some new and old photos

You'll see here a goat, some cute little piggies, a few photos of me and my cousin Jill, my mom and my Aunt Pat, and two pictures of Jackson getting himself all wrapped up in my covers! I know they are a random grouping of photos, but they are just things I have been meaning to share! Oh, on the weekend of the 5th of July (Cape Verde's Independence Day), we'll be taking another hiking trip to Santo Antao. This time we are visiting a tunnel and the mango groves! Then on the 8th it'll be my birthday and I am having a big 30th blowout on the 12th! YES! Tonight, my students from the port authority class are having a dinner for me to celebrate the completion of our class! I'll be sure to bring along my camera for good photos!

Waiting for the internet is like waiting for the rain

Wireless internet has come to Mindelo. The unfortunate part is that the company with wireless towers is being held up in litigation by CV telecom. CV telecom is the ONLY phone/ internet company in Mindelo, holding a 100% monopoly on both these services, which also includes cell phones. Oh, I forgot to mention that CV telecom is a government owned entity. When the government owns these major services, they aren't too willing to allow competition to enter the picture, hence the delay on the wireless service. In theory, the wireless company will have an inauguration ceremony on Monday and run a week of testing to ensure the service is running well. The public should be able to use the service by the beginning of July.... IN THEORY! So, we are all waiting. The new service will be cheaper than the other service. Also, currently, the ADSL service only allows each account 1GB of downloading per month, which is not much, so not only is the service somewhat expensive, and requires a router, it also has a ridiculous limit on downloads. I am anxiously awaiting the new company. I have already registered with them and plan to be one of their first paying customers. The service will include unlimited downloading and has no contract, simply a monthly fee.

Hopefully by the beginning of July, I will have internet in my home and will be able to be in more frequent contact with everyone! Keep your fingers crossed!

A few photos from Jill's wedding

During my stay in America, I was fortunate enough to be the maid of honor in my dear friend Jill's wedding. I mentioned this before... I believe. I am finally getting around to posting some photos from the momentous occasion.

An absolutely nothing weekend

As you can see from the title of this post, I did nothing special this weekend. I planned my lessons for this week of classes, which took me only a few hours this weekend. I am gearing up for the end of one of my business courses and just completed a course two weeks ago. Normally, that would free up my schedule, but it won't because we are starting a short, two month course today that will take us through the end of July. In theory, David and I will be "team teaching" the course, but that never really works our for one reason or another, so let's hope it goes well.

That's about all for now! I'll post pictures this week... I promise.

the city shuts down

On Saturday, the most famous Sao Vicente soccer player died. Today, the city has decided to let everyone off of work to attend his funeral. So, as I type, there are hundreds of people lining the streets in front of our school... Oh yeah, we have a school next to a funeral home if I've never mentioned that! In Sao Vicente, the tradition is that funeral processions must lead through the city and make their way around a statue in front of the funeral home (convenient spot for a funeral home, huh?) before heading off to the cemetery.

So, who's this famous guy you ask? He is named Carzolinho. He played soccer for Benfica (a famous Portuguese team) as well as began a soccer camp here that selects youngsters to go to Portugual to be evaluated for professional training camps. He has a nice, big soccer complex here with astro turf fields. According to friends, he is an important symbol of hope for the people of the city.

So, how did he die? He was in his 50's. He was in Angola at a big hotel. He was on the 6th floor, called for the elevator. When the elevator came up and the doors opened, he stepped into the space where the car should have been and fell to his death. People here are somewhat convinced there was foul play involved.

Folks, it's never a dull moment here in Cape Verde...

I'm back and blogging again

I'm back after a short trip to the states to visit friends, family and participate in the wedding of my dear friend, Jill Weber. So, I am pledging to resume my blogging efforts since I now have a new memory card for my camera, so I am out of excuses. AND, I know that people are out there just dying to read about my adventures! :) I will be writing more frequently and getting some photos up really soon.

Also, a friend of mine from high school has a brother who has offered to build me a website for my 40,000 dollar campaign. He will build the site for all PC volunteers to create an account and have their student debt repaid. I hope this will be a forum for the government to see what I am trying to do and begin to help us! YEAH! I'm getting dollars in the mail all the time, so keep them coming or you can pay through my paypal account! PEACE!

40,000 dollars, one dollar at a time

So, I haven't written in a while, but I am planning on posting a few photos I have recently taken. But, the latest and greatest news in my life is that I'll be coming home in May. I'll be headed to Toledo, OH for Jill's wedding. I'll also be visiting the South, of course! AND, in August, I'll be moving home, FOR GOOD. I know my life is headed in wonderful directions and my time in Cape Verde has been fantastic. The school is going wonderfully, and it will continue to run with my support. But for me, now it is my time to get home!

Now to the 40,000 dollars.... well $39,060.30. When we were children, my mother always told us never to say ONLY unless the amount we wanted was under 50 cents. Well, I figure that with inflation and the current economy, that I can say ONLY a dollar and get away with it! So, 39,060.30 is the amount I currently owe in student loans. I have decided that I will repay this amount immediately. The way I plan to do this is by asking 39,061 people for $1. AND I CAN ACCEPT ONLY $1 PER PERSON! Then, I will petition the loan companies, on behalf of the Peace Corps to help reduce loan debt for former volunteers. This is my latest and most important passion. I know that I will meet my goal and I know that loan companies and the federal government will come together to see my goals met. I have no doubt about this. So, all of my readers can take a dollar out of their wallet right now and mail it to me. You can send it to 6404 Shore Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564. If you can include a short letter with your signature, stating, "I support Casey Maugh's efforts to relieve student debt for returned Peace Corps volunteers." Or you can pay through my PayPal account just by entering my email address: caseymaugh@gmail.com. So, while you are sitting at your computer reading this, you can hop over to PayPal.com and send me a dollar! To help, you can also forward my blog address to EVERYONE you know and get them involved. If everyone just gives a dollar, I'll have achieved my goal in NO TIME. I know I can meet this amount in the very near future. And I am helping others do the same... just one dollar at a time

Imagine the power of 39,061 people coming together to support a cause!!!!! We get exactly what we want out of our thoughts and feelings! So, get going...take out that dollar and put it in the mail. Then, ask the person next to you at work or at the gym or at church or in the grocery store or at your next social function for $1. WE will quickly have met the goal and help others do the same. I'm going to share this approach with other return volunteers as part of this campaign! Watch what I can do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The new house

I mentioned in my blog yesterday that I was getting a new house. Well, as of this morning, it's official. I paid my rent and I am getting ready to move. The first order of business was to carry over my hammock that I bought in Peru years ago and hung it up. It has a great home now on my roof. It's comfy and will get a lot of use!
Before moving into the new house, I have some minor carpentry that needs to be done. I need to put in some shelves and a closet, which luckily can be done pretty easily in this country. I have a guy coming on Monday morning to get after these little things. I have another week in my apartment, so I am not in a huge hurry. I want to get those things installed before I move everything in.
Let's see... tonight is the big party, so I'm going home to rest up for a while. Then I'll be ready to rock tonight. The party starts at about midnight, so we'll be home before sunrise... hopefully.

CARNAVAL

Not only are we kicking off Carnaval, we just got ADSL in the office and I found a new house! It's been a pretty good week. Sorry I haven't been better about keeping up with the blog, but my teaching schedule has been so crazy lately that I haven't been able to keep up with this writing. Also, we haven't been going on our hikes because the weather hasn't been so great. The brumaseca has set in, so the dust clouds from the Sahara Desert make it difficult to see. The hikes aren't so fun when there are big yellow, sandy clouds everywhere you look. So, we'll resume after Carnaval, in a week or so. Oh, I also haven't been writing because, as I mentioned previously, my memory card for my camera isn't working... still.

Let's see... The new house. It's one street over from my work. YEAH. It doesn't have hot water, but I am getting a heating system installed before I move in. It is super cute. It's a house, so I won't have noisy neighbors. The house is cute and on a quiet street. It has a nice tree in front too. It gets lots of light, and the best part is that the house has a ladder up to the roof! That's right, a roof for me to hang out on. All of my plants will be soooo very happy and I even have a space for my hammock. It's cool. Best of all, the woman who is renting it to me is a Doctor and she is really nice. She is from Cuba and really talkative. So we were talking a mixture of spanish and portuguese the other day and she asked me if I lived alone. And I said yes. Then she looked really sad. I asked her how much the rent is, and she said that it was 20,000, but because I am alone and she feels sorry for me, that she would only make me pay 16,000! Great. I got reduced rent because the woman feels sorry for me! So, being single won over the fact that I am white for once! I've never had this experience. Usually the price is more.

So, things are looking up. I am also happy to report that the school is going well. We are very busy. We are just about to start a couple of new courses, which will be starting just after Carnaval! Speaking of Carnaval, there is a big party tomorrow night (Saturday). We went to one last weekend, but this one should be bigger and crazier. A couple of the Peace Corps volunteers from Praia are up to check out the festivities, so we are showing them a good time. And, we'll be watching the Super Bowl on David's new TV this weekend as well. So much to do. OH, and I have to teach on Monday. The school will be closed, but unfortunately, I teach the business classes, so I'll still be working on Monday! Lucky me.

That's about all the news from Cape Verde. I'm healthy and happy. I'm also missing the states A lOT these days!

Some recent photos

These are just a few nice photos that I took just before I went to the states. Thought they were pretty....

Nho Djunga

On Thursday, I got packages in the mail from my mother. It was 30 gift wrapped watches. The boys were THRILLED. They were so happy. I think I am a professional watch setter now! I was so happy to see them so happy. It's great. AND, the other great news is that the 1,000 cranes is finally hanging up. It looks so beautiful. I was so happy to see it up. Once my camera is working, I'll get a great photo of it for the blog! Anyway, I just wanted to share the exciting news about the boys with you!

I'm back in Cape Verde

Getting back and forth from Cape Verde is always a challenge. After about 20+ hours of waiting around in airports, I am back and hard at work. We opened several new classes and signed contracts with 2 new businesses this week, which means that we will have even more classes beginning. We also welcomed a new teacher, Josh! He flew in on Wednesday and is getting adjusted to his new life here.

Oh! Jackson is doing fine. He was slightly annoyed with me for leaving him over the holidays. My friend Ivan took good care of him. He was well fed and quickly got over his attitude. Now he won't leave my side for fear that I will leave again!!!

Let's see, other than that, I'm teaching 28 hours per week, which is absolute insanity. Nick is teaching even more than me, so our schedules are FULL. But, carnaval (Mardi Gras) is on the 5th of February, so we will have a short break.

I think that's about it.... Except, my memory card on my camera has gone out. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing. I'm giving it a couple of days to rest before trying again. My New Year's resolution is to be positive, so I'm positive this is just a little glitch!

The end of the project

We finally put all of the cranes together. They are now on 25 different lines, all connected together. The 1,000 cranes project is finished, but we have yet to put the cranes up on display. There is some debate about where to hang it. But more than that, the director of the center doesn't want us to place it where the boys can touch it. So, we need to put it up high. Anyway, now it is sitting in a box, waiting for direction! It's very frustrating. But, it's still pretty.

The farm

This past weekend, I was invited to meet a friend's dog. He mentioned that her name was Victoria and that she was "big." When I think of big dogs in Cape Verde, I usually think of pit bulls because a few people have them and think it is cool to have them because it makes them seem like a ganster or rap star! But, my friend is neither a ganster or a thug, so I figured he had a different kind of dog. We went out to "the farm" and met Victoria. He is a beautiful Great Dane (or some version of a Great Dane). Anyway, she is super sweet and affectionate. We had an amazing time with her. You will see a photo of her up top. I did it in black and white to really show off her beautiful gray colored coat. The other photos here are of the farm. Oh, and the big fake tree that has been designed inside a new restaurant here. It was a great Saturday, all in all.

Our weekend in Santo Antao

Here are the photos from our weekend away in Santo Antao! A great weekend and a great group!

Beach Clean Up Photos

These are some photos from the day we cleaned up the Beach! Good looking group, huh?

moving...

I had a nice, BIG barbeque at my house on Saturday. It was a going away party for my house. We certainly had a fun time and lots of food. I invited my friends and some students. We had about 60 people there and grilled fish and chicken. I was fortunate enough to have a student whose family owns a boat, so he donated all of the fish! I also had another student who took the fish to get cleaned and prepared. It was such a nice night. I'll be sure to post pictures from the party soon! I also have pictures of the boys and their cranes. The project is coming to a close, so the cranes are starting to go on the string and they look great!

And I moved.... I am not a fan of moving. I'm not a fan of packing and unpacking. And, my new house is smaller, so that means that all of the things I had in my house are now crammed into the new house. I don't have an outside space, so I am really missing that. Anyway, I'll survive in the new house! Jackson isn't so sure about it and keeps running back to the old house. Luckily, the old house is just a short walk away, so I can get him and carry him back! It's a new game we have.

Update on my life

Hi faithful readers! Things here in Cape Verde are moving right along. The school is going great. I am loving teaching and my schedule is now becoming second nature so that it doesn't feel like such a strain. The 1,000 cranes are flying along and I have decided to also teach an English course to the boys at Nho Djunga. Well, actually, they recruited me. So, I will now spend an extra hour a week there to focus on some basic English lessons with the boys who are really interested.

In other, non-teaching news, I am planning to move! I moved into my current apartment by assuming the year-long contract on the house. The contract is up next month and the landlord wants me to pay 2 months rent up front. OH, and he's raising my rent. So, I'm moving. I love my place, but more than that I love my neighborhood. And luckily, yesterday I talked with some neighbors and they said not to worry because there are two apartments open on my street. Then this afternoon, one woman gave me the telephone number of the landlord for one of them and is arranging a meeting to see the second one. They are both in my price range and both on my same street, which is the best part of it all! So, I am feeling pretty happy about that.

I went on a beach clean up this past weekend and will post pictures as soon as possible. I also have some photos of my students and the school, which I will also post when I have time to get them off of my camera and go through them. I hope all is well. I have gotten some emails from friends lately, so keep sending them! I miss you all.

Santa Luzia de Terra

Our most recent hike was to Santa Luzia de Terra. This is the green oasis in the middle of the desert valley outside of town. We took my mom there when she visited. It's a nice spot and it is also the place where there is a huge almond tree. Last year we spent hours up there collecting the fruits, but this time they weren't quite ripe, so we will return in a month or so.

Unfortunately when I was taking the pictures off of my camera, something happened and I lost most of them, especially the really good ones. But, Pedro passed his on to me, so you will see a few photos of me that he took. So, it's cool because he took lots of group shots and shots of me climbing around up there! Enjoy!

Oh, and while I'm writing, today is a national holiday. It's All Saints Day. In Cape Verde, they celebrate religious holidays at the national level, so we are off of work today. I've been invited to a barbeque out in Sao Pedro again, so I'm headed out there now! Then tonight our yoga group is meeting. Though Elizabeth has left, we have managed to still meet and we are continuing on with new leadership and new, exciting classes!

My boys and the 1000 cranes

Our 1,000 origami cranes for good luck is coming right along. Well, we have made about 150 of the 1,000. Each boy is really getting a hang of the folding, but we can only make a few each time we meet, so we are moving along slowly. In an effort to speed this process along, I have made about 200 at home in my spare time after work. I hope we will finish the project by Christmas. I know it will be really cool when we get finished with it! The boys are proud of their progress. We are keeping all of the cranes in a box and after every meeting we count them. This time it was Pele's turn, so you'll see a picture of him guarding the box and keeping track of the numbers. Of course, I wanted to get some candid shots of the boys at work, but when you break out the camera, they go nuts. So, as you can see they are showing off their work and posing for silly photos. Gosh, I love these guys. They are so adorable and so interested in whatever it is that I have for them. I hope we can get through the cranes so that we can start learning some of the new things we have in the books I brought back....

Oh, speaking of books, the U.S. Embassy in Cape Verde called yesterday. They received a huge shipment of about 30,000 books. I had requested some of them if they would permit it. They agreed and are sending 15 boxes my way to be divided between my school and ISE! It's a wonderful thing! I am so glad to have been a Peace Corps volunteer because the connections that I now have from that experience are paying off!!!!! The books should arrive in the next month. They are currently sitting in Praia and waiting for a boat company to agree to take them. Keep your fingers crossed that they get here!!!