend through a group set up by the american peace corps out here called 'tea and talk'- it was set up so that malagasy people who want to improve their english can come and speak with other malagasy people and native english speakers, and they meet up twice a week. The main members are now trying to turn the group into an association so that they can get funding for english teaching projects for the community around Fianarantsoa.

It was Jamie's last weekend before going home so we had a party for him at feedback on friday night and then saturday night we went to karaoke with some of the feedback staff and also people from tea and talk and I got to have my first experience of clubbing madagascan style! Weirdly it reminded me a lot of lola los... it was a fun night though apart from getting home to realise the front gate had been locked, but i left it up to Jamie to climb over!

Weather seems to be so much better this week (saw the sky at night for the first time without any clouds and it is insanee how many stars you can see!!) And hopefully it'l hold out til friday so I can visit one of the projects!!!