Let's Go Giants!!! Having watched the last few Super Bowls with team I could care less about and with Portuguese commentators and commercials, I was thrilled to not only have the NY Giants play but also have real American commercials! Having the same two teams that played four years ago, which I watched with my good friends at school in Binghamton of course brought back good memories, but this time I was surrounded by Patriots fans! Patriots fans are a notoriously tough crowd, but something I have become used to since many Cape Verdeans have families living in the New England area and inevitably their poor choice in sports teams (and their awful accents) makes it across to this side of the Atlantic. Streaming the game over the internet saved us from watching it at a local bar and also allowed us to watch the commercials which I normally miss. I must say, I was quite disappointed in the commercials but I was thankful to not have to watch commercials for Super Bock the Portuguese beer whose commercials are as painful to watch as the beer is to drink. We were thoroughly entertained when the Little Rock Arkansas commercials for “fine jewelry” came on (apparently that is where we were streaming the game from!) We had a potluck appetizer dinner which included a little bit of everything, from wings to mac and cheese, pizza, Indian food, oreo cream cheese truffles and rice crispie treats. To wash it all down a caparinha did the trick and gave us enough sugar to keep us up for the late night festivities. Of course the nail biting last 2 minutes kept us all on our seats and with the Giants' victory proved to us that it was worth staying up until 2am to watch the game.

Here are some pictures of the evening. The D-fence and Let's Go Giants sign are courtesy of an afternoon without electricity, forcing us to be creative! (if you look close the "Eli Song" is on top which goes "I believe in Eli...")

Sitting next to potatoes and onions in many supermarkets in the U.S. you will often find Yuca.Yuca or Cassava in English is called Mandioca in Portuguese and is a staple of the Cape Verdean diet. It is a root vegetable with thick skin which can be quite intimidating but with a good knife or a peeler it is not too difficult and when cooked right it can be delicious. Kids love to eat raw mandioca as a treat. Normally it is boiled along with other vegetables and served along fejoida or catchupa.

I have never been a big fan of mandioca, but mostly because it usually sitting next to lots of other carboydrates. Is it really necessary to eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and mandioca all in one meal? I personally do not think so!

Fried up, almost like a french fry, mandioca has potential but it is still not as good as a potatoe and often times can be very stingy which I do not care for.

After discussing my thoughts on why mandioca is not as great as everyone says it is, I decided to look up recipes on how to make mandioca delicious while not fried or boiled. It didn't take long to find multiple recipes for a cake which is apparently very popular in the Philippians. Most of the recipes varied slightly but all more or less looked like a custard coconut cake.

Without all the ingredients I improvised and made my own version. I was really unsure if everyone would like it (I made it for a girls night), but it was a hit and it was finished faster than it took to make it! It was not too sweet like many of the cakes we are so used to but was simply perfect and delicious. For any dare devils, this delicious cake is worth the effort!

Ingredients:3 cups grated mandioca (I made it with fresh mandioca but next time I am going to try with mandioca flour and see how that comes out. )2 beaten eggs1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) 1 cup milk1 1/2 cups dried grated coconut

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees2. Stir together all ingredients3. Bake for about an hour or until the cake is brown on top.4. Enjoy!

Cesaria Evora, known as the Barefoot Diva, passed away just before Christmas in Sao Vicente. While she may no longer be here, she will certainly not be forgotten. Her beautiful unique voice will continue to play on the radio and her songs will remain as the soundtrack of Cape Verde.I had the honor of meeting her in 2009 at the inauguration of the SOS. The funny this was, I was so preoccupied with making sure I greeted everyone correctly ( I kept saying “Bem vindo” – welcome, over and over in my head so I would perfect it by the time the President came in), that when I met her I didn’t even recognize her! I am still embarrassed to say that I shook Cesaria Evoras hand but didn’t even know it was her! After my colleague came up to me, telling me how great it was that I just met Cesaria and I distinctly remember saying “Wait, Cesaria is here!” Well, I gave myself some credit since I was still new to the islands but it is a memory I will always have of her. At the Baia das Gatas Festival of 2009, I got to hear Cesaria sing for the first time. She mostly played in Europe, specifically France where she lived, so we felt very lucky to have seen her live. Her sweet voice had the whole crowd singing and dancing. Her funeral brought the same crowds that frequented her concerts. And just as they would at a concert, they sang and danced behind her as they walked from the city center to the cemetery. Her followers mostly sang her famous song "Sodade," a word which does not translate directly but describes the nostalgic feeling and longing one has for loved ones who have left, something that is dear to the hearts of Cape Verdeans, since every person living here has at least 2 relatives abroad. The following obituary published this week in the Economist is the best obituary I have found. I think it really captures who Cesaria was and what she meant to not only her compatriots but also to her fans abroad. She will certainly be missed! As she sang best "Oi tont sodade, sodade sem fim."

I am happy to finally be posting photos of the playground.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who supported this project. I must say it was so nice to actually see this idea come to life.

When I arrived at the SOS I was so delighted to actually see children playing on it, laughing and just having fun. It absolutely made my day!

In addition to the playground which has swings, 3 sets of monkey bars, 2 slides and a climbing tower, there is also a picnic area where I sat and talked to the kids about the playground and they said enthusiastically how much they love it. This area of the center has turned from a pile of dirt into one of the favorite places for many of the children. It reminded me so much of my first day at the center 3 years ago, with lots of curious faces around me, but this time most of them knew me and they welcomed me with lots of hugs.

Although it isn't the playground I dreamed of (in the sense that it was made in Portugal and not in Cape Verde because the main funding behind the project was the Canadian Embassy which said for safety reasons it had to be made abroad), it is everything I hoped it would be for the children: a safe place where they can play and enjoy their childhood innocence.

I am sitting here, candles lit in one of the many blackouts that we have been having, just thinking about how much my life has and hasn’t changed since I became a real person after closing of service with Peace Corps 7 months ago. For starters I have moved into a big spacious apartment with a new roomate and two cats. Did I mention that I now live in a house that is bright lime green? It’s true. The landlord’s wife apparenlty really loves green, she even recently painted the inside of her house a lighter less blinding hue. Even our quintal, a room in the house that is outside but inside, is this green but the plants love it and it sort of grows on you I must admit. The little monsters I live with are Henri and Joanna, one found in a plastic bag the other in the fish market. I found the best way to entertain them for hours and hours is to attach a string to a chair. 6 months and the string is still strong but keeps them going. I am not really sure what they are hoping to acheive my chasing after it but I’m not going to question a good thing. Having the chance to go back home last September was so great. When we were ``COS`-`ing Peace Corps told us to be careful going home and that things would be so different and it would be hard to adjust. Perhaps it had a lot to do with the fact that I knew I was coming back, but I found being home a great experience and it didn’t scare me. Of course going to the supermarket took hours, with all the choices it was incredible. It was also kind of like a scavener hunt, finding all of these new foods and new flavors. That scavenger hunt also involved some taste testing and I came back a good 10 pounds heavier (not including the 50 pounds of luggage). Seeing my family and friends was great and it helped reasure me that I was doing the right thing. Although of course everyone missed me, with email and facebook I feel like I know everything that has been going on there and they know all about my life. While some friends are married, others having kids, some changing jobs, some still unemployed, I feel that I haven’t missed as much as I imagined I would. Living abroad gives you a very different perspective on life and I think that this experience has a better person, made me more patient and more understanding. Making the decision to stay wasn’t easy I went back and forth a whole lot. But in retrospect I am so happy with my choice. Life is different than it was before. I am 110% more busy at work but I also feel like I am learning a lot and really gaining new skills. In addition I am taking classes online to get an MS in Buisness Management. While moments like this, where I sit in the dark and yell obesenities about the electric company make me wonder what am I doing here, I also remember the great memories I am making here, the nice friends I have and the beautiful and kind people of this country that I have fallen head over heels for. Maybe I should actually say, head over flip flops for, I was never much of a high heel kind of girl.

Thanks to the help of individual donations and a grant from the Canadian Embassy, I am very happy to finally tell everyone that the playground at the Centro Social SOS in Mindelo will be completed in March 2011! I would like to thank everyone who has given support to this project and I will post pictures when it is completed!

Well... I officially am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. On September 10th, I signed a stack load of forms, said my goodbyes, had my id invalidated and headed to the airport to return to America for the first time in two years. Of course the airline wouldn’t let me get out of Cape Verde that easily, and after waiting for 11 hours (yes, ELEVEN!) I finally boarded the plane and 8 long hours later I arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. My last few weeks as a volunteer were really nice, of course a bit stressful at times, but they were a good way to end one part of my life and start a new part. Even though I knew that I was coming back to Cape Verde about a month later, it was still incredibly hard to say goodbye to the kids and my coworkers at the SOS. For my last week, I did lots of extra activities with them and as a going away present I decided to make them a video. I have taken an unbelievable number of photos of these kids over the last two years, and every time I take a photo, they always want to see it. So I decided to take a photo of every child that came to the center everyday and incorporate it into the video. In order to make it more interesting, I asked them to draw a letter on a piece of paper. When I put the video together, their letters spelled out ‘’Centro Social SOS, R.Juliao, Sao Vicente.’’ I also added some highlights of some of the photos I had taken and to ensure some tears I put it to the music of ‘’We are the world, We are the Children.’’ I got a few tears out of the kids, but I was more surprised of how much my coworkers and I cried. After a lunch with all of the kids, they surprised me with a t-shirt that all of the kids had signed. It was beautiful and of course I was brought to tears again! I think that I was really lucky and blessed to be placed at the SOS Social Center. Although my two years was not free of ups and downs, it was filled with many smiles and lots of laughter. To my amazing coworkers and the great children who came everyday and made me laugh, Thank you for two wonderful years filled with happiness. ‘’Obrigada por dois anos cheio de alegria’’ While I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have decided to stay in Cape Verde for a while longer. When I came here I certainly didn’t expect that I would ever want to stay after my two years were up. Of course I also didn’t know that I would be on one of the most beautiful islands in the country and I didn’t think that I would meet such amazing people. But I did and so I decided to stay when I was offered a job working in tourism. Now, I have the chance to show tourists why I feel in love with this place. And as a bonus, I get to visit the SOS whenever I want and continue with my project to build a playground. Thank you for reading my blog, I know it is mostly family. Thanks Mom, Dad and Alissa for your endless support. If it wasn’t for you, who knows if I would have got on the plane the first time and started this journey. I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done!!

One month from today, I will be in Praia, signing last minute papers, officially ending my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have been looking through some pictures, both mine and those taken by people working at the SOS and have decided to share some of them with you. (Below) The closer and closer it gets to the ‘end’, I find myself thinking ‘‘I cannot believe this two years is over!!’’ But it is really interesting to look at these pictures and see all that has happened and I can see how much I have changed. No I am not really all that much tanner… that is something that has not changed, mostly because I religiously apply sunscreen everyday.For one thing, I haven’t dyed my hair in two years so my natural hair color has grown in. It is an interesting strawberry blonde, which I really like. Secondly, I can see that I am more fit, not skinnier, but fit, as a result of doing yoga and tennis (yes, I know tennis in Africa! Crazy! But it is one of those really nice things that the British left here, along with a cricket field and a gold course!) But other then the physical differences I see, I know I have changed a lot as a person. I have learned to be more patient. Working with children always requires patience, but working with children in a different language requires a whole new level. Did I mention the amount of patience you need to do sometimes the simplest things? Like going to the supermarket or bank where depositing money can take 3 hours, you start to think, do they want me to put money in their bank or not? I’ve learned to take a step back from a situation and analyze it before judging. As a foreigner it is very easy to say ‘‘this, that and the other is wrong.’’ But I am not in America and it is not fair to apply the same standards. There are some things that perhaps I will never understand, but I know that I have to look at these situations in a different light. For instance, there is a beneficiary of the center who is 26 years old and has four children, all with different fathers, none of whom help financially. Because she works, selling vegetables on the street she cannot look after her children during the day. The older child occasionally helps her sell vegetables in the city and her second oldest child, who is six years old is responsible with brining her two younger sisters (2 and 3) to the Center everyday. It is all too easy to sit back and judge and say ‘‘why does she have so many kids, she doesn’t have any money, all with different fathers?!’’ But that is really not the issue, what is done is done. The only thing we can do here is help her help her children, ensure that they go to school so that they can be better educated to make good decisions when they are adults. Sometimes it is not easy being away from your home, your culture, your family and friends. I miss the conveniences of life in the U.S., like running to Dunkin Donuts and getting an iced coffee, or wanting Chinese or pizza at midnight. Sometimes waiting in line here drives me crazy, especially if I forgot to bring a book. But at the same time, I love that I live so close to the beach, I love that it is sunny almost everyday, I love that people who you barely know will invite you into their home for a catchupa just to talk to you and I love how I wake up every morning to one of the most beautiful views in the world. Sometimes it is those things that make the inconveniences not so bad.

In the Peace Corps Volunteers’ latest newsletter ‘‘Nobas di Korpa di Pas’’ there was an article about the things another volunteer has to come to terms with before he leaves. I thought it was a really nice entry so I wanted to share some of it with you and then add on some on my own favorite things about Cape Verde.

‘‘1. I am never going to learn how to sing the Happy Birthday song in Portuguese.

Every time I go to a birthday party I think: I need to know this song. It’s great, so much faster and upbeat than that droll American version!

2. If you go to a club in America, there is no set dance routine.

By no means was I crazy about either zouk or funaná when I first showed up at site, but they have slowly grown on me. We pretty much only dance to zouk up here in the north. Only once or twice have I heard funaná when I’ve been out. So I still can’t dance funaná to save my life, but I can hold my own with zouk. And in all honesty, it’s nice to go to a dance and know what to expect. Compared to Cape Verde, the U.S. is not much of a dancing culture. And maybe it’s because we don’t have any real set dances. I’m not suggesting that we bring zouk back to the U.S., I’m just saying that the next time I go to a club or a concert, that big mass of people moving and grooving individually or with a partner will appear a little bit less graceful than it did before I came to Cape Verde.

3. In America, you can’t just buy half the bag of French fries.

This is one of the strangest, best things about this country. I love the fact that I can walk into my local loja and say “I need some sausage. But I only need half of what comes in the package.” And without hesitation, they will rip open the plastic and give me half. You can even do it with wine. Only want enough to marinade a chicken? No problem. They’ll pop it open and sell you less than an eighth of what comes in the bottle. And the best part is that it doesn’t even get more expensive. If you buy half, you pay half. If you buy a quarter, you pay a quarter. I’m telling you: take advantage of this. It is ludicrous.''

About a month ago I went to a Cordas do Sol concert, a group from the island of Santo Antao. I had heard this song called ''Mnine D'Rua Ma Mim'' ''Children of the Street with me'' before, but it never really struck me until the concert. When the main singer passed the microphone to one of the people in the audience, I didn't think anything of it, until one of my friends said that the boy is known for living in the streets of Mindelo. I had see the kid before, but I hadn't worked with him personally, even though I worked on project with the SOS, called ''New Horizons'' where we worked with children living on the streets. Later, looking over the lyrics I became more touched by song. There is one line that says '' Un kalker d’nos pudia ser mnine d’rua'', which is creole and translates into Portuguese as ''Porque qual quer de nos poder ser menino de na rua'', ''Because any one of us could be a child of the street.'' Organizations like the SOS Social Center, help keep children off the street. Streets are not safe places for children to play, but the sad fact is, is that many children here do play on the street. The eighty children who come to the Center every day are given the opportunity to participate in various activities, however we do not have a good safe place for them to play by themselves. This is why we want to construct a playground. This new video is in Portuguese, but it slightly different from the English Version and the background music is the Cordas do Sol song ''Mnine d'rua ma mim.'' I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it. Mnine D’Rua Ma Mim~ Cordas do Sol

N tive uns tenpe na rua t’anda

K’uns mnine d’rua ma min t’anda

No anda ta preguta

Onde k’tinha proteson pa es tma

Uvide nigen ka da

Tenson nen ka bo fala

Es pensa k’es ka tava oia

Kes mnine d’rua fka ta txora

N tive uns tenpe na rua t’anda

K’uns mnine d’rua ma min t’anda

No anda ta pregunta

Onde k’tinha proteson pa es tma

Uvide nigen ka da

Tenson nen ka bo fala

Es pensa k’es ka tava oia

Kes mnine d’rua fka ta txora

Ai munde ai munde

Es e mnine d’ua ma es meste nos tude

Ai munde ai munde

Un kalker d’nos pudia ser mnine d’rua

Former Guantanamo prisoner arrives in Cape Verde (Asemana)

20 July 2010

The United States State Department announced Monday, July 19, that former Guantanamo prisoner Abd-al-Nisr Mohammed Khantumani has arrived in Cape Verde, and thanked Cape Verdean authorities for their willingness to accept the former inmate. In Cape Verde, the government has declined to comment on the case, alleging that it has nothing more to say about the issue.

Citing information from the Department of Defense, Portuguese news agency Lusa writes that Abd-al-Nisr Mohammed Khantumani’s transfer to Cape Verde was approved by all of the US federal agencies involved in the work group created by President Barack Obama to deal with former Guantanamo inmates whose home countries were deemed too dangerous for them to return to. The group is responsible for analyzing all of the individual cases from a perspective of security as the US government prepares to close its now infamous Guantanamo detention center....

One slightly bolder source told A Semana Online that the Syrian national is indeed in Cape Verde, but declined to reveal which city or island he had been taken to. “For security reasons, the government has nothing more to say on the issue. This former Guantanamo prisoner is going to live in Cape Verde under the same conditions as the ETA exiles,” said the source, ruling out the possibility that the individual may be housed in a prison establishment in the country.

US thanks Cape Verde and Algeria

A note from the US Department of Defense thanks “the governments of Algeria and Cape Verde for their willingness to support American efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention unit.”

To read more about the detainee http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/307-abd-al-nisr-mohammed-khantumani/documents/5/pages/342%20-

Morgan Freeman makes short stopover in Cape Verde21 July 2010American actor Morgan Freeman left Amílcar Cabral International Airport on the island of Sal this morning for Portugal after stopping to rest for several hours.Freeman landed in the early morning hours at Amílcar Cabral International Airport in his private jet for a brief rest. The actor arrived from the United States and is on his way to the Portuguese city of Viseu.Freeman checked in to a hotel in the town of Santa Maria for several hours. Before continuing on his journey, the actor granted an interview to Cape Verdean National Radio in which he highlighted the beauty of the island of Sal and said the hotel was pleasant and welcoming.

I’ve been alternating between teaching ‘‘Fun English’’ and doing Science experiments with the kids here at the Centro Social. Personally, I really do not care for my English class, I prefer to tutor English one on one. However, science experiments are almost always interesting and I love the way the kids faces light up when they see something they have never seen.

Due to popular demand, I have to split the kids into 3 different groups and do the experiments three different times. Usually this is a disaster because kids are peering into the window while others get angry that they aren’t in the first group (even though they will be the first group to go the next time). So there is always some yelling, shoving (not by me! Haha) and begging.

Our most recent experiment involved filling up a small water bottle ¼ full with vinegar. In a balloon, we added one generous spoon of baking soda. Next we put the balloon on top of the bottle and let the baking soda into the bottle. As the balloon quickly inflated (due to the acid-base reaction occurring which creates carbon dioxide), everyone (myself included) ran back as the balloon popped off the bottle, splashing all of us with the vinegar mixture.

Another interesting experiment that we did called the paperclip float. In a medium container of water drop a paperclip into the water. Everyone sees that it sinks to the bottom. Now take another dry paperclip and a piece of tissue paper. Put the tissue paper (slightly larger then the paper clip), into the water and put the paperclip on top of the paper. Slowly and carefully use a pencil to move the paper from under the paperclip, without touching the paperclip. If done correctly the paperclip floats. It is pretty cool and the reason has to do with the molecules of the water coming closer together.

This is a link for a youtube video which is promoting the national beer strela, but it also is a really nice video that has scenes from all over Cape Verde, but mostly Sao Vicente. If you have a little bit of time and want to get a little taste of Cape Verde check it out!

June 24th was the Festa de São João in Ribeira de Julião, a town in São Vicente. I work in the town of Ribeira de Julião so I had the day off which was really nice and allowed me to check out the festa which I have never been to.

The 24th of June is the feast of São João Baptista, aka John the Baptist, and he is the patron saint of the town Ribeira de Julião, as well as another town on the island of Santo Antão. So in order to honor him both of the towns throw a huge party.

Ribeira de Julião is transformed into a small little city, barracas (make shift restaurants) are set up along the main dirt road, the smoke from their grills permeates the air as you walk through with the constant beating of drums. Parades of drummers and people wearing giant boats walk through the crowd. I particularly liked the drummer wearing industrial ear muffs.

Small vendors sell juices, grouge (of course), and necklaces made of peanuts, popcorn and coffee beans. In the middle of the main street, people set up tables for gambling, a game where you put money on a number. The gambling appeared to be legal, but they did seem to pick up their tables every once in a while to move to another location, perhaps for more customers but I couldn’t help but think of the people in NYC selling bags on the street and just picking up all of their things and running from the police.

At the far end of the town there was a contest for the best coladeira dancers. The Coladeira is a famous dance usually danced just during this festa. It goes something like this: side step to the left twice, side step to the right twice, do a little spin and then do the cola (bump your partner with your pelvis) See picture below for a slightly better explanation.

One laid back Sunday, I was sitting at a restaurant having buzio (conk?) with a big group of Cape Verdeans and Cape Verdeans living in Europe. It was a very interesting group, lots of languages being spoke (Creole of course was the primary one), and very interesting conversation about everything and anything.

I always enjoy being in a group like this because it is really interesting to see how people interact and how growing up in different cultures affects you, but still having this unifying identity. Well, the plate of buzio was making its third round around the table and was getting cold. The woman next to me (who grew up in the Netherlands), took the plate and was about to put it on the floor to give to the cat that she had been sneaking pieces of bread to, when a debate broke out.

-‘‘You can’t put that plate on the group’’

-‘’Why are you feeding a cat’’-‘‘Well, at least put it in a napkin’’ etc.I just found this whole thing so funny because it is something I notice a lot, the different ways we (‘'foreigners’’) treat animals. After all, I am sure that there are many people who see the way we treat animals as crazy. Why would you let a cat eat off a plate? One of my cats used to sit at the table, well on the table, when we had dinner. Is that not crazy? How we see a situation such as this, very much depends on the way that we were raised and where we grew up.It has taken me a long time to come to terms with the way animals are often treated here, but I have also come to understand that it isn’t my place to judge. Dogs are for protection, they are not pets (although slowly that is changing). Cats, I have no idea what their function is… reproduce and beg for food?

If a dog doesn’t protect a home, aka a street dog, run in the street in gangs… fighting, relaxing, eating, and of course reproducing (very openly in the street)In the United States, dogs don't run free in the streets, unless of course someone's dog ran away but it is usually picked up by animal services. Since I feel that street dogs, and cats, are such a big part of my daily life.... seeing them everyday, sometimes avoiding a street because I know that street has mean dogs etc. So I have decided to take some pictures of some of the dogs I see. Hope you enjoy!

This week I am helping out with Jogos Infantis, which is a competition with all the kindergartens on the island. Every day 4 kindergartens play four different games to see which one will go to the Jogos Infanits Finals! My absolute favorite of the games is ''fishing'' where in a bucket of sand the kids fished colorful paper fish. These are some of the highlights of the week. (Which one is a square and which is a rectangle?? This was debated and debated.... through I think it is very clear.)

The SOS Playground Project now has a blog where you can follow the project and read more about the children who come to the center. The Blog is SOSPLAYGROUND2010.BLOGSPOT.COM

If you would like to donate to this project you can do so via paypal, using the link below!

Thank you!!

The first day I arrived in Mindelo, I wandered around the city trying to find where I work. After a failed attempt to talk to my new boss on the phone, I walked around the city in hopes of finding the SOS. Somehow I had managed to find an article on the internet which said that the SOS in Sao Vicente was located in Ribeira Julião. Fresh off the island of Santiago that meant nothing to me, so I asked the security guard at the Câmara how to get there. Confused to why I would want to venture outside of the city and unable to show me on the local map (since it wasn’t on the map) he told me that I could get there by taking the number 5 bus. After finding the bus stop I nervously got on, off to a zone that wasn’t even on the map! After about 20 minutes of driving through the back roads the bus driver pointed at a church and told me this is where I wanted to go. I did the old finger wag and said that I wasn’t with the church, once again ‘’Bu sabi onde ki o SOS fica? Sta em Riberia Juliao?’’ (about the equivalent of someone walking up to you in Manhattan and saying ‘’ Excuse me but do you all know where I could find the Empire State Building?’’) By some strike of luck, 2 adorable kids (Mila and Yuran) who also happened to be going to the SOS said they would show me. Three minutes later we got off the bus. Holding my hands they walked with me to the Administration building where I began my journey as a volunteer at the Centro Social SOS.

I don’t think I ever needed anyone so much as I did at the moment. The reassurance that a six and ten year old was able to give me is unbelievable.

That is just one of many stories I have of how a child at the SOS helped me, made me feel ok when sometimes things felt like they were anything but ok. Most of these kids who come to the center are from impoverished homes where they have real worries, where they don’t know if they are going to eat dinner today or tomorrow. They are the reason that I want to build this playground. Childhood is about play and fun and laughter, not about worrying when you are going to get your next meal. Please help me, give these kids a chance to have the joy that they deserve.

(This is a really terrible sketch, but this is a google image of the Center, and shows where the playground will be constructed)

Please contact me for more information at CathrynDuffy@gmail.com

If you can help finance this project or donate materials please let me know.

“City streets are unsatisfactory playgrounds for children… and, since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools…” President Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

The SOS Social Center in Ribeira Julião is frequented daily by about 80 children, ages 6 to 17. The Centro Social’s main projects are the Family Strengthening Program and the Prevention of Child Abandonment, and are currently working with 116 families on the island of São Vicente, benefiting 450 children. The SOS has a recreational field which is used mostly for soccer, yet there is no other area for children to interact and play. The Cape Verde educational system has the capacity to educate children and youth during two sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. As a result, these children and youth have half a day where they are not attending school. In poverty stricken areas where often children grow up in homes with no defined structure or parental figures, many of these children spend their free time playing in the street, where they are at risk of joining gangs, leaving their families and failing to complete school. The SOS Social Center of São Vicente has helped meet this need, by giving about 80 children and youth a safe place to study, play,receive counseling and receive a hot meal daily. The construction of a playground at the SOS Social Center would give the 450 beneficiaries of the island of São Vicente, including the 80 that attend the Center daily, and the surrounding communities of Ribeira Julião, Ribeira Craqinha and Chã de Marina, a safe place to play, develop and grow. Play has been seen to be such a vital aspect of a child’s development that the United Nations High Commission for the Human Rights has deemed it as a right of every child. Yet in a world with many challenging forces, many children are not given the same access to the right of play because of the ‘‘limited resources available to children living in poverty'' Play, specifically unstructured play, allows children to be creative and develop their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive and emotional strength. A playground is a space that encourages unstructured play, allowing children to overcome challenges, work in groups, negotiate and resolve conflicts, all which help their physical, cognitive and emotional development. Right now, I am (with help of two others) in the final stages of preparing a budget and a grant proposal to construct a playground at the Centro Social SOS. The proposed playground will be constructed in a 200 square meters area next to the recreational field. This playground will be constructed in Cape Verde (with the exception of a plastic slide which cannot be made here). The structure of the playground will be made by a carpenter (and a Peace Corps Volunteer), and it will be assembled by beneficiaries and locals. When constructed, it will be the only playground on the island of São Vicente to be made in Cape Verde. Therefore I feel that this project has the potential to be a catalyst for other similar projects on the island, and will provide jobs and income to the local community.

For more information about this project, and how you can help please e-mail me at CathrynDuffy@gmail.com

As I ''make years'' (fazer anos) this year, I think back to two years ago and the thought of spending two birthdays, and being two years older, away from home seeming like an eternity.

Now, two birthdays later and two years older, I realize how fast time flies.

''Ela semeia, monda, prepara a comida, vai buscar a

água, trata da família, do

bebé, do marido. Antes era totalmente submissa.

Hoje ela tem o directo à

palavra. E quer igualdade: no trabalho, no

casamento. Que direitos para os

filhos. Por isso, quer instruir-se para

poder reclamar tudo o que lhe é devido e

gozar como gosta o doce viver das

ilhas. É assim a mulher em Cabo

Verde.''

The nights leading up to Carnaval are filled with the sounds of drums. Groups practice for weeks before the big parade and the final touches are put on costumes and floats.

On Saturday there are a few random parades in the street and at night there were two main parties. I went to the costume party at one of the hotels, dressed as Barbie. This year there was an amazing amount of creativity in the costumes. Just to name a few, there were police officers, Santa clause, and dresses made out of newspaper and straws. The party and dancing continued until 5 am, when the crowds dispersed and people headed to bed.

Monday night, the group Samba danced through the streets in beautiful bright feathered costumes. As they danced, they sang their groups song which this year was:

‘‘ Oo baby sqah sqah sqah sqah….. O baby bem bem bem bem bem...’’

The streets were lined with Mindelo-ings and if you didn't get there early it was difficult to see, especially for someone short like me. I got a brief but good view on my friend's shoulders and I was able to squeeze my way through to get a peek at the beautiful costumes.

Tuesday, the parades continue. This is the main parade where there are about 5 groups, from different zones. Each of these groups has a theme which their costumes are supposed to represent and they are accompanied by their own band (drum group). After dancing on the main street: Rua Lisboa where they are judged, they continue on their way through the rest of the city. Every year a king and queen are crowned and the winning group is given a money prize and bragging rights. This year the winning group was Flores do Mindelo, who also won last year.

On Friday before Carnaval we also had a party at the SOS where the kids made costumes out of newspapers, magazines and plastic bags. After painting their faces, there was dancing and one of the local drum groups came and played traditional Carnaval music.

''Blue moon,You saw me standing alone,Without a dream in my heart,Without a love of my own.''-Elvis Presley

That is the one song that comes to my mind when I hear the term Blue Moon. But what exactly is a blue moon? You hear the term ''once in a blue moon'' a good bit, but what does it mean? Well, after finding out that there would be a ''Blue Moon'' this New Years Eve I decided to look it up. A blue moon actually has nothing to do with the moon being blue but instead it is a rare event where there are two full moons in one month, something that happens about every couple of years, but occuring on a new years eve is rare (last time it happened was in 1990).

So enjoy this New Years Eve, enjoy this once in a blue moon event and have a evening full of good food, good friends, and lots of joy. Happy 2010!

There is a famous song from the 80’s by Band Aid called ‘‘Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?’’ The lyrics are as follows

‘‘And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime. The greatest gift they'll get this year is life. Where nothing ever grows. No rain nor rivers flows. Do they know it's Christmastime at all?’’

Well, the song it right: it didn’t snow this year, but does that mean that Christians across the world, including in Africa, don’t know that it is Christmas?

Well, in Cape Verde it is very apparent that it is Christmas time. In Mindelo, the Municipal Market has two large speakers that have been blasting Christmas music for weeks, the most popular being ‘‘Boas Festas.’’ The streets too are lit with beautiful lights. It is really such a nice time to be here and I can only think of how lucky I am to be here.

As Christmas Eve rolled around and people crowded the streets making last minute shopping at one of the Chinese Lojas or Botiques for a gift, I anxiously waited for the gas company to deliver my gas so I could make a pecan pie. With a pecan pie in hand (which was delicious!), I went over to the house of my friend’s family and had a wonderful Christmas dinner. Traditional Christmas food is certainly not what you would have in the states but included a turkey, this delicious dish called bachcalhau (which is shredded fish and potatoes) and other little delicious food. It was really nice spending Christmas with a Cape Verdean family and getting a real taste of the holiday. Last year I was in such a different mind set and I think I was in need of spending it with my sister and other Americans. But this year it was completely different and I was so happy to be welcomed into their home for this special holiday.

At midnight presents are opened and more food is eaten. Though my package from my family has no arrived yet, I think I’ve really come to realize (perhaps it is from getting older and wiser J ) that in the end those are just material things. What really matters is spending time with the people that you care about. Besides I feel that my real Christmas present is coming in 2 weeks when my parents come visit!!!

O.K. So presents are opened, hugs and kisses exchanged… what is next? Well a night of dancing of course! Although I would defiantly consider myself a dancer with two left feet, I have really come to enjoy dancing here. Well I rolled in just in time to call my parents who were watching midnight mass, but decided it was best to call them over breakfast the next morning.

Christmas Day I went around with two of my friends wishing friends and family members a Merry Christmas and eating more food (with a few shots of grouge along the way). It was really such a nice way to spend Christmas. I thought that I really wanted to spend Christmas on the beach, but going around and saying hello and meeting new people was wonderful.

Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I do miss home especially at this time, thinking of all the nice things about Christmas in New York. While there is no snow on the ground and there isn’t a huge tree with lights, the beautiful lit streets, the smiles on the faces of people you meet on the street and of course the blaring music from the Market helped bring the spirit of Christmas. Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year

Yesterday, the São Pedro Airport of São Vicente officially became an International Airport. To celebrate, TACV landed a 757 filled with officials including the U.S. Ambassador. The plane took off a short time later to go to Portugal.

Congratulations to São Vicente, I hope that this new status will allow for the country to benefit from tourism and also allow for the many emigrants living in the U.S and Europe to easily come back and visit their family.

(Passing time at the resort near the airport, and doing research for my playground project, because the plane was 3 hours late! On time for Island Time)

While sitting around talking to a woman who works at a bar (where else would I have this conversation!) she was telling me that she had a cold (gripe), so I suggested she have some grouge… after all it is the cure to everything! She had a good laugh and then told me all of the excuses people say to justify drinking grouge which can be described as tasting a little bit like rubbing alcohol. ‘‘I have a cold, give me a grouge!’’‘‘It’s hot, give me a grouge!’’ ‘‘It’s cold, give me a grouge!’’ ‘‘I just had a baby, give me a grouge!’’ It was really interesting hanging out with these ladies who run the bar. All day from 8am to 7 at night they deal with drunks and yet every man (because I think I am one of the few women that has ever walked in there… trust me heads turned, jaws dropped), knows that he would never raise a hand at either of those ladies because if she didn’t kick his butt, someone else in the bar sure would. So what is grouge? Well grouge is made from sugar cane, so is a type of rum but is not quite like the rum you think of. It is still made the same way it has been made forever using a trapiche which grinds the sugar cane and then using a wood fire is turned into a liquid. After that I really have no idea what they do but somewhere along the process it becomes grouge which is bottled up in old wine bottles and plastic bottles (way to go recycling). Other then the obvious problems caused by grouge, one of the biggest problems is that everyone wants to make their own. Now why would this be a problem? Well, on the island of Santo Antão the biggest producer of grouge, most of the land is designated for sugar cane. It seems crazy on the only island that is green most of the year, because of having more rainfall, that agriculture such as fruits and vegetables aren't being made because the land is being used to grow sugar cane. The sugar cane isn't even made into sugar or molasses, other products that could be profitable... Cape Verde imports something ridiculous like 95% of its' food, but there is land to be cultivated and can be used to help feed the country. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (CV is the only African nation chosen!) has been working on the island to help set up a better system of delivering food (called the cold chain, which helps limit the amount of food that is damaged or inedible during the process of moving food from farm to market).

Professor Richard T. Antoun, a retired professor of Anthropology, was killed in his office in Science I at Binghamton University last week by a graduate student. Although he was retired, Professor Antoun continued to work at the university advising students.

After Virginia Tech, I think we really began to realize that anything could happen on a college campus but it is still hard to believe that someone would go into a school and kill someone.

Earlier this year, there was a shooting in downtown Binghamton where 13 people were killed, though no university students, and it is unbelievable to once again here about another senseless murder just a few short months later...

My thoughts are with the family of Professor Antoun and the faculty and students at Binghamton University.

UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS.1 Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.2.

In the weeks leading up to December 1st, I have been doing a fair amount of research on HIV/AIDS and the facts are astonishing. It affects so many people across the world and while there is not cure, there are medicines and HIV/AIDS is preventable. I think that education on ways to prevent contracting the disease is extremely important and should be emphasized across the world. Because AIDS is so prevalent and is really an epidemic in Africa, that is what most people associate with the disease. However, there are currently more than a million people living with HIV and AIDS in the U.S. and around a fifth of those people are unaware of their infection. While the number of people in Africa infected certainly trumps the number in the U.S, it is extremely important to continue to have sex education classes so that people understand more about AIDS.

The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa can linked to a number of factors including gender inequality. In many parts of Africa, women are not equal to men and therefore are not educated, making them more vulnerable to the disease. While the rate of AIDS in Cape Verde is extremely low, 0.8%, in comparison to main land Africa, these gender issues are still prevalent here. In the city, many women work and have more education then people living in the fora (country side). Yet despite this, women who choose to protect themselves from STD's and pregnancy (by carrying their own condoms) are seen as ''easy''. In the fora, it is completely different and I don't think that women would even consider speaking up and telling her partner that they need to use a condom. As long as women are not given a say and men continue to not use protection, the rate of teen pregnancy (an issue that I feel is extremely important to be address) and AIDS will continue to increase. Is there a way to educate men to always use condoms? Why is having a baby not scary to a man, but the thought of that to a woman (or maybe it is just me, right now) is extremely scary? Having a baby is a manly thing, having sex with as many women is a manly thing too.... now how can we convince men that having sex with a condom is a very manly thing? That having lots of children with different mothers isn't manly. Ahh. I guess no one has figured out the answer yet.

Activites at the SOS today include HIV Jeopary, hosted by your's truely, and it was a hit! Definatly always amussing when I translate things into Portuguese, kind of say it in Portuguese and then try to explain what the slide says in Creole... but at least or hopefully shall I say, the kids learned a little more about HIV/AIDS (VIH/SIDA here) and even though my heart would sink thinking of any of these children having sex... when they do (ideally when they are old and responsible) they will use protection.

On a side note... the other day I was at a local organization that was selling condoms and they had different flavored condoms including: strawberry, grape, natural and mixed salad. Haha, I am not sure whose genous idea it was to have a mixed salad tasting condom, but I am curious if it is a big seller. Oo man. Well hope everyone is wearing their red ribbon today to help promote awarness and help combat this terrible illness.

I'm not sure if any of you remember the story about the volunteer on Santo Antão who dislocated both of her knees.

Well just to recap the ridiculous event, Megan was on the beach walking her dog when another dog, chasing after the one she was with, ran through her legs and dislocated her knees. From there she laid on the beach screaming for help, when this French man comes and picks her up, brings her to his house and feeds her and the next morning brings her to São Vicente (the only way to get off Santo Antão is by boat). Well after 2 days in the hospital here and some difficulty getting her to Santiago she finally made it to the Peace Corps office. One thing I must achknowledge is the absolulty amazing attitude that she had through this whole experience. Not only was she not complaining she was cracking jokes, with everyone from the doctors in the hospital to the Peace Corps staff. From there she went to Washington DC (via Lisbon and Newark NJ) where she had surgery and started physical therapy. From the day she arrived in DC she had 45 days to recover (though no one was clear what exactly that meant). After about 2 weeks in the hospital (and a crazy bill from what I have heard), she went back to her house in Pennsylvania to recover. 45 days later... she had a final doctor's appointment and she needs at least four more months of physical therapy and the doctor said that she may not be able to run on hard flat surfaces again. So obviously she is not coming back which I am extremely bummed about. Our group of volunteers hasn't had anyone ET (early terminate) or be Medically Separated (except for 2 during training), so a year into this whole shindig it is really disappointing to have someone leave, especially someone that I always had a good time with. After investing a year of your life and energy it is hard to have to leave and have no choice in the matter. For someone who had such a bright outlook on this crappy situation, it really is unfortunate that she couldn't come back.Well, I hope that she able to recover fully and that she is able to go to graduate school and pursue her dreams. Miss ya buddy. A picture of Megan and I in Paul

According to one of the local papers:

São Pedro Airport to begin receiving international flights in December

Cape Verde’s Civil Aeronautics Agency (AAC) will carry out an audit of São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente. The audit should be concluded by December 5 and, if everything is determined to be in compliance with AAC standards, the airport will receive its international certificate and will be able to welcome international flights before the end of the year. The information was confirmed to A Semana Online by Mário Paixão, administrative council president of Airport and Air Security company ASA.

According to Mário Paixão, the audit will begin on November 30 and continue until December 5. The audit includes the final tests prior to São Pedro Airport’s certification.

Once this phase is concluded, according to Paixão, the AAC will issue a certificate authorizing the airport to receive international flights, something which should occur before the end of December.

The news has been anxiously awaited on the island of São Vicente, particularly by the local business class, which believes that the international airport could inject new dynamism in the sector.

The airport was to have opened for international air traffic in August, but delays and technical problems in the runway calibration aircrafts dashed initial hopes for a mid-year opening. The delays also forced TAP Air Portugal to push back the date of the first direct international flights to Mindelo announced for the summer.

The new terminal at São Pedro Airport totals some 11,000 square meters distributed among three floors, and has a capacity to receive up to 500 passengers per hour. On the ground floor are the passenger terminal, the departure and arrival lounges, check-in desks, baggage claim, ticket sales offices, stores and a bar and restaurant.

The second floor includes the cargo section and baggage terminal, and the third floor houses airport administration offices and airline operational services.''

The opening up of an international airport in São Vicente would be awesome. It would allow turists to explore other islands and would therefore help the economy here. Cape Verde currently has 2 international airports, one on the island of Sal and the other on Santiago. While of course I am bias, I think that São Vicente has a lot to offer for turists. First, the town is beautiful and has a lot of character with it's beautiful painted buildings. (Alissa's photo of one of the main street Rua de Praia).Well I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens with the airport. I think that it would really open a lot of great opprotunities for not only São Vicente but also for Santo Antão, the island next to ours. I will keep you all updated because maybe this will also convince some of your Americans to visit this beautiful country!!!

Prime Minister in recovery from classic dengue 12 November 2009

Prime Minister José Maria Neves is expected to return to work on Monday, November 16, after a week of rest, during which he has been recovering from a case of classic (non-hemorrhagic) dengue, according to cabinet spokeswoman Janira Hopffer Almada.

The illness that forced José Maria Neves to take time off from his job as the head of the Cape Verdean government has been confirmed as dengue by the Minister of the Presidency and Parliamentary Affairs, Janira Hopffer Almada, who spoke prior to the press conference on the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers, Cape Verde’s cabinet.

Almada explained that the Prime Minister is in “stable condition, with visible improvement and with out any reason for alarm. In other words, there has been no reduction in his blood platelets.”

Neves “remains at home, resting, in accordance with medical advice and under observation, but is expected to return to work on Monday,” she added.

From the newspaper asemana: (http://asemana.sapo.cv/spip.php?article46607&var_recherche=dengue&ak=1)

Number of suspected cases of dengue in Cape Verde reaches 3,367 , 27 October 2009

As of Sunday, October 25, the Ministry of Health had registered 3,367 suspected cases of dengue in Praia, Maio, São Filipe, Mosteiros and Brava. The Health Ministry is so far unable to say how many of these cases are confirmed as being dengue.

Two patients suspected of having dengue hemorragic fever were hospitalized yesterday in Praia, where they are being treated. Praia’s Agostinho Neto Hospital has taken samples of biological products from the patients for confirmation.

"Once the etiology is confirmed and the clinical profile defined, it will possible to provide information regarding the development of the dengue epidemic in Cape Verde," reads a Health Ministry communiqué.

The government has set into motion the measures recommended in cases of epidemics, including the creation of a national commission charged with combating the mosquito that transmits the disease, the preparation of health facilities to attend to patients, the mobilization of municipal chambers in order to improve sewage, and an awareness-raising campaign to inform the population about the care that must be taken.

Two technical missions from the World Health Organization are also in Cape Verde at the moment to provide support to the Ministry of Health in its fight against the H1N1 virus and the dengue epidemic.

The northern islands so far have not been affected by Dengue. I think since Dengue is in many ways similar to malaria (which we don't have up here), we haven't been affected. But everywhere there is talk of Dengue, especially since there have been 4 deaths. This friday they are spraying down the SOS, with what who knows but I guess it will some how prevent against Dengue? I really have no idea.

Anyway, I thought it has been pretty crazy that there has been all of this Dengue Fever talk. I think this may be the first time that there has ever been a case here, so naturally it is the talk of the town. Since we had record rain falls this year (a dam on the island of Santiago is at full capacity... amazing).

So this weekend was Halloween, aka Noite de Bruxas (Night of Witches). Unlike in the U.S. where kids dress up in cute outfits and grown ups find it as an excuse to wear well very little, here people wear all black. Luckily I had gotten an adorable black dress in Brazil (yes mom the one that you thought maybe you should bring back to America because it might not be appropriate here), so I went out with a couple of friends and some volunteers and we went out and passeia-d (walk around, strut your stuff and observe other people, a favorite pastime). After some listening to some good Morna (Cape Verdean music that is very sad but nice to listen to), we headed to the disco to listen to crappy music and danced the night away…

On Fridays mornings I work on the street with two other social workers doing activities with street kids (kids that either live on the street or sometimes sleep at home but spend the day on the street and hence don’t go to school). So I decided to make Halloween bracelets with them (my dad had sent me lots of charms) and then we gave them candy in the trick or treat bags I also received. The bags were shaped like bats and they had some fun putting them on their hands like puppets. It ended out working really well and they were all pretty well behaved and of course it was a good cultural exchange explaining what we do in the US for the holiday.

At the center on Thursday we also did some Halloween activities including making witches out of toilet paper rolls (it is truly amazing all of the things that you can do with them!). I also gave the kids and my coworkers a bracelet. Here are some pictures of the celebrations! Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Time to take down the decorations and put up Thanksgiving ones! (including life-size Native Americans and Pilgrims! haha I will post pictures of those soon!)

I spent the last week in Praia, the capital, on the island of Santiago. I had my mid-service medical and am as healthy as can be (no parasites woo hoo). Peace Corps organized for all 2nd year SED volunteers to come in for their medical at the same time, which was nice because I got to see all of them, most I haven’t seen since March.

Since Praia has lots of good restaurants, I ate a lot. One of my favourites has crepes and capirinhas. They also have this delicious garlic sauce that you can slather on your crepe and the delicious capirinha washes it all down. On our first outing there, the city lost electricity so we ate in the dark (which anything in the dark in Praia scares me) until the put on their generator. The second time we topped off the meal with a delicious chocolate cake (the best one I’ve had here, because most chocolate cakes that I’ve tasted here aren’t very good) to celebrate another volunteers birthday.

The sucipera, which is a giant market, has lots of cheap and delicious food (150$00 for a giant plate). I went with my friend Andrew to try Nigerian food which you eat with your hands. In one bowl there is this thing called fufu, which is basically dough. So with your right hand (left hand has one purpose!) you take a piece of fufu, make it into a scoop and dip it into this spicy sauce that has chicken and palm oil in it. This is the kind of meal that stays in your stomach and you can’t eat all that much of it, but was very good and satisfying. I never thought I would say this, but I thing that it would be better on rice. I am not a huge fan of rice or beans (unless they are in a burrito), but rice does have its place in this case.

Santiago has the most volunteers (30 out of about 50), so there are lots of places to visit on the island. I went with two other volunteers to visit some of the new volunteers and see two sites that I haven’t seen. We nick named our mission ‘‘operation volunteer smile’’ since some of them are having some trouble adjusting, so we figured we could cheer them up. Porto Madeira is a beautiful site that is an artesian community in the mountains. We went completely unaware of how far the town was from the road (about an hour uphill), but luckily got a ride from the base (ironically right after I said ‘‘wouldn’t it be nice to get a boleá?’’). Had it not been for the ride I probably would have turned around after 10 minutes because it was extraordinarily hot, so we lucked out because it was defiantly a worthwhile visit. Almost all of the houses in Porto Madeira are painted and there is artwork everywhere, not to mention the beautiful mountains that surround the town (which are currently green).

I also got a chance to visit my host family with one of the volunteers that was in my town during training, and her parents. I always like visiting my host family and the town because it is just such a different world than my life in Mindelo. One never leaves your host family hungry or empty handed (I got two giant squash, which I pawned off on a peace corps staff member because I had too many things to bring on the plane already).

While in Praia I found out that one of the volunteers from Santo Antão dislocated both of her knees (and possibly fractured one). She was walking along of beach with a dog and another dog trying to chase the one she was walking, ran through her legs which resulted in her dislocated a knee and falling and dislocating/fracturing the other. She was alone on the beach and she was screaming for help because she couldn’t move and a French man living here brought her to the health center (there is no hospital on the island), and they tried to pop her knees back in place. The next day (this family took care of her during the night and retrieved some clothes and her passport from her house), they help her get on the boat and to the hospital in São Vicente where she stayed for 3 days. The way the hospitals here work is you have to bring your own pillow and food, so luckily there are volunteers here that were able to help her out and bring her things in the hospital, but it was obviously not an ideal situation. But being Megan, she was flirting away with doctors and doing her thing, making the best of the situation. After one failed attempt to get on the plane (they needed a special machine to load her on), she took a plane to Sal and then finally arrived in Praia on Friday night where she was greeted by a ton of people in the Medical Unit at the Peace Corps office. I luckily got to hang out with her and help her out for the day and a half that she was in Praia. Late Saturday night she was picked up in an ambulance to be taken to Washington DC (from Lisbon to Newark and then a four hour ambulance ride). I know that she is going to be great medical care in the states but it was really sad to see someone I would consider a good friend leave, especially in an ambulance. The way Peace Corps deals with situations like these is they give a volunteer 45 days to get better (what better means we aren’t quite sure, walking?) other wise they are medically separated and can’t come back. Megan has had an unbelievably positive attitude about the whole situation (when you ask how she is doing she gives a quick blurb but than immediately wants to know how you are doing). If her attitude gets her through this she will be back in no time, so I hope she has a speedy recovery and can get back here in time for Thanksgiving. Get better soon, I miss you and your silliness Megan. (Look at this stunning photo of her in the outfit we put her in to go to America)

And the flies are driving me crazy!

Until last summer I don’t think I had ever eaten a mango. I’ve had mango chutney or mango in some other form, but I never ate an actual mango. That all changed when I arrived here in the height of mango season. The mangos here are slightly different than the ones you find in the states. They are small, about the size of an apple, and they have a very thin skin.

My first mango experience went something like this: Leah’s host mom puts a giant plate of mangos on the table, we all look at each other, look at her host mom (she smiles), look at Arlindo (our language instructor who is already halfway through his mango), grab a mango and take a bite. With a look of disgust on my face, because the skin is bitter, I cautiously swallow and look up to see Andrew and Leah happily enjoying their mangos. Now I like bitter things, preferably if they are mixed with high-fructose corn syrup (a.k.a. delicious sour patch kids), but bitter mango skin… yuck. After some instruction I learned that you can take the skin off the mango and spit it out (completely acceptable table manners, at least in this case), and that you can happily eat the delicious fruit. Now as you continue to pull back more of the skin and are munching away, with mango juice dripping down your face, you use your other hand to wipe your mouth while simultaneously swatting flies that are attached to the sweet smell. You can only laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. So as the four of us sat there, swatting flies, wiping our faces and trying to ignore the fact that the mango ‘‘meat’’ had lodged its’ way into our teeth and we now had hairy teeth (kind of like a whale that has those bristles instead of teeth), we had managed to eat about 30 mangos.

My first mango experience was almost my last. As we grabbed toothpicks (which you must use while covering your mouth… something I still don’t understand), and picked away, I was in a borderline mango comatose. As I like to say when I have had too much of something, I was mango-ed out. For the rest of the summer I had a mango here or there, mixed in a fruit salad or I would throw one in my bag waiting for a moment where I wasn’t being swarmed by flies to eat it. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I had my first mango of the season. I was sitting with a bunch of co-workers where we were planning an event. We were thankfully in a building that had a/c so there weren’t any flies. First mango in, I’m thinking ‘‘why did I stop eating these, they are delicious’’. Second one in, the mango stuck in my teeth begins to annoy me but it has been a whole year since I’ve had one, what’s one more, besides my co-workers also have mango all over their face. Third one in…ugh, I was defiantly mango-ed out.

The summer in Mindelo has been extraordinarily hot. On top of the heat is the insane humidity. Thankfully it has rained a decent amount, but a lot of the time after the rain it gets even more humid. With the rain and the heat, also inevitably comes the flies. Oo the flies! They are brutal. At work they are the worst, where they literally swarm all over you, trying to get into your mouth and into anything you want to put in your mouth. Some days the kids entertain themselves by sitting with their shoe and attempting to kill as many as possible. The cleaning lady sprays this terrible chemical fly killer (which I am positive has to have a negative effect of the human lungs), that instantly kills them and then she sweeps up large quantities of them. At home they aren’t as bad, thank God, but they still always manage some way to get into your food/drink and make you decide if you will scoop the fly out and drink the soda anyway… repulsive right?

When I was riding home from work on the bus yesterday, the main street was flooded and the smell of rain was in the air. It hadn’t rained at work (a twenty minute bus ride out of the city) and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that is did rain because as we got closer to my house the streets were dry. However, two adorable neighbors were sweeping off rain water from their stairwell and when asked they said yes… but with little information on how much it rained. I’ve got to admit, I was pretty bummed that I missed the rain. After all, Cape Verde gets very little rain and sometimes it doesn’t get any at all. Last summer on the island of Santiago (where I lived during training) there was quite a bit of rain, and apparently more than had been seen in years. In the states no one really likes getting up to rain to get into your car or walk up to the train to go to work. But here, rain is a necessity that people don’t take for granted. I was thinking about that the other day, how in the U.S. water is taken for granted way too often. There have been summers in the states where on the news they announce that you can’t wash your car or water your grass because the water in the reservoir is low and people still continue to wash their cars. It is just unbelievable how much water is taken for granted.

On the first day it rained in Santiago, my host family ran out into the fields and planted seeds. I remember that day so distinctly. It was one of my first days and it started drizzling when we were in the middle of our language lesson. So we made our ways back to our respective houses… and than it started down pouring. My host family made their way out into the rain and started planting. Although I had to stay inside the house, I realized that I would not have a chance to play in the rain after they yelled at me for stepping outside into the rain to enjoy a break from the heat, because they were afraid I would get a cold). So instead I watched from the doorway as Marie Julia, Sondri, Quinu and Grasi laughed and laughed as they got progressively wetter and wetter as they continued planting.

While I came home disappointed because I didn’t get to enjoy the rain, I did get to sweep off all the water that came on to my balcony, and of course mop up the water that came into my house (although it apparently only rained for about 5 minutes-- down poured). And to my surprise (and delight) about two hours after coming home, it started raining again. So naturally, I ran downstairs like a kid of Christmas morning and played in the street with the other neighborhood kids, enjoying the beautiful, wonderful, and amazing rain.

As you can see from my previous blog, I had a wonderful time in Brazil. My flight back to Brazil was very uneventful; I got to the airport with a ton of time to kill (because I was afraid of missing my plane as my parents had done the day before). I leisurely walked around, had my last fountain soda and waited…and waited. Surprisingly the plane was only a half hour late, and through the glass I got to see a fellow PCV. I would have loved to grab dinner with him but I had already managed to make it through customs (or whatever the equivalent is for leaving the country, funny enough the same guy that stamped my passport coming in, stamped me out, so we chatted for a few minutes). Plus I figured that since it took me two hours to get through getting into the country, there was no way that time wise it would have been feasible, but it was nice to briefly see him.

Passport control in Cape Verde was easy and I wooed the officer with my kreolu (finally having a chance to speak in a language that I feel more or less comfortable in was nice). My bags miraculously came out (after being on half a dozen flights you start to doubt that your luggage will make it). Then there was customs… to declare or not declare. This part always confuses me. Naturally one is drawn to nothing to declare, after all it is a welcoming green sign. Declaring items would mean walking under the danger red sign. Any who, so I stared at the sign for a minute and I was directed toward a line and then my bags were opened and meticulously searched. I didn’t bring back anything illegal and I wasn’t planning on selling anything that I had so I wasn’t worried, but there is still something nerve-racking about someone going through your bags. I was also extremely worried that they would take away the cheese that I had brought back (I even had a small plan in my head to sit down and eat all of it if they told me I couldn’t bring it in, that is how bad I miss blue cheese!). Pwew, they didn’t take my cheese away and I started putting all of my things back in my bags and I start wheeling out of the area when one of the woman workers comes over to me and tells me to wait. At this point, I had been waiting to get into the country for 45 minutes (40 more than I had told my friend who was picking me up) so I was a bit annoyed. She told me to leave my bags and to come with her. I’m thinking crap, ‘’what did I do?’’. Well that is exactly what they wanted to know. She walks with me over to the bathroom and explains that I have to do a drug test. I give her a look of ‘’this is ridiculous, this can’t possibly be legal’’. I go along with the drug test anyway, after all I have to go to the bathroom anyway, why no kill two birds with one stone?, plus I am not in the least bit worried about passing this thing (the poppy seed bagel that my parents graciously brought didn’t even cross my mind).

So she gives me the test and as we wait for this thing to have one line or two, I see it in her eyes… she thinks she got me. Ooo but wait, only one line therefore confirming that I am not on drugs, nor did I take drugs in Brazil, Booo Yahhh. O the disappointment in her eyes, heart wrenching. So I suppose the moral of the story is ‘Don’t do drugs kids, drugs are bad!’

So I made it back into the country, drug test and all. I talked to Peace Corps about it and apparently it is legal, though I don’t know how. But I also don’t know what they would do to someone who had taken drugs, check their bags? Not let them into the country? Who knows.

I waited around the whole day for my flight which was supposed to leave at 10 but didn’t leave until 1230 (I don’t know why I give my hopes up on the planes leaving on time, I mean it’s not like it’s JFK where there are a million planes coming it… such is life on an island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean). Now I am back to work and this weekend is a big music festival on the other side of the island.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I flew from Praia to Fortaleza and after finally making it through passport control (I didn’t realize that when you get off the plane you are supposed to sprint to be the first on line, other wise you wait two hours like I did), I arrived at my hotel at 3 am. At that point I had been traveling for quite a long time (the flight from Praia to Fortaleza is only 4 hours! But I also got to Praia the day before) so when I got to the room and tried to turn on the lights and had trouble, I assumed that it was just because I was tired. So I went back down to the lobby to explain in broken Portuguese that I think there might be something wrong with me because I can’t figure out how to turn the light on (clearly something that should not be a difficult task). Luckily the guard was very nice and came up to the room to show me how to turn it on, by placing the room key in the slot right above the light switch (this prevents people from leaving the a.c on all day because you have to take your key to leave the room and to turn off all the lights.) After a not so bad but not so great night sleep I woke up to eat a feast. The hotels in Brazil must pride themselves on their ability to make insane amounts of delicious food. After stuffing myself into a food coma, I laid down in my nice cooled a.c. room and watched CNN and some entertainment television. Before heading to the airport I took a short stroll around the hotel and realized it was too hot to not enjoy the wonderful invention of the air-conditioner. My flight to Rio de Janeiro was pretty uneventful as I slept through the whole thing. In order to avoid the outrageous price of a taxi I opted to take a bus to the hotel where my parents were staying. I knew that there weren’t any seats on the bus when I boarded, but I didn’t realize how far the hotel was (and that it was rush hour) nor did I realize that no one would get off the bus until I did. Through the bus wasn’t as bad as it could have been because I met a nice guy who gave me some advice about Rio and helped me get to my hotel. My reunion with my parents was awesome. I had gotten off the bus with this guy and we were walking down the block (while my parents are wandering around looking for me, because I was about an hour later than I said I was going to be). So in the middle of the block we found each other both surprised but very happy. Here are some pictures and explanations of the places that we visited Fortaleza

Salvador

Salvador is one of the oldest cities in Brazil and over ‘’80% of the population of metropolitan region of Salvador has black African ancestry. The African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it the center of Afro-Brazilian culture.’’ Salvador is most known for Capoeirawhich is a mix of dance and martial arts, one of the many things that Cape Verde has adopted from Brazil. Salvador had many (trust me) churches. One of the most beautiful was São Francisco which was made in the 1600’s and is made with gold leaf, the amount gold simply leaves you speechless.

One night on our way back to our quite neighborhood hotel in the historic district, we were dumbfounded when we saw that there was a music fest on the steps of the church (literally ten feet away from our hotel). They were playing carnival music with samba and it was nice, people were dancing in the street and having a great time. We happily listened to the music in our room.

While in Salvador we also had the opportunity to visit an Aldeia Infantis SOS (were I work in C.V). It was a very nice experience to see how another SOS operates.

The Pantanal The Pantanal is located in eastern Brazil and is a tropical wetland. It is incredibly beautiful area with lots of wildlife, mostly birds. Although I am by no means a bird watcher, we had a great guide who was very interesting and made it as painless as possibly (also the birds basically just came to you so it wasn’t like sitting on a tree stump all day waiting to see something, there were literally birds every where you turned). There we also a good number of animals including monkeys, Cayman and capybara (the largest rodent in the world that looks like a guinea pig and rolls around in excitement when birds land on it).

Rio!

Rio was beautiful and much safer than I had expected. From what I heard of Rio I was expecting it to be extraordinarily dangerous (with civilians walking around with machine guns…in retrospect this idea was ridiculous). But Rio really surprised me and I actually really liked it. We went to two of the famous mountains there (Cristo Redentor and Pão de Açúcar) and of course we did a little shopping! We also stayed at a hotel on the famous beach, Copacabana which has a notorious wave tiled sidewalk.

Brazil was amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone. Although my Portuguese is anything but perfect, it was better than I had expected and I was very happy for an opportunity to test my knowledge (especially because I taught myself!!). I ate lots of amazing food, including sushi (one of the best nights was a sushi/Mexican feast!! Who knew that two of my favorite types of food would also be delicious together?!) And of course the best part of the trip other than the location was finally getting to see and hang out with my parents. A year is the longest I have spent without seeing my parents, and it was tougher than I could have anticipated. However, getting to spend two weeks of really good quality time together was wonderful and I feel very blessed that I had that opportunity (so thanks mom and dad!)

One year ago today I was sitting in Boston’s Logan airport with 28 other Americans waiting for my first TACV flight to Praia, Cape Verde. I was unbelievably nervous and really had no idea what to expect from this amazing adventure that I was about to embark upon. My first couple of days in Praia are a complete blur, I was in a strange place, it was hot, there were mosquitoes and I was having weird Malaria pill dreams.

Two days after being in Praia and getting my first taste of Cape Verde, I was loading my stuff on to a truck and getting in my first Hyace. It was drizzling as we drove about an hour north into the mountains. When we arrived at our new home (the local technical school) we had a group of 30 woman singing and dancing welcoming us… these people were about to become our ‘‘moms’’ for the next 9 weeks. I still get the chills thinking about that first night. It was both a crazy and surreal experience getting to meet my host mom Marie Julia, who would give me the basic tools I need to live on my own. After having a small festa at the school and trying new foods which Marie Julia force feed me, we loaded back into cars and with the two other people in my group and headed to our wonderful down of Ruben Manuel. I remember being so preoccupied and kept asking Leah, Andrew and my language instructor Arlindo ‘‘wait how do you say nice to meet you????’’, because I was anxious to make a good impression. Of course ‘‘prazer’’, something that comes so naturally now was not even close to what I said… I think something along to lines of ‘ahh ja ek ummm praz?’’ came out, which was naturally greeted by laughter. It was not the last time I would be laughed at (and people

still laugh) but I learned that laughter is the only way that I have been able to make it. The first night at my host families’ house was also a complete blur with everyone from the neighbourhood coming over and meeting this strange looking blonde girl who Marie Julia was calling her daughter. That feeling of being excited yet scared (so excited that you feel sick to your stomach) is something I will never forget, just like I will never forget the amazing gift (such as language and explaining cultural norms) that my host family has given me.

Today, exactly one year later, people sometimes still laugh at my Creole, give me a funny look when I walk around but others have befriended me, shown me the right way to do things and have welcomed me with open arms into this beautiful (though hot) country.

So for my one year anniversary I decided to write a small list (but not quite complete) of things that I love about Cape Verde.

-I’m living on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s almost always a perfect beach day

-Lines? What lines

o say you are waiting to pay at the market and decide that you need something else, just put your basket down and it saves your place while you continue to shop

-Why carry a suitcase when you can put it on your head?

-If your hands are dirty you can shake someone’s forearm to greet them

-Instead of calling someone over by using your finger you do a motion that is kind of like grabbing the person and bringing them over

-Saying no is accompanied by a finger wagging (a habit that I have gotten used to!)

That is only a few of the many things that have helped me fall in love with the people and the country of Cape Verde. Of course there are things that I dislike but overall and so far, I have had a very wonderful experience here and I’m excited about the next year to come.

Looking back a year and remembering how excited I was to become Peace Corps volunteer but a little apprehensive of the two year commitment, I realize now why it is two years. The first year is really just an adjustment and learning period, learning the local language and culture, standing up and falling down and getting back up again. During this year I’ve been knocked down hard, but stood back up, stronger and having learned my lessons. I hope for this next year that my language continues to grow, so that I can finally really give back to this country that has helped teach me a lot about myself and pushed me further than I ever thought I could go.

ONE YEAR DOWN, ONE MORE TO GO!! Congrats to my group! 27 swore in, 27 still working hard!

A couple of the kids (really teenagers) who have been living at the SOS are heading out, most moving back with their families but one moving out on his own. They have all been here since I got here so it is kind of sad to see them go, but also great that they are moving back with their families and getting their feet back on the group. I believe all of that all of those who are moving out were once living on the street, so to think how far they have come is incredible.

Today when one of them came back from looking at apartments I just thought it was funny when the social workers said ''does that apartment come with a bathroom?''

It is defiantly an American mentality to think that when you rent an apartment or buy a house it naturally comes with a bathroom. Not so here in Cape Verde. In fact I found out an alarming statistic: 80% of homes DO NOT have bathrooms. Now when I was living with a host family in Santiago we had a bathroom but no running water... hence you throw a bucket of water down after you use the bathroom. Not something you really feel like doing after having diareha or vomiting but hey that is life right? But despite having a bathroom, I was still the only one in the house that used the bathroom... which means that people are going to the bathroom on top of that corn that everyone loves, not only is the gross that is a really great way to spread diseases.

Well anyway, I'm going to finally head home because I have a pounding headache which often happens when I speak and kreolu all day without eating anything but a plate of rice (at least it had delicious malageta...hotsause on top).

Less then 2 weeks and I'm in Brazil! WOOooooooo Hooooo

Instead of having a traditional boring barbeque, I celebrated July 4th with a Thanksgiving feast!

A couple of friends (one a former Peace Corps volunteer) invited me over to celebrate the 4th with the thanksgiving food that they had shipped last year (which was supposed to come in time for real thanksgiving in November). For a number of reasons the barrel didn’t get here until about a month ago and it was filled with lots of American goodness, including stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, brown sugar, walnuts, pie mix and pumpkin mix. With two ovens we were able to create quite a feast (I really shouldn’t say we, I just made the pumpkin and apple pies), a delicious feast. Thanks to my thanksgiving package that arrived in January I also helped provide decorations and most notably turkey headbands that their kids wore (thanks dad!). Naturally I also happened to have American Flag cups and pin wheels, so we had a truly rounded Thanksgiving-forth celebration.

Hope everyone else had a great 4th of July.

Cape Verdean Independence Day was the 5th of July which was celebrated by a small music concert on the 4th which I listened to as I tried to digest the massive amounts of food I ate on Thanksgiving-forth.

Chinese Lojas (stores) are everywhere in Cape Verde. Why you ask? Well the Cape Verdean government made a deal with the Chinese government to allow for Chinese investors to come into the country… all without having to pay taxes on the items they ship into the country. As a result there are an insane amount of Chinese Lojas in Cape Verde (Chines is what Cape Verdeans call these stores). Although I have never counted all of the lojas in Mindelo, my guess would be that there are at least 80 but probably more.

What does a Loja sell? Clothes, toys, shoes, questionable shampoos and other beauty products. The stores are usually pretty small and packed with a rediculous amount of stuff. The stores are owned and run by Chinese but Cape Verdeans work there and follow you around the store.

While I have made a promise to never buy anything at a loja that I would put in my body, such as toothpaste (although I am contemplating breaking this rule because I found one loja that has soy sauce… eekk tempting), I have recently found some really good bargains on American brand clothes! I haven’t quite figured out why the lojas are selling brands that you would find at target and other bargain stores, I’m not going to complain. A few of my recent buys include two adorable target brand bikinis (with normal size bottoms, not the Brazilian cut that would let way too much of my pasty white butt out to be burned by the sun). And the best part of those bikinis, other then the fact that they are so cute, is that they were 300$00 escudos or about $4!!! They even had their prices on it, each piece for $17.99 in America. SO therefore I saved over $30!

Another great find was a target t shirt for only 250$00 escudos. I can only assume that the companies in China that target and other retailers hire to make their clothes, send any clothes with minor imperfections here to good old Cape Verde.

A former volunteer set up a program to help promote condom use by involving Chinese Lojas in Santa Antão. In this program the ministry of health (I think) provided condoms to a handful of lojas in one community, the idea being that people are embarrassed to get free condoms at the local health clinic so why not work with the fact that the Chinese community is not really accepted into society and therefore buying a condom at a loja isn’t embarrassing (because they aren’t going to tell your mom). Although I believe the program has had some trouble, because Chinese Lojas are known to sell low quality items, overall I think it is a great idea and I like the idea of it expanding and hopefully getting more people to use condoms.

Another good thing about lojas is that they have allowed Cape Verdeans to buy things that they formally could not afford such as toys, shoes (lots of knock of haviannas), clothes. I have debated this with a couple of Cape Verdeans arguing that while yes they are now able to buy more things they are not great quality and therefore inevitably end up in the trash… not so great for the environment. But I never seem to win on that argument.

Now the bad…

First: bringing poor quality items into the country with lots of excess wrapping will all inevitably end up on the ground or at the dump (for areas that have garbage pickup)-

Second: These items are neither taxed nor do they also do not need to meet any sort of standards, such as not having lead etc. This has potential long term affects on the young population who will be exposed to toys that are made with deadly chemicals.

Third: while the lojas do provide jobs they are poor paid jobs, long hours, the workers follow you around the store (which drives me crazy), and they also have an extremely high turn over rate.

I don't know what the right answer is with the loja. I love my new bathing suite but I don't like that the stores produce so much waste and aren't held accountable for it.

In just under 3 weeks I will be in Brazil and I am extremely excited but the road getting there has been anything but easy. The basic logistics of the trip was not the hard part, my parents and I decided relatively easily that we wanted to go to Brazil (since there are direct flights from Cape Verde). But getting a visa has been extraordinarily difficult. The Brazilian Embassy is in Praia so there were few options on how to get the visa without traveling (the problem with living in an island country). I ruled out mailing the forms (and my passport) because of fear of having my passport stolen. After talking to a neighbour who had traveled to Brazil he suggested going to a travel agency. Only problem is I already bought my ticket!! Problem solved because the travel agency can still help you get a visa. The agency has a person bring the passports and the documents to the embassy and then after the embassy stamps the visa the agency waits for another person to bring it back. Now that doesn't sound too bad right? Well wait... before handing over almost $200 (which hurt) you also need the following:

~Visa Documents

~Passport and Passport size photo

~At least the last 3 months of bank transactions

You need to have at least 120.000$00 in your account, which is about $2000 becase you need to be able to prove that you have at least $100 per day you will be in Brazil.

~ If you don’t have 120.000$00 in you Cape Verde account here there other two options are:

§ Bank statement from you U.S.A. account, with at least $100 per day in Brazil OR

§ If you are travelling with say you parents, a notarized letter from them stating that they will be responsible for all costs of your trip, AND this also needs to be notarized at the Brazilian Embassy or Consulate in a city in the U.S.

~Phone bill account that states where you live (to prove that you live in C.V.)

~Letter from BOTH Peace Corps and the organization that you work at, stating that you are a volunteer, and working at that organization and a resident of the town/city you live in, plus that needs to be notorized (difficult because you have to either take your bosses identification card or have them go to get it notorized!!)

So as you can see being an American in Cape Verde and trying to get a Brazilian visa is no easy feat. If I hadn't alreayd bought the ticket I think I would have thought twice about going there. It is just absoltuly insane how difficult it was. I can only thank the travel agency who was beyond patient with me, and my kreolu. And although they laughed at me (because I didn't realize that I needed a specific amount of money in my account and came with about $20 left in my local bank account) Although this has been about a 2 month process I am excited that now I am FINALLY One Step Closer to Brazil and seeing my parents!

Electra, the local electric company

So last week we got a bill from April (march-April), so immediately we went and paid it. I also made sure to ask if we had any outstanding bills, as it is June and the last bill we got was for the month of March. A couple of days later someone from the company came over to let us know that we paid that April bill twice... Confused, because we clearly did not pay twice we went to Electra and got our money back. Friday, we get two bills under our door including an outstanding bill... After going to to the landlord, he explained that a neighbour accidentally paid for our bill for the month of April, so now we had to pay him and he said he would deal with the other bills (now in retrospect, I wish I would have just paid that bill, but we didn't want to pay for a bill that another neighbour may have paid for, plus give that neighbour money)

Monday morning... no lights. Electricity to me is really not all that important, because I use very little, occasionally the fan but I like candle light. But the only thing that is extremely important is the refrigerator... especially because I had just gone grocery shopping.

By Monday afternoon, the landlord knocks on our door ''Oo you don't have lights'', he goes down to Electra and yells at them and figures it out, comes back and says that we have to pay for the months of may and june. No CRAP. Of course if the person working at Electra had just told me that we had outstanding bills, like I ASKED, this problem could have been resolved. By now it is 430, electra closes at 5, so I run down there to pay the remaining bills. Asked them to a) look at our counter because for only have two refrigerators plugged in (small, college size), the bill shouldn't be so expensive. They laughed and said no. So I said, ok, just turn our lights back on please. ''Yes of course''. In the meantime the woman behind me was pushing me out of the way to pay her bill and the guy says ''she's from America, Barack Obama', ooo goood''. ''Yes wooo whatever, turn on my lights''

Monday night, 7pm, no lights. Landlord thankfully gives us an extension cord which is hanging off the balcony and we are stealing his electricity for one fridge until the morning. Night with candle light, not bad.

Tuesday morning, wake up. Landlord pulled plug on free electricity. Call Electra, ask for them to turn my lights on. They say they can't do that until tonight after 4 (where the hell were they yesterday after I paid the bill?). I say why can't you send the person who turned my electricity off at 8am to turn it back on at 8am?? '' Oo no, we only do that after 4pm''.

My patience with this company is wearing thin. I have no idea if I have electricity in my house, I can only hope for my expensive vegetables (and my wallet's) sake that I have luz.

I really hope some investors decide to make another electric company that is environmentally friendly so that electra can't mess around with people and overcharge them.

Although it may appear that I haven’t been doing anything, I have been so busy that I just haven’t had a chance to update my blog.

June is a very crazy month with international this and that so therefore I have been doing lots of activities. I don’t remember if I mentioned this but the center hired a new woman whose job it is to create activities for the kids. Because doing that task alone is near impossible, we have been working together and trying to come up with all sorts of ideas.

June 1st: International Children’s Day

Despite it being an International holiday, I don’t think I have ever seen it celebrated in the U.S., but in Cape Verde it is a real big deal. Since there is no school we had a day fun of activities. The only problem was when I got up in the morning to go to work and walked to the bus stop to see that the buses weren’t running until 10am (the activities started at 9). So after angrily walking back to my house and calling the center to tell them that I wouldn’t be in until 10, I got to sit down and have a cup of coffee.

By the time I finally made it to the center, none of the events had started but shortly after a group of local university students played different games with the kids, including musical chairs (where the kids ran around the chair and would try to knock each other out to get a chair).

June 5th: World Environment Day

This is a two part program, on the 5th itself we talked about the environment, and had a environmental engineer from the Câmara, talk about ways that we can help. After that we

l walked up to the garden and the gardener planted some seeds.

The second part will take place probably this week or next, whenever we have time to fill. We are going to talk about wind energy. We have 3 working wind turbines on São Vicente (and 6 non-working) so we are going to talk about them and than after make pin-wheels. All this wind energy talk is stirring crazy ideas in my head, such as working with the local engineering school to make a wind turbine at the center, since it is terribly windy (university students have already made a wind turbine that is used at the campus)… obviously this is probably not feasible, but a girl can dream can’t she?

June 8th: International Ocean Day

We made a giant poster of the ocean and cut out fish etc and talked about the ocean.

The month of June continues....