update on my life

I figure this would be a good time to let all of you in on what's been happening in my life lately. As you know, I applied and interviewed for the USM job. I had my interview on Feb. 1 and 2. I received a phone call about 3 weeks ago from USM's department chair saying that they were still in the midst of the process. It had been about 1 month since I had my visit, so I was correct to assume that another candidate had been chosen. The department chair said this was the case, but that I was still a definite possibility because nothing was final and I am next in line. So, three weeks later and I am still waiting for a final word. My roommate and my mom keep saying that no news is good news, so I am sticking with that.

In other news, Jill, my former roommate and foster mother to my cat, Jackson, tipped me off about a one year position at Tulane University in New Orleans. I have applied for this position with hopes that it might happen for me. That would certainly give me a year to regroup and figure out what's next.

Finally, I have been looking into jobs with the Peace Corps. I am interested in possibly working as a recruiter for them for a year or doing some kind of work within the U.S. part of the organization. My boss here at PC told me that he thought I'd be good working abroad with volunteers too. SO, I'm keeping my options open at this point. You never know what will come through...

That's about it. School is good. Life is pretty "normal." I was in Praia a week and a half ago for a training workshop. I am headed back to Praia this Tuesday for our annual All Volunteer's Confrerence, which should be interesting. I look forward to seeing all of my fellow volutneers as we talk about the fact that we only have a few months of service remaining and little direction! It seems like a common theme around here!

1 year anniversary

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Morgan (my brother) and his wife Holly! I'm sure you will all recall the great wedding photos I posted last year after their wedding. Well, this year they spent a week in the Bahamas! They also just recently moved into their new home in Birmingham, AL. I just want to public mark this occassion for them. I know they are devoted readers of my blog, so I didn't want to leave them out!

5K for Women

On Sunday, Elizabeth and I participated in the Race for Women’s Day/Month. We were supposed to start at 10 am, but in true Cape Verdean fashion, we started about 11 or so. It was extremely hot, so as we waited, I became more anxious because I knew that this 5K was going to be even harder with the heat.

At any rate, there were both men and women in the race, even some of the boys from the center were I have been working. It was fun to be in a community of people who all enjoy running. I really miss the racing communities I was in during grad school.

I came in 6th place and received a little trophy. It is really nice and a great memory of the race!

Joao D'Evora

Brian was lucky enough to be present for one of our famous Sunday hikes. This time we went to Joao D’ Evora, a remote beach area and then through the sand hills into a fishing village called Salemanca. The hike was several hours and we stopped in the middle to rest at the church in the town of Salemanca. There were some really good shots of the hike. The picture of us at lunch was taken the day before, but I thought it a good picture, so I included it here.

Brian was lucky enough to be present for one of our famous Sunday hikes. This time we went to Joao D’ Evora, a remote beach area and then through the sand hills into a fishing village called Salemanca. The hike was several hours and we stopped in the middle to rest at the church in the town of Salemanca. There were some really good shots of the hike. The picture of us at lunch was taken the day before, but I thought it a good picture, so I included it here.

Bri's Trip - Part II - Mindelo

I decided to pick a few pictures from Brian’s trip that show off some of Mindelo and show some of the things we did in my town. As you will see, there are beautiful fish from the market, a little girl carrying a bucket on her head, and Milton, the cutest kid in the world. You will also see an old women’s face in her doorway. This woman stands just like this everyday. She and I always say our friendly hellos and then I’m on my way. I have wanted a picture of her since I met her, but I have been to afraid to ask. Brian’s being here was the perfect opportunity for a photo op. So, I asked her if he could shoot some photos of her and she agreed. We paid her 50 cents and she was happy. The shot is just beautiful with the worn door and her blue bandana. Brian is a great photographer and this really shows off his talent.

Dia de Mulheres

Happy International Women's Day!

I never knew there was such a thing as International Women's Day until I lived in Cape Verde. Of course, last year I missed it due to foot surgery, but this year I was here to fully enjoy it. on women's day in Sao Vicente, men buy women flowers. Bosses give their female employees gifts and the day off. It's crazy. What a great day. I was told on the street many times "happy women's day" and men were thankful and grateful in meetings for women. I was in a staff meeting today and one of the philosophy professors stopped us to say happy women's day to all the ladies in the room. It was great. I never knew about such a day in the states. I always knew that March was Women's month, but the 8th was never a significant date until I moved outside of the country. Our culture has so much to learn...

Bri's Project

As you all read previously, Brian decided to raise money to buy school supplies for kids in Cape Verde. A big thank you goes out to everyone who supported this project. He raised over 1,200 dollars, which gave him the opportunity to help over 100 children at various orphanages in Mindelo. You will see pictures of us buy supplies, hanging out with the kids, and just generally having a great time!

Brian brought about $100 worth of supplies in his suitcase. Then we hit the local stores to try to spend out 1,100. This was quite a task since there are no Super Wal-Marts here. We headed to local stores and essentially began buying the places out of things. Our first store resulted in what looked like to us a lot of stuff, but only cost us about 1/5 of our budget. So, we headed to another place that I frequent and they helped us out a lot. They gave us a 10% discount for our purchase of about $300. Needless to say, we went back to that place later to finish up!

On the second day of shopping, I enlisted the help of one of my students. He led us to coloring books and games for the younger children at one of the centers. Then we followed up with more school supplies. It was quite taxing to spend all that cash here. But, we ended up with so much stuff. The kids were thrilled and so excited to see all of their new school supplies. It was great to watch them be shy about the gifts and anxious to open up their bags and see what was inside. We had to tell them it was okay to explore and see.

At the Boys center, Nhu Djunga, we gave out the supplies and then asked the boys to teach us a game that Bri could take back and share with his kids at his job. They taught us a game called, Jogomon. Then, as we were leaving, they insisted that we teach them a game. So, the following Monday, we returned to teach them elbow tag. They loved it. The boys even made bracelets for us, which are really cool. It was great to feel appreciated and to have the boys actually respect us and want to hang out with us.

You'll see in the final picture that we had some pretty exhausting days. We had early nights and took naps to recover from the long days of shopping and sharing! I am so glad that Bri thought of this project and made it happen. The kids that we helped deserve it.

Bri's Visit - Part One - Santo Antao

The day after Brian arrived, we were off to visit Santo Antao. My students planned a trip over, so we tagged along. You will see my students in the pictures. Let me just say that Cape Verdeans LOVE to have their pictures made. They beg to have photos taken, which can be annoying after about 50 pictures of them doing the same thing in the waterfall! Okay, we get that you are mostly naked and wet!

So, we headed over on a Friday afternoon and ended up staying at a school. The school was nice and there were kids in and out all weekend long. The kids were cute and we spent lots of time snapping pictures of them as they played. They too like to have their pictures taken over and over and over again....

On Saturday, we took a ride up the valley to check out the Ribera do Paul. I had been there before, but this time around we ended up at a waterfall. It was beautiful. After the waterfall excursion, some guys we met cooked dinner on the rocks near the falls. We then got to eat off of a banana leaf, which was quite an experience. It made it seem a little "touristy" but that's basically what we were, so I guess I can't complain.

On Sunday, we walked up to see the statue of Saint Anthony, for which the island is named. From there we got some great photos of the town and ocean. Then we headed back up the valley to eat fresh made cheese at a German restaurant. The cheese was amazing and just what was needed after several meals of rice and fish. After lunch we packed into a car with about 15 people (you'll see the photo) and went to the next valley over, Ribera de Torre. This valley is lush and Brian found a trail up and over the valley to give us some good views of everything. Unfortunately, we were with a non-hiking group of people, so we had to cut that short and hook back up with the group.

Monday morning the group packed it in and headed home, but Brian and I stayed for a hike through another part of the island. This led us up and over through some steep hiking and down into the town of Cha de Igreja. We hired a car and went to Ponta de Sol where we watched the local fishermen get their boats into some pretty insanely rough waters. Then we spent another night before heading back to Mindelo. You will see pictures of the Mindelo leg of the trip soon. That's all for now!