Naureen Nayyar

Sometimes I still wake up remembering the warm breezy siestas Margaux and I took during noon time in our wooden house in the bush. When I hear something about Madagascar in the news, at times my heart beats a bit faster. You might think I am making this up, but trust me, once you go there, if you're in love with nature, research driven, enjoy being with people, and/or laughter comes to you easily, you will leave with stories that will make others wish they had gone too!

Madagascar was the topic of the first book report that I ever did in my life, at which time it was still hard to visit there if you were not a researcher, but as time went on, it opened to tourism. To read about the issue faced by a country is one thing, but to be living amongst the people, see the erosion of the land in your backyard, and face the stench of sanitation issues in a daily basis causes you to truly feel a personal desire to assist in changing the situation.

How did I even end up there?

As an assistant for World Water Week, in Stockholm, Sweden, I met some amazing WWF staff members working on their freshwater / water policy programs, who steered me to the panda.org website. The idea of working with the WWF organization appealed to me greatly, so I visited the website. It was during that visit that I found the link to the youth volunteer program, and knew it was my calling. I worked on my essay on my flight home, so the moment my plane landed San Francisco, CA I submitted my application. Before I knew it, I was leaving to go the other side of the planet, to be one of six people getting to go live in the spiny forest. Honestly, my life has never been the same.

I have always been interested in water policy and ecology as I was born in a country (Bangladesh) that will most likely be underwater in the next thirty years and raised in California that faces droughts. Since I was a kid I loved exploring and knew when I landed in my village, that this would be the start of more exploration in my life. Upon my return, I have become more interested in conservation topics and promoting policies that work with the locals of poor countries in respect to preservation of important animal and plant habitats. Not only did I learn a lot about conservation, I learned a lot about myself, and made friends that I know I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life.

The experiences of working with WWF in the bush of Madagascar, inspired me to learn more about the geology of the "dry forest" of California, and to promote toilets in developing countries. The lack of sanitation was something that was hard to ignore while doing this project as we were the only people who had toilets in the village. This opportunity provided me the stepping stone to follow my passions. Currently I have been volunteering with California Academy of Science, learning as much as I can about Madagascar's wildlife and taking classes in San Diego, in hopes to go to graduate school so I can do field work in Madagascar...

Working in Madagascar works best if you are open to change, curious, and able to really enjoy being around people. Do some research before you get there, learn about the area where you will be living. You will most likely not have any Internet, so there won't be any google searches to assist you in the field.

This is something I realized later that is utterly important to comprehend: at times people will stare at you and you shall feel uncomfortable, remember you have a camera to take their photos, while they can only hold onto the image of you in their mind. The people are curious and kind, as long as you are the same.

Things you really should not forget:

• A journal and great crayons - it's great to be able to draw and explain things when you are confused
• Camera - get a great one and your images will keep you connected to this place mentally
• Printed photos of you to give your host village - images are important to the people
• Swiss army knife - I've never diced more vegetables in a daily basis in my life than when I lived in the bus
• Sunblock - You will use it and you will love yourself for taking some with you
• Wet wipes - they are great for so many reasons. Most likely you will have limited toilet facilities, so be prepared.
• Girls - awesome tampons, because there are slim pickings here

Yet, if you forget all this, one thing you can rest assure, you will return not regretting any of it, even the crappy moments when you wish you could have flown back home! So, hurry up and sign up, and look me up when you return!