Rachel did manage to get to M with the things she needed for her stay in Tana. She really enjoyed helping train the incoming group of PC volunteers. Afterwards she spent two weeks or so serving as interpreter etc. for a documentary film crew filming lemurs for public television. Then back to V and her teaching and other work there.

She has managed to help the women’s center procure the supplies for their maternal/infant nutrition classes and hopes to visit them soon to see how the center is doing. In V, she had a brief visit from a researcher friend and now is in the national parks with a friend from Brandeis for a couple of days.

Under Rachel’s direction, kids from her middle school performed an environmental-education play (written by her researcher friend) at a festival in M last week. They did a good job and were really pleased with themselves–first-time actors all. Rachel said it was a new experience for her to be “directing” a play instead of being an actor herself.

In July she expects to visit the south of Madagascar with a visiting professor from Brandeis. She’ll get another chance to try interpreting and see new parts of the island. t