MEEE!

Hello!

Favorite picture from 2014 - vibing to Nujabes

I'm Lynette Tillery and I'm glad that you decided to check out my blog! I'm a 25 year old North Carolinian from a small town where we park in the middle of the road (can you guess where?). 

I graduated from East Carolina University (Purple! Gold!) where I earned my bachelors degree in Management - Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship and Fayetteville State University where I earned my MBA and certificate in Healthcare Management. 

I am also a two-time State and National AmeriCorps member. Check out my other postings for more information. 

Other than that, I'm a self-proclaimed Otaku, a person that is interested in Japanese culture - manga, anime, and videogames, avid reader, and professional sleep enthusiast. 

Stay up to date and subscribe!

Madagascar Overview

One thing I knew about Madagascar and a Misconception

Madagascar hissing cockroaches - If you watch the National Geographic and Discovery Channels you have probably have heard of these insects. My initial thought - "It's one thing to have roaches, but hissing roaches!?"

The Madagascar Movie - there are no penguins in Madagascar and that goes for lions, zebras, hippos, and giraffes. Don't ask me about any penguins.

That's right, no penguins.

That being said, factual information is below.

Research

• CAPITAL CITY – Antananarivo    

  

  Map illustrating unique places and animals

• LARGEST CITY – Antananarivo
• OFFICIAL LANGUAGE(S) – Malagasy (primary), French (secondary)
• AREA (KM²) – 582 800 km²
• POPULATION – 20.1 million
• GDP – US$ $8.6 billion
• CURRENCY – MGA(Ariary)

"There are 138 Volunteers in Madagascar working with their communities on projects in agriculture, education, and health. During their service in Madagascar, Volunteers learn to speak standard Malagasy, as well as Malagasy dialects, including Antaifasy, Antaisaka, Antakarana, Antandroy, Antemoro, Antoanosy, Betsileo, Betsimisaraka, Sakalava, and Thiminhety. More than 1,225 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Madagascar since the program was established in 1993."

History

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and is considered to be the "eighth continent". Madagascar was settled over 2000 years ago by people of African and Asian descent. 

Economy

90% of the population live on less than $2 per day-one of the poorest countries in the world. 74% of income is spent on food. 

Agriculture is a large portion of Madagascar's economy making up 29% of GDP as of 2011. Madagascar is the world's leading producers of vanilla.

Due to the 2009 coup d'etat, restrictions of foreign aid has contributed to Madagascar's economic problems along with a decline in tourism (ecotourism). 

People and Culture

Madagascar has 18 different ethnic groups. Approximately 61% of the population is under 24 years

of age. Over half of the population is Christian that combines church worship with ancestral veneration and 2% is Muslim.

Climate and Environment

Madagascar is considered to be a biodiversity hotspot with over 74% of its flora and fauna being endemic to the island. Even though is is a biodiversity hotpot, over 80% of it's original forest has been converted to agriculture use due to tavy, slash-and-burn agriculture. 

Climate can vary greatly. It generally has two seasons: hot and rainy from November to April and dry and cooler in May to October. The east coast contains tropical rain forests that are prone to tropical storms and cyclones. The central highlands is the main location of agriculture as it is dryer and cooler. The west coast contains deciduous forests that lose their leaves during the dry months. Finally, the southwest is the driest and some parts can be considered desert.

“The wet season in Madagascar is also the hottest time of the year, with temperatures hitting a daily average maximum of 28º C (82º F) in December with a daily low of 17º C (63º F). July is the coolest month with daily average temperatures ranging between a 21º C (70º F) and 9º C (48º F). The daily temperature range averages around 8 º C (46º F) year-round.” (These are temperatures that I deal with.)

Sources

Madagascar Welcome Book from Peace Corps

http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/learn/wherepc/africa/madagascar/

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/madagascar/weather-climate-geography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ma.html

About Peace Corps

The following information is from the Peace Corps website. 

“As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Peace Corps Volunteers work at the grassroots level toward sustainable change that lives on long after their service—at the same time becoming global citizens and serving their country. When they return home, Volunteers bring their knowledge and experiences—and a global outlook—that enriches the lives of those around them.”

The 3 goals of Peace Corps

• To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
• To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served
• To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of American

Fast Facts

History

Peace Corps officially established:

March 1, 1961

Americans who have served:

More than 220,000

Host countries served to date:

140

Volunteers

Current number of Volunteers and Trainees:

6,919

Gender:

63% female, 37% male

Marital Status:

95% single, 5% married

Minorities:

28% of Volunteers*

Average Age:

28

Volunteers over age 50:

7%

Countries and Projects

Current number of countries served:

63 countries

Volunteers by Work Area

Education: 37%

Health: 24%

Environment: 10%

Youth in Development: 10%

Community Economic Development: 9%

Agriculture: 6%

Peace Corps Response: 4%

Where Volunteers Serve

Africa: 45%

Latin America: 22%

Eastern Europe/Central Asia: 10%

Asia: 12%

The Caribbean: 4%

North Africa/Middle East: 3%

Pacific Islands: 3%

Budget

Fiscal year 2013 budget:

$356.25 million

Fiscal year 2014 budget:

$379 million

Peace Corps Director

Carrie Hessler-Radelet (Western Samoa 1981-1983)

About Americorps

The following information is from the AmeriCorps website. 

“AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country.” 

“Since the program’s founding in 1994, more than 900,000 AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1.2 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve.”

“AmeriCorps programs do more than move communities forward; they serve their members by creating jobs and providing pathways to opportunity for young people entering the workforce. AmeriCorps places thousands of young adults into intensive service positions where they learn valuable work skills, earn money for education, and develop an appreciation for citizenship.”

AmeriCorps State and National

“AmeriCorps State and National supports a wide range of local service programs that engage thousands of Americans in intensive community service each year. We provide grants to a network of local and national organizations and agencies committed to using national service to address critical community needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.”

“AmeriCorps State and National programs are open to U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent resident aliens age 17 and older. Members may serve full- or part-time over a period not to exceed 12 months. Individuals can serve as AmeriCorps members in every state, U.S. territory, and on tribal reservations.”

“Full-time AmeriCorps State and National members are given a living allowance; health care; childcare, if they qualify; and become eligible for the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of the program.”

Timeline

Coming Soon!

City Year

How City Year Changed my Life

I originally found out about City Year through a friend who had applied and was accepted into the cohort of Little Rock, AK. At the time, I was working on my MBA and had just quit my job as an Assistant Store Manager for a retail store. I was feeling a bit down-trodden and ill at ease about the prospect of my future and what I really wanted to do in life.

I found out that I really regretted my degrees (both of them) as I should have pursued my passion in life which would have been becoming an English/International Studies/Foreign Language studies major. I tell you this with the utmost conviction: Do what you are passionate about! Do not let others dictate your path in life. Life is too short to live with regrets. And even if you have made the same fumble as I did, it isn’t too late. Life is full of second chances.

The only information that I grasped from what my friend told me about City Year was 1) move to a new city and 2) help with education. That was all I needed to convince me to apply which would give me another year to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and put me on the trajectory to a fulfilling career. I did my initial research to learn all I could about City Year. I found out 2 weeks before I was to begin in Miami my year of service that I had been accepted. That meant 2 weeks of losing my mind trying to get paperwork filled out and securing housing from North Carolina.

I am immensely thankful unto God that I found housing in such a short timespan through the help of Craigslist. If you ever have to take this route, please be sure to insist upon a background check, and skyping to make sure that your contact is legit. I got to live with a Panamanian family for the duration of my stay in Florida. It was one of the best things ever that have ever happened to me in life. They were the most kindest and generous people I have ever met.

Concerning City Year Miami and my first impressions during BTA my thought was: what have I gotten myself into? Everywhere you saw these smiling people cheering and jumping, doing crazy dances, and playing games (team building as they call it). This was definitely not what I signed up for and this just didn’t match with my no-nonsense attitude. Where were the kids that needed help with their school work? After I got over my initial shock of CityYear culture which I later reluctantly acquiesced to and in some parts ignored when I could, I focused my time on trying to make an impact on my students in the area of literacy.

City year gave me the awesome opportunity to function as an ELA (English and Language Arts) corps member. I also had additional coordinator roles which were ELA coordinator and Leadership and Development coordinator. During our service, some of my fellow corps member and I felt blindsided by the additional roles we had to play that we knew nothing about while applying. In hindsight, these roles are some of the best things that can happen to young college graduates or those who just lack experience as they are definitely great resume builders.

"CY Baes" - Best team ever!

When it came to my students and trying to make an impact, I had my good and bad days. There were days in which I felt like packing up and going home as my efforts in the classroom felt pointless when trying to get students to focus on their work. It’s hard to keep up morale when students use derogatory language towards you and hearing them constantly telling you to leave them alone (did I forget to mention that I served at a school that was rated number 1 concerning school fights in all of Florida?). Fortunately this was balanced by the awesome students I got to work with during morning and afternoon tutoring/programming and in the classroom and fully loaded cheesesteaks with fries, a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and Sprite on really bad days, and sharing my woes with my one of my best friends who I consider to be one my sisters.

After School Heroes - I miss these students

It was with this great and awesome lady that I found out what I wanted to do with my life. During one of our normal pow-wows (an informal meeting where we vented, watched Netflix, vibed to Spotify and discussed life in general) we started talking about LACY (Life after City Year) which is one of the pros to City Year as it does help  you come up with a comprehensive plan for your career. We discussed the fact that we always wanted to travel and see the world as neither of us had been outside of the U.S. and the farthest I had ever gone was Florida. Strangely enough, we both shared an actual dream that we had in which we saw ourselves in a foreign land helping students in education. We came to the same conclusion: Peace Corps. We both talked about our long-term goal being that of becoming Foreign Service Officers but that is yet to be seen as who knows how life will affect us.

Fortunately for us, the Chief of Staff at the time of our service was an RPCV who helped us with our application process (resume and motivational statement). As of now, my friend has started her service in Uganda and I am awaiting departure in June 2016.

All in all, I recommend City Year as it is a life changing experience for the good as you get to enter into the fight for social justice and positively impact impoverished communities. You will come out as a better person.

I have no regrets.

Check out City Year to learn more.