Monday morning, 10 am ish, the day after I moved to Praia, we had our first faculty meeting.
Now I know what you are all envisioning… all of the teachers sitting around with the department chair, discussing pressing issues concerning students/schedules/etc. Things are a little different in Cape Verde. Here’s how it went:
First, we all arrived fashionably late for our meeting (well, I was there on time). The “chair” of our department is actually a French teacher (our department is the department of linguas strangeiras – French and English), so he wasn’t there because he doesn’t speak English and has little to do with the English staff. So we met as a faculty. There were 6 Americans (current and former PC volunteers) and two other men who have long taught for the department; one man from Senegal who is leaving this month to study in France and another man who is Cape Verdean but spent much of his time in England who is on sabbatical this semeseter. This is IT!!!! So, we are down to 6 Americans teaching English at ISE! WOW. Okay, this is an interesting issue. We are trying to create English teachers for Cape Verde, but the people teaching are not Cape Verdean – none of them!! This is crazy. Our goal has to be to get Cape Verdeans to teach themselves. The problem is no Cape Verdeans have Master’s degrees in English! They have to leave the country to get one and then will not likely return!!!!!! This is frustrating to say the least.
Next, we all are meeting to discuss our teaching schedules. There is not a person in charge of such a task in our department, we all sit around together and talk about what we want to teach and when it can be taught. We spent about 2 hours discussing the in’s and out’s of the schedule. We learned that we need at least 3 more teachers to cover the classes we have. AND, we are not admitting any 1st year students this term because we don’t have teachers to teach them! I am teaching a condensed Comp I class (I am meeting with them twice a week, four hours total). The second semester these students will have a condensed Comp II class with Dianne to catch them up. This happened because last year their teacher left mid-way through the first semester and there was no one left to teach. (teachers have frequently abandoned their students mid-semester, which causes all kinds of problems).
Side note: Another problem in Cape Verde is that most students at ISE (especially those in their 3, 4, and 5th years) are also teaching at the high schools while attending ISE. This means that classes can either be taught in the morning or in the afternoon, but students can’t do both. They come to school from 7:30-1:30 and then have to get to their schools by 2 to teach until 6 or vice versa. This is quite different from students who work their schedules around an outside job. We only offer one section of each class and all students in a given year take all classes together. This means that they must take the classes offered at the times they are offered. They also have obligations to the high schools and teach 22 hours a week there. They have no time for homework and for lesson planning. They likely have families and other obligations. It is a tragic scene that will take some adjusting to get used to.
Finally, after the schedule was somewhat set, we started switching classes around. People were trading classes, trading times, etc. It got confusing! Jessica and I just sat there with our mouths open as this all transpired. It is a lot to take in, and I feel a lot of responsibility for my job and for the health of our department. I know that it will be a tough year, but I am really excited about the students and about their commitment to school. Of the teachers in our faculty meeting, three have stayed around after their PC service to keep teaching at ISE. That’s a pretty good sign! Txau. Ti logo.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
My new apartment
I sure hope I can get some pictures posted in the near future. I really, really want to get something put up on the web to show you my homestay life and training experience as well as my new home in Praia. So, I haven’t forgotten about this, it’s just a little difficult to get this to all work right.
Now on to my new home!!!!! I am soooooo pleased with my apartment in Praia. It is absolutely beautiful. I live on the bottom floor of a three story apartment complex. My place has Spanish (terracotta) tiles throughout the whole place. It is painted a light yellow color with bright yellow accents. Our kitchen is lovely. We have an open floor plan, so everything kind of flows from one room to the next.
When you enter the place, there is a foyer of sorts with the kitchen off to the left. The kitchen then flows into a dining room/sitting room (this space is huge). Then there is a big opening with two steps down into a living room with big windows and door to a porch. Next to the dining room, we have a half bath and then a full bathroom on the other side of the house. We each have spacious bedrooms (Dianne’s is much more spacious than mine) and a room in between our rooms that we are using as a closet/ laundry room.
Okay, so Dianne’s room is huge. It has two massive windows, a ceiling fan, and built in cabinets and dressers. Her room also has two wall mounted lamps! It’s pretty sweet. Dianne, who is 67 years old, completely deserves this room. She recently moved into the place, so I don’t feel as if she has really claimed anything except the room. And, as she says, the room will be mine one day!!!
My room has none of the above and a pretty sorry excuse for a light. My window opens up to the neighbors front door, so her maid looks into my room when she comes and goes. BUT, I can deal with that. I love the place. It is close to our work (only 3 bus stops or a about a 20 minute walk). It is in a nice little zona (neighborhood) called Terra Branka. We are near the main road, so everything is close by. No complaints from me.
OH! And I forgot to mention that we have INTERNET access. Well, we have 20 hours a month of dial up service. That’s just enough to upload blogs and have outlook send and receive my mail. I will probably generally go to either school or the Peace Corps office to use the faster internet for free. BUT, it’s great to have so many options.
So, it might not be the Peace Corps you or I envisioned, but I couldn’t ask for a better life. I am happy and healthy, so things are great. My roommate Dianne is an amazing woman with soooo much life experience. She has lived in the states, Japan for 10 years, Switzerland for a year, and was married to a man from England. She has taught all different age levels, has a master’s degree in psychology, and has raised 2 children. She has so many good stories and loves to listen as much as she loves to talk. I think we are going to get along just fine! Okay, gotta run. Txau. Ti logo.
Now on to my new home!!!!! I am soooooo pleased with my apartment in Praia. It is absolutely beautiful. I live on the bottom floor of a three story apartment complex. My place has Spanish (terracotta) tiles throughout the whole place. It is painted a light yellow color with bright yellow accents. Our kitchen is lovely. We have an open floor plan, so everything kind of flows from one room to the next.
When you enter the place, there is a foyer of sorts with the kitchen off to the left. The kitchen then flows into a dining room/sitting room (this space is huge). Then there is a big opening with two steps down into a living room with big windows and door to a porch. Next to the dining room, we have a half bath and then a full bathroom on the other side of the house. We each have spacious bedrooms (Dianne’s is much more spacious than mine) and a room in between our rooms that we are using as a closet/ laundry room.
Okay, so Dianne’s room is huge. It has two massive windows, a ceiling fan, and built in cabinets and dressers. Her room also has two wall mounted lamps! It’s pretty sweet. Dianne, who is 67 years old, completely deserves this room. She recently moved into the place, so I don’t feel as if she has really claimed anything except the room. And, as she says, the room will be mine one day!!!
My room has none of the above and a pretty sorry excuse for a light. My window opens up to the neighbors front door, so her maid looks into my room when she comes and goes. BUT, I can deal with that. I love the place. It is close to our work (only 3 bus stops or a about a 20 minute walk). It is in a nice little zona (neighborhood) called Terra Branka. We are near the main road, so everything is close by. No complaints from me.
OH! And I forgot to mention that we have INTERNET access. Well, we have 20 hours a month of dial up service. That’s just enough to upload blogs and have outlook send and receive my mail. I will probably generally go to either school or the Peace Corps office to use the faster internet for free. BUT, it’s great to have so many options.
So, it might not be the Peace Corps you or I envisioned, but I couldn’t ask for a better life. I am happy and healthy, so things are great. My roommate Dianne is an amazing woman with soooo much life experience. She has lived in the states, Japan for 10 years, Switzerland for a year, and was married to a man from England. She has taught all different age levels, has a master’s degree in psychology, and has raised 2 children. She has so many good stories and loves to listen as much as she loves to talk. I think we are going to get along just fine! Okay, gotta run. Txau. Ti logo.
The festa
We have been told since the beginning of training that Sao Domingos is safe and that no one gets hurt. I recall writing on my blog that I was told “you can walk down the street naked in Sao Domingos with dollar bills taped to your body and you won’t be harmed.” Well, this is TRUE, except during the Sao Nicolau festa on September 9th and 10th.
Each town in Cape Verde has it’s own festa. These festa are basically a time when everyone in town goes to a 5 hour long mass service, then walks through the streets together, and finally hangs out for two days eating food and drinking. These festas are religious and are usually in honor of a saint. People spend most summer days traveling from festa to festa enjoying what the city has to offer (my family went to several of these while I was staying with them).
The Sao Nicolau festa was my first. People were out on the streets dancing and talking. There was more food than you could imagine. The local youth basketball court was turned into a dance hall. It was great. Well, it was great until about 1 in the morning on Friday. We had just been sworn in and many of us left town to go to Praia. Those of us left congregated at a volunteer’s house. I only went for a little bit and then decided to go home at 10 because I was tired and there wasn’t much going on. Unfortunately, the other volunteers (both new and old) decided to head downtown. At about 12:30 a third year volunteer and a new volunteer were walking down the street and held up at knife point by 3 men. Luckily these volunteers had nothing with them, so they were only harassed a bit and left alone. About 30 minutes later, 6 people from our group (including one Cape Verdean) heard of the incident and decided to call it a night. On the way to the area where they were staying, the same 3 men grabbed my friend, Jessica (who will be teaching at ISE with me) and threw her to the ground trying to get her purse. She would not give up the purse, so two of the men began kicking her as hard as they possibly could. These were two very large, strong men and Jessica is 5 feet tall!!! Not a fair fight. Needless to say, Jessica did not give up her purse. My friend Deanna (a third year volunteer who also works at ISE) hit one of the men on the back with an umbrella. This did not deter the men at all, but gave enough time for Jessica to get up and run toward her home. My other 5 friends thought everything was good, but the men began gathering large rocks and came toward the others. They decided not to run because they didn’t want to get hit in the back of the head with rocks. Another friend, Jay (and the only male in the group), has held down and robbed. He had $100 US dollars on him (which a friend had just paid him back with). They took the money, dropped him to the ground and then, because these guys were so great, they dropped a 30 pound rock on his face.
The story basically ends there. My friends were very near their homes (within 500 feet) and ran inside to seek shelter. We are supposed to call the Peace Corps immediately when things like this happen, but the homestay mothers didn’t want to do that. They thought that this would mean they were bad parents and wouldn’t be allowed to have volunteers next year!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH…… My friends eventually convinced them that they must call the safety and security advisor for the PC!
My friend Jessica is now suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress. She is jumpy and doesn’t want to be alone. She just moved into her apartment in Praia and it has been tough to be in a big city and a strange place.
I’ve heard that this is the worst thing that has happened to volunteers. I hope nothing like this happens again. It has been awful for all of us. No worries though, I feel safe and at home here in Praia. I am being cautious and staying in after dark unless I’m with friends. This has been a bit of a reality check for all of the volunteers!!!
Okay, enough of that. Txau. Ti logo.
Each town in Cape Verde has it’s own festa. These festa are basically a time when everyone in town goes to a 5 hour long mass service, then walks through the streets together, and finally hangs out for two days eating food and drinking. These festas are religious and are usually in honor of a saint. People spend most summer days traveling from festa to festa enjoying what the city has to offer (my family went to several of these while I was staying with them).
The Sao Nicolau festa was my first. People were out on the streets dancing and talking. There was more food than you could imagine. The local youth basketball court was turned into a dance hall. It was great. Well, it was great until about 1 in the morning on Friday. We had just been sworn in and many of us left town to go to Praia. Those of us left congregated at a volunteer’s house. I only went for a little bit and then decided to go home at 10 because I was tired and there wasn’t much going on. Unfortunately, the other volunteers (both new and old) decided to head downtown. At about 12:30 a third year volunteer and a new volunteer were walking down the street and held up at knife point by 3 men. Luckily these volunteers had nothing with them, so they were only harassed a bit and left alone. About 30 minutes later, 6 people from our group (including one Cape Verdean) heard of the incident and decided to call it a night. On the way to the area where they were staying, the same 3 men grabbed my friend, Jessica (who will be teaching at ISE with me) and threw her to the ground trying to get her purse. She would not give up the purse, so two of the men began kicking her as hard as they possibly could. These were two very large, strong men and Jessica is 5 feet tall!!! Not a fair fight. Needless to say, Jessica did not give up her purse. My friend Deanna (a third year volunteer who also works at ISE) hit one of the men on the back with an umbrella. This did not deter the men at all, but gave enough time for Jessica to get up and run toward her home. My other 5 friends thought everything was good, but the men began gathering large rocks and came toward the others. They decided not to run because they didn’t want to get hit in the back of the head with rocks. Another friend, Jay (and the only male in the group), has held down and robbed. He had $100 US dollars on him (which a friend had just paid him back with). They took the money, dropped him to the ground and then, because these guys were so great, they dropped a 30 pound rock on his face.
The story basically ends there. My friends were very near their homes (within 500 feet) and ran inside to seek shelter. We are supposed to call the Peace Corps immediately when things like this happen, but the homestay mothers didn’t want to do that. They thought that this would mean they were bad parents and wouldn’t be allowed to have volunteers next year!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH…… My friends eventually convinced them that they must call the safety and security advisor for the PC!
My friend Jessica is now suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress. She is jumpy and doesn’t want to be alone. She just moved into her apartment in Praia and it has been tough to be in a big city and a strange place.
I’ve heard that this is the worst thing that has happened to volunteers. I hope nothing like this happens again. It has been awful for all of us. No worries though, I feel safe and at home here in Praia. I am being cautious and staying in after dark unless I’m with friends. This has been a bit of a reality check for all of the volunteers!!!
Okay, enough of that. Txau. Ti logo.
swearing in
I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. On Friday, September 9th, I was sworn in as a volunteer. It is kind of a crazy process. We were asked to sign a piece of paper before our swearing in that had the pledge we would be taking on it. This paper said something to the effect of…. “I, Casey Maugh, swear to defend the US against all enemies both foreign and domestic. I promise to uphold the constitution. I promise to fight against all evil if it isn’t US evil. I promise not to bomb other countries or my own. I promise to never become an ex-pat……..” Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, BUT not much. We basically are now a part of the US military (or so it feels).
Alright, other than the ridiculous pledge, the ceremony was really nice. The president of the government office in Sao Domingos (basically the town mayor), the Minister of Education, Matthew (our country director), Paulina (our training coordinator), Maraila, and Mike (the last two are fellow trainees) spoke at our ceremony. Most of, well about 85% of the festivities were held in Portuguese or Kriolu, which meant that we understood about 1/5 of what was going on at any given time. BUT, the swearing in, the defense of our countries freedoms and spread of all that is good, was in ENGLISH (thank goodness).
After the ceremony, we had tons of food and some good conversation with our homestay families and new friends. And, about 2 hours later, nearly half of the newly sworn-in volunteers headed to Praia and left for good! It was bittersweet. We had a nice day, but in the end, most of the people I’ve grown to love had to go! Now, the Peace Corps could have worked this out a little bit better. They could have scheduled flights for two or three days later to give us a little time to absorb the fact that we are all about to leave one another for 2 years, but NOOOOOO. It sucked, but it’s over. In fact, most people were glad they left our safe town of Sao Domingos when they did because…….
Tune into my next blog to see what horrible thing occurred.
Alright, other than the ridiculous pledge, the ceremony was really nice. The president of the government office in Sao Domingos (basically the town mayor), the Minister of Education, Matthew (our country director), Paulina (our training coordinator), Maraila, and Mike (the last two are fellow trainees) spoke at our ceremony. Most of, well about 85% of the festivities were held in Portuguese or Kriolu, which meant that we understood about 1/5 of what was going on at any given time. BUT, the swearing in, the defense of our countries freedoms and spread of all that is good, was in ENGLISH (thank goodness).
After the ceremony, we had tons of food and some good conversation with our homestay families and new friends. And, about 2 hours later, nearly half of the newly sworn-in volunteers headed to Praia and left for good! It was bittersweet. We had a nice day, but in the end, most of the people I’ve grown to love had to go! Now, the Peace Corps could have worked this out a little bit better. They could have scheduled flights for two or three days later to give us a little time to absorb the fact that we are all about to leave one another for 2 years, but NOOOOOO. It sucked, but it’s over. In fact, most people were glad they left our safe town of Sao Domingos when they did because…….
Tune into my next blog to see what horrible thing occurred.
Last week of Training
This is the final week of PST. I will soon be moving out of my homestay house and into an apartment in Praia. I recently learned that I will be living with a retiree. The woman’s name is Dianne and she is about 60 years old. She is a professor at ISE, like me and she apparently goes to bed early, like me. I have only met her two times, very briefly. She seems like a very nice lady, and everyone seems to really think she’s great. I have a few reservations. One, she’s 60! I think you can imagine the kinds of things going through my mind at this point. I mean, I’m a pretty relaxed person with a pretty boring lifestyle, but even I might want to stay out late or have drinks with friends at the house and I can’t really imagine spending a lot of time with this person. I don’t want to have to feel like I am sneaking in or out of my house when I come and go. I am, of course, imagining the worst here, so bear with me. Second, we work at the same place. Some of you know that I have had some not so great experiences in the past living with people I work with. I, of course, have also has some pretty amazing roomies who were also co-workers (Kathleen and Jill W.). Third, this woman has been living alone in this apartment for a year. I will be moving into a home that she has already created and expected to feel like I live there! But the flipside is that in a year, she’ll be gone and I’ll either get a new roommate or I’ll get to live alone! SWEET! All in all, I have really little impression of this woman and I believe this will be a great experience. It will be nice to have someone with more life experience around when I need it. And, my friend Nick suggested that it might be nice to have a “mother” figure around when I am homesick or sick or need some advice.
At this point, I haven’t actually spoken with Dianne. She hasn’t called me to arrange my moving in and I have no way to call her, seeing as though I have no telephone. I also have the unfortunate job of moving all of my things down to Praia on my own! When we came here, the Peace Corps moved all of our things for us, now we are expected to find a car and get our things moved! They are just throwing us to the wolves the second we get sworn in as volunteers.
Speaking of being sworn in, we will officially become volunteers on Friday afternoon. The ambassador will come to San Domingos and formally make us volunteers! It’s a pretty big deal. Just today I was told that the PST director was going to recommend me without hesitation to become a volunteer with the Peace Corps! I am very excited. I also found out that my Portuguese proficiency exam went very well. I was rated an Intermediate “HIGH” Portuguese speaker, which means that I am at the highest expected level at this point. We have minimum proficiencies and I exceeded those! I haven’t found out about my Krioulu exam yet, but I will very soon. Things are better than ever! I hope to hear from everyone really soon! I’d like to know what is going on elsewhere. Okay, txau, ti logo.
At this point, I haven’t actually spoken with Dianne. She hasn’t called me to arrange my moving in and I have no way to call her, seeing as though I have no telephone. I also have the unfortunate job of moving all of my things down to Praia on my own! When we came here, the Peace Corps moved all of our things for us, now we are expected to find a car and get our things moved! They are just throwing us to the wolves the second we get sworn in as volunteers.
Speaking of being sworn in, we will officially become volunteers on Friday afternoon. The ambassador will come to San Domingos and formally make us volunteers! It’s a pretty big deal. Just today I was told that the PST director was going to recommend me without hesitation to become a volunteer with the Peace Corps! I am very excited. I also found out that my Portuguese proficiency exam went very well. I was rated an Intermediate “HIGH” Portuguese speaker, which means that I am at the highest expected level at this point. We have minimum proficiencies and I exceeded those! I haven’t found out about my Krioulu exam yet, but I will very soon. Things are better than ever! I hope to hear from everyone really soon! I’d like to know what is going on elsewhere. Okay, txau, ti logo.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Okay, I'm in Praia
Alright everyone, I promise to get to posting now that I am in my new apartment. I'll write more really soon. I'd love to hear about what's going on with each of you too. I miss you all. Txau.
Monday, August 29, 2005
hurricane Katrina
Okay, I spoke with my mom last night and she said that a massive hurricane was headed for my home. I am completely freaked out and have checked the internet to see what´s going on there, but can´t really tell anything. If you have any info, please let me know. I´ll try to get back online tomorrow to check things out. I gotta run.
Txau
Txau
Model School Conference
This week, I was given the opportunity to hold an in service training conference with English teachers from Cape Verde. I was asked if I’d like to have some sort of interaction with my future students at ISE. In the past, volunteers have taught a class or held some sort of meeting with students at ISE. Last week, Jessica gave a 2 day lecture to about 10 students on mythical allusions in literature. It went really well for her and the students at ISE were very smart and there English is surprisingly good. Well, because I will be working on writing an in-service training grant, I thought it would be really nice to have a mini-conference to understand the English teachers in Cape Verde a bit better. The conference was two days and there were about 20-25 people in attendance each day. It went extremely well, better than I could have imagined. I got to talk with some really great teachers who really want to see an INSET program implemented for English teachers in Cape Verde. I am extremely inspired and excited about what is to come. I can’t wait to get started on this project.
My hope is that I can write a small projects grant when school begins and get some money from the Peace Corps to fund my travel to all of the islands. This is my attempt at both doing something good and getting free vacations. Keep your fingers crossed that works out because if it does, I’ll be soooo excited.
Well, that’s about it. Things are winding down here in Sao Domingos, and I can honestly say that I can’t wait for training to be OVER! I’ll be so happy to have my own space and a place away from my host family! Okay, I’m sure I’ll post about my crazy homestay life really soon. Txau, ti logo.
My hope is that I can write a small projects grant when school begins and get some money from the Peace Corps to fund my travel to all of the islands. This is my attempt at both doing something good and getting free vacations. Keep your fingers crossed that works out because if it does, I’ll be soooo excited.
Well, that’s about it. Things are winding down here in Sao Domingos, and I can honestly say that I can’t wait for training to be OVER! I’ll be so happy to have my own space and a place away from my host family! Okay, I’m sure I’ll post about my crazy homestay life really soon. Txau, ti logo.
Tarrafal
Now, I think that Praia is great. They have pretty beaches and beautiful scenery. In Praia, you can get just about any food and participate in a lot of cultural activities. I’m very excited to get to live there. BUT, this weekend, all of the volunteers went to Tarrafal. Tarrafal is on the Northern-most part of this island. It’s about a 2 hour car ride from Praia.
Tarrafal is absolutely amazing. It is breath-takingly gorgeous with stunning beaches, the most clear water you’ve seen and awesome mountains all around. The ride there is sweet because you go through several mountain passes with really cool canyons on either side of the road. I have some pictures of this, so if I ever actually get my pictures posted, then you’ll see what I mean.
Our first event in Tarrafal was a trip to an old concentration camp. This camp was used from 1936 until 1974 by the Portuguese to imprison anti-fascists in Portugal. The Portuguese would send these men to Cape Verde to get them out of the country and avoid their possible revolution. The camp believed in slow death for those imprisoned; the camp was modeled after the Nazi interment camps. In 1950, the camp closed and then reopened in 1961 to house captured independence fighters from Angola and Guinea (side note: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea, and Mozambique were all involved in a war for independence from Portugal from 1950 until 1974). In 1974, Portugal granted these countries independence and the prisoners were released.
We were lucky enough to have ex-prisoner give us a tour of the camp. The man who was our tour guide, Fernando, showed us his cell and told us about his experiences at the camp. He was a political prisoner from Angola and lived at the camp for 3 years. The ministry of culture is restoring the camp currently with plans to create a Resistance/Cultural Center. It is pretty amazing to get to see so many relics of recent historical/political struggle.
After our interesting and extremely HOT tour of the concentration camp, we got to go to the beach. It was awesome. We were able to swim in the ocean and jump off of some rocks. It was pretty sweet. We were fed some great food and got to hang out in the sun for a few hours. It was all in all a great experience. I’m definitely going to head back that way soon. Also, when I have visitors (hint, hint) I’ll take them there as well. It’s really, really worth the 2 hour car ride. Alright, I’ll keep trying to post pictures. Maybe one day soon I’ll get them to work. Txau, ti logo.
Tarrafal is absolutely amazing. It is breath-takingly gorgeous with stunning beaches, the most clear water you’ve seen and awesome mountains all around. The ride there is sweet because you go through several mountain passes with really cool canyons on either side of the road. I have some pictures of this, so if I ever actually get my pictures posted, then you’ll see what I mean.
Our first event in Tarrafal was a trip to an old concentration camp. This camp was used from 1936 until 1974 by the Portuguese to imprison anti-fascists in Portugal. The Portuguese would send these men to Cape Verde to get them out of the country and avoid their possible revolution. The camp believed in slow death for those imprisoned; the camp was modeled after the Nazi interment camps. In 1950, the camp closed and then reopened in 1961 to house captured independence fighters from Angola and Guinea (side note: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea, and Mozambique were all involved in a war for independence from Portugal from 1950 until 1974). In 1974, Portugal granted these countries independence and the prisoners were released.
We were lucky enough to have ex-prisoner give us a tour of the camp. The man who was our tour guide, Fernando, showed us his cell and told us about his experiences at the camp. He was a political prisoner from Angola and lived at the camp for 3 years. The ministry of culture is restoring the camp currently with plans to create a Resistance/Cultural Center. It is pretty amazing to get to see so many relics of recent historical/political struggle.
After our interesting and extremely HOT tour of the concentration camp, we got to go to the beach. It was awesome. We were able to swim in the ocean and jump off of some rocks. It was pretty sweet. We were fed some great food and got to hang out in the sun for a few hours. It was all in all a great experience. I’m definitely going to head back that way soon. Also, when I have visitors (hint, hint) I’ll take them there as well. It’s really, really worth the 2 hour car ride. Alright, I’ll keep trying to post pictures. Maybe one day soon I’ll get them to work. Txau, ti logo.
My homestay family
I don’t want any of you to get the impression that everything has been absolutely wonderful because you would then grow to resent me and my experience in the Peace Corps. I want to maintain a high readership and I know that people just love to read accurate accounts of my life here. So in an effort to keep things real, here we go….
If you ever do decide to join the Peace Corps, be warned… you will be living with a family for at least 9 weeks. Here in Cape Verde, we have a shortened training, some places have a full 3 months of training! Now, living with a family is really not all that bad. On the whole, my family is pretty kind and fairly generous. However, my family is LOUD. I really don’t mind people speaking loudly. I myself speak rather loudly when I get excited. I grew up in households where there were always lots of people and everyone liked to talk a lot. So, in theory, volume doesn’t bother me. In this particular homestay situation, there is never a quite moment. My host mother screams like a fisherman’s wife to get your attention. She screams at her children, she screams at her neighbors across the road, she just never speaks quietly, EVER. As a result of her screaming, most everyone in the house responds in kind. The youngest, Luisa, is the spitting image of her mother and never, ever speaks quietly. She is a six year old, spoiled brat, who constantly cries and pouts and yells at everyone about everything. It’s a bit much. My homestay mother pretty much does the same thing, she pouts and cries and yells when things aren’t going the way she wants. My grandmother isn’t much different, she’s just old. So, she can’t actually scream as loud, it might kill her. She just is fairly grumpy or sick most of the time and bosses everyone else around.
Living in my house is like living in a circus. There is never a dull moment. Everyone talks extremely quickly, so I can only understand about half of any given conversation or set of directions. I’ve been here for 7 weeks and my mom still hasn’t learned to slow down when I don’t understand. She simply repeats herself as quickly as she did the first time and I stand there trying to figure out what she wants from me. It’s pretty great.
Let’s see, what else? Oh, I go to bed at 9 or 9:30 every night. I get up at 5:30 every morning. I have done this since the very first day I got here. My family stays up a little later than I do, so they typically stand near my bedroom door and talk loudly knowing that I’m asleep. They also like to do dishes (the sink is right near my room) at about 10 at night, so that tends to wake me up on occasion. When I wake in the morning, all is quiet, no one is awake, thank goodness. I generally get dressed and head out for my run by about 6 and return home at 7. Now the interesting thing about my living situation is that I happen to have a room in the center of the house, which means that I am locked in the house until someone who lives on the exterior of the house wakes up and lets me out. This presents a problem each morning when I wake because I can’t get out of the house. I originally was able to exit through a large metal door near my room that leads to the garage, which will get me out for my run. My grandmother found out that I was leaving this way and decided that she didn’t like that because she couldn’t monitor my every move, so she now deadbolts this door! Thanks grandma. Now, I’ve resorted to leaving out the back of my house which requires that I open a door where the pigs, dogs, and goats stay. Then I have to go through another door, which is where the old scary stuff is kept, then I have to exit out the very back of the house, which is a heavy metal door leading to the corn fields. Then I have to hike up the corn field and into the school yard next door, down the road and onto the main road for my run. This is absolutely the most absurd thing in the world. I am 100% positive that my grandmother doesn’t know I do this because she would probably find a way to keep me from doing this as well. She is extremely crazy and most difficult to live with.
I really hate to sound ungrateful for their allowing me to stay in their home, but it is very difficult to be 27 years old and so closely monitored. I feel like a teenager sneaking out of my house to go for a RUN! Okay, enough complaining from me. I’ll try to find more positive things to post soon. I miss everyone soooo much. Txau, ti logo.
If you ever do decide to join the Peace Corps, be warned… you will be living with a family for at least 9 weeks. Here in Cape Verde, we have a shortened training, some places have a full 3 months of training! Now, living with a family is really not all that bad. On the whole, my family is pretty kind and fairly generous. However, my family is LOUD. I really don’t mind people speaking loudly. I myself speak rather loudly when I get excited. I grew up in households where there were always lots of people and everyone liked to talk a lot. So, in theory, volume doesn’t bother me. In this particular homestay situation, there is never a quite moment. My host mother screams like a fisherman’s wife to get your attention. She screams at her children, she screams at her neighbors across the road, she just never speaks quietly, EVER. As a result of her screaming, most everyone in the house responds in kind. The youngest, Luisa, is the spitting image of her mother and never, ever speaks quietly. She is a six year old, spoiled brat, who constantly cries and pouts and yells at everyone about everything. It’s a bit much. My homestay mother pretty much does the same thing, she pouts and cries and yells when things aren’t going the way she wants. My grandmother isn’t much different, she’s just old. So, she can’t actually scream as loud, it might kill her. She just is fairly grumpy or sick most of the time and bosses everyone else around.
Living in my house is like living in a circus. There is never a dull moment. Everyone talks extremely quickly, so I can only understand about half of any given conversation or set of directions. I’ve been here for 7 weeks and my mom still hasn’t learned to slow down when I don’t understand. She simply repeats herself as quickly as she did the first time and I stand there trying to figure out what she wants from me. It’s pretty great.
Let’s see, what else? Oh, I go to bed at 9 or 9:30 every night. I get up at 5:30 every morning. I have done this since the very first day I got here. My family stays up a little later than I do, so they typically stand near my bedroom door and talk loudly knowing that I’m asleep. They also like to do dishes (the sink is right near my room) at about 10 at night, so that tends to wake me up on occasion. When I wake in the morning, all is quiet, no one is awake, thank goodness. I generally get dressed and head out for my run by about 6 and return home at 7. Now the interesting thing about my living situation is that I happen to have a room in the center of the house, which means that I am locked in the house until someone who lives on the exterior of the house wakes up and lets me out. This presents a problem each morning when I wake because I can’t get out of the house. I originally was able to exit through a large metal door near my room that leads to the garage, which will get me out for my run. My grandmother found out that I was leaving this way and decided that she didn’t like that because she couldn’t monitor my every move, so she now deadbolts this door! Thanks grandma. Now, I’ve resorted to leaving out the back of my house which requires that I open a door where the pigs, dogs, and goats stay. Then I have to go through another door, which is where the old scary stuff is kept, then I have to exit out the very back of the house, which is a heavy metal door leading to the corn fields. Then I have to hike up the corn field and into the school yard next door, down the road and onto the main road for my run. This is absolutely the most absurd thing in the world. I am 100% positive that my grandmother doesn’t know I do this because she would probably find a way to keep me from doing this as well. She is extremely crazy and most difficult to live with.
I really hate to sound ungrateful for their allowing me to stay in their home, but it is very difficult to be 27 years old and so closely monitored. I feel like a teenager sneaking out of my house to go for a RUN! Okay, enough complaining from me. I’ll try to find more positive things to post soon. I miss everyone soooo much. Txau, ti logo.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Four Days without Electricity
I think that the people on the Gulf Coast can sympathize with the loss of power when a hurricane hits; however, this happens every couple of years and the power is usually restored fairly quickly. Here in San Domingos, we were without power for exactly 4 days and 3 hours. This is a BIG deal. As I mentioned in a previous post, the electricity comes and goes, most often, we have power. People don’t use electricity during the day and at night, it is used sparingly. The real problem is refrigeration. After about 48 hours things start to get really bad, things start to smell and insects invade at a fairly rapid rate. It’s pretty gross. After 24 or 48 more hours, people become generally unhappy about the loss of electricity and begin to make crazy predictions about when the power will return. This is actually kind of fun. The common topic of conversation is “luz” (the lights). Everyone makes jokes about how we probably won’t have power for a month or two (they say this just to hear nervous laughter from the Americans).
Not only are the predictions fun, so are the “conspiracy theories” that circulate when the power is out. Townspeople begin to say things like “you know they have a schedule of when to turn the power off and on.” Or they suggest that at the camera (the local courthouse) they are just sitting around not trying to fix the problem (which may actually be quite accurate).
My favorite part of being without electricity are the Americans. It’s GREAT to listen to my fellow colleagues complain about not being able to plug in their IPODS or get their computers charged because of the power. The most commonly heard complaint is that the fans don’t work at night, so it is hot and difficult to sleep! I love it. We are in a third world country, lucky to have power at all and we are complaining about not having our music!!!! I think the Americans are the most concerned about the lack of power because when the power is out for 4 days, there is really not much to do at night and the beer starts getting warm. You see, the volunteers spend most of their afternoons and evenings in local establishments boosting the economy. So, when the power goes out, the beer and coca-cola gets warm, which is no good.
Let me just write about something that I recently heard, which I’d love to share with y’all. I was visiting a fellow volunteer in a nearby city and he told me that if Peace Corps volunteers do NOTHING during their service except eat at local restaurants, drink local beer, and buy local goods, they are doing a great service to the country of Cape Verde. Basically, we are given money by the United States federal government for our own living expenses, etc. If we put that money back into the local economy, then we are helping more than you can imagine. What’s more, most volunteers here have maids that clean for them and do their laundry (it sucks washing clothes here, so everyone hires someone, even the maids have maids). So, we justify having a maid by arguing that we buying into the health of the local economy! Not a bad argument. This is one of the most direct ways we can ensure that an economy will continue to grow. We are putting money DIRECTLY into the system, rather than giving money to the government here to do lord knows what with! I’m definitely in favor of this economic “theory”! In fact, this makes so much sense that I am certainly going to have a maid when I move to Praia (I’m actually pretty lucky here because my family has a woman who washes clothes for us, so I don’t have to do it!).
Alright, I hope all is well state-side. I miss you (and the electricity) dearly. It doesn’t take long for us to miss the creature comforts of home. I love Cape Verde, so I really have no complaints. I’d happily go without my fan and without my Ipod or laptop just to stay here for a while. I will say at this point, I’m glad the power has returned, and I really hope it stays for a while (for the sake of refrigeration). Okay, I’m out. Txau, ti logu. (oh, in Portuguese, they say tchau, ate logo). I think I like the Kriolu more, so I’ll stick with that! I’m still slightly boycotting the use of Portuguese, as I never hear it in my real life, only at school. I’ll be less resistant when I get to the college and everyone is speaking Portuguese and I’m lost!
Not only are the predictions fun, so are the “conspiracy theories” that circulate when the power is out. Townspeople begin to say things like “you know they have a schedule of when to turn the power off and on.” Or they suggest that at the camera (the local courthouse) they are just sitting around not trying to fix the problem (which may actually be quite accurate).
My favorite part of being without electricity are the Americans. It’s GREAT to listen to my fellow colleagues complain about not being able to plug in their IPODS or get their computers charged because of the power. The most commonly heard complaint is that the fans don’t work at night, so it is hot and difficult to sleep! I love it. We are in a third world country, lucky to have power at all and we are complaining about not having our music!!!! I think the Americans are the most concerned about the lack of power because when the power is out for 4 days, there is really not much to do at night and the beer starts getting warm. You see, the volunteers spend most of their afternoons and evenings in local establishments boosting the economy. So, when the power goes out, the beer and coca-cola gets warm, which is no good.
Let me just write about something that I recently heard, which I’d love to share with y’all. I was visiting a fellow volunteer in a nearby city and he told me that if Peace Corps volunteers do NOTHING during their service except eat at local restaurants, drink local beer, and buy local goods, they are doing a great service to the country of Cape Verde. Basically, we are given money by the United States federal government for our own living expenses, etc. If we put that money back into the local economy, then we are helping more than you can imagine. What’s more, most volunteers here have maids that clean for them and do their laundry (it sucks washing clothes here, so everyone hires someone, even the maids have maids). So, we justify having a maid by arguing that we buying into the health of the local economy! Not a bad argument. This is one of the most direct ways we can ensure that an economy will continue to grow. We are putting money DIRECTLY into the system, rather than giving money to the government here to do lord knows what with! I’m definitely in favor of this economic “theory”! In fact, this makes so much sense that I am certainly going to have a maid when I move to Praia (I’m actually pretty lucky here because my family has a woman who washes clothes for us, so I don’t have to do it!).
Alright, I hope all is well state-side. I miss you (and the electricity) dearly. It doesn’t take long for us to miss the creature comforts of home. I love Cape Verde, so I really have no complaints. I’d happily go without my fan and without my Ipod or laptop just to stay here for a while. I will say at this point, I’m glad the power has returned, and I really hope it stays for a while (for the sake of refrigeration). Okay, I’m out. Txau, ti logu. (oh, in Portuguese, they say tchau, ate logo). I think I like the Kriolu more, so I’ll stick with that! I’m still slightly boycotting the use of Portuguese, as I never hear it in my real life, only at school. I’ll be less resistant when I get to the college and everyone is speaking Portuguese and I’m lost!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Okay, my friends really are leaving
On Friday, we found out where our friends will be moving. My best friend David is leaving for the island of Sao Vicente, which is in the North and very far away. My other friend Nick will be on the island of Sal, also in the North and far away. I´m really excited for them, but selfishly sad because they won´t be near me. I am happy that they will be on really cool islands, so I´ll get to visit. Sao Vicente is home to the best Carnival (mardi gras) locale on the islands, and Sal is a great tourism area with awesome beaches.
I keep telling myself that I´m here to work for the Peace Corps, not worry about my friends. But that is pretty difficult to do. I´ll be moving to Praia in just 3 weeks to start my life there and I couldn´t be happier. I love where I´m going to work and I am super excited!!!
Okay fair readers. I´ll try to write more soon. We´ve been without power for 4 days now at home, so I can´t use my computer. I´ll write more when the power´s back and I´m back in Praia this week. Txau, ti logo.
casey
I keep telling myself that I´m here to work for the Peace Corps, not worry about my friends. But that is pretty difficult to do. I´ll be moving to Praia in just 3 weeks to start my life there and I couldn´t be happier. I love where I´m going to work and I am super excited!!!
Okay fair readers. I´ll try to write more soon. We´ve been without power for 4 days now at home, so I can´t use my computer. I´ll write more when the power´s back and I´m back in Praia this week. Txau, ti logo.
casey
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
My friends are leaving
The Peace Corps forgets to mention that after your 9 week Pre-Service Training, everyone in your group will be separated. This means that in just 4 weeks all of the wonderful friends I have made will be leaving for different islands and starting new lives. Some of us will be staying on the island of Santiago (about half of our group will be on this island). The rest of the folks will be spread out amongst 5 other islands! I have known since the beginning that I’ll be in Praia (just about 30 minutes from where I am living now), so I haven’t had the same sort of worry that other volunteers have had. However, now that I have made some really great friends, I am hoping everyday that they are on this island! We find out this Friday or Saturday where everyone will be posted. I have a feeling this will change the dynamic of the group fairly considerably. In our group of 26, I have already noticed specific groups of people who have gotten really close, and I know it will be very hard for them to be separated.
Cape Verde is different than other Peace Corps countries because it is a group of islands. Typically, we would all be on the same physical land, but with this country, we will be a LONG way away from each other. In Cape Verde there are 2 forms of transportation between islands, a boat or a plane. As I have noted in previous posts, the transportation here tends to be unreliable. The Cape Verdean airline, TACV is better between islands than from here to Dakar, but still not great. The boats are fine and cheaper but they take a LONG time. Some of the islands don’t have planes, so they have to take a boat to another island and then fly. This is actually an interesting issue for the Peace Corps because Cape Verde tends to be one of the more expensive places to send volunteers. Our budget is pretty high, which means they are beginning to crack down on posh living accommodations and such. The former country director was very liberal with the budget and volunteer have really nice houses and apartments here. The new country director is in the process of moving the volunteers into different houses and such.
Back to the issue of this being an island nation. There is also an issue of languages. The Kriolu spoken in the Northern islands is apparently different than the Kriolu we are learning in school. The people from the Northern islands use different words and phrases. They are similar enough that people can basically understand each other, but different enough that a person new to the language will struggle a bit at first.
So as you can see, there is a lot going on here in Cape Verde! We are all really anxious to find out where each other is headed! This will change our friendships forever and really change the dynamic of a lot of relationships here. I’ll keep you posted about assignments and where people are going in a month! We are more than half-way through with training, so now we face just a few more obstacles before we leave San Domingos and our host families. We are supposed to get sworn in on September 9th, then we all move to our sites on the 10th and 11th! I cannot believe how quickly the weeks have flown by. Each week starts and ends before I am even aware of it! Okay, I guess I’ll study some Kriolu since I am now flooded with Portuguese. I think my Kriolu skills are regressing. I’ll write more soon. Txau, ti logu.
Cape Verde is different than other Peace Corps countries because it is a group of islands. Typically, we would all be on the same physical land, but with this country, we will be a LONG way away from each other. In Cape Verde there are 2 forms of transportation between islands, a boat or a plane. As I have noted in previous posts, the transportation here tends to be unreliable. The Cape Verdean airline, TACV is better between islands than from here to Dakar, but still not great. The boats are fine and cheaper but they take a LONG time. Some of the islands don’t have planes, so they have to take a boat to another island and then fly. This is actually an interesting issue for the Peace Corps because Cape Verde tends to be one of the more expensive places to send volunteers. Our budget is pretty high, which means they are beginning to crack down on posh living accommodations and such. The former country director was very liberal with the budget and volunteer have really nice houses and apartments here. The new country director is in the process of moving the volunteers into different houses and such.
Back to the issue of this being an island nation. There is also an issue of languages. The Kriolu spoken in the Northern islands is apparently different than the Kriolu we are learning in school. The people from the Northern islands use different words and phrases. They are similar enough that people can basically understand each other, but different enough that a person new to the language will struggle a bit at first.
So as you can see, there is a lot going on here in Cape Verde! We are all really anxious to find out where each other is headed! This will change our friendships forever and really change the dynamic of a lot of relationships here. I’ll keep you posted about assignments and where people are going in a month! We are more than half-way through with training, so now we face just a few more obstacles before we leave San Domingos and our host families. We are supposed to get sworn in on September 9th, then we all move to our sites on the 10th and 11th! I cannot believe how quickly the weeks have flown by. Each week starts and ends before I am even aware of it! Okay, I guess I’ll study some Kriolu since I am now flooded with Portuguese. I think my Kriolu skills are regressing. I’ll write more soon. Txau, ti logu.
El Shaday
There is one shelter in Cape Verde for men who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to visit this center. The most striking thing about this rehabilitation program is that there are actually few buildings, it consists of green army tents like you would see on M*A*S*H. The men live in these tents for approximately 9 months as they recover from their addictions. They have one common area that is essentially a pavilion. Upon arrival, we were invited into the pavilion and welcomed by the staff members. There are 12 staff members at the facility most of which have been through the program themselves at one time. The men on staff do not get paid for their work, but they do live at the center with the other men. We learned that 10 years ago the center was started and that it is run by a 60 year old man. He finds what limited funding they have and seeks out food donations for the men at the center.
Back to our visit, we sat in the pavilion and about 25 of the 48 men came to the pavilion to meet us. They introduced themselves and then sang/played several songs for us. This was amazing. The songs were all in Portuguese and all Christian songs. At this center, men recover through faith. They do not use any medications and the men cannot smoke. They fully believe that God is the only path to recovery. This seems to be a successful program. We asked the men what the majority of their addictions were. They told us that crack is the most “popular” drug in Cape Verde because it is cheap and is run through Cape Verde on its way from Europe and Brazil to Africa and vice versa. Unfortunately, Cape Verde happens to be situated perfectly as a stopping point for ships (this was true in the slave trade and now for drug trafficking). Fortunately, drug use is not nearly as prevalent in Cape Verde as it is in other countries. There is a major social stigma around drinking, smoking, and drug use, especially in the smaller towns and villages. The big cities, like Praia, Assomada, and Mindelo suffer the most in this respect.
Okay, so at the center, they are working on finding ways to generate their own income. One of the projects they have going are artwork. The men use natural items (leaves, flowers, sticks, etc) to create very elaborate and beautiful sculptures. They also made wonderful bowl and bottles out of wood. This is something they really just do for themselves mostly, but I talked to one of the artists and he had prices for everything, so I think they just need someone to help them find a market for their art work. Along with the arts, the men raise animals. They were recently donated 750 baby chickens (pinton). These pinton are being raised as food for the men and to mate for sustainable food sources. There are 60 grown men at the center and several young boys (who were taken in because they had bad family situations). This means A LOT of food must be prepared each day. The more sustainable projects they can get going, the better for their own survival as a center. Finally, the men have a space for carpentry projects; however, they do not have the materials they need. These men want to be able to teach each other job skills. They want to be able to train these men for future jobs to keep them clean and on the right path when they leave the center. They have pretty nice machines that were donated, but no materials to work with. This seems to be a typical problem here. Often times companies or good Samaritans will provide machines, but nothing to work with.
At the end of our visit, the men made lunch for us. It was awesome. They cooked a huge pot of Kutchupa (a very traditional Cape Verdean stew). They were so kind and generous with us. It was awesome. I am really glad that I’ll be in Praia, which is about an 1 hour car ride to the center. I’m planning on volunteering there at least one or twice a month. I also really would like to start a program where men’s clothes from the US are sent to the center. They desperately need clothes and shoes and toiletries. I heard that there is a way to get UPS or Fed Ex to ship things cheaply if they are for charitable causes in Africa! I’ll have to look into that and find out. Okay, I’m out of here. I’ve gotta start my day! We have 5 hours of Portuguese today! I’m already lost, so this should be fun. Txau, ti logu.
Back to our visit, we sat in the pavilion and about 25 of the 48 men came to the pavilion to meet us. They introduced themselves and then sang/played several songs for us. This was amazing. The songs were all in Portuguese and all Christian songs. At this center, men recover through faith. They do not use any medications and the men cannot smoke. They fully believe that God is the only path to recovery. This seems to be a successful program. We asked the men what the majority of their addictions were. They told us that crack is the most “popular” drug in Cape Verde because it is cheap and is run through Cape Verde on its way from Europe and Brazil to Africa and vice versa. Unfortunately, Cape Verde happens to be situated perfectly as a stopping point for ships (this was true in the slave trade and now for drug trafficking). Fortunately, drug use is not nearly as prevalent in Cape Verde as it is in other countries. There is a major social stigma around drinking, smoking, and drug use, especially in the smaller towns and villages. The big cities, like Praia, Assomada, and Mindelo suffer the most in this respect.
Okay, so at the center, they are working on finding ways to generate their own income. One of the projects they have going are artwork. The men use natural items (leaves, flowers, sticks, etc) to create very elaborate and beautiful sculptures. They also made wonderful bowl and bottles out of wood. This is something they really just do for themselves mostly, but I talked to one of the artists and he had prices for everything, so I think they just need someone to help them find a market for their art work. Along with the arts, the men raise animals. They were recently donated 750 baby chickens (pinton). These pinton are being raised as food for the men and to mate for sustainable food sources. There are 60 grown men at the center and several young boys (who were taken in because they had bad family situations). This means A LOT of food must be prepared each day. The more sustainable projects they can get going, the better for their own survival as a center. Finally, the men have a space for carpentry projects; however, they do not have the materials they need. These men want to be able to teach each other job skills. They want to be able to train these men for future jobs to keep them clean and on the right path when they leave the center. They have pretty nice machines that were donated, but no materials to work with. This seems to be a typical problem here. Often times companies or good Samaritans will provide machines, but nothing to work with.
At the end of our visit, the men made lunch for us. It was awesome. They cooked a huge pot of Kutchupa (a very traditional Cape Verdean stew). They were so kind and generous with us. It was awesome. I am really glad that I’ll be in Praia, which is about an 1 hour car ride to the center. I’m planning on volunteering there at least one or twice a month. I also really would like to start a program where men’s clothes from the US are sent to the center. They desperately need clothes and shoes and toiletries. I heard that there is a way to get UPS or Fed Ex to ship things cheaply if they are for charitable causes in Africa! I’ll have to look into that and find out. Okay, I’m out of here. I’ve gotta start my day! We have 5 hours of Portuguese today! I’m already lost, so this should be fun. Txau, ti logu.
Languages
Four weeks have come and gone and so has my formal study of the Kriolu language. Today we began our Portuguese training. Let me say a few things… First, I love speaking Kriolu. It is a beautifully simple language. For example, in Kriolu if someone wants to say, “I like apples” they’d simply say “N gosta manson” and if they don’t like apples, they’d say “N ka gosta manson.” There are NO plural words and if I wanted to make any sentence past tense, I just add the word, “onti or pasada,” which simply indicate the day or time, so “yesterday… or in the past…” otherwise the sentence is EXACTLY the same. If you want to make a sentence future tense, you simply add the word “ta.” Nothing else changes, you simply say “n ta bai skola” (I’m going to go to school). It’s amazingly simplistic, and I love it! Okay, back to the point. Second, Portuguese is a difficult language. They use sounds that we never use in English. They have letters that sound French and some that sound Spanish. They have vowel sounds like in English, that when combined make an entirely different sound. They have consonants that change pronunciation when they are in certain places in the word. For example, the word “sesta” (fifth) is pronounced saishta. The first s is normal and the second is pronounced like an “sh,” the “e” is pronounced like a hard “a”! WOW! Okay, I have studied Spanish for many years and in Spanish, every letter is pronounced the same every time. This makes, at least, the pronunciation easy! Unfortunately, Portuguese is like English in that it changes every time you turn around! BOOOO.
Needless to say, I HAVE to learn to speak Portuguese because I will be working at the University and Portuguese is the official language of the country. SO, in any governmental facility (schools, ministries, etc) everyone speaks Portuguese. Also, Kriolu is not a written language. There is no common dictionary or common alphabet for Kriolu. This means that everything about the Kriolu language is oral and aural. This is because since colonization, Portuguese has been the formal language for the country. Everything published in the country is written in Portuguese and only Portuguese (not Kriolu) is taught to school children. So basically you have a nation where no one actually speaks the national language and no one actually reads the mother tongue. It’s a strange thing. Needless to say, all of the manuals I have received from the college have been in Portuguese, so I’ll be speaking Portuguese at work and Kriolu everywhere else! Luckily, the Peace Corps will pay a tutor $10 an hour for 48 hours so that we can better learn Portuguese after our training.
Well, I guess that’s about it from here. I am excited to learn Portuguese, but thing are getting confusing as I try to learn two languages at once! They don’t make it easy on you here in the Peace Corps. I think it really is a tough process, but no one has dropped out of our group yet! That’s pretty amazing, usually several people do at this point. The Portuguese might just put some people over the edge!!!!! I heard a lot of complaining today for sure! I’m outta here. I hope I get to post these blogs really soon. Miss you all. Write me soon and often. Txau, ti logu (I don’t know what they say in Portuguese yet, so next time I’ll figure that out!).
Needless to say, I HAVE to learn to speak Portuguese because I will be working at the University and Portuguese is the official language of the country. SO, in any governmental facility (schools, ministries, etc) everyone speaks Portuguese. Also, Kriolu is not a written language. There is no common dictionary or common alphabet for Kriolu. This means that everything about the Kriolu language is oral and aural. This is because since colonization, Portuguese has been the formal language for the country. Everything published in the country is written in Portuguese and only Portuguese (not Kriolu) is taught to school children. So basically you have a nation where no one actually speaks the national language and no one actually reads the mother tongue. It’s a strange thing. Needless to say, all of the manuals I have received from the college have been in Portuguese, so I’ll be speaking Portuguese at work and Kriolu everywhere else! Luckily, the Peace Corps will pay a tutor $10 an hour for 48 hours so that we can better learn Portuguese after our training.
Well, I guess that’s about it from here. I am excited to learn Portuguese, but thing are getting confusing as I try to learn two languages at once! They don’t make it easy on you here in the Peace Corps. I think it really is a tough process, but no one has dropped out of our group yet! That’s pretty amazing, usually several people do at this point. The Portuguese might just put some people over the edge!!!!! I heard a lot of complaining today for sure! I’m outta here. I hope I get to post these blogs really soon. Miss you all. Write me soon and often. Txau, ti logu (I don’t know what they say in Portuguese yet, so next time I’ll figure that out!).
Electricity
Electricity is something that we take for granted. In the US, we generally have power. It is on the rarest of occasions that we are without (hurricane, bad storm, tornado, etc). And even then the reason the power is out is because something is broken, not because there is actually a lack of available power.
I bring this up because it is 8:45 on a Tuesday night and we have no power. Of course, my laptop battery is charged, so I can type, but otherwise, no electricity is flowing in the town of Sao Dumingus tonight. I think the power went out at about 5:30 or so and probably will be out all night and into the morning. This happens every couple of days, but generally we are lucky enough for the power to be out during the day when we don’t really need it. This is the first evening we’ve been without. One other instance occurred after midnight when everyone was fast asleep. I usually notice this because my fan quits working at some point and I begin to sweat profusely because I have closed my window to keep the bugs out and the cool air in!!!! GREAT!
At any rate, the power outages are just that, outages. There is not enough power to keep the city running, thus NO LIGHTS! I’d say that we are without power 2 to 3 days a week for a few hours at a time. It’s really no big deal except that when the power is out all day, things like refrigerators and freezers begin to lose their cool, so to speak. In a society already plagued by less than desirable sanitary conditions, lack of power does nothing for the weak American stomach (actually I have been one of the few people to escape the pain of stomach ailments, knock on wood).
Speaking of food and sanitation, I’d just like to say that things are a little different here. We have a fridge and a deep freezer, but what you might imagine keeping in the fridge, we do not. Our refrigerator is full of water, juice, beer, fruit, and condiments. Things like leftover food does not make it’s way into a cooling unit, rather it sits in the kitchen, on the stove, covered with a towel or in a pot until the next meal rolls around. Fruit, something that really doesn’t need to be kept in a fridge, is. It’s all a little odd. Interestingly enough, all fresh vegetables are kept in the deep freezer (onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc). When my family returns from the market, the veggies go into the freezer, not the fridge. Weird! Very weird!
Okay, I guess that is enough of a tangent from me right now. I think I’ll go read by candlelight (velha). Oh, one last thing. It is GREAT when the lights go out in the city because the stars are absolutely amazing here. Actually, the stars are always more visible here because we have fewer lights, but when the lights all go out, the sky is incredible. Tonight, I was standing outside and I saw the longest shooting star I’ve ever seen. It seemed like it kept going forever. Good night all. Bon sonhu, txua, ti Manahan.
I bring this up because it is 8:45 on a Tuesday night and we have no power. Of course, my laptop battery is charged, so I can type, but otherwise, no electricity is flowing in the town of Sao Dumingus tonight. I think the power went out at about 5:30 or so and probably will be out all night and into the morning. This happens every couple of days, but generally we are lucky enough for the power to be out during the day when we don’t really need it. This is the first evening we’ve been without. One other instance occurred after midnight when everyone was fast asleep. I usually notice this because my fan quits working at some point and I begin to sweat profusely because I have closed my window to keep the bugs out and the cool air in!!!! GREAT!
At any rate, the power outages are just that, outages. There is not enough power to keep the city running, thus NO LIGHTS! I’d say that we are without power 2 to 3 days a week for a few hours at a time. It’s really no big deal except that when the power is out all day, things like refrigerators and freezers begin to lose their cool, so to speak. In a society already plagued by less than desirable sanitary conditions, lack of power does nothing for the weak American stomach (actually I have been one of the few people to escape the pain of stomach ailments, knock on wood).
Speaking of food and sanitation, I’d just like to say that things are a little different here. We have a fridge and a deep freezer, but what you might imagine keeping in the fridge, we do not. Our refrigerator is full of water, juice, beer, fruit, and condiments. Things like leftover food does not make it’s way into a cooling unit, rather it sits in the kitchen, on the stove, covered with a towel or in a pot until the next meal rolls around. Fruit, something that really doesn’t need to be kept in a fridge, is. It’s all a little odd. Interestingly enough, all fresh vegetables are kept in the deep freezer (onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc). When my family returns from the market, the veggies go into the freezer, not the fridge. Weird! Very weird!
Okay, I guess that is enough of a tangent from me right now. I think I’ll go read by candlelight (velha). Oh, one last thing. It is GREAT when the lights go out in the city because the stars are absolutely amazing here. Actually, the stars are always more visible here because we have fewer lights, but when the lights all go out, the sky is incredible. Tonight, I was standing outside and I saw the longest shooting star I’ve ever seen. It seemed like it kept going forever. Good night all. Bon sonhu, txua, ti Manahan.
My first Kriolu Dream
My first Kriolu dream.
When studying a foreign language it is really important to pay attention to your dreams. When you begin to dream in another language, you know you are beginning to really “get” it.
I had my first Kriolu dream this week. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I had been dreaming of a something and that dialogue was completely in Kriolu! YES! Yesterday was our last day of Kriolu language class, so I’m glad that I am finally putting things together. My grammar is progressing slowly but surely and my vocabulary is expanding at a great rate.
We begin Portuguese classes on Monday, so we will now all be thoroughly confused! We’ll be speaking Kriolu at home and Portuguese in school! We have 4 weeks to learn Portuguese and then we’re done with training. I can’t believe it’s already the 5th week of training!
Okay, that’s all! I just wanted to fill you in on my breakthrough! I hope all is well. I miss you all very much and I’d love to hear from you really soon.
When studying a foreign language it is really important to pay attention to your dreams. When you begin to dream in another language, you know you are beginning to really “get” it.
I had my first Kriolu dream this week. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I had been dreaming of a something and that dialogue was completely in Kriolu! YES! Yesterday was our last day of Kriolu language class, so I’m glad that I am finally putting things together. My grammar is progressing slowly but surely and my vocabulary is expanding at a great rate.
We begin Portuguese classes on Monday, so we will now all be thoroughly confused! We’ll be speaking Kriolu at home and Portuguese in school! We have 4 weeks to learn Portuguese and then we’re done with training. I can’t believe it’s already the 5th week of training!
Okay, that’s all! I just wanted to fill you in on my breakthrough! I hope all is well. I miss you all very much and I’d love to hear from you really soon.
A request
A request:
Dear kind readers,
I would really appreciate a few things from the states, so if you can possibly send any of these things my way, I’d be so grateful. We can’t really buy decent writing utensils here. I would absolutely love to get some pens. They don’t have to be anything special, just some papermate blue pens would do. Also, if someone would be so kind as to send some granola bars my way, that’d be excellent (the ones in the green package, honey and oats). Finally, I really need a cheap, cheap watch. The battery died in my nice watch and I don’t really want to wear that one here anyway cause it’ll get ruined. A $5 watch from a local store would be wonderful. Time really isn’t that important around here except for school. The Peace Corps is REALLY strict on time, so It’d be nice to have a watch. Let’s see, what else? Pictures of people, events, etc, would be great just so I can see what everyone is up to. Just letters in general would be excellent! It’s really nice to receive mail since we can’t check email very frequently. Basically anything else you can think that I might want/need/like, send it on. Thanks a bunch y’all. Txau.
Dear kind readers,
I would really appreciate a few things from the states, so if you can possibly send any of these things my way, I’d be so grateful. We can’t really buy decent writing utensils here. I would absolutely love to get some pens. They don’t have to be anything special, just some papermate blue pens would do. Also, if someone would be so kind as to send some granola bars my way, that’d be excellent (the ones in the green package, honey and oats). Finally, I really need a cheap, cheap watch. The battery died in my nice watch and I don’t really want to wear that one here anyway cause it’ll get ruined. A $5 watch from a local store would be wonderful. Time really isn’t that important around here except for school. The Peace Corps is REALLY strict on time, so It’d be nice to have a watch. Let’s see, what else? Pictures of people, events, etc, would be great just so I can see what everyone is up to. Just letters in general would be excellent! It’s really nice to receive mail since we can’t check email very frequently. Basically anything else you can think that I might want/need/like, send it on. Thanks a bunch y’all. Txau.
Hiaces
I think it’s going to be a while until I am able to post this entry. I won’t be going to Praia for at least a week or so. I’m completely happy not having to go to the “city” for a week! Last week, I had to go three days in a row and then went on Saturday too. I’ll be living in Praia for the next two years, so I’m happy not to be going there often.
Let me describe for you exactly how I get to Praia (or anywhere on the island for that matter). Here in Cape Verde the main form of transportation is a Hiace (pronounced yasi). The hiaces are essentially vans with four rows of seats. These vehicles have “jump seats” that fold up on the ends so that people can move in and out of the vans. In a standard 15 passenger van, there is enough room on the sides to move between seats. In an effort to keep these vans small, these folding seats were installed! Okay, so if there are four rows of seats, these vans comfortably seat 12 people. I can honestly say that I have NEVER ridden in a hiace with fewer than 15 people (and that’s a rare treat). Typically the hiace drivers cram in at least 21 people. This also includes women traveling to and from the markets with their buckets full of an assortment of things (mangos, fish, strange meat, etc). Hiace drivers also will allow animals to ride in the vans. I have yet to experience a long hiace ride with a goat, but I hear it’s quite a treat. Aside from the crowded cars (oh, I’ve been in a hiace with 25 people, including children on laps and people crammed in between jump seats and regular seats) there is the issue of driver safety (and sanity). We were told to ALWAYS check the tires on the hiace (yeah right, I’m sure we’re going to go over and kick the driver’s tires!). We were also told to ALWAYS make sure the driver hasn’t been drinking. I am almost 150% positive that we rode with a drunk driver coming back from Assomada last weekend. At any rate, the scariest part about a ride in these death traps is that the drivers are mostly insane. The roads on Santiago wind through the mountains, which means that the hiace drivers have to constantly navigate around hairpin turns and animals in the roads. They also have to contend with detours and bad roads. Considering all of these obstacles, you would think these drivers might drive somewhat safely…. NOPE! These men are crazy, they drive at about 60-70 miles per hour at all times. They pass each other when any normal human being would recognize that waiting would be rational. They tail one another just to piss each other off. They play chicken with each other (and their passengers). It’s quite an experience to be riding with 20 other people and realize that you are pretty much the only person fazed by the driving and the condition of the driver. I guess everyone is used to this. OH, well I can’t complain too much. It actually only costs 70 cents to get to Praia (about a 30 minute ride), and it costs about $1.20 to get to Assomada (an hour long ride). Transportation is VERY, VERY cheap here! Well, I’m just happy I don’t have to ride in a hiace for at least another week! Okay, I’m out. Txau, ti logu.
Let me describe for you exactly how I get to Praia (or anywhere on the island for that matter). Here in Cape Verde the main form of transportation is a Hiace (pronounced yasi). The hiaces are essentially vans with four rows of seats. These vehicles have “jump seats” that fold up on the ends so that people can move in and out of the vans. In a standard 15 passenger van, there is enough room on the sides to move between seats. In an effort to keep these vans small, these folding seats were installed! Okay, so if there are four rows of seats, these vans comfortably seat 12 people. I can honestly say that I have NEVER ridden in a hiace with fewer than 15 people (and that’s a rare treat). Typically the hiace drivers cram in at least 21 people. This also includes women traveling to and from the markets with their buckets full of an assortment of things (mangos, fish, strange meat, etc). Hiace drivers also will allow animals to ride in the vans. I have yet to experience a long hiace ride with a goat, but I hear it’s quite a treat. Aside from the crowded cars (oh, I’ve been in a hiace with 25 people, including children on laps and people crammed in between jump seats and regular seats) there is the issue of driver safety (and sanity). We were told to ALWAYS check the tires on the hiace (yeah right, I’m sure we’re going to go over and kick the driver’s tires!). We were also told to ALWAYS make sure the driver hasn’t been drinking. I am almost 150% positive that we rode with a drunk driver coming back from Assomada last weekend. At any rate, the scariest part about a ride in these death traps is that the drivers are mostly insane. The roads on Santiago wind through the mountains, which means that the hiace drivers have to constantly navigate around hairpin turns and animals in the roads. They also have to contend with detours and bad roads. Considering all of these obstacles, you would think these drivers might drive somewhat safely…. NOPE! These men are crazy, they drive at about 60-70 miles per hour at all times. They pass each other when any normal human being would recognize that waiting would be rational. They tail one another just to piss each other off. They play chicken with each other (and their passengers). It’s quite an experience to be riding with 20 other people and realize that you are pretty much the only person fazed by the driving and the condition of the driver. I guess everyone is used to this. OH, well I can’t complain too much. It actually only costs 70 cents to get to Praia (about a 30 minute ride), and it costs about $1.20 to get to Assomada (an hour long ride). Transportation is VERY, VERY cheap here! Well, I’m just happy I don’t have to ride in a hiace for at least another week! Okay, I’m out. Txau, ti logu.
Community Fair
Saturday night we had a FESTA! All of the host moms made different Cape Verdan dishes and we each made something that we typically eat in America. The idea of this is great EXCEPT now our families probably think that we only eat pasta and pizza in America (because that’s what lots of people made). I ended up making a huge salad, ratatouille, and butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots (baked with nutmeg and cumin). These all seemed to be a big hit with everyone! There was sooo much food at this event and there were probably 75-100 people there.
Side note: The Peace Corps gave us each 1000$00 escudos (about $10) to buy our food, so we got to go to the markets and try to make “American” food with Cape Verdan ingredients. It took Jessica and me about 3 hours to actually get everything we needed for our food. We had to go to 4 different mini-mercados (small grocery stores) and to the open air market just to get what we needed. It was quite an experience. They say that Cape Verdan time is like island time. Everything is slow and everyone is late! So true. I think that people in the US would be annoyed if they had to spend 3 hours trying to buy 2 bags of groceries. I thought it was great. I got to walk around town, talk to lots of locals, and check out the kinds of foods we had to work with. Nothing ever happens quickly here, and I love it.
Let me pause here to say that as I am typing this, my grandmother has come into my room to give me snacks twice!!! You’d think that I’d have gained about 100 pounds by now, but I actually have lost a good bit of weight with all of the walking and running I do around here. Also, the food is all natural and great, so even though the diet of the people is heavily based in carbs, the meals are very balanced and healthy in general.
Okay, back to the festa! Everyone dressed up and headed to the school to eat. After all of the food was eaten and we were thoroughly stuffed, some famous local musicians jammed the Batuque. The Batuque is an Afro-Brazilian dance and the oldest form of music known in Cape Verde. Here is a brief description of the ritual of the Batuque that I found:
“the people sit around in a circle and the dancers enter the center dressed in the country’s national dress though without the shawl on her shoulders rather it is cinched tightly at the waist.”
“the main part of the Batuque involves keeping time by clapping and beating a rolled-up cloth, which is placed between the legs to form and acoustic box. It is a simulated drumbeat as the slaves who arrived on the islands were unable perhaps to find the right materials there for making their traditional instruments.”
The actual dancing of the Batuque involves A LOT of hip shaking. We each had to enter the circle at the festa and dance the Batuque (or at least give it the old college try). When you enter the circle of musicians, women tie the traditional shawl around your waist (well, actually right on your butt to accentuate the movement of your hips while you are dancing). It was awesome and soo much fun. Unfortunately, as I was dancing, some sort of bug got in my skirt and started to sting me repeatedly. I didn’t want to be rude and stop dancing or freak out about a little bug, so I just shook by hips harder. This apparently was a good thing because everyone said I was a really good Batuque dancer! I took lots of pictures and had my friend take pictures of me dancing too. I’ll try my hardest to get them posted!
All in all the festa was a great cultural event. I have seen people dance the Batuque several times around town, but this was a chance to learn and have a good time. All of our teachers were there and our families danced with us and laughed at us when we tried to dance!
Again, I’m outta here. Txau, ti logu.
Side note: The Peace Corps gave us each 1000$00 escudos (about $10) to buy our food, so we got to go to the markets and try to make “American” food with Cape Verdan ingredients. It took Jessica and me about 3 hours to actually get everything we needed for our food. We had to go to 4 different mini-mercados (small grocery stores) and to the open air market just to get what we needed. It was quite an experience. They say that Cape Verdan time is like island time. Everything is slow and everyone is late! So true. I think that people in the US would be annoyed if they had to spend 3 hours trying to buy 2 bags of groceries. I thought it was great. I got to walk around town, talk to lots of locals, and check out the kinds of foods we had to work with. Nothing ever happens quickly here, and I love it.
Let me pause here to say that as I am typing this, my grandmother has come into my room to give me snacks twice!!! You’d think that I’d have gained about 100 pounds by now, but I actually have lost a good bit of weight with all of the walking and running I do around here. Also, the food is all natural and great, so even though the diet of the people is heavily based in carbs, the meals are very balanced and healthy in general.
Okay, back to the festa! Everyone dressed up and headed to the school to eat. After all of the food was eaten and we were thoroughly stuffed, some famous local musicians jammed the Batuque. The Batuque is an Afro-Brazilian dance and the oldest form of music known in Cape Verde. Here is a brief description of the ritual of the Batuque that I found:
“the people sit around in a circle and the dancers enter the center dressed in the country’s national dress though without the shawl on her shoulders rather it is cinched tightly at the waist.”
“the main part of the Batuque involves keeping time by clapping and beating a rolled-up cloth, which is placed between the legs to form and acoustic box. It is a simulated drumbeat as the slaves who arrived on the islands were unable perhaps to find the right materials there for making their traditional instruments.”
The actual dancing of the Batuque involves A LOT of hip shaking. We each had to enter the circle at the festa and dance the Batuque (or at least give it the old college try). When you enter the circle of musicians, women tie the traditional shawl around your waist (well, actually right on your butt to accentuate the movement of your hips while you are dancing). It was awesome and soo much fun. Unfortunately, as I was dancing, some sort of bug got in my skirt and started to sting me repeatedly. I didn’t want to be rude and stop dancing or freak out about a little bug, so I just shook by hips harder. This apparently was a good thing because everyone said I was a really good Batuque dancer! I took lots of pictures and had my friend take pictures of me dancing too. I’ll try my hardest to get them posted!
All in all the festa was a great cultural event. I have seen people dance the Batuque several times around town, but this was a chance to learn and have a good time. All of our teachers were there and our families danced with us and laughed at us when we tried to dance!
Again, I’m outta here. Txau, ti logu.
Model School
For the past two weeks, we have been teaching “model school” in San Domingos. This is a pretty amazing thing the Peace Corps organizes. They have local kids from the community sign up for “English Classes.” There are about 250-300 students that come to the school everyday for two weeks to learn English. The students range from 7th grade (little or no prior English classes) to the 12th grade (decent English language use).
All of the volunteers participate in model school in some way or another. The TEFL teachers taught for the full two weeks, two class periods per day. The Community Development folks only had to teach model school for 3 days, to get a feel for being in a classroom. Most community development people end up teaching English classes at local community centers, so it is good practice for them. Because I am a teacher trainer, I was asked to teach one class per day and observe and critique other TEFL teachers during the other class period.
I was fortunate enough to get to teach the 12th grade class. There were about 15 girls and 1 guy! They were the most fun class because their English was pretty solid. The other teacher trainer, Jessica, also taught this same class. We split our time between teaching and observing (she would teach while I observed and then we’d switch)! We taught them how to distinguish between adjectives that describe feelings and those that describe physical characteristics. We also worked with them on reading comprehension and writing. Our best lesson was on coordinating conjunctions (but, however, although, etc.). It was a bit difficult at first but once they understood the difference between contrasting words and causal words, we were in business! I also was asked to teach the 8th grade one day just for practice! WOW! I have soooo much respect for anyone who can teach 8th graders. I had about 35 students and they were bouncing off the walls. I had 4 boys who decided they wanted to sit right in front to be close to me! How flattering! They told me “I love you teacher” and “Teacher, you are beautiful.” They were actually the best students in the class, so I wasn’t too mean to them. J Each day I was observed by one of the coordinators, and the feedback I got was all positive and helpful. We are surrounded by some really amazing English teachers, so we have the benefit of learning a lot from them. It’s pretty awesome.
Now for the fun stuff…. On Friday we had a “graduation” ceremony for the model school students. It was the most amazing thing I have done here so far! Each teacher had his or her class pick a song to perform for all of the other students. We practiced with them during the week and on Friday we had a huge party! The Peace Corps hired a DJ and had a great sound system set up outside. The weather was absolutely perfect, so no worries about rain. My friend Nick and I were asked to be the emcees for the event, so we got the crowd all excited and then had each class and teacher perform their song. The young kids did “head, shoulders, knees, and toes” and it was sooo cute. Another one of the 7th grade classes performed “lonely, I’m so lonely” and the other 7th grade class sang “old MacDonald.” They were absolutely adorable. These kids are amazing. They all participated and they all really put a lot of work into their performances. The 8th graders performed a chant and stomp routine, which was really cool. One 9th grade class sang Bob Marley’s “One Love” and the other 9th grade class sang Enrique Iglesis’ “hero”!!! The tenth and eleventh grade classes got together and sang “three little birds” by Bob Marley (he is extremely popular here!). The final performance of the day was Jessica and my class, the 12th grade. Because we had all girls and only 1 guy, we decided to have them sing Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT! It was awesome. We choreographed a little dance with them and had our one guy, Antonio, jump in the middle of the girls during the “sock it to me” part! It was so fun. After the performances we had lanxa (snacks) for the kids and played games. I was in charge of the three-legged race, which was a big hit with the kids! After the games, the DJ played some music and ALL of the kids and teachers danced. Now, imagine a dance in America…. Kids don’t really do much dancing, they just kind of stand around because they are too shy or embarrassed to get in front of other people and dance. NOT IN CAPE VERDE. These kids never stopped dancing. There was not one kid just standing around. They all know how to dance and they all dance very well. It is a major part of their culture here. They have several traditional dance styles that they typically do. I have yet to see a Cape Verdan who cannot dance or is shy about dancing. It’s pretty amazing.
After the graduation (oh, we gave them diplomas too for completing model school) we had a TEFL vs. CD (community development) soccer game. All of the students headed to the soccer field to watch us play! Thankfully my team won! Our students were all cheering for us. They were absolutely adorable. It is awesome to have the experience of teaching these kids because now I feel like I know that many more people in the community. The kids always stop and talk to me so I get to practice my Kriolu and they practice their English with me. It’s pretty cool.
I can honestly say that I have never been so impressed by a community of people. These children came to school during their summer vacation to learn English. The students are so interested in learning and practicing here. I can’t imagine students in America sitting in a classroom every afternoon for two weeks listening to a fairly inexperienced teacher try to learn how to teach TEFL!!! The desire to learn English here is sooo strong. These children soak up everything and are involved and engaged during the process. It’s a great feeling to know that these kids appreciate what we are here to do and that they want us to be here with them.
Alright, this has turned into a really long blog! Sorry. I miss everyone! Please write soon. Txau, ti logu.
All of the volunteers participate in model school in some way or another. The TEFL teachers taught for the full two weeks, two class periods per day. The Community Development folks only had to teach model school for 3 days, to get a feel for being in a classroom. Most community development people end up teaching English classes at local community centers, so it is good practice for them. Because I am a teacher trainer, I was asked to teach one class per day and observe and critique other TEFL teachers during the other class period.
I was fortunate enough to get to teach the 12th grade class. There were about 15 girls and 1 guy! They were the most fun class because their English was pretty solid. The other teacher trainer, Jessica, also taught this same class. We split our time between teaching and observing (she would teach while I observed and then we’d switch)! We taught them how to distinguish between adjectives that describe feelings and those that describe physical characteristics. We also worked with them on reading comprehension and writing. Our best lesson was on coordinating conjunctions (but, however, although, etc.). It was a bit difficult at first but once they understood the difference between contrasting words and causal words, we were in business! I also was asked to teach the 8th grade one day just for practice! WOW! I have soooo much respect for anyone who can teach 8th graders. I had about 35 students and they were bouncing off the walls. I had 4 boys who decided they wanted to sit right in front to be close to me! How flattering! They told me “I love you teacher” and “Teacher, you are beautiful.” They were actually the best students in the class, so I wasn’t too mean to them. J Each day I was observed by one of the coordinators, and the feedback I got was all positive and helpful. We are surrounded by some really amazing English teachers, so we have the benefit of learning a lot from them. It’s pretty awesome.
Now for the fun stuff…. On Friday we had a “graduation” ceremony for the model school students. It was the most amazing thing I have done here so far! Each teacher had his or her class pick a song to perform for all of the other students. We practiced with them during the week and on Friday we had a huge party! The Peace Corps hired a DJ and had a great sound system set up outside. The weather was absolutely perfect, so no worries about rain. My friend Nick and I were asked to be the emcees for the event, so we got the crowd all excited and then had each class and teacher perform their song. The young kids did “head, shoulders, knees, and toes” and it was sooo cute. Another one of the 7th grade classes performed “lonely, I’m so lonely” and the other 7th grade class sang “old MacDonald.” They were absolutely adorable. These kids are amazing. They all participated and they all really put a lot of work into their performances. The 8th graders performed a chant and stomp routine, which was really cool. One 9th grade class sang Bob Marley’s “One Love” and the other 9th grade class sang Enrique Iglesis’ “hero”!!! The tenth and eleventh grade classes got together and sang “three little birds” by Bob Marley (he is extremely popular here!). The final performance of the day was Jessica and my class, the 12th grade. Because we had all girls and only 1 guy, we decided to have them sing Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT! It was awesome. We choreographed a little dance with them and had our one guy, Antonio, jump in the middle of the girls during the “sock it to me” part! It was so fun. After the performances we had lanxa (snacks) for the kids and played games. I was in charge of the three-legged race, which was a big hit with the kids! After the games, the DJ played some music and ALL of the kids and teachers danced. Now, imagine a dance in America…. Kids don’t really do much dancing, they just kind of stand around because they are too shy or embarrassed to get in front of other people and dance. NOT IN CAPE VERDE. These kids never stopped dancing. There was not one kid just standing around. They all know how to dance and they all dance very well. It is a major part of their culture here. They have several traditional dance styles that they typically do. I have yet to see a Cape Verdan who cannot dance or is shy about dancing. It’s pretty amazing.
After the graduation (oh, we gave them diplomas too for completing model school) we had a TEFL vs. CD (community development) soccer game. All of the students headed to the soccer field to watch us play! Thankfully my team won! Our students were all cheering for us. They were absolutely adorable. It is awesome to have the experience of teaching these kids because now I feel like I know that many more people in the community. The kids always stop and talk to me so I get to practice my Kriolu and they practice their English with me. It’s pretty cool.
I can honestly say that I have never been so impressed by a community of people. These children came to school during their summer vacation to learn English. The students are so interested in learning and practicing here. I can’t imagine students in America sitting in a classroom every afternoon for two weeks listening to a fairly inexperienced teacher try to learn how to teach TEFL!!! The desire to learn English here is sooo strong. These children soak up everything and are involved and engaged during the process. It’s a great feeling to know that these kids appreciate what we are here to do and that they want us to be here with them.
Alright, this has turned into a really long blog! Sorry. I miss everyone! Please write soon. Txau, ti logu.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
My address
Some people either don’t have my address or lost my address, so I am posting it here. I have yet to receive any mail, so it’d be great to get some. We have figured out that it takes about 2 weeks to get here!!! Here it is:
Casey Maugh, PCT
A/C Corpo da Paz
C.P. 373 – Praia
Republic of Cape Verde
It is best if you ask the mail carrier to try to see that the mail is routed through Boston (if possible). Boston is familiar with Cape Verde, as Boston has the highest population of Cape Verdans living outside of the country!
Casey Maugh, PCT
A/C Corpo da Paz
C.P. 373 – Praia
Republic of Cape Verde
It is best if you ask the mail carrier to try to see that the mail is routed through Boston (if possible). Boston is familiar with Cape Verde, as Boston has the highest population of Cape Verdans living outside of the country!
Week 3
It’s Friday night and I am sitting in my room after what ended up being a long, taxing week. I’ve decided that I want to write about the “conveniences” of American life and the lack of any sort of easy living in Cape Verde. I would like to begin with a disclaimer: I love this place. I love the people. I love everything about this experience, but I would pay a lot of money (which I don’t have) for a really nice, long, warm shower.
I think I’ve noted before that I live in a beautiful home. In fact, I live in the biggest house in my town. My family used to be well off and they are still fairly wealthy by Cape Verdan standards. HOWEVER, they do not have running water. Most homes have a tank on the roof (beton) of their homes. These tanks typically fill up in the rainy season and are used all year long. We have a tank on our roof and ostensibly this tank supplies water to our home. There is no such thing as city water (there are water trucks that bring purchased water to homes, if you can afford it). There are also public wells where women fill buckets and carry water to their homes on a daily basis (these are the women you see in National Geographic carrying huge buckets of water up the side of the mountain). At any rate, the cleanliness of the water depends on the cleanliness of your water tank. NOW, in my estimation, the water tanks are probably pretty disgusting. I have been tempted on occasion to walk up and look into the water tank, but I have talked myself out of it several times on account of the fact that I might be horrified by what I see. You see, if a water tank collects rain water, then said water tank does not have a cover. If there is no way to cover the water, then the one million bugs I have seen in the air probably make their way into the water supply on occasion. Not to mention the fact that the water tank is probably never cleaned. This all leads me to believe that not looking in the water tank is a great idea!
Okay, here’s how it all works around here. We have a water tank that theoretically supplies water for our home; however, we have a hose running from the water tank on the roof to a big barrel (pidon) in our kintal (a kintal is a large open space in the center of the house where people take showers, do laundry, men shave, do dishes, etc.). This big barrel is basically the main water container for all water needs. If I need to take a bath in the morning, I go to the pidon with my bath bucket and fill er up! I then get the kettle (buldi) and either heat it on the stove or I use a heating element that plugs into the wall and quickly heats the water. Some days I come home from running and my grandmother (vovo) has my hot water ready to add to the cold bucket water, and some days I have to do this myself. Mostly they do everything for me, so I’ve got it pretty good around here.
Now on to taking a bath. I am lucky enough to use my grandmothers’ bathroom, where we have a bathtub and shower curtain. We also have nice faucets, but no water! The rest of my family either bathes in the kintal, out in the open, or they bathe in one of the other bathrooms with a drain on the floor (there is no real showering area in the other bathrooms, you just take one over the drain). I am extremely thankful that I get to use the “nice” bathroom because I am not real keen on the idea of taking a shower in the nude in front of my family (as my host-mother does about twice a week). At any rate, you can imagine what it’s like without running water (I hope). To flush the toilet, you take a small bowl and pour water down the drain to create flow in the toilet. When you wash your hands or face, you plug the sink, fill it with a little bit of water and wash until you’re clean.
It’s been very different but a great lesson in water conservation. Everyone is very conscious of their water use and electricity use. There are rarely lights on in a home during the day. In fact, it would be odd to have a light on when it is daylight. At school I’ve never seen a light turned on. They work, but we don’t use them. Even if the room is dim, no one even thinks of wasting power. As Americans we absolutely abuse our energy resources. We leave on televisions (John Austin) and we leave on lights when we aren’t home. The Cape Verdans would never even think of such. They exist in a world where everything is precious. When they eat food, they eat every part of the food, there remains very little at the end of the meal. I feel badly when we eat fish and I haven’t cleaned mine down to the bones. They eat the eyeballs of the fish and the fins and everything. And what they don’t eat, they feed to the pigs in the morning. That’s right, the pigs. In the back of our house, we have a large area for animals. We have pigs and dogs tied up out back! We eat the pigs, but not the dogs. People in Cape Verde have dogs tied up in their homes often. They don’t play with these dogs nor give them any attention at all. I think people just have them because they think they’re supposed to. It’s very, very odd. I haven’t gotten a straight answer about it. We have a house dog (fofusha), but that is a rare occurrence here. Okay, now I’m off on a tangent! I’ll end here by saying good night. I have been in Cape Verde for nearly three weeks! Can you believe it???? Txau, ti logu.
p.s. If you have not read “The Sex Lives of Cannibals,” you definitely should. I just finished it and it is great. The author does a nice job characterizing life on an island in the Pacific Ocean. There are MANY, MANY parallels to my life here in Cape Verde. It’s funny, and you’ll get a sense of what I go through!
I think I’ve noted before that I live in a beautiful home. In fact, I live in the biggest house in my town. My family used to be well off and they are still fairly wealthy by Cape Verdan standards. HOWEVER, they do not have running water. Most homes have a tank on the roof (beton) of their homes. These tanks typically fill up in the rainy season and are used all year long. We have a tank on our roof and ostensibly this tank supplies water to our home. There is no such thing as city water (there are water trucks that bring purchased water to homes, if you can afford it). There are also public wells where women fill buckets and carry water to their homes on a daily basis (these are the women you see in National Geographic carrying huge buckets of water up the side of the mountain). At any rate, the cleanliness of the water depends on the cleanliness of your water tank. NOW, in my estimation, the water tanks are probably pretty disgusting. I have been tempted on occasion to walk up and look into the water tank, but I have talked myself out of it several times on account of the fact that I might be horrified by what I see. You see, if a water tank collects rain water, then said water tank does not have a cover. If there is no way to cover the water, then the one million bugs I have seen in the air probably make their way into the water supply on occasion. Not to mention the fact that the water tank is probably never cleaned. This all leads me to believe that not looking in the water tank is a great idea!
Okay, here’s how it all works around here. We have a water tank that theoretically supplies water for our home; however, we have a hose running from the water tank on the roof to a big barrel (pidon) in our kintal (a kintal is a large open space in the center of the house where people take showers, do laundry, men shave, do dishes, etc.). This big barrel is basically the main water container for all water needs. If I need to take a bath in the morning, I go to the pidon with my bath bucket and fill er up! I then get the kettle (buldi) and either heat it on the stove or I use a heating element that plugs into the wall and quickly heats the water. Some days I come home from running and my grandmother (vovo) has my hot water ready to add to the cold bucket water, and some days I have to do this myself. Mostly they do everything for me, so I’ve got it pretty good around here.
Now on to taking a bath. I am lucky enough to use my grandmothers’ bathroom, where we have a bathtub and shower curtain. We also have nice faucets, but no water! The rest of my family either bathes in the kintal, out in the open, or they bathe in one of the other bathrooms with a drain on the floor (there is no real showering area in the other bathrooms, you just take one over the drain). I am extremely thankful that I get to use the “nice” bathroom because I am not real keen on the idea of taking a shower in the nude in front of my family (as my host-mother does about twice a week). At any rate, you can imagine what it’s like without running water (I hope). To flush the toilet, you take a small bowl and pour water down the drain to create flow in the toilet. When you wash your hands or face, you plug the sink, fill it with a little bit of water and wash until you’re clean.
It’s been very different but a great lesson in water conservation. Everyone is very conscious of their water use and electricity use. There are rarely lights on in a home during the day. In fact, it would be odd to have a light on when it is daylight. At school I’ve never seen a light turned on. They work, but we don’t use them. Even if the room is dim, no one even thinks of wasting power. As Americans we absolutely abuse our energy resources. We leave on televisions (John Austin) and we leave on lights when we aren’t home. The Cape Verdans would never even think of such. They exist in a world where everything is precious. When they eat food, they eat every part of the food, there remains very little at the end of the meal. I feel badly when we eat fish and I haven’t cleaned mine down to the bones. They eat the eyeballs of the fish and the fins and everything. And what they don’t eat, they feed to the pigs in the morning. That’s right, the pigs. In the back of our house, we have a large area for animals. We have pigs and dogs tied up out back! We eat the pigs, but not the dogs. People in Cape Verde have dogs tied up in their homes often. They don’t play with these dogs nor give them any attention at all. I think people just have them because they think they’re supposed to. It’s very, very odd. I haven’t gotten a straight answer about it. We have a house dog (fofusha), but that is a rare occurrence here. Okay, now I’m off on a tangent! I’ll end here by saying good night. I have been in Cape Verde for nearly three weeks! Can you believe it???? Txau, ti logu.
p.s. If you have not read “The Sex Lives of Cannibals,” you definitely should. I just finished it and it is great. The author does a nice job characterizing life on an island in the Pacific Ocean. There are MANY, MANY parallels to my life here in Cape Verde. It’s funny, and you’ll get a sense of what I go through!
A FAN, I GOT A FAN!!!
Oh happy day! You cannot imagine how absolutely delighted I was to enter my room on Thursday to find a FAN! I have been sleeping in my hot, sticky bedroom for nearly 3 weeks without a fan! Most people don’t have fans, in fact, I think they’re for sissies, but I’ll be considered a sissy for such a sweet, wonderful thing. My fan is beautiful. It has three speeds and rotates! You see, I am unable to open my shutters at night just to be safe and I can’t leave my door open for the same reason. The little ventilation that does come through my room is barely perceptible to the human flesh! So, as you might imagine, it’s been a little on the hot side at night. And this heat is just fine because when I’m asleep, I really don’t mind it. The real reason for the excitement and wasting of your time, is that the fan is a wonderful sound blocker! At about 3:30 or 4 the roosters begin to crow, which to most people, isn’t the best way or time to wake up every single morning. My new fan blocks out the sound of the crowing roosters, which is absolutely lovely! I have slept with my fan for two nights and it has been the best two nights of sleep I’ve had here! I love my fan! Okay, as you can see, simple pleasures in life are much appreciated when you live on an island in the Atlantic! I’ll bid you a “bo noite” (good night). Txau, bon sonhu.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Pictures
This is a picture of me and my host mom! Her name is Marlene (mar-lean-ey). We are on our porch in San Domingos, which overlooks the entire city! We eat every meal on the porch!!!
Reflections
It is the end of the second week of training, and as I sit here on Sunday morning recalling the events of my week, I am amazed by all that I have seen and done in such a short amount of time. Our training schedule keeps us pretty busy, so there is very little time to get bored.
On Thursday, we went to Cidade Velha, which is the oldest city in the islands. Cidade Velha was discovered and claimed by the Portuguese. In this small town on the ocean, there is a fort overlooking the water. The fort at Cidade Velha is really cool. I’ll try to include some pictures here so that you can get an idea of what it looks like and what an amazing view it has. Cidade Velha is an extremely important historical site not only because it was a military base, but also because of the slave trade. We learned that nearly all people living in the Americas with African decent probably have ancestors who stayed on Cape Verde while in transit from the continent of Africa to the Americas. In Cidade Velha there still remains the plaza where slaves were bought, sold, and tortured by the Portuguese. The “trading” spire with original shackles is in the middle of the plaza too. It was very sad to imagine the millions of slaves trafficked through Cape Verde.
Well, after Cidade Velha, we returned to San Domingos for lunch and then Jessica and I turned right around and went to Praia to visit ISE, the college where we will be teaching. The college was amazing. There is a lot energy there and a lot of excitement about becoming the University of Cape Verde (which hopefully will happen soon). In the college there is a computer lab with internet specifically for the teachers (sweet), a college library and our department has its own library just for English reading materials. We were just given 1500 books from a local church, so things are a little disorganized, but the prospect of having so many reading options is really exciting. Most Cape Verdans do not read. I live with educated people and there is not one book in my home here in San Domingos. They do not even have children’s books! This culture is very interested in watching televison, particularly telenovelas. At 9 o’clock each night, the entire town shuts down while “America” is on. This is basically a soap opera filmed in Brazil about America. It is insanely popular; everyone in Cape Verde watches this show every single night. So, it is a huge challenge for us as teachers to actually get people interested in reading for pleasure.
After our trip to ISE and a quick stop to the internet café to post my last three blogs, we headed back home. Friday was fairly uneventful until the evening rolled around. On Friday night there was a special performer in town, “Juka.” We headed down toward the center of town and EVERYONE in San Domingos was there, and I mean everyone. Mothers, fathers, children, all of the volunteers, etc. It was great! The music was good and everyone danced and had a fun time. It was the first time in 2 years that San Domingos has had a performer come and play for the town! It was very cool to see how the parents and children interact here. Everything is community oriented, so all of the moms were dancing with the kids and it was a great site to see. It makes me realize why this town is so safe and such a great place to live. Everyone looks out for everyone else, which is a good and bad thing. Word travels EXTREMELY fast here! No one does anything in this town without all of the moms knowing all of the details. It’s kinda crazy.
On Saturday morning, after a late night the community event, we headed out to Assomada to “shadow a volunteer.” Nick, David, Tina, and I signed up to go to Assomada (a town just about 40 minutes north of here). Assomada is in a valley between the two major mountain ranges on this island. It also is bordered by a canyon that runs out toward the ocean. Assomada is a very cool place, except that it is not on the water. It has a huge high school and the major technical school on the island. Toby, the second year volunteer in Assomada, was asked to show us around and give us a sense of his daily life. Toby is about to be done with his service and he is a teacher, so he isn’t really busy right now. Toby teaches mechanics at the technical school, which is a really neat school built by the Luxemborg foundation. The Luxemborg foundation funds many, many building projects in Cape Verde, which is nice to have a private donor build really nice classrooms and provide the necessary equipment for such a school. We did a quick tour of Toby’s school, then hiked up a short way to the top of a mountain ridge. From there we has a birds view of the entire city of Assomada. It was amazing. We could also see the ocean from there and on a clearer day, we could have seen the island of Fogo.
It was market day in Assomada on Saturday, so we got to visit the market and check out all of the food. We found out that at the market, you can get a plate of rice, beans, and a chicken or beef for $100 escudos. That is about 1 dollar for a huge lunch plate! You can also get a great homemade sandwich with chorizo for $60 escudo! Everything is soooo cheap here. In the market, they also have the fish and meat sections. These are basically slaughter room with blood on the floor! I thought for sure that my friend David was going to puke when he saw goat heads lying on the floor next to us. He immediately turned around and walked out of the room! It was pretty gross. And after that wonderful experience, we went to eat lunch, yum. Our lunch was really, really good. I ordered tuna steak, which was amazing. This was a pretty nice restaurant and our meals were less than 4 dollars each!
After lunch, we headed to one of the most impressive sites I’ve seen to date. The oldest tree in the country exists there. It is a bubai (not sure about spelling) tree. This kind of tree is found often on the continent of Africa, imagine the trees in Lion King. This tree is massive. We hiked to it, then spent some time hanging out in the shade. Toby told us that people climb the tree too, so Nick and I decided to see if we could do it! It was so much fun. We made it to the top, and then we could see all of the valley. It was quite an adventure. The tricky part was getting back down from the tree! A little scary, but I made it. I have pictures of this, so I’ll try to get them posted too!
That’s about all that has happened in the last couple of days. OH! This morning I went to church with my sister and at the end of the service, the priest was making announcements and I heard him say something about the Peace Corps. I couldn’t exactly understand him, then all of the sudden he started speaking in English to the 4 or 5 volunteers at church. He said the town was so happy to have us and he thanked us for our commitment to help Cape Verde. It was a really awesome experience, then everyone (about 250 people or more) began clapping to show their appreciation. I was so moved. I have had lots of people ask me why I am in Cape Verde and when I tell them I’m with the Peace Corps, they always thank me profusely for volunteering. I met a man in town two days ago who spoke English very well. He said that he learned English from a volunteer years ago. He then went on to thank me for being a teacher! It was great. Often in the states people are not really aware of how much the people of other countries appreciate the Peace Corps. Unlike any other foreign aid organization, Peace Corps lives among people and works with people toward sustainability. This is very rare, so the people here really are so thankful for us. It would be hard to forget why I came here.
I am worn out today because we never really have time to rest. Today I am using the day to write, read, and study a bit. We are moving out of basic language study and into more speaking to our peers, so I want to be really on top of my Kriolu for Monday! I hope all is well in the states. I haven’t really heard any news at all. I’m not complaining, it’s really nice to be out of touch with things. BUT, I wouldn’t mind some updates on things like the tour de France and the situation with the supreme court (who is going to be appointed to replace Sandra Day O’Connor?). Any tid bits would be great. Txou, ti logu.
On Thursday, we went to Cidade Velha, which is the oldest city in the islands. Cidade Velha was discovered and claimed by the Portuguese. In this small town on the ocean, there is a fort overlooking the water. The fort at Cidade Velha is really cool. I’ll try to include some pictures here so that you can get an idea of what it looks like and what an amazing view it has. Cidade Velha is an extremely important historical site not only because it was a military base, but also because of the slave trade. We learned that nearly all people living in the Americas with African decent probably have ancestors who stayed on Cape Verde while in transit from the continent of Africa to the Americas. In Cidade Velha there still remains the plaza where slaves were bought, sold, and tortured by the Portuguese. The “trading” spire with original shackles is in the middle of the plaza too. It was very sad to imagine the millions of slaves trafficked through Cape Verde.
Well, after Cidade Velha, we returned to San Domingos for lunch and then Jessica and I turned right around and went to Praia to visit ISE, the college where we will be teaching. The college was amazing. There is a lot energy there and a lot of excitement about becoming the University of Cape Verde (which hopefully will happen soon). In the college there is a computer lab with internet specifically for the teachers (sweet), a college library and our department has its own library just for English reading materials. We were just given 1500 books from a local church, so things are a little disorganized, but the prospect of having so many reading options is really exciting. Most Cape Verdans do not read. I live with educated people and there is not one book in my home here in San Domingos. They do not even have children’s books! This culture is very interested in watching televison, particularly telenovelas. At 9 o’clock each night, the entire town shuts down while “America” is on. This is basically a soap opera filmed in Brazil about America. It is insanely popular; everyone in Cape Verde watches this show every single night. So, it is a huge challenge for us as teachers to actually get people interested in reading for pleasure.
After our trip to ISE and a quick stop to the internet café to post my last three blogs, we headed back home. Friday was fairly uneventful until the evening rolled around. On Friday night there was a special performer in town, “Juka.” We headed down toward the center of town and EVERYONE in San Domingos was there, and I mean everyone. Mothers, fathers, children, all of the volunteers, etc. It was great! The music was good and everyone danced and had a fun time. It was the first time in 2 years that San Domingos has had a performer come and play for the town! It was very cool to see how the parents and children interact here. Everything is community oriented, so all of the moms were dancing with the kids and it was a great site to see. It makes me realize why this town is so safe and such a great place to live. Everyone looks out for everyone else, which is a good and bad thing. Word travels EXTREMELY fast here! No one does anything in this town without all of the moms knowing all of the details. It’s kinda crazy.
On Saturday morning, after a late night the community event, we headed out to Assomada to “shadow a volunteer.” Nick, David, Tina, and I signed up to go to Assomada (a town just about 40 minutes north of here). Assomada is in a valley between the two major mountain ranges on this island. It also is bordered by a canyon that runs out toward the ocean. Assomada is a very cool place, except that it is not on the water. It has a huge high school and the major technical school on the island. Toby, the second year volunteer in Assomada, was asked to show us around and give us a sense of his daily life. Toby is about to be done with his service and he is a teacher, so he isn’t really busy right now. Toby teaches mechanics at the technical school, which is a really neat school built by the Luxemborg foundation. The Luxemborg foundation funds many, many building projects in Cape Verde, which is nice to have a private donor build really nice classrooms and provide the necessary equipment for such a school. We did a quick tour of Toby’s school, then hiked up a short way to the top of a mountain ridge. From there we has a birds view of the entire city of Assomada. It was amazing. We could also see the ocean from there and on a clearer day, we could have seen the island of Fogo.
It was market day in Assomada on Saturday, so we got to visit the market and check out all of the food. We found out that at the market, you can get a plate of rice, beans, and a chicken or beef for $100 escudos. That is about 1 dollar for a huge lunch plate! You can also get a great homemade sandwich with chorizo for $60 escudo! Everything is soooo cheap here. In the market, they also have the fish and meat sections. These are basically slaughter room with blood on the floor! I thought for sure that my friend David was going to puke when he saw goat heads lying on the floor next to us. He immediately turned around and walked out of the room! It was pretty gross. And after that wonderful experience, we went to eat lunch, yum. Our lunch was really, really good. I ordered tuna steak, which was amazing. This was a pretty nice restaurant and our meals were less than 4 dollars each!
After lunch, we headed to one of the most impressive sites I’ve seen to date. The oldest tree in the country exists there. It is a bubai (not sure about spelling) tree. This kind of tree is found often on the continent of Africa, imagine the trees in Lion King. This tree is massive. We hiked to it, then spent some time hanging out in the shade. Toby told us that people climb the tree too, so Nick and I decided to see if we could do it! It was so much fun. We made it to the top, and then we could see all of the valley. It was quite an adventure. The tricky part was getting back down from the tree! A little scary, but I made it. I have pictures of this, so I’ll try to get them posted too!
That’s about all that has happened in the last couple of days. OH! This morning I went to church with my sister and at the end of the service, the priest was making announcements and I heard him say something about the Peace Corps. I couldn’t exactly understand him, then all of the sudden he started speaking in English to the 4 or 5 volunteers at church. He said the town was so happy to have us and he thanked us for our commitment to help Cape Verde. It was a really awesome experience, then everyone (about 250 people or more) began clapping to show their appreciation. I was so moved. I have had lots of people ask me why I am in Cape Verde and when I tell them I’m with the Peace Corps, they always thank me profusely for volunteering. I met a man in town two days ago who spoke English very well. He said that he learned English from a volunteer years ago. He then went on to thank me for being a teacher! It was great. Often in the states people are not really aware of how much the people of other countries appreciate the Peace Corps. Unlike any other foreign aid organization, Peace Corps lives among people and works with people toward sustainability. This is very rare, so the people here really are so thankful for us. It would be hard to forget why I came here.
I am worn out today because we never really have time to rest. Today I am using the day to write, read, and study a bit. We are moving out of basic language study and into more speaking to our peers, so I want to be really on top of my Kriolu for Monday! I hope all is well in the states. I haven’t really heard any news at all. I’m not complaining, it’s really nice to be out of touch with things. BUT, I wouldn’t mind some updates on things like the tour de France and the situation with the supreme court (who is going to be appointed to replace Sandra Day O’Connor?). Any tid bits would be great. Txou, ti logu.
Just Another Day in Paradise...
I know, it must be difficult reading about how hard my life is in the Peace Corps. We basically go to school all day, learn how to speak a new and exciting language, then we have a 1 ½ hour lunch break, followed by 3 more hours of Peace Corps training, this is usually followed by a dance class, yoga class, or tae kwon do, and after that we generally cross the street to the “monkey bar” where we have a beer and recount our day. Now mind you, all of this happens in San Domingos, a small town in the mountains of Cape Verde where there is little to no crime, kind people, moderate temperature, cool nights, and really good food. I always imagined my Peace Corps experience would be taxing. I imagined myself on the continent of Africa in some desert-like place. Instead, I am on a small island with beaches and mountains!!! Lucky me.
Well, I’m sure this isn’t making any of you in Pennsylvania feel any better about living in the North, so I’ll stop now!
Today we got a new volunteer, Sarah. Sarah was originally with our group in Philadelphia at staging. She was unable to leave with us because of some medical issues. She was a volunteer in Uzbekistan for 5 months, but the country did not renew the visas of the volunteers, so they were all immediately removed from the country. Sarah has her master’s in divinity, which makes her an odd fit for the group. Having a theologian with us is interesting to say the least. Sarah is now here and a week and a half behind. She is working hard to catch up to us, which I’m sure is overwhelming. A week and a half’s worth of language training alone is daunting! We are so much more fluent now than we were just two weeks ago. It’s amazing how quickly you learn when you are immersed in the culture.
Now on to other stuff. Today we had a session with our Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO), Dr. Jack! Dr. Jack is a cooky old man. He is probably about 70 and from San Francisco. He’s got wild hair and a great hippie beard. He comes to San Domingus a couple of times a week to talk to us about medical issues and to give us shots (we’ve had about 9 shots thus far). Today was a special day with Dr. Jack. We were to talk about STD’s! Great! So, Dr. Jack begins by asking us if we know what STD stands for! WOW. We’re all adults Dr. Jack….. so it devolves from there into a game about how to put on a condom. He created pieces of paper with phrases on them, then we were to line up chronologically. The point of the game was to see if we knew how to put on a condom, I think. But it devolved into laughter and a lot of jokes. So, next Dr. Jack decides to have one of us demonstrate how to put on a condom. Jonah, sweet Jonah, volunteers himself for this job. I am including a picture here so that you can see how this all looked! It was ridiculous, but I gotta give the good doctor props for being entertaining. Anyway, after the session, he asked me to critique his public speaking skills (he and I had previously discussed that I taught public speaking for 5 years). I reassured him that he did a good job and not to worry, the laughing wasn’t at him. It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is just something about “sex ed” that is always funny…..
On that note my friends. I bid you farewell until next time. Txou, ti logu.
Well, I’m sure this isn’t making any of you in Pennsylvania feel any better about living in the North, so I’ll stop now!
Today we got a new volunteer, Sarah. Sarah was originally with our group in Philadelphia at staging. She was unable to leave with us because of some medical issues. She was a volunteer in Uzbekistan for 5 months, but the country did not renew the visas of the volunteers, so they were all immediately removed from the country. Sarah has her master’s in divinity, which makes her an odd fit for the group. Having a theologian with us is interesting to say the least. Sarah is now here and a week and a half behind. She is working hard to catch up to us, which I’m sure is overwhelming. A week and a half’s worth of language training alone is daunting! We are so much more fluent now than we were just two weeks ago. It’s amazing how quickly you learn when you are immersed in the culture.
Now on to other stuff. Today we had a session with our Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO), Dr. Jack! Dr. Jack is a cooky old man. He is probably about 70 and from San Francisco. He’s got wild hair and a great hippie beard. He comes to San Domingus a couple of times a week to talk to us about medical issues and to give us shots (we’ve had about 9 shots thus far). Today was a special day with Dr. Jack. We were to talk about STD’s! Great! So, Dr. Jack begins by asking us if we know what STD stands for! WOW. We’re all adults Dr. Jack….. so it devolves from there into a game about how to put on a condom. He created pieces of paper with phrases on them, then we were to line up chronologically. The point of the game was to see if we knew how to put on a condom, I think. But it devolved into laughter and a lot of jokes. So, next Dr. Jack decides to have one of us demonstrate how to put on a condom. Jonah, sweet Jonah, volunteers himself for this job. I am including a picture here so that you can see how this all looked! It was ridiculous, but I gotta give the good doctor props for being entertaining. Anyway, after the session, he asked me to critique his public speaking skills (he and I had previously discussed that I taught public speaking for 5 years). I reassured him that he did a good job and not to worry, the laughing wasn’t at him. It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is just something about “sex ed” that is always funny…..
On that note my friends. I bid you farewell until next time. Txou, ti logu.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Read this post last because I just posted 3 at once
It has been two weeks since I left my home in Mississippi for Cape Verde. Not knowing what lay ahead, I can honestly say any expectation or assumption I had about this country has been respectively exceeded and changed. I have been living with my homestay family for a little over a week and I love them. They are the most kind and generous group of women I have met. I have 3 very close friends that are volunteers: Jessica, Nick, and David. Nick has taken to stopping by my house on his way to and from school (he just lives up the mountain from me), Jessica comes over to hang out occasionally, and David eats his lunch at my house each day because his family lives too far away for him to make it home for lunch.
I really wanted this entry to be about my experience with training, so I’ll try to stick to that. Our language classes are great! My teacher Djalo is 27 and a student at the college where I will be teaching in the fall. He is in his 5th year at ISE (the college) and will be writing his thesis to graduate. He is a great model for teaching a foreign language. I am lucky enough to be in the “highest” language class. Everyone learns the same material each day, but the level of the classes is different, so for example, in my class we will learn the 4 objectives for the day, but we will spend more time talking to each other in Kriolu and practicing the language with the teacher. In other classes, it may take the entire 4 hours to cover the 4 objectives with little time for any interaction. There are only 4 people in my language class: Jessica, Nick, and Anna. This is great because we get to ask lots of questions and learn a lot more than the other classes. Because of this, my Kriolu is pretty good after only a week and a half. In Kriolu they say “fixi” (pronounced “fishy”). It means, good or cool. So, everyone asks if I am “fishy,” which is always funny!
As far as the other classes go, I spend the rest of my time in technical training class. My technical training class consists of Jessica and me. There are two other technical training classes, TEFL and community development. Because Jessica and I are teacher trainers, we have our own class and 3 teachers. It’s great because while the other classes are dying of boredom, we are talking with our trainers, going to Praia to spend time at the college, etc. We get to arrange our own schedule to meet our objectives for teaching, so we have a lot of freedom. It is excellent.
I am sooooo excited about teaching at ISE. It looks like I will get to teach classes on teaching methodology, pedagogy, and American Culture and Civilization. They even asked if I might be interested in teaching a class for the Philosophy department! Sweet. I wasn’t really sure about how much of an impact I might be able to have teaching at a college in Cape Verde, but I have come to realize that this is the BEST job to have. Peace Corps focuses on “sustainability” as the foundation of its service. Teaching at ISE is the best way to develop a sustainable educational system. Right now only 1 person has graduated from ISE as a certified English teacher, this means that the majority of people teaching in high schools in Cape Verde are only high school graduates themselves. ISE offers an opportunity for students to earn an advanced degree, which in turn creates better teachers for the islands. The teachers at ISE are very excited about Jessica and me because we can advise 5th year students by directing thesis projects and doing in-class observations. As it stands, only 2 other people in the department have master’s degrees, which means they are the only 2 people capable of advising a graduating student! Pretty exciting stuff!!!! I will be able to work in a capacity that is really, really needed here. AND, ISE is about to become the University of Cape Verde, which means this is an exciting time. Also, two of the former volunteers are now professors at ISE, so there are lots of Americans working along side the Cape Verdans at the school doing really good things.
Well, I am going to visit the school for the first time today, so I’ll write more about it and my impressions of it when I can. Again, I will rarely have internet access, so email me if you can and I’ll try to respond. Txau, ti logu. (that means, good bye, see you later in Kriolu)
I really wanted this entry to be about my experience with training, so I’ll try to stick to that. Our language classes are great! My teacher Djalo is 27 and a student at the college where I will be teaching in the fall. He is in his 5th year at ISE (the college) and will be writing his thesis to graduate. He is a great model for teaching a foreign language. I am lucky enough to be in the “highest” language class. Everyone learns the same material each day, but the level of the classes is different, so for example, in my class we will learn the 4 objectives for the day, but we will spend more time talking to each other in Kriolu and practicing the language with the teacher. In other classes, it may take the entire 4 hours to cover the 4 objectives with little time for any interaction. There are only 4 people in my language class: Jessica, Nick, and Anna. This is great because we get to ask lots of questions and learn a lot more than the other classes. Because of this, my Kriolu is pretty good after only a week and a half. In Kriolu they say “fixi” (pronounced “fishy”). It means, good or cool. So, everyone asks if I am “fishy,” which is always funny!
As far as the other classes go, I spend the rest of my time in technical training class. My technical training class consists of Jessica and me. There are two other technical training classes, TEFL and community development. Because Jessica and I are teacher trainers, we have our own class and 3 teachers. It’s great because while the other classes are dying of boredom, we are talking with our trainers, going to Praia to spend time at the college, etc. We get to arrange our own schedule to meet our objectives for teaching, so we have a lot of freedom. It is excellent.
I am sooooo excited about teaching at ISE. It looks like I will get to teach classes on teaching methodology, pedagogy, and American Culture and Civilization. They even asked if I might be interested in teaching a class for the Philosophy department! Sweet. I wasn’t really sure about how much of an impact I might be able to have teaching at a college in Cape Verde, but I have come to realize that this is the BEST job to have. Peace Corps focuses on “sustainability” as the foundation of its service. Teaching at ISE is the best way to develop a sustainable educational system. Right now only 1 person has graduated from ISE as a certified English teacher, this means that the majority of people teaching in high schools in Cape Verde are only high school graduates themselves. ISE offers an opportunity for students to earn an advanced degree, which in turn creates better teachers for the islands. The teachers at ISE are very excited about Jessica and me because we can advise 5th year students by directing thesis projects and doing in-class observations. As it stands, only 2 other people in the department have master’s degrees, which means they are the only 2 people capable of advising a graduating student! Pretty exciting stuff!!!! I will be able to work in a capacity that is really, really needed here. AND, ISE is about to become the University of Cape Verde, which means this is an exciting time. Also, two of the former volunteers are now professors at ISE, so there are lots of Americans working along side the Cape Verdans at the school doing really good things.
Well, I am going to visit the school for the first time today, so I’ll write more about it and my impressions of it when I can. Again, I will rarely have internet access, so email me if you can and I’ll try to respond. Txau, ti logu. (that means, good bye, see you later in Kriolu)
Homestay Life in San Domingos
In my last entry, I left you just as I arrived in Cape Verde. I am now in the town of Sao Dumingus (San Domingos) which is just outside of Praia (the capital city). After staying in the somewhat “dangerous” big city of Praia, it was nice to get to Sao Dumingus. S.D. is know for its friendly and welcoming people and its extremely safe living conditions. Peace Corps moved its training location to S.D. 4 years ago and everything has worked out very well. We all feel safe and happy here in our new home.
On Monday night, we were able to meet our host-mothers at the training school. My mother’s name is Marlene. I do not have a host-dad, but I do have host-grandmother (Mama), a host-uncle (tiu, which is Kreole for uncle), 4 sisters (Claudia, Angela, Leni, Luisa), 1 nephew (Angelo), 1 niece (Kristina), and the cutest long-haired Chihuahua you have ever seen (Fufusha). My grandmother used to host Peace Corps volunteers in the 80’s. My uncle stays out of the way and spends his time shelling peanuts (mancala) in the back of the house. I got to help him tonight, it was fun, but boy do my fingers hurt! My sister Angela is older than me and she lives in another neighborhood in town with her “husband” and 2 children, Angelo (6) and Kristina (7 months). Angela, Angelo, and Kristina are always around, which is nice! Angela is a teacher at a local school and she and her partner exist in a typical Cape Verdan arrangement. Hardly anyone actually gets legally married here. Most people live together in common law marriage for years. It is rare to meet someone who is actually married. It’s a weird system, but it seems very, very common. My sister Claudia is 25 and she is also a teacher at one of the local schools. She is my closest friend here. Claudia is really cool; she likes Bob Marley, so we were able to listen to him on my Ipod together! Leni is 12 and very, very shy! She is finally beginning to talk to me a little more, but it’s taken 5 days. Luisa is 6 and she is hilarious and a total drama queen. She loves me. Everytime I come home she gives me a huge hug (so does Angelo). My house is HUGE! I mean HUGE! It is beautiful. I definitely live in the biggest house in town. Apparently my home also serves a restaurant to European tourists! CRAZY! Okay, enough about that.
The meeting of our host mothers was wild! All of the mothers (24) were waiting for us in the school. We enter the gates and they attacked us! In the Peace Corps, when you are placed with a host family, it is a BIG deal. These families compete to have us stay with them. They call us their children (fidju) and introduce us to everyone in town as their “fidju.” Each host mother believes the have the most beautiful child and they continual tell other mothers how wonderful and smart their particular child is! The Cape Verdans in general are very, very affectionate. Everyone in my family gives me a big hugs and kisses! They are the sweetest people in the world.
Now that I have been here a few days, I am settling into a routine. Our school starts at 8:30, so I get up about 5:30. It’s pretty hard to sleep because the roosters begin crowing about 3:30 or 4. I go for a run with my sister Claudia. Then I head for the shower. Now, you are currently imagining the kind of showers we have in America! Well, they have a shower with a nozzle and all, but there is no running water here. The house is built for it, but they do not use it. Basically, I heat a tea kettle full of water, then fill up a bucket of cold water from the porch. I add the hot water to the bucket until the temperature is right. I get in the tub and pour water over my head! It’s pretty crazy. Our toilets are just the same as those in America, except they don’t flush, so we have to pour water in them to force the flush to happen!!!! It’s the same in most homes in San Domingos and at our school. Needless to say, this has been an adjustment for us. On with my daily routine. After I shower and dress, we have breakfast. Breakfast is fairly European, so we have toast and cheese with some milk. Everyone else has coffee, but I don’t like coffee so I just have milk from local cows that is boiled. YUM. I then head off to school at 8:30. We have different classes (history of Cape Verde, technical training, language, culture, safety and security, medical, etc). We usually spend at least 3-5 hours in language class working on our Kriolu. We will be studying Kriolu for 4 weeks and then Portuguese for 4 weeks!!! It is VERY, VERY intensive. We break at 12 or 12:30 for lunch. We all walk back to our houses (mine is about a 15-20 minute walk) and have lunch with our families. Classes start again at 2 and go until 5:30 or so. I usually hang with my Peace Corps friends after classes to practice our Kriolu, then head home. At 6 people here have a “snack” or tea. This means that we end up eating dinner at 8:30 at night!!! Well, I am usually tired after dinner, so I head to bed early and study before going to sleep. Basically it’s the same thing everyday. It’s GREAT!! Cape Verde is amazing. The people are absolutely beautiful, kind, laid back, and giving. I could stay here forever!!!!!
We are headed to Praia tomorrow for a “safety and security” field trip. I am afraid they may be taping money to our foreheads and throwing us in unsafe neighborhoods to see if we can survive!!!! Just kidding, MOM. Okay, I have homework to do…. I hope to be posting this in Praia as S.D. has NO INTERNET access at this time. In fact, we didn’t have power last night and all day today! I’ll also try to post some pictures if I can. If I can’t get that figured out this time, I’ll try to do it next time I have internet access. So, to all of you who haven’t heard from me, I am sorry. We really have no way of communicating except through the phone lines. I do have a phone number, so if you’d like to call my house, that’d be great. My mom will have the phone number, so please send her an email asking for the number… pathwayhealth at bellsouth dot com
Alright, we are trying to teach the Cape Verdans to say “peace out” when they leave! So, I’ll say Peace out too! Txau, ti logu.
On Monday night, we were able to meet our host-mothers at the training school. My mother’s name is Marlene. I do not have a host-dad, but I do have host-grandmother (Mama), a host-uncle (tiu, which is Kreole for uncle), 4 sisters (Claudia, Angela, Leni, Luisa), 1 nephew (Angelo), 1 niece (Kristina), and the cutest long-haired Chihuahua you have ever seen (Fufusha). My grandmother used to host Peace Corps volunteers in the 80’s. My uncle stays out of the way and spends his time shelling peanuts (mancala) in the back of the house. I got to help him tonight, it was fun, but boy do my fingers hurt! My sister Angela is older than me and she lives in another neighborhood in town with her “husband” and 2 children, Angelo (6) and Kristina (7 months). Angela, Angelo, and Kristina are always around, which is nice! Angela is a teacher at a local school and she and her partner exist in a typical Cape Verdan arrangement. Hardly anyone actually gets legally married here. Most people live together in common law marriage for years. It is rare to meet someone who is actually married. It’s a weird system, but it seems very, very common. My sister Claudia is 25 and she is also a teacher at one of the local schools. She is my closest friend here. Claudia is really cool; she likes Bob Marley, so we were able to listen to him on my Ipod together! Leni is 12 and very, very shy! She is finally beginning to talk to me a little more, but it’s taken 5 days. Luisa is 6 and she is hilarious and a total drama queen. She loves me. Everytime I come home she gives me a huge hug (so does Angelo). My house is HUGE! I mean HUGE! It is beautiful. I definitely live in the biggest house in town. Apparently my home also serves a restaurant to European tourists! CRAZY! Okay, enough about that.
The meeting of our host mothers was wild! All of the mothers (24) were waiting for us in the school. We enter the gates and they attacked us! In the Peace Corps, when you are placed with a host family, it is a BIG deal. These families compete to have us stay with them. They call us their children (fidju) and introduce us to everyone in town as their “fidju.” Each host mother believes the have the most beautiful child and they continual tell other mothers how wonderful and smart their particular child is! The Cape Verdans in general are very, very affectionate. Everyone in my family gives me a big hugs and kisses! They are the sweetest people in the world.
Now that I have been here a few days, I am settling into a routine. Our school starts at 8:30, so I get up about 5:30. It’s pretty hard to sleep because the roosters begin crowing about 3:30 or 4. I go for a run with my sister Claudia. Then I head for the shower. Now, you are currently imagining the kind of showers we have in America! Well, they have a shower with a nozzle and all, but there is no running water here. The house is built for it, but they do not use it. Basically, I heat a tea kettle full of water, then fill up a bucket of cold water from the porch. I add the hot water to the bucket until the temperature is right. I get in the tub and pour water over my head! It’s pretty crazy. Our toilets are just the same as those in America, except they don’t flush, so we have to pour water in them to force the flush to happen!!!! It’s the same in most homes in San Domingos and at our school. Needless to say, this has been an adjustment for us. On with my daily routine. After I shower and dress, we have breakfast. Breakfast is fairly European, so we have toast and cheese with some milk. Everyone else has coffee, but I don’t like coffee so I just have milk from local cows that is boiled. YUM. I then head off to school at 8:30. We have different classes (history of Cape Verde, technical training, language, culture, safety and security, medical, etc). We usually spend at least 3-5 hours in language class working on our Kriolu. We will be studying Kriolu for 4 weeks and then Portuguese for 4 weeks!!! It is VERY, VERY intensive. We break at 12 or 12:30 for lunch. We all walk back to our houses (mine is about a 15-20 minute walk) and have lunch with our families. Classes start again at 2 and go until 5:30 or so. I usually hang with my Peace Corps friends after classes to practice our Kriolu, then head home. At 6 people here have a “snack” or tea. This means that we end up eating dinner at 8:30 at night!!! Well, I am usually tired after dinner, so I head to bed early and study before going to sleep. Basically it’s the same thing everyday. It’s GREAT!! Cape Verde is amazing. The people are absolutely beautiful, kind, laid back, and giving. I could stay here forever!!!!!
We are headed to Praia tomorrow for a “safety and security” field trip. I am afraid they may be taping money to our foreheads and throwing us in unsafe neighborhoods to see if we can survive!!!! Just kidding, MOM. Okay, I have homework to do…. I hope to be posting this in Praia as S.D. has NO INTERNET access at this time. In fact, we didn’t have power last night and all day today! I’ll also try to post some pictures if I can. If I can’t get that figured out this time, I’ll try to do it next time I have internet access. So, to all of you who haven’t heard from me, I am sorry. We really have no way of communicating except through the phone lines. I do have a phone number, so if you’d like to call my house, that’d be great. My mom will have the phone number, so please send her an email asking for the number… pathwayhealth at bellsouth dot com
Alright, we are trying to teach the Cape Verdans to say “peace out” when they leave! So, I’ll say Peace out too! Txau, ti logu.
I made it...finally
Question: How long does it take a group of 25 Peace Corps volunteers to make it from Philadelphia, PA to Cape Verde?
Answer: Who cares when they get to stay at a 5 star resort for a couple of nights on the beach of Dakar, Senegal.
Okay, here´s the deal. I met 25 amazing fellow volunteers in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, July 5th at noon. We enjoyed two days of immunization shots and Peace Corps "pre training" workshops. I´m still not entirely sure which one was more enjoyable. At any rate, we had a lovely time in the city of brotherly love. I met some of the coolest individuals I´ve ever met. Our group of 25 volunteers includes: 1 married couple, 1 retired government employee, 1 construction worker (an awesome woman from Michigan), 1 welder (a cool chick from Oakland, CA with major tatoos), 1 brooklyn girl with city smarts, 1 woman with a master´s degree in classic literature, 2 guys about 24 with life experiences you would die for, and the rest are 22 year old college grads fresh out of school with no idea what the world has in store for them. We have 13 women and 12 men. We have a great mix of folks! BUT, I digress.
We were scheduled to take a bus from Philly to JFK in NYC to fly to Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday morning at 10am. At 10am the bus arrives, but we are in a holding pattern because the planes from Dakar to Cape Vede have apparently decided not to fly in the month of JULY! Great timing Peace Corps. So, we finally head to JFK with just enough time to check in and get immediately on the overnight flight to Dakar. We have a 7 hour flight arriving in Dakar at 5 am. So, needless to say, we get NO sleep and arrive in Dakar (just 375 short miles from Cape Verde) to discover that we cannot fly out because the plane did, in fact, come but left early for no apparent reason. And the plane that left early may or may not ever return from the islands. NOW, I know you American readers are thinking, that you would probably be angry or frustrated at this strange turn of events. I will say that I am surrounded by 24 of the most understanding and flexible people on this Earth! No one complained, we all just took it in stride and called it an adventure. This problem also introduced me to “island time.” The Cape Verdans (or kabu verdianus) operate on an entirely different concept of time than we do. Far worse than, say, people in Europe or South America.
Day 1: Our new adventure began with a day trip into Dakar to the Peace Corps Volunteer house (a place where volunteers go when they come to the capital for a visit or for business). Dakar is a city like no other I’ve ever seen. There is extreme poverty. Walking the street of Dakar we saw women selling fruit, fish, hunks of raw meat, bread and beans (standard fare in Dakar). We saw a dying horse, a dead dog, and burning tires as we walked. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was moved by the daily struggle of the people there. Dakar is a baren desert that is dirty and disease ridden. And at the exact same time, Dakar is the home to the most beautiful people. The women are incredibly beautiful. They dress in colorful clothing and have the most sweet children. This is a Dakar that most Americans would never, ever see.
Instead, Americans would get to stay at a place on the beach, which is exactly what ended up happening to us. After our life-changing experience in the center of Dakar, we were told that we would be flying out that night at 6pm. We had all grown skeptical of Cape Verde Airlines, so we decided we wouldn’t get our hopes up. Sure enough, at about 4pm, we learned we would be moved to a hotel near the airport for the night. Now this is not just any hotel. This hotel was on the beach with a huge swimming pool, a bar, internet, good food, music, and air-conditioned rooms. So, needless to say, we were comfortable. Our first night at the hotel was my birthday, so we enjoyed the night, got to know each other a little better, and stayed up late listening to the waves crash on the beach! Who says the Peace Corps is rugged and tough! Not for us.
Day 2: So far A LOT has happened to us at this point. We thought we would leave Dakar on Saturday for Cape Verde on a special plane just for the Volunteers. We first got word that we would fly out in the afternoon, so we packed our stuff. Then we got a call at lunch saying we would be flying out at 2 am (this apparently is a regular flight to Cape Verde). At this point, the entire group decided there was no sense in sleeping before we left, so we stayed up. At about 10:30, we got word that the flight would not leave until 7:10 am, but we needed to be at the airport at 4:30 am. AHH. At this point everyone was VERY skeptical about our leaving and rightly so. We waited until about 4:00 to start packing and getting ready. Everyone stayed up and didn’t bring our suitcases to the lobby until we saw our shuttle arrive at about 4:45. Finally, we were off to Cape Verde!!!!!!!!
Day 3: We get to the airport (noone having slept in days) and smoothly check-in for our flight. Our 7:10 flight ended up leaving at 8:30 or so (again, I cannot stress enough the concept of “island time”). We arrived in Cape Verde and were greeted by Matthew (our country director) and several of the other Peace Corps staff members. We LUCKILY made it to Cape Verde with EVERY SINGLE peice of luggage (which I’m pretty sure is a new Cape Verde record). We were all thrilled to be in Cape Verde! No one ever complained or got upset about the situation, so we were all just looking forward to some good sleep. We “checked in” to Madre Teresa, which is a youth hostel used by the Peace Corps when new volunteers come to the country (think dorm rooms). First thing we did was to carry our luggage (we each were carrying between 80 and 100 lbs. – that’s a lot of luggage) UP 4 flights of stairs! I’ll leave you here, as there is more to come! I’ll write more about my adventures in Cape Verde soon. I am pretty sure that I will only have internet access every few weeks or so. We are staying in a small town outside of Praia (the capital). In Sao Dumingus there is no internet access. We should be into Praia a few times over the course of our nine week pre-service training (PST). Okay, I’ll write more soon.
Answer: Who cares when they get to stay at a 5 star resort for a couple of nights on the beach of Dakar, Senegal.
Okay, here´s the deal. I met 25 amazing fellow volunteers in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, July 5th at noon. We enjoyed two days of immunization shots and Peace Corps "pre training" workshops. I´m still not entirely sure which one was more enjoyable. At any rate, we had a lovely time in the city of brotherly love. I met some of the coolest individuals I´ve ever met. Our group of 25 volunteers includes: 1 married couple, 1 retired government employee, 1 construction worker (an awesome woman from Michigan), 1 welder (a cool chick from Oakland, CA with major tatoos), 1 brooklyn girl with city smarts, 1 woman with a master´s degree in classic literature, 2 guys about 24 with life experiences you would die for, and the rest are 22 year old college grads fresh out of school with no idea what the world has in store for them. We have 13 women and 12 men. We have a great mix of folks! BUT, I digress.
We were scheduled to take a bus from Philly to JFK in NYC to fly to Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday morning at 10am. At 10am the bus arrives, but we are in a holding pattern because the planes from Dakar to Cape Vede have apparently decided not to fly in the month of JULY! Great timing Peace Corps. So, we finally head to JFK with just enough time to check in and get immediately on the overnight flight to Dakar. We have a 7 hour flight arriving in Dakar at 5 am. So, needless to say, we get NO sleep and arrive in Dakar (just 375 short miles from Cape Verde) to discover that we cannot fly out because the plane did, in fact, come but left early for no apparent reason. And the plane that left early may or may not ever return from the islands. NOW, I know you American readers are thinking, that you would probably be angry or frustrated at this strange turn of events. I will say that I am surrounded by 24 of the most understanding and flexible people on this Earth! No one complained, we all just took it in stride and called it an adventure. This problem also introduced me to “island time.” The Cape Verdans (or kabu verdianus) operate on an entirely different concept of time than we do. Far worse than, say, people in Europe or South America.
Day 1: Our new adventure began with a day trip into Dakar to the Peace Corps Volunteer house (a place where volunteers go when they come to the capital for a visit or for business). Dakar is a city like no other I’ve ever seen. There is extreme poverty. Walking the street of Dakar we saw women selling fruit, fish, hunks of raw meat, bread and beans (standard fare in Dakar). We saw a dying horse, a dead dog, and burning tires as we walked. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was moved by the daily struggle of the people there. Dakar is a baren desert that is dirty and disease ridden. And at the exact same time, Dakar is the home to the most beautiful people. The women are incredibly beautiful. They dress in colorful clothing and have the most sweet children. This is a Dakar that most Americans would never, ever see.
Instead, Americans would get to stay at a place on the beach, which is exactly what ended up happening to us. After our life-changing experience in the center of Dakar, we were told that we would be flying out that night at 6pm. We had all grown skeptical of Cape Verde Airlines, so we decided we wouldn’t get our hopes up. Sure enough, at about 4pm, we learned we would be moved to a hotel near the airport for the night. Now this is not just any hotel. This hotel was on the beach with a huge swimming pool, a bar, internet, good food, music, and air-conditioned rooms. So, needless to say, we were comfortable. Our first night at the hotel was my birthday, so we enjoyed the night, got to know each other a little better, and stayed up late listening to the waves crash on the beach! Who says the Peace Corps is rugged and tough! Not for us.
Day 2: So far A LOT has happened to us at this point. We thought we would leave Dakar on Saturday for Cape Verde on a special plane just for the Volunteers. We first got word that we would fly out in the afternoon, so we packed our stuff. Then we got a call at lunch saying we would be flying out at 2 am (this apparently is a regular flight to Cape Verde). At this point, the entire group decided there was no sense in sleeping before we left, so we stayed up. At about 10:30, we got word that the flight would not leave until 7:10 am, but we needed to be at the airport at 4:30 am. AHH. At this point everyone was VERY skeptical about our leaving and rightly so. We waited until about 4:00 to start packing and getting ready. Everyone stayed up and didn’t bring our suitcases to the lobby until we saw our shuttle arrive at about 4:45. Finally, we were off to Cape Verde!!!!!!!!
Day 3: We get to the airport (noone having slept in days) and smoothly check-in for our flight. Our 7:10 flight ended up leaving at 8:30 or so (again, I cannot stress enough the concept of “island time”). We arrived in Cape Verde and were greeted by Matthew (our country director) and several of the other Peace Corps staff members. We LUCKILY made it to Cape Verde with EVERY SINGLE peice of luggage (which I’m pretty sure is a new Cape Verde record). We were all thrilled to be in Cape Verde! No one ever complained or got upset about the situation, so we were all just looking forward to some good sleep. We “checked in” to Madre Teresa, which is a youth hostel used by the Peace Corps when new volunteers come to the country (think dorm rooms). First thing we did was to carry our luggage (we each were carrying between 80 and 100 lbs. – that’s a lot of luggage) UP 4 flights of stairs! I’ll leave you here, as there is more to come! I’ll write more about my adventures in Cape Verde soon. I am pretty sure that I will only have internet access every few weeks or so. We are staying in a small town outside of Praia (the capital). In Sao Dumingus there is no internet access. We should be into Praia a few times over the course of our nine week pre-service training (PST). Okay, I’ll write more soon.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Four Days and Counting....
Many people have asked me to post on my blog before I leave the country. I must admit that I have been putting off this posting for several weeks. Posting an "official" first entry is a daunting task. What clever things can I say? What words of reflection are appropriate? What kinds of feelings will writing this type of web journal stir up? I have been putting this post off because it symbolizes a setting in of reality, the kind of reality that is REALLY REAL. By this I mean a reality that will have me moving half way across the globe to speak a language I don't know (Portuguese), work for a government organization, and live and work among peoples of which I know very little. WOW, when I say it that way, it is scary!
I have been asked on many occasions why in the world I would want to join the Peace Corps at this stage in my life. I mean, I have been in college for the past nine years, earned a BA, MA, and almost a PhD. I have run a marathon, traveled all over the world, and have a happy life here in Mississippi. All that accomplished, I have ALWAYS wanted to join the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps for me is kind of like young children saying they want to grow up to be a dentist, doctor, attorney, or architect and then actually becoming that very thing. When I was younger, I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I graduated high school hoping to enter but found out that you have to have a college degree to join up. SO, I went to college to earn a BA so that I could then enter the Peace Corps. In my final months at Huntingdon, I applied to be in the Peace Corps and applied to master's programs. I decided that if I did not get funding for graduate school, I would finally get to enter the Peace Corps, but as you know, I found funding at both Colorado State for my MA and at Penn State for my PhD. After passing my comprehensive exams in the Fall and working on my dissertation, I decided to cut short my time in Pennsylvania and apply to be in the Peace Corps. That desire I had as a child, never went away. I am now fulfilling a life-long dream to help others, to serve the world as it has so graciously served me, and to experience something other than that which I experience everyday.
I have taught my student for the past 5 years that they must find something about which to have passion. I ask them to make a decision about their world and how they can make a difference. NOW, some of them are able to understand the concept of passion and others think I am absolutely a crazy, leftist teacher (which I am). BUT, I know for certain that those students to engage me in my quest at changing the world are those students who leave my class with passion that turns into compassion. This is my basic teaching philosophy. If we can help others understand that engaging in our communities (both locally and globally) is a worthwhile endeavor, then we can make a difference. I understand that when I help another person, I am growing as a person. I would be naive to believe that I won't benefit from my time in the Peace Corps more than those I help. In this way, the Peace Corps is a selfish adventure too. I am not done learning from others, and I am not done teaching others. I know I have been called to serve, and I know that teaching is what I have been called to do.
All this said, I will be leaving for Africa in four short days. Well, actually, I will leave Mississippi on July 5th for Philadelphia, PA. I will do some pre-service training, fill out paperwork, and get some vaccination shots while I am there. I will then fly to Cape Verde on July 8th (my 27th birthday) to begin my training as a Peace Corps volunteer. I will be in training for the first three months, and then I will begin my two years of service. I still have to pack and tie up loose ends! I probably not post again until I am settled in Cape Verde. I will check email, so please email if you have time... caseymaugh@gmail.com. Also, I will have my cell phone with me until I fly to Africa. Until then ......... Namaste
I have been asked on many occasions why in the world I would want to join the Peace Corps at this stage in my life. I mean, I have been in college for the past nine years, earned a BA, MA, and almost a PhD. I have run a marathon, traveled all over the world, and have a happy life here in Mississippi. All that accomplished, I have ALWAYS wanted to join the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps for me is kind of like young children saying they want to grow up to be a dentist, doctor, attorney, or architect and then actually becoming that very thing. When I was younger, I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I graduated high school hoping to enter but found out that you have to have a college degree to join up. SO, I went to college to earn a BA so that I could then enter the Peace Corps. In my final months at Huntingdon, I applied to be in the Peace Corps and applied to master's programs. I decided that if I did not get funding for graduate school, I would finally get to enter the Peace Corps, but as you know, I found funding at both Colorado State for my MA and at Penn State for my PhD. After passing my comprehensive exams in the Fall and working on my dissertation, I decided to cut short my time in Pennsylvania and apply to be in the Peace Corps. That desire I had as a child, never went away. I am now fulfilling a life-long dream to help others, to serve the world as it has so graciously served me, and to experience something other than that which I experience everyday.
I have taught my student for the past 5 years that they must find something about which to have passion. I ask them to make a decision about their world and how they can make a difference. NOW, some of them are able to understand the concept of passion and others think I am absolutely a crazy, leftist teacher (which I am). BUT, I know for certain that those students to engage me in my quest at changing the world are those students who leave my class with passion that turns into compassion. This is my basic teaching philosophy. If we can help others understand that engaging in our communities (both locally and globally) is a worthwhile endeavor, then we can make a difference. I understand that when I help another person, I am growing as a person. I would be naive to believe that I won't benefit from my time in the Peace Corps more than those I help. In this way, the Peace Corps is a selfish adventure too. I am not done learning from others, and I am not done teaching others. I know I have been called to serve, and I know that teaching is what I have been called to do.
All this said, I will be leaving for Africa in four short days. Well, actually, I will leave Mississippi on July 5th for Philadelphia, PA. I will do some pre-service training, fill out paperwork, and get some vaccination shots while I am there. I will then fly to Cape Verde on July 8th (my 27th birthday) to begin my training as a Peace Corps volunteer. I will be in training for the first three months, and then I will begin my two years of service. I still have to pack and tie up loose ends! I probably not post again until I am settled in Cape Verde. I will check email, so please email if you have time... caseymaugh@gmail.com. Also, I will have my cell phone with me until I fly to Africa. Until then ......... Namaste
Thursday, June 09, 2005
My future place of employment
Hi Y'all! I have been doing some further research on the Instituto Superior de Educacao (ISE) in Cape Verde. I finally found a website for the ISE: http://www.ise.cv/cursos.htm
Check it out. It is in Portuguese, but if you paste this address into google, you can have it translated into English. There are some photos of the university, so you can see those without any Portuguese at all!!!
Check it out. It is in Portuguese, but if you paste this address into google, you can have it translated into English. There are some photos of the university, so you can see those without any Portuguese at all!!!
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