My Summer Vacation - Part I - Sao Vicente to Praia

I was invited to travel to the island of Brava for my summer vacation. I accepted the offer and decided to take a few weeks off to enjoy the South Western islands of Cape Verde before heading to the states for vacation. I had heard of Brava’s beautiful flowers and cool temperatures, so I was excited to get to know this island that so few people actually have time to visit. The reason for this is that Brava has no airport and infrequent boat trips from the neighboring island of Fogo. This bit of information will become important to my story later on….

In order to get to Brava, we decided to take boats. They are far cheaper than plane trips and my traveling companion, Caio, and I live on small salaries, which makes the boat ride more attractive. Also, I hadn’t been on a LONG boat ride here, so I thought it would be a fun adventure.

You will see here pictures of me on the boat, on the way to Praia. You see, the first leg of trip was from Sao Vicente to Praia. This is a 17 hour boat ride, most of which is overnight, so it went by pretty quickly. School ended on a Friday, and we were hoping to leave the following Thursday on the boat, putting us in Praia on Friday morning, at which point we could take the boat to Brava via Fogo!

We called the boat agency to get the weekly schedule and were told that the boat between Praia and Fogo would leave on Thursday night rather than Friday night, which meant we would have to get to Praia on the Monday night boat arriving in Praia on Tuesday at noon and stay in Praia until Thursday night. Okay, so we hustled up, I packed my house and all of my belongings to be moved to my new home upon my return from my vacation. I turned in my grades to the school and met the “Tarrafal” to Praia. The ride was comfortable. We were able to sleep well, play a bunch of card games, and enjoy some good scenery when we got to Santiago. We arrived in Praia on Tuesday, got to my friend Jessica’s house, and got ready to stay a few days in Praia.

On Wednesday, we did the obligatory trip to Sao Domingos to see my family. Caio met them and even played some music for our dog, Fofusha. You will remember her fondly from many other pictures. You’ll see here with a headphone in her ear, jammin’ out! You’ll also see me hanging out with the pigs at my family’s home!

After Sao Domingos, we went to the boat agency the following day, only to discover that the information given on the telephone was incorrect. Because of Cape Verde’s Independence day, July 5th, the boat would be delayed by a day, meaning we would be in Praia another day. Okay, no big deal, we spent another day in the hot city of Praia. On Friday night, we were told the boat would leave at 11pm from the port. We were advised to go early, but my companion, being Capeverdean, decided we didn’t have to leave until 10pm. So, we left a little after 10, only to arrive as the boat for Brava was about 2 feet from the dock. Of course, they didn’t care that they were leaving early or that we wanted to get on the boat. And, we were the only ones, several other cars pulled up at the same time only to watch the boat drift out of the Port, into the night.

What to do? We were sure. I had no clue since I had never done this and am continually baffled by the way that nothing is ever on time in Cape Verde, except airplanes and boats, which seem to leave early! So, do we stay in Praia and wait for the Monday night boat, bother my lovely friends for more crashing on their couch? Do we go to Fogo and hope that we can get a boat to Brava before the Tuesday morning boat that is scheduled (there was another boat in the Port headed to Fogo one hour later)? This ends Part I of the story.

My ex is getting married

It's always strange when you find out that your ex is getting married. This time, it wasn't strange at all. I am glad he FINALLY decided to pop the big question. So....

I want to send a big CONGRATS out to Kurt, my ex boyfriend! I just recieved an email this morning that he is marrying his girlfriend of 3 years, Bridget. I am thrilled for him and a bit concerned about Bridget's mental health! Just kidding. Kurt is a great catch. I'm sure they will be happy together. Another big congrats also should go to Kurt for completing a marathon several weeks back. He finished in 4 hours, which is no small feat (on his small feet)!

Good work Kurtis!

my birthday dinner

My 29th birthday is coming up soon (july 8th). So, my wonderful roommate Elizabeth decided to take me out for dinner since she will be in Senegal on my actual birthday. Well, we went to a restaurant we have been dying to visit. It's on the expensive side, so we haven't splurged yet. But, since it was my birthday dinner, we decided to try it. We had a wonderful dinner of conch in a delicious tomato sauce, tuna tartar, and tuna stuffed squid with veggies. We split severl little dishes. The meal was absolutely delicious. Everthing was perfect. We had a nice time together and were so happy and full when we left!

Unfortunately, it was the birthday dinner that kept on giving. The following morning, Elizabeth woke up terribly sick. I felt okay, a little bloated, but figured it was just that the food hadn't quite settled. Well, by noon I was completely ill. I was invited to the beach for the day for a big pork cook out. We got there, to the beach house at about 11. We went for a nice walk on the beach and took some photos (i'll post them later). Just after the walk, I couldn't stand the stomach cramps were so bad. I began vomiting about 2 and was in bed until 8 when we got a ride back to town. I got directly back into bed and stayed there until the next morning. Now, two days later, I still feel sick to my stomach. This food poisoning has really knocked me off my feet! It was quite a birthday! Elizabeth felt so bad that she gave me a bracelet and a shirt to make up for the bad meal!

Origami Workshop

A couple of months ago, I was asked to give an origami workshop to all of the monitors in all of the youth centers/orphanages in Mindelo. The head of youth services in Mindelo contacted me and asked me if I could do this. I agreed. Last Thursday, we had the workshop. 25 monitors from about 15 different centers showed up to learn origami. I decided that the best way to teach them origami is to first teach them how to "read" the instructions. So, we spent time going through each different type of fold and what each of the standard origami symbols mean. After about an hour of this, we started to make things. First we did them together, then I had them try to do some new models on their own. It was a four hour session, so at the end, I was tired from speaking in Criolo for 4 hours. But, everyone enjoyed it. Many people stayed afterward to talk with me about it and ask me if I could give another workshop. I think I will have a follow-up in September.

We were also lucky enough to still have the origami exhibit in tact from the previous week, so everyone was able to see the great work the boys had done. They were extremely impressed and felt inspired to do origami in their own centers. I feel like I have really brought a great thing to Mindelo. People are really excited about origami and interested in sharing it with the children here. It's just great! I'm so excited to be able to do this. I am also happy I will be staying so that I can continue to develop this project! My house is now happily decorated with all kinds of creatures.

Oh, and I found a new apartment. It's so cute. It's just one bedroom, a nice built in closet, a decent bathroom, and a large kitchen/living room. It has a cute little veranda and nice stairwell leading up to the house. The light is great inside. On the roof top, I have the best view of the city ever! you can see everything perfectly clearly from there. I am so excited to move there in September!

Sao Joao

These are pictures from Sao Joao. This is a festival held throughout Cape Verde. DIfferent islands celebrate it differently, but normally, there is a saint, Saint John, who is celebrated on this day! You will see here the boats that people wear. They are elaborate little wooden boats that people wear on straps and dance throughout the city on the way to the church. Once at the church, people pray to St. John. Then, after the prayers, you can see the pictures of the festival. People gamble, dance, eat, and wear the necklaces you see in the last picture. They are long strands of peanuts, candies, and colored papers. The small shacks that you see in the pictures are made just for this day and are left up all year in anticiaption of the next Sao Joao festival.

Origami Exhibit

Last weekend, we had our origami exhibition! Well, actually, the boys got to show off their origami, a paper making project, clay work, and woodworking. It was great. All of the boys from all o f the different centers came together to have a big lunch following their soccer tournament. My boys won the tournament too! They were soooo happy! The exhibit was great. The boys were so proud to show off their work and I put up lots of pictures of them as well!

more pictures

These are old pictures from Sao Domingos. When my mom was here we visted my family. You will see a photo of the kitten nursing off of the DOG! It was weird, so I took some photos.

You will also see my old dog MAX! He is still crazy as ever and doing great now that he lives out in the mountains! He loves his new life. He was soooo happy to see me and didn't want me to leave. He stuck by me the whole time! He's a cutie, but I haven't forgotten the biting!

Okay, I have a ton of pictures from my origami exhibit this weekend. It was amazing and I'll write all about it once I choose the pictures. We also just celebrated Sao Joao, a big festival here. I have those pictures too and will post them soon.

more photos of the origami boys

the newest photos of my boys!

Checkin In

I don't have a ton to write at the current moment. I am in my last week of school here, so I am anxious to get the final grades done and turned in. Outside of school, things are going really well. The business is coming together beautifully. I must admit that I have 100% confidence that we will be successful because I truly believe that what we are doing is needed and will help others. I am thrilled to announce that a non-profit group, M.O.R.E., has taken on English Unlimited as part of its group, so they will be able to find resources for us as well as take care of our bookkeeping. This also means that since they will be handling our funding, donors can have a tax write off. This will likely encourage more people to get involved and possibly give more. I sure hope that's the case anyway.

The other HUGE news is that Monica Battle, a friend who works in Pascagoula, MS, and her son are organizing a coast-wide event to fundraise for English Unlimited. This means that a huge effort will be made on our behalf to raise money on the coast. I can't believe the generosity that Monica and her son have displayed. I know that we are going to be successful!

Well, the results are slow to come so far, and we are anxious to get money in the bank so that we can start doing what we need to do. But, I know that the fundraiser and other things will put us in a great position to meet our goals! Also, I hope that all of my faithful readers are also contributors! I really appreciate all of the support we've gotten so far and look forward to more.

My first funeral march

This morning, my downstairs neighbor passed away. She had been ill lately and in and out of the hospital. In Cape Verde, the burial is held the same day as the death (if possible) because there is no preserving of the body. So, at 5pm, we joined her funeral march. Her husband, the famous music composer Manuel D'Novas, did not join the march, but we did pass the house after walking through town and he watched from the window as his wife's casket passed. He cried and wailed. It was probably the most heartbreaking thing I've seen in a long time. Imagining an elderly couple being separated by death is so sad. He was overwhelmed at the loss of his wife. I can't imagine how he will continue with such a deep sense of loss and saddness for his wife of so many years.

Baby Party

There is a tradition in Cape Verde of celebrating a baby's birth 7 days after he or she is born. My student Simon had a baby last Monday, so on Sunday night we had a party. This party is more for the parents (well, the father) to celebrate with friends. We had a grill going with grilled fish, then at midnight, we ate arroz con tudo (rice with everything). Following the traditional midnight meal, we all gathered around the child and sang traditional songs to her. One friend played the guitar while we all sang and the baby was held up for everyone to see. It was beautiful. This is actually my first 7th day party! I have pictures, which you can see here. The party consisted of lots of dancing and a lot of congratulating! The baby is adorable. She still isn't named, so we're all waiting for the final decision to be made on that!

I wish I had my camera...

Yesterday, after a wonderful origami hour, I was crossing a relatively busy boulevard. Cars were zooming down the two sides of the road and people were crossing the streets and buses were loading and unloading. As I crossed the road, I saw in the median 5 goats. There are some beautiful bushes in the planters separating the two lanes of traffic, well they were beatiful bushes. Now the bushes are stripped bare by the goats! It was so funny to be walking down the road and just staring at these goats. What was even more funny was that no one was paying attention. It was so normal for most people, that I was the only person wishing they had a camera. This is truly the moment where the old Cape Verde meets the new Cape Verde. It was a great experience because often times in Mindelo, I forget that I am in a third world country with a rural side to it. Just outside of the city, things are quite different! As I said, I wish I had had my camera!

BIG NEWS

I haven't posted on my blog in some time, so I am trying to catch up! The BIG NEWS is that I am staying in Cape Verde. I have decided to open an English Language school here in Mindelo with my two fellow PC volunteers. We are excited to open our doors in September! This is a huge deal and we are nervous and thrilled all at the same time. We are mostly nervous because we have to raise $65,000 and we aren't sure how that's going to go down. So, if any of you readers out there have several thousand sitting around, you can send it my way! No seriously, if you do have a little extra to send our way, we'd appreciate it!

Okay, so that's the big news. I'm staying here and opening a school, GULP! No, I am very anxious to get this thing off the ground. We are catering to adult English education and will work with business clients too. We are hoping to do some good work with translations as well. Most importantly, we are trying to do this in a way that is cost effective for Cape Verdeans. We are purchasing textbooks and workbooks for the school that students can use rather than having to pay for their own book and workbook. This part of the business will cost us $12,500, which is the part I am trying to get donations for. I already have some nice gifts from friends and family as I try to raise this large amount. I hope that we can get the books and give people a chance to get a good education at a very small cost to them!

So, wish me well. I suppose my next blog will be coming soon! I officially finish my Peace Corps service on August 8th! I will get to go home for a bit and then return for the opening of our school, English Unlimited!

10th Anniversary celebration

On Wednesday night, the Cultural Center of Mindelo had its 10th anniversary celebration. My friend Josina is the director of the center, and she invited me to join in on the festivities. The night began with a discussion about culture and the advancement of culture in Mindelo. Then we sang "happy birthday" and enjoyed some cake and sparkling cider. It was really nice to see the cultural community of the town together and enjoying an evening. The final part of the evening was a great musical group. Another friend of mine Kiso, was in the group playing bass. It was quite nice music and the crowd loved it.

While at this event, I sat next to a group of Americans who were on a school trip from the University of Rhode Island. Their professor, Richard Lobban, is the author of probably the most famous history book on Cape Verde. We chatted briefly, which was great because I think he's done a great job capturing some important aspects of Cape Verdean history. I also was seated next to his colleague, a professor at the University of Mass. This man, John, is originally from Cameroon and had heard about me from two other people on during his travels! He and I exchanged contacts and he will be in touch. They plan to bring a group here in the Spring and hope to coordinate with me for their next visit!

I wish I had pictures to post, but a student borrowed my camera because he had a baby girl! So, I didn't get photos!