Jesus Jukin': An African Easter

The congregation sings a Malagasy song while a group of women preform a choreographed dance.*

The sun is rising
The Son is risen
And I rise with them

I watched the soft pastels of early morning play across my yard. There was no doubt this was the dawning of an eventful day. Eventful not just because it was Easter Sunday, but because it was Easter Sunday in Madagascar; eventful not just because it was Easter Sunday in Madagascar, but because I was going to church on Easter Sunday in Madagascar. Chances are, if you attend church in Africa on Easter of all days, there will be dynamic energy and color. I could already sense the day's vibrance as I stood in the morning light.

Dressed up and ready to go, I sauntered over to the village Catholic church with my neighbor. As expected, Easter church hit the ground running in eventfulness from my fist step over the sanctuary's threshold. As unexpected, the actual first eventful occurrence was getting my hair caught in the priest's goatee scruff during the cultural cheek air-kiss, which almost led us to miss and kiss each other on the lips. (Truly, I am the master of first impressions).

Tropical Depression

Wow, has it really been five months since I've written my last blog post?

Oops.

Well, anyway, the good news is that I'm still kickin' and livin' in Madagascar, and despite my blogging silence, these last few months have indeed been eventful. For example, I:

-Went on a Thanksgiving trip to the east coast (50% work, 50% play)
-Facilitated volleyball games and drills at a Peace Corps sports camp
-Went on a Christmas/New Years trip on the west coast
-Taught nutrition at a school's youth health club in my region
-Visited a cocoa farm
-Visited an awesome national park near my home (Ankarana Park)
-Hung out with my awesome community
-Started a Volunteer sports and fitness group
-Completed more of my home gym
-Began planning activities and projects for my second year of service
-Survived rainy season!!!

Yet, while these last few months didn't lack in eventfulness, they weren't exactly easy, either. During the rainy season (December-March) travel and work become much more difficult. Road outages were a huge problem all throughout my region, and otherwise it wasn't unusual for me to often be stuck inside my house. So things felt a bit slooooooooooow, and, at times slightly depressing. Doesn't it sound so poetic, though, to feel depressed while it's raining? I thought so, which led me to write this about rainy season:

Rainy season in Madagascar
A season of grey and green
A season of cloudy days
A season of cool nights
A season of stillness
A season of growth
A season of mold and mildew
A season of trial
A season of thought
A tropical depression 

It's no top 20 country song, but you get the point. And while rainy season was a little slow, depressing, and inconvenient, there was, if you will, also a silver lining. First of all, the crops and vegetation were pretty happy from the rain at least. Second of all, coming out of rainy season, I actually feel much more connected with and comfortable in my community and Madagascar. I think that might be because I really had to buckle down in life to keep myself from going totally insane; in the process, I was reminded of how much I truly love being here in Madagascar, how great my neighbors are, and how much I care about fulfilling my two-year mission and commitment. Now I'm even happier and more confident about where I am and what I'm doing here. 

That's the neat thing about rain...a tropical depression might be a storm, but its nature facilitates growth. And a period of depression might be a tribulation, but it can be an opportunity to foster strength. So it goes with my rainy season in Madagascar. 

Swimming with Sharks

I jumped from the boat and plunged feet-first into the ocean. As the water gently swirled around me, my body breached back to the surface with natural saltwater buoyancy. Submerged in the sea with eyes wide open and a snorkel full of air, I stared down into the clear cyan depths...and into a mouth large enough to bite me in half.

Three Times the Malagasy Nailed Texan Lifestyle

As Texas is globally famous, I often entertain humorous conversations with people when they find out I hail from the great Lone Star State. Most people naturally turn the topic to core Texas stereotypes, such as cowboys and guns, or whatever they have seen in the movies. Some people, however, seem to have a broader understanding of Texas culture, and their ideas about Texas are hilariously accurate. Such Malagasy people thus nailed Texan lifestyle...


1) When they understood the love for steak and BBQ...

Neighbor: Where are you going?

Me: I'm going to the market to buy meat. 

Neighbor: You really like eating meat. Is it because you're from Texas?

I'm sure there's a few vegetarians in Austin or something, but otherwise... Yes. Nailed it. (We're not the largest beef cattle producing state for nothing!)

2) When they totally comprehended the capricious nature of Texas weather...

Friend: Does the weather today feel hot to you?

Me: Yeah, it does feel hot. 

Friend: Yeah, it's hot every day here. But in Texas the weather is hot-cold-hot-cold?

Cold today and hot tomorrow... Or, as I would say, chili today and hot tamale. Yeah, you nailed it!

My Home Life in Madagascar, As Told by Snapchat

My Home Life in Madagascar, As Told by Snapchat from Darcy Rae Jacoby on Vimeo.


What is a typical day for you in Madagascar like? How is the weather? What are your living conditions? What do you do with your trash? How is your cat???

At last, all these questions answered and more! This compliation of Snapchat videos and pictures offers a short glimpse of my little hut-life on a normal day. But for real, what could depict my life better than on-the-scene footage through a social media app?

Amongst the musical ambiance and to-the-death battles, you'll see quite a few stand-out characters of my homestead, such as my trusty appliance Grandpa Stove, my comically ferocious feline, and various invasive creatures. All-in-all, the Snaps truly do speak for themselves to paint a true picture of my true life (except for the part about the narcotic effect of mangos, but wouldn't that be something?)