island time and disabilities

it's quite a rainy day here in tana. its technically the rainy season, but honestly no one i know would be complaining it rains a lot. i don't mind the rain here at all because it usually comes with awesome lightning. things are going pretty well, but my biggest concern is prolonging my visa to be here for one year. i could go into details but i'll spare you. i have people who want to help me so that's good, i think i'm just learning that things get done a lot more slowly here than what i'm used to. we'll call it my first cultural lesson in island time. but in good news, i found an organization here that i would love to work with called COPH (collectif des organizations des personnes handicapées). it's a malagasy run organization that is almost like an umbrella for numerous disability organizations all over madagascar. i've been going to their office a lot, and the people there are so nice. it's almost like a little oasis in the bustle of downtown tana. they have never had a foreign volunteer before, but they seem pretty eager to have me help with english and to just work with them. they're partnered with the branch of handicap international here, so that's good too, and hopefully through this i will be able to get my visa, but again i will spare you :) whats great about this organization is that they are linked to initiatives everywhere with all kinds of disabilities, which will give me a lot of freedom here to find somewhere that i want to stay more long term (think: near the beach). but they were telling me a lot about disabilities here, some of which is pretty depressing- kids with disabilities are taboo and often hidden from sight, the only school for kids with disabilities is private and really expensive, and the government does not help with any sort of funds or have any policies for disabilities. i'm really excited to dig into the situation more and work with these people because they are really motivated to change some of the things i just mentioned. so cross your fingers that i get my visa and i'll be great! i've also officially started french class with madame hanta who comes to my hotel room and teaches me every afternoon for about $5 an hour (what a deal right?) she's a sweetheart and i think it will help a lot. so i'm trying to use french as much as possible. so that's where i'm at now, trying to just let things fall into place. sorry for the lack of pictures but sometime i'll try to upload some more (it just takes forever). but i have to get back to my "home" (the hotel) because i promised domoina i would teach her to make a bracelet with some of the beads that aunt peggy gave me for christmas. i'll try to update again soon!