Simple Joys.
A family
I lived with in
Mahantantely, Central Madagascar
•
A family
I lived with in
Mahantantely, Central Madagascar
•
Within arid depths of a land below
abides the humble village of l’Ambaro.
A world where clothing is prized but threadbare;
a world where meals are luxuries proved rare.
A world where days with famine are fraught;
a world the remaining earth long forgot.
But this is a place where
pure are the hearts,
simple are the joys,
the love of each part.
Where drums hum daily
their languid song,
enchanting the children
all the day long.
Where families dance into
the hallowed night,
merriment echoing
under faint moonlight.
Where sand curls freely
about their feet,
naked, synchronized,
stomped to each beat.
Until finally twilight
snatches the hills,
descending upon them
a shuddering chill.
Then filled with cheer
they part by the number
into their huts to
unite in deep slumber.
This is the place the world left behind–
a place that will always be in the back of my mind.
• • •
My host village of Ambaro, Southern Madagascar
Once upon a time in a land far away (ie., Taiwan), there existed a smallish girl named Phoebe…
…who, in the 1980’s, was born into a family…complete with a mom, a dad, and a pet gibbon.
From an early age, Phoebe adored animals, therefore, when she grew up and went to university, she decided to become a purple kangaroo for the patients at the children’s hospital.
Phoebe soon realized something: she loved to help people. Eventually, this realization led her to start traveling the world, for long periods of time, to do volunteer work.
Of all the places, Phoebe worked in Africa the longest…namely, in the lands of West Africa and Madagascar.
On the island of Madagascar, Phoebe was known for befriending a lonely stray lemur named Buddy…
…with whom she would share her cactus fruit every morning.
There, she lived in a small village with a sweet family of 20 vibrant sisters…all of whom liked to dance.
On the other side of the continent, in the land of Ghana, she also lived with a lovely family, but in lieu of a lemur, she had a goat friend (who, tragically, eventually got eaten…).
After all that, Phoebe returned to the U.S. and became a doctor, because more than anything…she still wanted to help people.
Now, during her journey through medical school, her peers started to call her ‘Puppy,’ primarily, they claimed, because of her “loyal, affectionate, and loving nature.”
Gradually, the name ‘Puppy’ evolved until, finally, one day…
…a ‘PuppyDoc‘ was born.