Got about 10 more days left on this island, and then I head back to Santiago to terminate my service. Time flies, 2 years already! Anyways, I did eventually manage to get funding to make the world map, and got a little progress on some other projects. It's been a good run.

I recently got asked to answer 9 questions for the Auburn Journal about my Peace Corps experience. I was unfortunately away from my internet for a good while, and I'm not sure if my information will get published or not...so I'm going to post it here.

1. Why did you join the Peace Corps?

2. What are you doing in (your country) currently?

3. What has been the hardest part?

4. What has been the best part?

5. What are your living conditions like?

6. What are living conditions like for the people you are helping?

7. Has your safety ever been compromised? If so, how did you handle it?

8. What are things you miss from home?

9. What are things people reading this might not know about (your country) and its people?

Thank you for your interest in Auburn raised Peace Corps volunteers. I would be happy to share my story with you and Auburn (if it's not too late...I just got my email yesterday). I am a "Community Development" volunteer in the west African island country of Cape Verde.

I have wanted to join the Peace Corps since I was in middle school. I had heard about this program where the US government sends its people to other countries to make friends with people from that country. My understanding was pretty basic at the time, but as I learned more about the Peace Corps I became more and more convinced that it was a perfect fit for me. I majored in international relations in college and this was an immediate way to apply what I had learned in university.

Being a community development volunteer is all about using your imagination. Unlike the other Peace Corps assignment areas, there are no real "set in stone" objectives, schedules, or even partners. What community development volunteers do is entirely up to them. We try to motivate locals from our communities to develop projects that create a long term benefits. I have done everything from organizing farmers to adopt more efficient drip irrigation technologies to drafting business plans for bakeries. Almost all of the projects are done on a "learn on the go" basis, since no training can cover the myriad of potential projects out there. Projects are hit and miss, but when a project does succeed its tremendously rewarding. Most volunteers, myself included, in community development assignments teach English as a way to fill the time between projects. There can be a great deal of waiting for funding to get approved, or for busy seasons to pass (such as elections, holidays, or harvesting). In addition to the assorted projects and English teaching, I lead some more recreational activities such as camping trips, breakdancing classes, and chess tournaments. In my free time I enjoy talking with my new friends, hiking, and fishing.

The hardest part of my service is certainly uncertainty. I live in the most remote Peace Corps site in Cape Verde, and there are no precedents or guidebooks to follow. The question of "what should I be doing right now" is a familiar one. I've gotten much better at answering that as the last 19 months have passed, but in the beginning in can be quite daunting. Uncertainty is also very prevalent in most Peace Corps countries where volunteers need to learn a new local language. Overcoming miscommunication is as regular a part of my day here, as waiting for a red light to change in America was.

The most rewarding part of my service has been the experience living with Cape Verdeans in a village. When you live in a city (even a small one like Auburn) you tend to live more or less anonymously outside of your group of friends, family, and aquaintences. However, in a village of less than 500 people, you come know the first name of every single person you pass on your way to buy onions. Its not uncommon to stop and chat with people from all age groups and walks of life in the town square. You really get to meet people you would never get to know otherwise. I'm only 26, but my best friend in the village became a grandfather last year.

My living conditions are not what you see on the Peace Corps posters. I live in a village over an hour away from the nearest post office, yet my house is two stories, has electricity, and running water. I'm also writing this email from my bedroom, as I have recently got internet at home. This isn't Kennedy's Peace Corps anymore, and the technology Peace Corps Volunteers have these days has really accelerated what we can do out here. Many of the volunteers, at least here in Cape Verde, share project ideas with local leaders, NGOs, and each other through the internet. Although I had signed up for Peace Corps expecting the mud hut, I'm really grateful for what I can do now that I have a working cellphone and an internet connection.

Cape Verde enjoys a higher standard of living than most of the rest of Africa, but by most people's definitions it is still poor. In 2007 it graduated from the classification of least developed country to a higher level. The results of Cape Verde's success are visible on the ground level. Most people live in cement houses, most of which have electricity at least some hours of the day. Many people have running water, and I'm not the only person in my village who has internet. Starvation, was once a part of the history of Cape Verde, but is nearly unheard of now. That said, Cape Verde has a long way to go. Most people don't graduate high school, earn less than 7 dollars a day for tough agricultural labor, and have children before they turn 21.

I have never lived anywhere safer than I do now. There is truly something to be said for the policing power of a small community. People here go to great lengths to avoid offending anyone in the village. The social implications of commiting a crime here are unimaginable. If I were to buy cheese and flour, half of the village would know I was fixing to make a pizza before nightfall. The benefit to this all being that everyone treats everyone with respect because everybody knows everything. That said, when I went to a nightclub in the capital city I experienced an attempted mugging. That's a risk you run into in a big city anywhere, whether it be Los Angeles or Sao Paulo. I managed to get out of the situation by making a lot of noise, so my attackers fled for fear of getting caught.

There is nothing I miss more from home than my friends and family. Cold bucket baths, strange foods, and lack of transportation are things that are actually relatively easy to get used to. However, being away from the people that make you who you are doesn't really change with time.

The first thing people should know about Cape Verde is that it exists, and it is in fact a country. It's very hard to find on a map, but if you go out into the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal you should see some dots there. Cape Verde is a former Portuguese colony that was used as a waypoint during the days of the slave trade. As a result the Cape Verdean people are descended from both Portuguese and Africans. The history is also reflected in the language which is a pidgin of Portuguese.

Today was nice and sunny. Although this is nothing strange for Cape Verde, it did mark a change in the weather of this last week. The day started out slow, as most days do. I got together with my neighbor/friend Janine and we sat and had a nice cup of blackberry tea courtesy of my mom. We passed the time by people watching the people coming into the village. We would try to predict which of the two directions they would take at the split into town. When that game got old, we watched the fig tree and tried to guess how many leaves would fall in a period of five minutes. 13. This remained the pace of the day until my friend Niton stopped by and coaxed me to go with him for a run. We went, and it was exhausting. That exhaustion was perfect. To enjoy relaxation, one needs to be tired. Expending my energy really felt rewarding. Later that day I gave my English class again which we restarted on Monday. Monday we had 7 people, today we had 5. It is a good group though, and although they may never use English in their lives, I think we all at least have fun.

One of my wisier friends from back home gave me some well placed words today and for that I am grateful. Today was like any other day, however I managed to keep some good momentum by doing the right things. I fed myself fairly well today which kept my spirits high. I sweated out a good bit as I did a Ribeira run, and I got to give an English class today which had an excellent turnout of 7 people. If everyday were like today my service would be a complete success.

It's been a good time since I posted last. I haven't posted largely out of embarassment. The hail mary Jatropha project has fizzled. The information I was supposed to recieve about how to create such a biofuel came in the form of a facebook post, not the complete information package I was expecting. To do the training would require thousands of dollars, and I have yet to see any evidence that the product would be viable, especially at such a remote location. I have been toying with other ideas, but none have come to fruition. I have decided to set my sights lower, something I should have done a long time ago.

I am going for the easiest Peace Corps project imaginable, the World Map Project. It consists of organizing a group of people, getting 70 dollars worth of paint supplies, and spending a weekend painting a map on a wall. I've decided I can't fail at this. Although I've met with the youth group several times about this they remain unmotivated. The only thing that peaks their interest is when I speak of potential camping trips with other PCVs, because they imagine they will get to hit on the American girls. I am fundamentally disappointed, but It's no matter. I have decided to ignore the mantras we were taught during training and prepare to do this project on my own if need be. I figure if I start painting this thing myself, and others see that its more fun what they normally do they may buy into it. Worst case scenario, I'm out 70 bucks, but at least the community knows what the world looks like outside of Cape Verde.

I had some of my neighbors over to play darts today, and that was a nice relief.

My computer has arrived! Therefore I dedicate this post to my Mom & Dad who have given me the gift of connectivity. With internet and a computer at my fingertips now I feel powerful. I have been able to continue my research on the Jatropha plant, and I have sent messages to experts online in the hopes that one will grace me with his or her knowledge on the subject. I really would love to know which machines Ribeira Alta will need to turn the Jatropha seed into a liquid that we can pour in the diesel generator to make the lights turn on. My local partner, Cesario, has been doing his part in acquiring the lands and rights for the cultivation of the plant. My role as the Peace Corps volunteer is to find out how to do the process, and find funding for the equipment and for the project in general. The internet is surprisingly vague on the matter, but hopefully by contacting individuals directly I can reach a solution. Ideally, I would like to have one on one time with someone that has done small scale biodiesel production before. However, it appears that if I succeed, I may be the only person in Cape Verde who knows how. Furthermore, I will need to be able to learn every intricacy of the process for I will have to teach the villagers how to do everything from processing the oil to machine maintenence, skills that I lack at present.

Since last posting things have stayed more or less the same. This month I revived the physical education class I was teaching and have been doing that consistently at 17:00 barring days where it is not possible. The exercise and music go a long way for me to relieve any feelings of restlessness I may have. The class is fun and although the turnout is variable, I could feel justified if just one person shows up. That is sometimes the case. I am still without a computer which has been the primary obstacle in accomplishing anything more substantial for the time being. On one day when I was able to borrow one I helped a good Cape Verdean friend of mine begin working on creating a business that Cha De Igreja really needs. I started by helping him fill out forms for requesting aid. On another occasion, when I had a borrowed laptop overnight I was able to form an excel spreadsheet which is the basis for a feasibility study he will do. I made it as detailed as my imagination could conceive and I found myself putting hours into it that flew by, as it was the most fun I had had in a while. When he looked over it the next day he told me that he was "muito satisfeito" with the job I had done, and those words really validated my work. It was a great feeling. I can't wait for the means to replicate the success of that small task any time I want to.

It will also help me post more often.

I've been working trying to research more for the biofuel project I've been aiming for, but the time I spend on the internet at a colleague's house isn't the same as the endless hours I can put in at home. Plus, it's just bad form when one only gets to see his PCV friends so often. However, in the brief period of time spent researching I have managed to get an idea of how the process works. The dried Jatropha seeds go into a "decortator" or something like that to remove the husks. Then they are put through a "expeller" to remove the oil. The latter piece of equipment is about $150 from where I saw it on the interweb and it seems manageable. Plus it is hand operated so no need for electricity. Stellar. However, Jatropha oil still needs to undergo a process called "Transesterification". As you might imagine from looking at the word, this is where I am getting lost. It sounds as if methanol and some other chemical are needed to transform the oil into fuel through a means which escapes me. The only information I have found is far too technical for me to decipher, and only addresses the chemistry of the process. The quest for knowledge continues. Hopefully, I can find some resources, ideally a human, to help me understand the process. Anyone know where I can get an instruction manual for a small scale Jatropha plant?

Went fishing the other day and I broke my record. 2 fish in one day...righteous.

Also, a fantastic group of PCVs from Africa came and visited making my week. Hearing tales from the continent fuels my desire to travel. I am looking forward to my friend Matt to visit for some good ol' island hopping.

Shortly after my last post my island was hit with a storm, and the road to town was cut off again. The plus side, which likely outweighs the aforementioned inconvenience is that Cape Verde will stay green another month longer, and this is great for the local farmers. This last week I've been working with them, mostly with weeding, and have rather enjoyed it. People will wake up early and grab their "inchada" which is like a mini-hoe. I'm borrowing one right now. Then people go to the fields, sometimes closeby, sometimes over an hour away. They then work for a while, eat a breakfast that is delivered atop the head of a woman of one of the working families. Usually it is Cachupa and Coffee, which hits the spot at that time in the morning. The process is repeated for lunch. Anyways, it's been a really fun week, and my body is thanking me for the exercise.

I've sent out some emails to people involved in biodiesel production of Jatropha I've found on the internet with the hopes that they can give me some tips, advice, or most importantly instructions on how to go from plant to fuel. This is my part of the venture, Cesario is working on getting land permissions and securing some funds for renovating the wellhouse where the machine will go. We'll see how these things go. Fortunately, cultivating the plant itself is easy. It grows wildly in great numbers and is considered a weed. It grows where people don't have ongoing agriculture, which in Ribeira Alta is much of the land area (people are gradually emigrating to other places and countries). I planted some in pots at my house, and the plant is growing faster than anticipated. I will need a bigger pot. They require almost no water, which is good for Cape Verde. The seeds, which are produced from a plant after a year of age, return every year and can be handpicked easily, (they are a little bit larger than grapes). Hopefully I will have more to share about Jatropha and the project as I recieve replies from my cold-call emails.

Okay,

So I've been doing these dailies, like the turtle stuff, interpreting, and helping farmers weed and such, but that's not really where my heart is at. I've been really setting my sights on this thing me and the Association leader from Ribeira Alta, so here goes;

Ribeira Alta is a tiny isolated village west of Cha de Igreja. It does not have road access and is a gruelling two hour hike from the nearest road. It is so isolated that makes Cha De Igreja look like St. Louis in terms of accessability. While for a couple months during the year the sea is calm enough to cut the travel time down with boat access, most transportation of goods and people involves a donkey at some point. There are about 200 inhabitants who live in the sheer cliffsides of the valley. The primary industry in Ribeira Alta is remittances and agriculture. The agriculture is principally sugarcane for making "grog" liquor and cassava.

The town has some fishing potential, and raises a fair amount of livestock as well. Unfortunately, these industries are of limited viability because of the electricity situation in the village. Ribeira Alta is not part of the electrical grid of Santo Antao, due to its location. Diesel fuel is provided by the local government to be put into the town's generator. However, this allows the village to have electricity for only 4 hours a day. Generally from 18:00 to 22:00. Furthermore the village is dependent on expensive imported fossil fuel.

The leader of the development association of Ribeira Alta, Cesario, has spoken with me about the solution to this problem. In Ribeira Alta's cliffsides, the Jatropha Curcas plant grows abundantly. The Jatropha plant's seeds, once processed, produce a biodiesel fuel capable of being used in the village generator. Cesario intends to refurbish an abandoned wellhouse and transform it into a miniature biofuel plant. My goal is to help Cesario realize this goal. We have met a number of times on this subject, and its success is my new all-consuming passion. I intend to help Ribeira Alta not only get the training and machinery necessary for this project, but also help encourage the locals to take advantage of the abundant unused lands to cultivate Jatropha on a small scale. Any thoughts?

Hi World,

I've been in a project soup lately. The last several months have largely consisted of me helping in some small part to the improvements of projects initiated by Cape Verdeans. This has been rewarding, as during our pre-service training (which was now over a year ago) we were taught to make sure all projects are sufficiently led by the host country nationals to ensure both interest and sustainability. This is a philosophy I agree with. People support that which they create, and the Cape Verdeans in my region have created a number of respectable projects. Most notably of those projects, has been the fishing community of Cruzinha which has made a conscientious shift in their treatment of Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta). To my buddies in San Diego "The Caguama". Once a community that ate this endangered species, Cruzinha is now leading the fight in Cape Verde for their preservation. Recently, their efforts have earned them an international prize and some additional resources. I am proud to be a partner with this group, admittedly my contribution to this organization is mostly through my time spent doing turtle watches, and nothing much more sophisticated. The sea turtles haven't been nesting much in Santo Antao this year, but there is still some time left. I hope to participate further with this group in "sensibilization" which is travelling to other communities and for lack of a better word "preaching" the gospel of conservation over consumption.

Okay, long time no post, and unfortunately work related travel and a busted laptop have prevented me from being as bloggy as I had originally intended. The last month I got to meet a stellar group of human beings which are, the 2010 class of Peace Corps volunteers, their presence and go-getter spirit are an inspiration. Plus, they are a very lively group of people. Having the opportunity to go to Santiago and help with their training is one of the highlights of my service so far. Post more later.

Basic update of the things here

Computer donation project: Local government has promised us logistical assistance once the computers are shipped to the island of Santo Antao. Translation: If we get the $22,000 dollars to arrange, ship, ship again, inspect and transport the computers to the schools, they will accept them. Big thanks.

English instruction: After the average class size became .5 I decided to begin again with a different demographic. I started teaching English for tourism, and had a good number of people declare strong interest in the class. Wednesday's turnout: 5, 3 of which came upon my pleading and were just passing by, 1 of which was me.

Drip irrigation project: The minister of education laid down the first brick for the new resevoir tank last month. It is to date, the only brick there.

-----

New projects:

Study for the foreign service exam.

Study for the GRE

Cook every recipe in the Peace Corps cookbook

Eat the tomatoes I planted in February

Take photos of everything I own

Alphabatatize my TO DO list

Write another unpublished book

Suggestions?

Cooking is important here. The time spent cooking is probably the easiest time to multitask that exists. Boredom is easy to withstand when your belly is full and the numbing presence of a food coma prevails throughout your body. Throw a cup of coffee on top of that and what was once tedius becomes "relaxing".

My official country counterpart last night decided he would include me in something the association was doing. In a week or so, the association will be hosting a meeting to unite the other local associations to form a network of associations for greater bargaining power. An excellent idea. My role, as a college educated volunteer with experience in facilitation and running meetings has finally gotten a role in something the association is doing. I have been requested to wash dishes and help peel the manioc for the dinner.

Today I recieved a domestic care package. It was well put together and contained a CD which had an arrangement of songs almost identical to a CD I was going to make myself. I rocked it as I played darts and contemplated what to do with the millions of hours I have left. Life is good.

Yesterday was stellar. I went flat broke paying my internet bill, but it was worth it. When I returned to Cha I spent the latter part of the afternoon setting up a dartboard. Normally this process takes a good 15 minutes in America where tools are easily at hand and all walls are made of wood. Here, on the other hand, the process is quite complicated. The people in my village are the definition of the word helpful. I recruited two friends of mine to help set it up. This involved drilling holes into solid rock and screwing a sheet of protective wood to the wall. Hours of borrowing tools all over town, improvising washers from wine corks and broken sandals, and keeping my worker's morales high with grog, cigarettes, and coffee the project was a success. I not only owe a gigantic thanks to all of the people in my town who helped me with this project, but also to my brother who magically knew the perfect gift for me and sent it to me without me even asking. My other brother, I owe much praise to as well, for he sent me the box of leathermans (leathermen?) which made installation possible. When I woke up this morning I felt extremely happy because I felt like I went to sleep in my house and woke up in my home. Throwing darts (for the first time in daylight in Cape Verde) brought me back to the priceless days of spending time with my college roommates killing hours aiming for that 20 times 3 zone.

Oh and my drip irrigation project finally got approved and they are laying the first brick today,

About a month ago I crashed a seminar on drip irrigation that was happening in Paul. It has come to that. While I was there I met some international types (Canaries and Spanish). They mentioned in passing that they were gearing up for a backpacking trip to the highest point on the island(Tope De Coroa). When they found out (unaccidently) that I like to backpack too, they added me to the team. We left Cha De Igreja on a Saturday at the crack of dawn. The 5 of us went up and down mountains for the majority of that day. We took rest stops occasionally and I got to spend some time in Cha De Igreja's long lost cousin "Ribeira Alta". That night we arrived around 9 PM in the Boca de Alta Mira and we befriended the schoolkeeper to let us use that facility to lay down our bags.

The following morning we trekked to Ribeira da Cruz and continued through the beautiful 45 degree angled "Martiene" We kept going until we reached the side of my island that looks like a hilly Savanna with no evidence of water ever being presence there. In the middle of BFN we came across a house that takes visitors and we stayed the night.

After resting, and eating at the rest stop we started walking in the direction of the big hill (Tope De Coroa). The journey up was fun. We were observed on all sides by wild goats. When we reached the top, the air was so dusty the view was practically non-existent. We took our puctures and ate our goat cheese rations and then set off down the hill. The descent was way more fun, as you could run full speed down the soft rock mixture and it felt as if one was flying. The trip was visually unexciting, but the experience itself was quite fun.

Hell yeah! I don't know why I just fell like typing that...doens't have the same value as screaming it out loud, but the townsfolk probably think I have enough parafusos loose already.. Haha, I just did it anyways. Too be fair, my walls are cement and soundproof and no one really knows what that means here. Unfortunately, I have not found an equally enthusiastic Creolo phrase. It is probably like "Very Well" = Muito Bem! Just said enthusastically. My enthusiasm comes from an unknown source, but I don't mind waking up feeling my oates from time to time. I got up and I thought to myself..jeez Grant..you have absolutely no idea what you're going to do today (aside from tenatively translate a letter with the principal of the school). I was thinking about hiking down to the canyon today and looting an old washing machine frame that was down there. If I could powersaw the sides off, I think they would make great shelves for my work in progress bookshelf.

But Thomas, you might ask, why build a shelf out of scrap metal and tin cans when you have all your fora money accumulating and you could just go out and buy one the next time you're in Ribeira Grande. The answer, of course, is that if I bought one it would be hard for me to justify building one out of tin cans and scrap metal. Listening to funana in the morning is like drinking a coffee through an IV, and instead of going to just your bloodstream it goes to your soul too, the end.

Made cachupa successfully! It was more like feijupa because there wasn't enough corn in my village, so it was mostly beans. Still tasty. All six of my students are demanding more English classes, so I will oblige. Also, breakdance class was a success, and demand for more of those have increased. I'm not exactly doing the development work I had in mind, but I'm at least keeping busy.

The rules: If a cockroach is on the walls near the toilet you get two swats to attempt to knock him or her directly into the toilet bowl. Only partial credit if the roach is stunned from the plastic bottle you throw at it.

A colleague of mine has a similar game, but it is required that you have less than perfect vision, and of course cockroaches.

Today I had a ton of success. My association that I work with decided to get moving on the gota gota thing I had suggested. A tecnico from the ministry of agriculture came out with my counterpart and I to scout out a potential placement site for a storage tank. After revisting the cliff I almost fell off on my first day here we checked out two more sites. The pouridge was just right on the last one, and there is a couple of townsfolk trying to get a hold of the owner. Hopefully it pans out. I have also heard that a couple people are going to try to make it to my earlier English class tomorrow. I also successfully made French Fries. This marks the first time I've ever successfully fried ANYTHING on my own. Its been a good day.

I start teaching English classes again today. Hopefully the Igrejians will be remotivated for learning another language by my super-sized poster thats up in the Praca. I found cow meat at a store in the Cha-D-Igeja, and I bought it without thinking. The opprtunity to get new food at site is always welcome, but in my haste I forgot that my years of vegetarianism have left me clueless on how to even prepare this frozen block of cow. They say on the internet to thaw it in your fridge for a good while so I hope it works. You better be right about this internet!

A group of the more intrepid volunteers made a trip to Carnival in Sao Nicolau. I was fortunate enough to join these brave souls as they embarked on a glitter filled journey through a land of wonder and catchy songs. At the climax of our journey we were 18 strong, which is more volunteers than I will ever see at any one time in the Barlavento (Northern Half of the island chain). I love Cape Verdeans, but partying with people who speak your language is a treat like no other. When I am in the company of people who understand my language, I feel a refreshing sense of identity. The journey started on Wednesday when I got to visit Brendan and Steve's site and see the beautiful mountain they live on. I was pleased to have my favorite Santiago duo waiting for me as well when I arrived. Once we had seen their site sufficiently well the party train made a voyage for Taraffal where I got to meet the famous Mr. Beach and hang out on that side for a couple days. The highlight of that experience surly was the beach camping trip we made two hours up the shore from Taraffal. On this beautiful beach we made fire, caught up with each other, made food, and even saw bioluminecent (sp?) shrimp. I haven't been camping since America and the experience was truly incredible.

A morning filled with frisbee, emerald waters, and sun greeted us the next day as we shook off the night before. Brendan managed to even show the Cape-Verdeans how to toss the pig skin around, and others went James-Bonding on some fish. We returned satisfied from the beach and ready for the night ahead...which just so happened to be Carnival Wooooooooooooooo!

Our costumes, which were ready by 3am, were a mixture of a Japanese Cartoon villian, an Aztec warrior, and a seahorse were even more awesome than they sound. We rocked these for the three days of Carnival and even a little bit on the "rest day". The parade we danced in was hypnotising with bright lights, colorful costumes, two songs played over and over back to back but still left you wanting more, and the most material you could put on women's costumes and still describe them as scantily clad. Dancing three steps to the left and three steps to the right through narrow cobblestone streets really puts you in a strange trance. By the time we got to the finish of each parade I was shellshocked. My original plan was to go to just one Carnival in Sao Nicolau, and switch it up by going to Mindelo the following year. Plans change.

I had an awesome two page post that was colorfully written and just getting to the good part when my backspace mysteriously took me into another dimension where my blog post don't exist. Your loss. It was really good, but I guess you'll never know what happened to me the last couple days.

Here's the cliff notes

Random wave of euphoria overcame me on a hike, and I've been kicking ass and taking names since.

Last night I went to Povacao and had a great time

I'm going to Sao Nicolau, because thats what all the cool kids are doing for Carnaval. If you're not going its either because youre following this blog from America, which makes me proud of you. Or you are a PCV who doesn't have the stones to do real Carnaval, which means I still love you, but I am disappointed.

I miss my last entry as well as the stray dog I was becoming best friends with.

The new years has been awesome so far. Normally New Years is my favorite holiday, and this year, despite unfamiliar circumstances, was no exception. I spent the 31st hanging out on the beach listening to music, when I returned to town I made supper and nothing out of the ordinary. At midnight however, I saw the sleepy little town I live in transform into a celebration unrivaled by American towns 20 times its size. The town chucked fireworks into the air and the local drivers, including the ambulance, got all 5 of the town's cars together and made laps around the town honking as bystanders jumped in or on each of them. Once sufficently full, the vans and trucks went cruising down the north ramp of our town singing and cheering in the new year. Our destination was the nearby fishing Village of Cruzinha where a parallel party was occurring. Everyone got out of the vehicles after much cheering to wish each other new years. In my life I don't know if I've ever experienced such genuine well wishing in my life and the holiday spirit was unrivaled. Most everyone was rocking at least a 14 tooth smile (excepting those who hadn't the means) and the momentum carried us all the way back to Cha d' Igreja for the real party. We got back at one, at which point I got a call from my brothers. It was great to hear from them as I haven't heard their voices in nearly six months. We caught up as best we could with the noise and connection quality.

The party rivaled most anything I'd experienced in San Diego. Everyone was dancing, young and old alike, and the ponche and wine flowed like rivers. The venue was a night club that opened on special occasions in Cha De Igreja, and on the inside it was a legitamite night club, with a bar, dance floor, full sound, colorful lights etc. I was disappointed to see the party wind down at four, and I reluctantly went home which was 60 feet away. It was a good way to start the new year although I was kicking myself the next day.........people didn't go home at 4AM, it turns out they just took the party back to Cruzinha.

I write this blog post because not because I have something to report, but rather the contrary. Yesterday I ran errands in the nearest city, and the day before I went on a hike to pick hot peppers. The later parts of both days were simply spent hanging out with the people in the town square. A local dog has taken to me and we consider each other friends. I must decide whether to spend new years in a smaller village to my west, as I was invited to do so, or stay local. Decisions decisions.

School is out for winter break. Out of respect for the season, the trees have lights the equal of America's, the temperature has dropped, and of course family and friends are back in town. None of these factors really affect me, but they all add to an interesting asthetic that brings a new life to the place. I am affected slightly by the school closure, because my English classes need to wait until the new year. I'm helping our development group photograph a road repair they are contracted by the local government to do. This way they can invoice the government (Camara) and get some much needed money in the org. My part in all of this is just official photographer, but I'll take any work I can at this point.

There is talk amongst the two other volunteers in my county of beginning a time consuming, very ambitious computer donation project. It sounds nearly impossible, but its been a long time since my abilities have been challenged. Many ideas like this come and go, and it could very well be a different one by the time of my next blog entry. Hopefully not.

The Activities group I am part of held a fair last night in our soccer arena/public space thingy. I am incredibly impressed with the success the event had despite the last minute and informal planning. The town, with its compact size and close knit populace mobilizes at lightning speed. We kicked the even off with a donkey race through the main street of our town. After competitively riding a donkey I can safely say my life is complete. Afterwords, I started setting up carnival activities in the stadium thingy. My game was ridiculously successful as people lined up to pay money to throw a deodorant stick roller ball into empty yogurt cups for the possibilty of winning a drink or a snack. I think our organization could have made major bank off of the game, were it not for the fact I quickly ran out of drink coupons. When I returned to get more, the rest of the fair staff was so stressed out about one thing or another, I determined it was best to let them be. The language barrier and blasting sound system made it really easy for me to be left out of whatever it was that they were stressing about. I kind of wanted to stress out with them so I didn't feel so seperated from what was going on. Since, I was unable to help or even understand why anyone would be so fouled when the fair was going so successfully, I just decided to enjoy myself.

Doing so was quite easy and i passed the rest of the fair just having fun. Although the loudness made me Creole unusable I found that non verbal activities were more than fun enough. Im excited for the debrief on the activity.

Today is cloudy and even a little bit rainy, the latter of which is unusual for this time of year. I find both a welcome change, and I am making the most of the cloudy day to catch up on housework, planning, and I may even crack a book today. I received a phone call from my country director which put me in a good mood. It is not many jobs where you are excited to hear from your boss, but I suppose this one is an exception. We talked about potential work ideas and it was not only nice to hear English, but also to hear someone else who is excited about bringing improvements here. To top it off I got a good dose of flattery from him on the merits responsibility and language ability. Apparently, those two qualities are what led them to believe I am qualified to be serving out here on Mars. I was also glad to hear the (probably false) statement that I have one of the most remote sites in Peace Corps and that I must be extra careful. It made me feel a bit more rugged despite the fact that I have electricity, running water, and internet in my house. I can picture a volunteer in Peace Corps Kenya or something being unable to imagine the luxury I have here. All we would have in common is that we both still take bucket baths.

Work is good. I’ve been teaching English classes regularly, but I would really like to add more classes and information technology classes too. Last weeks meeting to secure the space for such was cancelled, due to insufficient turnout. I really have some good ideas to present to the board for the next meeting, but I feel that my age, specifically the lack thereof, is somewhat a disadvantage when trying to pitch ideas. Trying to make my ideas seem like someone elses is a challenge in English, doing so In Creole should be a real test.

A secondary group is forming in Cha De Igreja. It is an activities group to add life to the village started by a young girl and the principal of the school. Although this group meets more regularly, and considers me a founding member, they seem focused on starting a dance group. Although I agree with their intentions, I haven’t figured out what I can offer them. I told them if they wanted I could teach breakdancing/capoeria, but not much outside of that.

The group aims at doing other things too, but they don’t have the money to do them, nor the imagination to see that they can do things without it. I’m trying to pitch organized hikes, beach bonfires, and other activities as free alternatives, but being outspoken In the meetings is once again difficult due to my young age, my unfamiliarity with the workings of the village, and of course the language barrier.

Although no one is telling me I haven’t been doing enough, I have been holding myself accountable, and do feel there is something else I could be doing here. I just don’t know what or how. Outside of that, I can’t complain about anything. I get along well with the town, the weather is perfect, and I’ve taught some people to play chess so I can now pass the time. Thanks to Dustin for teaching me. I hike regularly and I am staying in pretty good shape, despite the inavailabilty of food. That’s all for now. I hope everyone back home is doing as well as I am.

My address ;

Thomas Grant Readle

Cha De Igreja

Ribeira Grande

Santo Antao

Cape Verde

I write this post from the comfort of my own home. Outside a sandy windstormy sort of phenomenon is occurring and avoiding it is the most comfortable option. This "bruma seca" is composed of sand particles and dirt and whatnot blown all the way over here from the Sahara. It wreaks havoc on plants and people, so everyone is happy when its not around.

Later today I will give my first English classes. I have no idea what to expect as far as turnout, but I have a plan as to what I will teach. For the more advanced class I will need to evaluate the students skills to figure out what I shall teach.

I finished reading a fiction book yesterday, which is very uncharacteristic of me, but my free time has afforded me a lot of new activities.

I'm considering hiding a few geocaches nearby to see if any tourists will go looking for them. dozens of French tourists pass through here every week, but few stay more than a half day. If Cha D' Igreja had more to offer, I feel they may consider staying longer which would be good for the community.

I'm not sure what the village could do on that matter, but I am excited to have a meeting at the end of the month to discuss such things with the Association I work with. I was excited to hear Friday that they are as eager to do projects as I am. Thusly, I'm preparing a list of ideas and thoughts for that meeting with the hopes that it is only ideas and inspiration that are missing from the equation of action. I posted some pictures from my vullage, and I will try to include some in the blog as well. Thats all for now.

I’ve decided to start posting to this blog with the hopes that I will someday have a dependable internet to post regularly. In mid July I arrived here in Cape Verde with 29 other future Peace Corps Volunteers. We began a four day orientation in the city of Praia before meeting our host families who would be our surrogate parents until we complete training. Several of us were older than our host families, but their role as cultural ambassadors was nonetheless important. My particular host family lived in a small rural village known as Mancholi. I was fortunate to have a really great host family complete with a Mom, a Dad, two host sisters, and eight goats. Training went really well, and I am sure that it will be one of the highlights of my entire experience. I really bonded with my team of fellow Peace Corps volunteers, staff, and host family. Several weeks of intensive language training later, we were asked to complete surveys describing our preferences for site placement. We had been given an overview of the islands, and a list of the host country counterparts that were at these sites. With this information we made a list of preferences which would sort of act as a tiebreaker for them in deciding where we should be placed. Factors such as job qualifications, gender, marital status, language ability and personality were the primary basis for the placement decisions. I wanted to see where Peace Corps thought I’d be best placed at so I left my preference form largely blank. I thought it might be cool to live on an active volcano, so I mentioned that if they couldn’t decide they should put me on the island of Fogo. When the verdict came in a few days later I was happily surprised, and extraordinarily curious. I was told I would be going to the island of Santo Antao in a place called Cha De Igreja. I would be a replacement for the first volunteer to come to that site, and I would be working with a development organization from that village. This was all the information I was given initially, and in the busy rush of training I was pressed for time and money to do much further inquiry. I was given a list of accomplishments my predecessor did. This list rivals the achievements most people do in a lifetime so I would certainly have some big shoes to fill. I was flattered by Peace Corps decision to place me there.

The one thing that I quickly discovered about my site is that it is arguably the most isolated site in Cape Verde. There once was a volunteer who had the island of Maio to herself, but with her no longer serving there my site probably takes the cake. To get from Santiago island to my village requires a flight, a taxi across Sao Vicente, a boat from Mindelo to Santo Antao, and another several hour taxi ride to Ribeira Grande. However, recent flooding had destroyed the road to Cha De Igreja from Ribeira Grande so the final couple hours of the journey to my site would have to be done on foot. Peace Corps and my fellow Volunteers looked out for me as I backpack by backpack moved my belongings to Cha De Igreja. About a month ago I had settled into my new home. The home was a very nice painted home in the heart of the village. It is certainly one of the nicest homes in the town. Inside I discovered a large collection of books, spices, a camera bag, some cleaning supplies, a nalgene and a note all left for me by my predecessor. I’ve been spending a majority of my time here passing time in the local plaza and getting to know my fellow villagers. Every one of them is very proud of the fact that Cha De Igreja doesn’t have crime and that one could sleep on the streets if they wanted to, and all they would have to worry about is giant centipedes. Ive gotten about a dozen or more people in my village interested in installing drip irrigation systems in the agricultural fields. These systems are far more efficient at watering plants and would allow them to save water that is ever so precious in the dry months. It seems hard to believe that drought is a big problem here when the road to my town gets washed out by torrential flooding annually but it’s true. My current occupation is now trying to get everyone interested organized so we can discuss different means of providing the plastic tube that is required for installing drip irrigation systems or “gota gota” as it’s known here. Labor is quite abundant here as free time is a luxury almost everyone enjoys. The land is there, and the interest is also very strong. There are even people who know how to install the systems right here in town. All that’s missing is an unspecified amount of that plastic tubing. I haven’t yet found the Home Depot on our island, but hopefully when I do they’d be willing to donate some of the materials.

Although the former project is what Im most focused on, I feel it is necessary to be doing a more regular kind of work here. Ive offered, and received permission, to give English and basic computer classes to all interested people here in Cha De Igreja. The school manager informs me that she will bring me a schedule I can work with soon, so I’m excited to begin soon. I get the feeling that the classes will be very popular since there is a great deal of interest in the community and no competing activities to think of.

Next time I am in civilization I will attempt to set up proper internet at my site. I am very fortunate to have such capability here in addition to water and electricity. Although there is no shower or bath to speak of, I will have my toilet repaired soon enough to claim that I probably have a good deal more amenities than most Peace Corps volunteers in Africa.

Hello, my name is Grant and Monday I will leave Auburn, CA for Boston. More interesting, perhaps is that on Tuesday I will leave Boston for a chain of islands of the Atlantic coast of Africa. Those islands are Cape Verde. They will be my new home for the next 27 months as I serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will be a Community Development Volunteer which is one of the most flexible assignment that the Peace Corps has. How much and what I accomplish is largely up to me.