Update

Busy is not the word to describe what is happening with my life right now. I apologize for not posting with more frequency, but I must admit that when I get off of work, I head to bed and then start all over again the next day. Saturdays and Sundays are good for relaxing, except that if I don't do my lesson plans on Saturday or Sunday, I find that my week is even more hectic. I start teaching at 7:30 every morning and have my last class until 8:00pm. And the hour in between are anything but free. Currently, I am teaching 7 classes. Two of the private lessons will end this week, but I will begin another private class and a regular class on Monday. So, for a couple of days, it looks like I'll have 10 classes, but then after Wednesday, things should die down and I'll have 7, I think. I'm not even sure anymore...

The school is bustling. We are overflowing with students and opening a new course this week. David will teach that one. We have so many beginner level students that we decided to dissolve the advanced course we had (which only had 3 or 4 students) and replace it with a beginner course. This makes more sense for us. David is happy too because he likes teaching the beginners. I started a new course last week at the Maritime Institute of Mindelo. They are the organization who control the waterfront. So, now I am teaching at ENAPOR, the organization who control the commercial ports and the folks who control the smaller ships and the beaches. I am surrounded by water people. I will begin two courses this week, one for Enacol and the other for Shell. They are the two oil companies here. So, I've got oil and water.... Make of that what you will.

Other than school, I must admit to not having a life. My best friend here is Elizabeth, my former roommate and yoga guru. She has decided to leave Cape Verde after a nasty run-in with ISE. They were not respectful of her and she decided to not deal with it. Then, she wanted to change projects to begin work with an agricultural group and PC said NO. They told her ISE or America. So, she's leaving tomorrow. I am super bummed out. She is my best friend here and she is a great listener and wonderful yogi. Our yoga class is really not sure what's going to happen. We are going to try to pull together and teach it as a group. We'll see. I hope it continues to be a great class.

I am so overwhelmed right now that I haven't had time to step back from it all and see the bigger picture. I'd like a week off to just access what is going on in my life, but I don't have the time. I am trying to meditate and do yoga, but I have sorely fallen flat on that. I am recommitting myself to the charge this week in hopes that it will help me to balance my life and my feelings of stress.

Well, we are officially a SUCCESS. I am proud of us and of our school. My project at Nho Djunga also continues. We are folding 1,000 cranes for good luck. I'll try to get some shots of the boys and the cranes. We have a long way to go, but they are getting good at doing them. So, with teaching, volunteering at the orphanage, and trying to find personal time, I'm pretty FULL! Keep me in your thoughts. I have made my reservation home for Christmas, so at least I'll have two weeks of a break from here.

My HOUSE

Finally, some photos of my house and Jackson. The house is looking better and better. I hung pictures and my garden is all set up. I got lots of house warming gifts from my friend Steph! She is wonderful! Steph sent me a box full of plates, cups, silverware, tupperware, and a bar set with cute wine glasses. It's just adorable. I was so thrilled to get it. They say that after your first year in Peace Corps, people don't remember you and stop sending packages! Well, I was so happy to know that this isn't true. Now that I'm over two years abroad, I am still getting great stuff from friends and family. I'll take this time to solicit BOOKS. I need reading material. I am dying for a good book to read...

Sao Pedro

I believe I mentioned that I was invited to Sao Pedro, the beach near the airport, for a party. The party was for one of our students, Gorilla. Gorilla is a retired military man. Every year he celebrates the anniversary of his retirement with a big party out at his beach house. We had a nice barbecue and were able to walk down to the beach. It's a little too rough to swim, but it is a nice beach all the same. The town of Sao Pedro is absolutely beautiful. You'll see pictures of the water and the plaza. You'll also see some photos of the sand. The designs in the sand that day were cool.

Hiking Pics

Here are the hiking pictures from the hike on October 6th. I didn't go last Sunday. I was in desperate need of a day off from everything. So, I gardened and such. The pictures you will see here are of a hike down to Joao D'Evora, where I went when Brian came for a visit. This time we wore our swimsuits and ran through a sand river down to a hidden beach. We had our breakfast and then swam for a while. The waves were wonderful and the water was perfect. It was such a nice diversion. On our hike back to the city, my friend Toi decided that he and I should run the rest of the way, so we did. We tightened the straps on our backpacks and headed back up the valley and jogged up the side of the mountain. We got tired about half way up, so we decided to stop and enjoy the view. We ended up trying out our yoga postures on some rocks that stuck out. Everyone below said we looked graceful up there on the rocks on our eagle postures! It was a great day.