oh, the saga continues

My Peace Corps boss came to me today with another "problem"! Apparently, my new apartment in Mindelo is no more. We are back to not having a house and I am moving in 1 week. I know that everything will work out, but seriously! My boss told me today that the contract on the house was signed and the furniture was being delivered to the house when the landlord told the guy coordinating the move, that he didn't want to rent the house any longer. GREAT. So, we're back to square one. I'll keep you posted on what is going to happen. Maybe I'll just live on the street! Who knows at this point. It's always something around here.

My last week at training

I've been participating in training the new volunteers for 8 weeks now. This will be my last week! I'm pretty excited to be finished and pretty sad to know that come this weekend, I'll not see these new friends for about 6 months. It's similar to my leaving last year, but this year, I have felt like a mentor with these kiddos! I'm older than all but 2 of them and have been here a year longer than all of them. That, in itself, means that I've spent the past eight weeks answering questions, telling stories, giving examples, setting examples, and generally enjoying my time getting to know everyone. I can honestly say that I'll really be sad to leave. BUT, as you all know, I'm moving, so I'm not TOO sad! I'm really excited for what is to come.

I'm working on a proposal for the Minister of Education this week that will, if approved, grant funding for my in-service training project. This project will have me travel to all of the high schools in the northern islands to give teaching workshops and do classroom observations. I'm really hopeful that it will go through!

Oh, one last thing. I heard today that my new house is beautiful. The guy who went to check out the house, told me that it is great. He said that a musician used to live there and it is very clean and very nice. I'm pretty excited to get there and get things set up! Okay, Max is begging me to get out of here. We just had a nice, long run and he's ready to get home for dinner (me too)!

cape verdean men are... prissy

I have been working toward this realization for quite some time now. The other night, I had to get my dog to come into the house after he got into a "tiff" with some other dogs. There were about 15 men at the bar near my house watching this all go down. When the dogs started figthing, the guard across the street jumped onto a nearby porch, another guy ran away quickly, leaving me standing there trying to get my dog to act right. Eventually, I got it straightened out, but all the men just stood by and tried to give me commentary on what I "should" do! It was ridiculous.

Then, to further my general impression that Cape Verdean men are prissy, I was in a car yesterday with all of the staff from Peace Corps who help with training, and one of the men began talking about how he grooms himself. All of the other guys got in on this and agreed that Cape Verdean men, even those who work in the farms like to be "pretty." Cape Verdean men have a reputation for being extremely machismo, which is absolutely true; however, they also at the same time are not like the overblown, testosterone driven males in America. It's just different. Cape Verdean men never fight with their hands, instead they are notorious for throwing rocks at each other!!!!!!! Crazy. I have seen one too many rock throwing fights in my year here.

This is just a general observation, of course, all men here are not like this, but MANY, MANY are!

Missing DOG!

Okay, so I know I just got Max, but I have already lost him. He's been doing well, except the other night he had a minor meltdown. I think he is starting to realize that he former owners are not going to return for him. I believe that he may have gone looking for him. Their house is not too far from mine, so I walked there today in hopes that he might be around. NO LUCK.

I really hope that I haven't lost the dog for good. He and I were getting to understand each other! I am off to try to do a more thorough search for him. I'll keep you posted on the dog search.

packing

I have only been in Cape Verde for one year! In that time, I have moved from Sao Domingos, to my first house, to the house I am currently living in. Each move, as all moves do, requires cleaning out and throwing out extraneous things. This time, I am moving to another island, so I am having to throw out just about everything. It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated since the last move. Peace Corps paperwork and manuals alone take up a suitcase! I have just about gotten it down to a manageable amount of things for the move. I, of course, have Max, my clothes, some kitchen stuff, and my electronics. I will have to put the kitchen stuff on a boat and send it to Mindelo, and I am trying to figure out if Max can go on the plane or if he and I also must go on the 17 hour boat ride!!!! I have to work all of this out in the next 2 weeks.

Well, my dog is begging me to take pictures of him to show everyone, but unfortunately, my battery charger blew out and all my batteries are dead, so I have to buy some. It's quite a process, but I'm working on it.

On another note, the new folks found out where they are headed for the next two years. It was a pretty cool activity. We wrote their names and sites along with a proverbs on pieces of paper, then stuffed them into balloons. We threw all of the balloons at them, had them each take one and they popped a balloon, read the proverb and then announced the site to the person. It was great because they were the ones telling each other where they were going. They really liked it and we had a great time! There are some very cool people moving near me, so I'm happy. At the same time, two of the girls that I'm pretty close with will be far away, but they are both on islands that I have never visited, so it's a great excuse to visit them!

It's Sunday and I'm returning home to pack some more! I promise to get on top of the pictures!

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride! :)

My very good friend (from graduate school) Steph is marrying another one of my very good friends, Chris next fall. Yesterday, I got a package in the mail with my birthday gift from Steph. She wrote a lovely card and in the card asked me to be in her wedding! I am sooooo touched. I can't wait to share this special time with two wonderful people!

things are looking up

Yesterday my plumbing was fixed (at least temporarily)! I was soooo relieved when the guys showed up to tear up my washroom and bathroom, and after about 2 hours pumping out the "dirty" water and refinishing the flooring, things were back to normal. I am just happy that I don't have to mop up sewage from my floor any longer!

On to other things....

I just returned from training today. The trainees are settling into their normal routines, which mainly consist of attending training, complaining about everything, being bored, going to a bar after school and having a few drinks before returning home to their families. It really is similar to what was going on last year with our group. They are a good group of folks! This Saturday, they will find out where they are going to be for the next two years. I know they are all really, really anxious to find out where they will be headed. I remember just about a year ago when we found out. It is bittersweet to know that you will be headed to a different island than all of your friends. Some people will be headed to islands that are fairly isolated from the rest of the group. Some of these trainees will be sad to have to leave one another. But, I'm looking forward to moving and to finding out who will be living near me for the next year. I think that it'll be great to be living on a different island and to get to know a whole new group of people for my last year here.

I am beginning to think about packing for my move, which is quite a daunting task. I have dishes and kitchen stuff that I bought when I moved to Praia that I want to take with me; however, I'm not sure how much of it I will be able to take with me. With the dog, my things, and the house stuff, it's going to be a challenge. I'm planning on sending things on a boat and I might even go on the boat as well, but I'm not really looking forward to an 18 hour boat ride to my new home! We'll see what happens with that.

I must run to my house and make sure nothing else has gone wrong! I'll post pictures as soon as my camera decides to work properly. Without a pin drive and a crazy-acting camera, it's been quite a challenge to get things posted online! I guess a new digital camera will have to be my next big purchase!

Long time, no post!

Everyone! I am very sorry about the lengthy delay in posting. I will promise to be more on top of my writing. I have had a heck of a week, so I am now getting around to writing a bit. I'm sure that last thing you want to do is hear about it all, but that's what this blog is for, so here it is.

The lights are BACK! Finally, the power in Praia is on and consistently so. We have only lost power during the day a couple of times for several hours at a time, but that beats now power for 36-48 hours at a time. I'm extremely happy to be in the land of the lights again.

The lights are amazing, but the plumbing problem that has since developed is far from spectacular. And now that I have lights, I can actually watch as sewage rises from the drainage hole in the bathroom and floods the floor. It's extremely disgusting and I am in a constant state of cleaning it up. My former roommate made me aware of this, what was then a small problem, the day before she left. It had apparently been happening for several weeks, but I never witnessed the problem. The day before her leaving, she told me about it. Now, when you use the bathroom, any sinks in the house, or take a shower, the bathroom floor floods with the water! I called my landlord. He came to see me about it a week later. He is supposed to be coming tomorrow with a plumber to address the problem. I am just happy I will be moving from the house in 3 weeks. It's disgusting and I nearly throw up everytime I have to clean up the mess.

On a much happier note, my new dog MAX is wonderful. Max came to live with me on Monday evening, just hours after Dianne, my former roommate, left the country. I was happy to see Dianne leave and happier to see Max enter my life. Max has made me sooo happy. He is the coolest dog (except for the Jakes in my life). He is a mutt. He is cute. I promise to post a picture of him very soon. He has two different color eyes and a coat of three different colors. I took him on the Hiace up to Sao Domingos yesterday to see some friends there. He loved sticking his head out the window and checking everything out. And though he weights about 50+ pounds, he really wanted to sit on my lap! He can sit and is very obedient. He loves to play outside and will run the streets without supervision. He's a big fan of following me anywhere and everywhere that I go. He is a sweetheart and seems to get along with everyone. He's playful at times and lazy at times, which to me, makes the perfect combination. The guard across the street from my house has taken to him and so now Max sleeps on the bench across the street at night to keep the guard company. Then he comes inside for sleep and food and hangs out inside when I'm around. He's sleeping here as I type, being a good boy!

Well, that's about it from me. I'm still working with the new trainees, which has proven to be very taxing. I say that not because of the trainees themselves, but because of the staff that I work with. I am now pledging to stay as far away from the inner-workings of Peace Corps as I possibly can. It's not worth it. On the other hand, the trainees are cool and they have repeatedly told me how much they appreciate my spending my summer with them! I think that's about it from here. I promise to write more on a regular basis, Josh!

and then the rain came

And boy did it rain. It's August 1st and we finally have REAL rain. As I type this, it's still raining. At about 4:30 this morning, I shot out of bed because of an unfamiliar sound. It was pounding rain. I quickly realized that my drying clothes, were now completely, hopelessly wet. I decided to get up and take care of moving them around, then looked outside to see the city flooded. Because there is rarely ever rain in Cape Verde, the streets are not prepared for the downpours that happen in August. Currently, the streets are completely full and the cars are trying to navigate the mess. It's quite a scene. But, at least we have the rain.

Another day in paradise...

No lights. No rain. No pin drive.

That about sums up what's been going on here on my island!

No lights.
But things are looking up from what I hear. The rumor in Praia is that the new generator for the power company is here and we will see the results of this very soon. This week I got my power bill from my time without electricity and it was DOUBLE what it normal is. Geez, no power and I'm getting to pay for the power that I'm not even using. What is that about???? This is driving me crazy. I really hope they get this all resolved soon. I can't afford to pay double what I usually pay. When you are making $300 a month, a $40 power bill hurts. I know it doesn't seem like much but it's a pretty good chunk of my salary.

No rain.
I reported our first rain just last week. That was apparently the first and last rain. We have had no great waterworks come our way since. A few sprinkles here and there, but not enough to make a dent in the constant water crisis.

No pin drive.
My amazing gift for destorying or losing electronic equipment is astonishing. Recently my old pin drive quit working, so I turned to the new one my Aunt and Uncle gave me before moving here. I had only been using it for a short time when it went missing. I have not used it much since school has been out, but I know I had it last Thursday in the Peace Corps office. It is pretty difficult to survive nowadays without a pin drive since I am constantly moving from computer to computer just to try to beat the failing power.

I am pretty ready to move. I have just a few more weeks until I pack up and head North. I defintely looking forward to my life in Mindelo. I am also looking forward to the new addition to my household, MAX - the wonder dog! I get him on August 8th! I'll post some photos of him when I get them.

ghetto

I realized last night that I live in a ghetto. Having grown up in a middle class life, I guess I never really thought about what it would be like to live in a ghetto. My youth was filled with quite neighborhoods and well-dressed children playing in their grassy backyards waiting for their mothers to call them in for dinner.

Last night I was putting together some dinner with my front windows open to the street. For whatever reason, I was aware of all of the sounds that have become so familiar to me over the past year. I suddenly heard a baby screaming in the adjoining apartment, then heard the kids yelling in the street and heard their barefeet stomp across my front stoop. I listened to men arguing over the latest theory on why the electricity still hasn't returned. I heard some loud noises in the distance that could have been gun shots or fireworks (I like to believe the latter). I watched as the sun set behind the crumbling cement blocks that make up my neighbors home. Life in Praia, as in all of Cape Verde, seems so normal, so middle-class. But what I was reminded of yesterday, was how impoverised my community is. I mean, I know I live in a third world country, but it is so easy to forget when you see it everyday.

Someone recently asked me if I thought the people of Cape Verde were generally happy? I immediately said yes. But after a lengthy conversation on the subject, I'm not sure. Poverty, lack of food, shoes, and a decent home, become "normal" when you live amongst it everyday. The people around me seem satisfied with where they are, but I'm not sure they are actually happy. I am constantly both happy and amazingly saddened by what is around me. It is a difficult realization. I can't imagine two years of my efforts being nearly enough for the wonderful people I live amongst. I wish everyone could see what I see, then maybe we would be more grateful for what we have, no matter how little.

Txuba

The rain came!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAH for Cape Verde. It started raining on Thursday night, which was exciting... Now, it's raining pretty consistently, so I can't get my laundry to dry, but I'm not complaining. Oh, 5 weeks, no power! YEAH.

The Kindness of Strangers

This morning I was returning from my morning exercising and decided to stop into my local market to grab some yogurt and oranges. I got to the counter and needed to pay. I only had a 2000$00 bill and the store did not yet have change in the register. The man in front of me was waiting for change from his purchase, so I decided to run over and try to get some smaller bills to pay for my food. When I returned from this errand, the man was gone and the cashier told me that he had paid for my food!

This man was sooo kind to me, a person he didn't know. I am white, which in this country, automatically translates as rich. Most people would not pay for something of mine simply because I don't look poor. I was amazed that this man just helped me out! I asked the cashier to thank him for me if he ever returned to the store. This random act of kindness is what makes life rich and full. This reminded me that though I am a volunteer helping this country, I am not above being helped myself.

Thesis Defenses

The most rewarding thing I have participated in this country have been the Thesis defenses. I have had all three of my students submit their work and all three have passed or will pass soon. I am extremely proud of my three guys who stuck with it and finished ON TIME. We had 27 students commit in September to writing a thesis this year, but only 7 actually finished. All of mine and all of Dianne's. The other students will have to wait until October to defend their work.

The process of advising students on their thesis is incredibly challenging and in the end, incredibly fulfilling. I get to watch my students grow and change and learn all of the time. I had three great students who committed themselves to their projects and they succeeded. I couldn't ask for more. One of my students even earned the highest mark thus far!

Teaching, in all its forms, is an amazing gift. I am really happy I came to Cape Verde to act in this capacity for my students!

New Baby in the family

My homestay sister, Claudia, just had her first baby. Her daughter's name is Claudini Elisia, but they will call her Elisia. She's a precious baby. Claudia had to have a C section, so she had to stay in the hospital for 8 days in Praia while recovering. She and the baby are home and they are happy! She was born on July 9th!

Trainees

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working with the new Peace Corps volunteers. They have been “in country” for about 2 weeks now. They are all settling into their family homes in Sao Domingos just as I did a year ago. I see them struggling with the language and with their new families just as I did as well. This group is a bit different than we were. First of all, there are 33 trainees, as compared to our 26. Also, 26 of the 33 are under the age of 24! That’s right... they’re YOUNG! One of the trainees is only 20 years old. She’s living in my homestay house, and she is having a rough go of it now. I think she’ll adjust to the constant screaming and carrying on (I eventually did). Well, back to the group. The oldest is 64, the youngest 20. There are only 11 guys of this group, all of which are under the age of 25. This group seems bright and enthusiastic, which I'm sure all groups do. They also have lots of language background, so they are doing very well already.

I've been working with the TEFL trainees, as we prepare them for their first teaching experience next week. They will be in the schools teaching classes for the first time. I remember my "model" school experience well, and I'm sure these new folks won't soon forget theirs.

All-in-all it's fun to be around their energy. I love the idealism and optimism that are ever-present in the first couple of weeks. I recently had two volutneers stay with me. They were supposed to be "shadowing" me in my daily life. It was fun to have them get a sense of what I do on a daily basis. They got to see a thesis defense. They also got to see my house and meet my neighbors. It was a nice experience. It was a little early in their stay here to do it, but I hope it was beneficial just the same.

Well, that's them in a nutshell. I am still meeting them and getting to know them. I am distant form them because I am a trainer this year and don't spend time outside of school hanging out with them, but from what I've seen, they are very cool, indeed.

Week 4, No Electricity

That’s right, it’s the beginning of the fourth week without electricity most of the time. We’ve been buying candles in bulk and having to do everything by the minimal light that enters our dungeon-like apartment. Actually, our apartment isn’t too bad, it’s just surrounded by other taller buildings which effectively block most good light! I can’t complain, I guess. I mean, I live in a third world country with much more severe problems than this. However, this lack of electricity has changed the buying habits of people in Praia. We aren’t buying frozen goods or fresh goods that need refrigeration. Leftovers don’t last long without power, so it’s hard to cook much of anything. Also, we can’t actually use computers or things of that nature to get our work done unless we come to the Peace Corps office where they have a generator running at all times! At least, I have connections to an energy source! Well, wish me the best without power. We’ve been losing water access more and more, so that could be the next to go! Let’s hope not. Life without water is NOT fun.

Oh! Dianne, my roommate for the past year, will be moving to America on August 6th! I’m pretty excited to be roommate free soon and to have Max, my new dog coming on the same day. Life this past year with a “senior” roommate has been a challenge. I am now looking forward to a month break before I move in with my new, younger roommate. This one, Elizabeth, is only 64!

Happy 4th of July, Happy 5th of July, and Happy 28th Birthday to me!

It is our nation's 230th birthday on the 4th. It is Cape Verde's 36th birthday on the 5th. And it is Casey Malone Maugh's 28th birthday on the 8th.

July sure is a great month. So many birthday's of significance fall in this great month. I can't believe I will be 28 years old. When you're a little kid, it's hard to imagine being in your 20's. And in your teenage years, it's hard to imagine being older than about 21 or 22. Now that I'm nearing 30, it's hard to imagine what the next 27 years will hold for me. I've had a fantastic 27 years, so I expect the next to be great too. I do know that this past year in Cape Verde has truly been one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life. I also can guarantee that this next year will be equally as rewarding and challenging. I only hope that in my next year here in Cape Verde that I can make even more strides to improve this country and improve my own life. I think it's going to be good!

For all of you readers who have been dying to send me things, now is your chance. If you haven't sent anything yet, don't worry, I'll accept belated gifts TOO! Just kidding. I know that my birthday here will be very low key, but I think that's a good thing. I'll have time to reflect on what it means to be a year older.

Electricity Problems

We have been without electricity for 5 days now.

Well, not fully without power, but for at least 12 hours a day, we've not had power. The unfortunately part is that we have been granted power during the sleeping hours of the night! Those folks at the electric company are pretty smart because they know that noone is using power late at night because they are ASLEEP! Interestingly enough, the power company leaves the power on while the World Cup games are on. For example, yesterday the power was out until about 10 mintues after the Portugal v. England game. Just when Portugal won and EVERYONE was going NUTS, they shut the whole entire city down. The lights remained off until about 11pm, and then came on until noon today. It's totally crazy and people are starting to freak out. The argument being that if Cape Verde is trying to become an internationally recognized country, then they need to get the power situation straightened out. Commerce cannot go on if people cannot run their businesses, keep their products cold, and safety is a concern when the lights are down. On the other islands, power is not an issue. Because Santiago is the biggest island and has far more people than the others, power is a problem in the summertime.

AHHH! Well, I think my roommate is about to have a breakdown because she can't use her computer and all of our food is going bad. I decided to come to Peace Corps because they have a generator and I can use the internet! GOOD DEAL! Oh, also it's hotter than Hades here and my house is a sweatbox. The fans don't work without power, so it pretty much sucks to live on the bottom floor with no venhilation. ANYWAY, I live in a 3rd world country in Africa, things could be worse! I'm keeping it postive! :)

One YEAR!!!

This past week has been quite interesting. From 9 until 5 everyday, I have been sitting in a room with 40 other people setting up the schedule for the 33 new volunteers coming to Cape Verde on July 6th and 7th. This planning session at times seemed endless, but in the end, we came together to produce a pretty good 9-week training program for these new folks. I am happy to be a part of the staff this summer that will help the volunteers get an idea of what service here is like.

One of the interesting parts of this training week was that much of it was presented in Creole. This truly tested the speaking abilities of the volunteers as we struggled to keep up and participate in the conversation. I am happy to realize that my listening and speaking skills are pretty good and that my colleagues have also improved incredibly since last year. It will be interesting to see these new faces, trying to figure it all out just like we did! I can't believe it's been a YEAR this week since I made my way to this beautiful place! I can't wait to see what the next year holds for me in Mindelo. I get to start anew and continue to learn and grow here. What a great life I'm having!