John's first real snow in America. I think he is enjoying himself. Here are photos from last night of John and I playing in the snow.

This is our family outing with mom, dad, Christine, Zach, Mark, and John up to the top of the mountain from the tram ride. Enjoy the photos.

Here are photos from our adventure up Mill Creek Canyon in Utah.

Last Sunday John and I went to the Utah State Fair for the day (1pm to 9pm). We saw events, sale pitches, ate lunch, ate a caramel apple, and saw the rodeo. We had a lot of fun.

A Sunday drive to visit the International Peace Gardens which was gorgeous but didn't have a Cape Verdean flag. I think we need to add a section to the garden.

Cape Verde will always been my home because of my family and friends that I meet along the journey. I have been in Cape Verde for three years (June 2007 to June 2009). I left for my Peace Corps service June 25th, 2007 for the Island nation of Cape Verde.

I taught computers, English, art, lifeskills, and worked on many projects. I got married to my wonderful husband after my service on August 14th, 2009 with his family and my family as witnesses. Then, we moved to Boa Vista were he was placed by the police department. We lived on Boa Vista for eight months. He saw more of the island then I did because he had access to the police vehicles for work. But we did see other parts of the island with our two friends.

We decided to move back to the States so he can go back to school and hopefully work as a police officer in America. And I want to go back to work because it was difficult to find a job on Sal Rei (politics).

We will be back to Cape Verde in the next couple of years to visit our friends and family that we haven't seen in so a long time. Cape Verde and America is our web.

I finally have time to post the photos that I have taken of the Island of Boa Vista. These pictures are in no order but a random selection of the last eight months on Boa Vista. It been an adventure living on Boa Vista.

for awhile. This is the last look of the landscape of Santo Antão for awhile because hopefully next week or weeks, I will be moving to Boa Vista where John is currently living and working at the Police Station.

I hope you enjoy the photos of Santo Antão one last time. The next photos will be of Boa Vista.

The most rain that Cape Verde or Santo Antão has seen in quiet awhile. The last time it rain this much was in 1984. It rained for five days non-stop. Some of the roads are unpassably or in need of repair after this rain storm. I am glad the two bridges in my town were up and ready for the storm.

Here are some photos of this years rainstorm:

The photos arrived in the mail this past week so I would like to share with you all some of the photos of our special day.

John finished with the Police Academy at the end of March but we were waiting forever to hear what island he will be working on.

September 15th, six months later, while working with his dad at the job site, the police chief called to say he is working on the Island of Boa Vista.

Meaning, we will both be working on the Island of Boa Vista and leaving the Island of Santo Antão. We are both sad to be leaving our home but it is the next journey on our road.

Santo Antão will always be our home, and we will always call it our home. Because it is our home.

This is a just a new chapter in our life together.

“Wedding Day”

August 14th at 1pm my family (mom, dad, Aunt, and friend) and John´s family watched us sign the document stating official that we are married through civil union. We are throughly enjoying ourself and John had a few surprises up his sleeve for the day.

The Wedding Lunch wasn´t really a lunch with family but a small wedding ceremony. The day starting out waking up beside him and having breakfast. John walked me over to where my parent´s were staying. Then he return to get things ready (he had a lot planned).

My mom, dad, aunt, and her friend threw a small bridal shower with a few gifts for me. I loved them all. Afterwards, I got dressed and Aunt Debby cut my hair and did my nails. We were relaxing while we waited for the car.

At 12:30pm, the car picked us up and brought us over to Tarrafal. While waiting in the car for his family, he surprised me when he, his dad, and our godfather walked to the car in suits and ties. John looked amazing.

At Ponto do Sol, we took a group photo before walking into the room. John´s mom and dad sat down on the sofa. My mom and dad sat down on the other sofa. Our godparent´s sat down on the sofa. We sat in the chairs facing the desk. My Aunt Debby stood in front of us to take photos. The judge said a few words. Asked our families if there disagree (no disagreements). After a few words, we both said yes to the questions. We exchange rings. Then, we did a small kiss when he said we were married. Then another kiss so everybody can see. We hugged everybody. My mom and dad cried.

We took photos in Ponto do Sol. It was very windy. My dress and hair were blowing everywhere.

We all got back in the car to return to his house. When we arrived in our town we did an traditional Cape Verdean announcement, we drove around town honking the horn. When we arrived in Tarrafal we walked first to the house with family behind us. When we arrived at his house, we were greeted with flowers, paper, and rice throw on us while we walked up the stairs.

The living room had a big table full of food for lunch. And the wedding cake was in the corner.

We relaxed and talked to friends, greeted everybody. Others moved the tables to the side and put snack foods and other cakes out. It was time for snacks and dancing.

Around 8 o´clock at night, we cut the cake and John sprayed wine all over everybody (Cape Verdean Traditional). Around 9:30pm, another surprise (the day was over). John drove me to his surprise.

In the morning, we walked over to my parent´s place to open gifts and hang out.

It was a great day. I wish everybody was there.

It is the official day that I COS (Close-of-Service) with Peace Corps. It has been an adventure with its ups/down but overall I am glad that I choose this road on my path.

My last class at the youth center was Friday, July 31st and that weekend was cleaning house, packing for the three days in Praia, finishing up my paperwork for Peace Corps, and tieing up loose ends. But I knew I will be back at my site because I am not leaving Cape Verde (not right now).

August 3rd I heading to São Vicente for the plane ride to Santiago. Arriving in Praia, heading to the hotel first to drop off luggage and then headed to the Peace Corps office to drop off my books and do a few things. I have three official days to say goodbye to the Peace Corps Staff and close out my service.

And I saw my host families after two years at site. I visited with them for about 3 or 4 hours but it was nice to see them again.

Now, that I am done with Peace Corps “what is next.”

Here are photos of John from since I met him April 2008.

Riberia da Torre

Mão pra Tras

Playing futebol with his friends

Exploring the New Road with family and friends

Hanging out with friends

Here are photos from the new soccer field in Ponto do Sol. Enjoy.

How many people does it take to fix a overheated car?

Saturday, May 9th 2009 was the inguration of the new road from Janela to Porto Nove. The road was funded a lot by the European Countries.

Saturday around 11am we (John and his family) headed to Janela for the inguration. The road is not cobblestone but pavement with two tunnels. The two tunnels have an road with a sidewalk.

Sunday around 9am we (John, his family, and friends) headed on the new road to Porto Nove. The road felt very nice on the body compared to cobblestone.

Below are some of the photos of the trip. The beginning is photos from Saturday and the rest is from Sunday. Noticed how many came out for the celebration.

Arriving to Janela

Arriving to Janela

Inguration of the New Road

Porto Nove

Porto Nove

Beach

At the Lighthouse

Lighthouse

John found a couple of photos of one of the zones in my town named Tarrafal at one of the local cybercafes so I thought I would post it on my blog for all to see the difference from 1989 to 2009.

1989

2009

One of the pastimes that I like to watch is futebol (soccer). Here are a few photos of youths playing soccer. Enjoy!

An ice cream restaurant just opened up in my town of Povaçao. It is real ice cream that you can get in a cup or cone.

John and I tried the ice cream the day it opened (Friday, April 17th). I had chocolate and melon on a cone. John had chocolate and strawberry on a cone. We return Sunday night to tried a different couple of flavors. I had two scoops but he had three scoops. The banana ice cream is delicious.

The ice cream is made local at the restaurant in the ice cream machine. Beside ice cream you can order coffee, popcorn, or drinks.

The store is located across the street from the cybercafe, hamburger place, disco, and school. It opens in the afternoon through the evening. It is great to be able to order ice cream on a cone in my town instead of going across to the next island (Sao Vicente) for it.

John and I left Santo Antão Sunday, April 6th for a week vacation on the Island of Sal. We arrived at the International Airport of Sal after midnight because all flights out of Sao Vicente are at night due to the progress of making the Sao Vicente airport international.

Monday we headed to Santa Maria (tourist beach) to say hi to his brother that works on the construction of one of the many hotels. See photo. Then, we took a walk on the beach and of course took a dip in the blue ocean for about 4 or 5 hours. On the way back we stopped at a restaurant and had apple pie with ice cream.

Tuesday we headed back to Santa Maria for ice cream and enjoying the sites. We sat on the beach and relaxed. No swimming but enjoyed the beach. We watched two fishermen bring in a small catch of fish. See photos of the beautiful ocean.

Wednesday we headed back to Santa Maria for a dip in the ocean. Also we tried a different place that sells ice cream. The second place was delicious. We had the chocolate and strawberry ice cream. See more photos.

Thursday we headed back to Santa Maria to a different location further down where the windsurfers enter the surf. We sat on the bench for about 3 hours and listen to the many languagues being spoken (French, British English, Portuguese, and Italian). Afterwards we stopped in a small cafe and had lunch. Spagetti with tuna for John and chicken and french fries for me. See photos of the windsurfers.

Headed back to the main beach and talked to a local fishermen cleaning his catch for a hotel resturant. See photos.

Friday we headed to the other zones of Sal with friends. We visited the Saline (Salt Mine), Pedro de Lume, etc. When we were in Pedro de Lume we had stopped at a nice restaurant for a cold soda. See photos.

Afterwards we headed back to Espargos to watch the films on the television or play cards. It was a relaxing day. See photo of Espargos.

Saturday we were invited to the baptism party after Easter Mass. We headed to the party around 1am after the film ended on the telvision (Joana of Arc). We left the party at 4am.

Sunday was hanging around Espargos and talking to friends because we left for Sao Vicente at midnight. See a photo of us at the Saline.

Finally the card reader arrived so here are some photos from the last six months (September to March) so enjoy.

First Rain (September 08)

Second Rain (October 08)

Christmas 2009

Carnaval 2009

Playing Handball

Playing Soccer

Missy the Cat

Thank you for Birthday, Christmas, and Easter Presents

My typical weekend consist of washing clothes, cleaning house, watching futebol (soccer), walking to Mao pra Tras, visitng with friends, attending church on Sunday, watching the movie that the youth put on Sunday evenings, and getting ready for my Monday English class.

Typical Saturday: Wake up around 9am and make myself a cup of hot chocolate (sugar, milk, and chocolate powder). Start cleaning my deck, living room, kitchen, cat´s litter box, and if I have time clean the bathroom.

In the afternoon, I head over to the field in Tarrafal to watch futebol from 3ish to 6pm. Afterwards, they might be an activity at the local provialiente either music or sport (handball, futebol, or volleyball) that I will go and watch.

Typical Sunday: Wake up for church. Mass is from 10:30 to 11:30am. Afterwards, I put my diry laundry in the bucket full of soapy water on my roof. I will come back in about 1 hour for the washing. I finish cleaning house that I didn´t get to on Saturday. After laundry, which takes about 1 ½ hours to complete, I changed clothes and head to the field to watch futebol again.

I talked to friends along the way and hang out. I might head to the cybercafe after the game to print out my files for my English Class for Children on Monday. Today we learned about “animals.”

Mostly this is a typical weekend. Some weekends it varies.

Whether we live upstream or downstream, we are all in the same boat.

World Water Day 2009 will be celebrated on Sunday, March 22nd. The theme for World Water Day 2009 is “Shared Water, Shared Opportunities.” Special focus will be placed on trans-boundary waters. Nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in trans-boundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth.

Having a cat is a good most of the time beside when she decides to catch a gecko at 5am in the morning. Last week, Missy woke me up by climbing on the night stand, curtains, window sills, and bed meowing and meowing because she was trying to catch the gecko on the ceiling in my bedroom. Missy really gets tormented by the geckos because they hide on the walls out of reach. But at 7am the gecko made a false move and it was breakfast.

Dr. Seuss Birthday!!!

Read Across America

March 2nd

March 2nd is "Read Across America" so do not forget to sit down with a good book and just read. Or read to your children, cousins, nieces, nephew, or your neighbors. Read a great child´s book with them.

I am going to change it from "Read Across America" to "Read Across the World" for my English Class for children. The class is going to listen to "Cat in the Hat" from Dr. Seuss.

And if you are incline to help don´t forget about my project to bring books to Santo Antao, Cape Verde through “Books for Africa.” Click here; www.booksforafrica.org.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

Sunday, August 17th I woke up around 6am to get ready to go for a walk from Cove to Paul with youth from Povoaçao and Tarrafal, around 17 youths.

We all met at the plaza of Tarrafal around 7:30am but we all saw each other in the Shell because we were buying snacks for the journey. I brought juice, water, and cookies. We all shared are snacks on the walk.

The car (Hiace) arrive, and we loaded in to head to the start of the walk at Cove. The walk started out on the top of the mountains, here is the photo of the start of the walk:

Along the walk we shared our snacks, sang songs, talked, and hung out. We had lunch of dirty rice (rice, chicken, hot dogs, sausage, peas, corn, carrots) at the waterfall about 20 minutes from Paul. We swam in the waterfall, if we had a bathsuit or took a nap. I took a nap because the heat was giving me an headache.

After lunch, we cleaned up and headed back onto the road. When we reached Paul, half of us decided to pay for a car back to Povoaçao and the other half decided to walk back home. I paid for a car because the hot sun gave me a headache and upset stomach. I had a little heat exhaust from the sun. But sleeping for 10 hours afterwards helped.

Here are some photos of the walk.

Arrived back in my town Saturday, August 2nd and I have been having a lot of fun swimming and hanging out. It is summer vacation so it is a slower pace.

Meaning I am waiting for my four students to return to class in the afternoon and karate to restart because the instructor has been sick with a cold.

The first Sunday back we headed to the beach for a swim. Everybody in the surrounding area had the same thought because the beach was packed. And the waves were a little strong but it was still fun to get back into the water.

During the week, I headed to the CEJ to found the photocopy that has been broken for two years finally fixed. It is going to be moved into another room so we can charge for photocopies and make some income to pay for the ink and paper. Also, three new computers with flat screen monitors arrived.

The plan is too changed around the three rooms. One room will be for the coordination, another will for the photocopy, and the last room will be for the library. Another resource for the youth of Ribeira Grande.

In the afternoon doing the week, we headed to Mao p’ra traz to get bananas and mangos, and swim in the tank.

On Saturday was clean house day but swimming in the afternoon in Singogora. Then watch the evening show at the local povaliente. A friend and his band (Mix Cultura) put together contest for adult singers and a couple of my friends were singing so I had to go listen to them sing. There were pretty good singers too.

On Sunday was laundry day but swimming in the afternoon in Ponto do Sol. And the festa of Ponto do Sol was this weekend so we stayed and listen to music until midnight.

Taking a three week vacation to the States to see family, friends, and my brother’s wedding was awesome but the flight coming and going wasn’t fun.

Leaving the Islands, I was struck in Praia for a day because the plane never arrived. I lost a day in the States because of it and I had to sleep at the Boston airport because we arrived around 11:30pm and my flight to my final destination left at 6am so I crashed at the airport.

Heading back home, I received a call from TACV late Friday afternoon and the plane was delayed 24 hours. I was supposed to leave on Sunday, July 27th at 10pm and arrive in Praia on Monday, July 28th at 8am but now I won't be arriving into Praia into Tuesday, July 29th at 8am. But I was offered a hotel room paid by TACV so I was going to be a tourist and see a little bit of Boston but that didn’t work out.

This want happened; I woke up this morning at 4am to catch my 6:30am flight to New York City but when I arrived in New York City a lot of flights were canceled including mine due to lighting storms and heavy rain. I was supposed to leave for Boston at 4:29pm but it was delayed until 7:30pm but then it changed to be canceled. I had to stand in a slow moving lane for over a 1 hour until I decided to use the call phone. My new flight time is 9:55am and arriving in Boston at 11:55am.

So guess no touring Boston this time around. All I get to see is the NYC and Boston airports. Boo hoo.

But I did get to tour downtown Boston because I arrived at noon but when returning to the airport, I heard the flight was delayed again due to technical problems. All passengers received a hotel room and $60 dollars for meals at the hotel. On Tuesday, while waiting to go back to the airport I visited the aquarium. It was fun to see the city of Boston.

Hopefully I will be able to get into Praia before too long. I really miss my bed because the airport floor is not soft and I am done traveling for a while.

Ross, a fellow volunteer is working on a project in his town. Below is the information sent by email asking for help in purchasing a shirt to support the project.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Fellow Volunteers,

Together with Sonadei, a bicycle clothing company, I am working on a bicycle safety project which will help support the bicycle riders on Sao Nicolau with safety training and workshops on bicycle repair. The aim of the project is to supply the current riders with quality helmets, which will be purchased using the funds made from shirt sales. American Safety, a wholesale helmet supplier is also working with me and Sonadei.

To learn about the project and purchase a shirt, or send to family, friends, or anyone else, go to this link:

http://sonadei.com/catalog/CVBO.php

They have a goal of 100 shirts but I want to surpass that.Also, in the future the shirts will be made using recycled materials.

Thanks.

Ross Guberman

Cachaco, Sao Nicolau

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 28th the two local futbol teams played a game on the local field. The ending score was 1 to 3, with the team that I wanted to win, didn’t win. The end of the game was intense with many onlookers and excitement.

The last two weeks of watching futbol games have been fun. I hope you enjoy all the photos.

Futbol is one of the pastime activities on the weekend beside passé, playing cards, hanging out with friends, or watching novellas. So, I thought I would capture one of the pastimes, playing futbol.

For the last two weekends(June 22nd & 29th) , I decided to head over to the futbol field with my camera to take some photos of the games played by the local youth of Tarrafal and Puvason.. I captured some great shots of the game, even with the ball in play.

A different view from a different zone. These photos are the view from the zone, Tarrafal. My town has many different zones and these are from a friend’s rooftop. I thought the view was awesome so I wanted to capture it with my camera. Enjoy.

Saturday, June 7th the two youths center on the Island of Santo Antao (Ribeira Grande and Porto Novo) came together to hang out and celebrate International Earth Day which we did the last ten minutes of the day by putting on a play by some of the youths and a group discussion.

I think we were supposed to be picking up trash in the town of Pico de Cruz but instead it turned into a passerio (hanging out). No bags or gloves were brought just food for snack and lunch. But the view was excellent and the youths from both sides of the Island got to know each other better by playing a variations of games.

Pico de Cruz is situation on top of the mountains in the middle of a ton of Pine trees. I loved walking through the pine needles because it reminded me of Oregon.

Here are a few photos of the day:

(Start the day by introductions. We had ten youths from Ribeira Grande and fifteen youths from Porto Novo.)

(View of the Ribeira of Paul. You can view the trail from Cove to Paul; if you look closely you can see the zigzag trail.)

(Just love this photo.)

It is beginning to feel like summer because I have less students for my regular computer classes. My last section ended three weeks ago, and I taught from 8 to 10, 10 to 12, and 3 to 5 but after having the aviso hanging up around the town for three weeks, I only have four students in the afternoon.

The other classes (Photoshop and Web Design) is also in the afternoon. My schedule is:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday

o 3pm to 5pm

o June 6th thru September 5th

o Four students

• Tuesday, Thursday

o 3pm to 4pm (Web Design)

o 4pm to 6pm (Photoshop & Web Design)

o Seven students

Come to the CEJ in the morning to work on small projects but in the afternoon I will teach.

Tuesday, June 3rd was the start of the second round of the Photoshop course but I added Web Design after one hour of Photoshop. I have four students from the area (Tarrafal, Ribeira Torre, and Penha de França) and I think the students seem interesting.

The first day of Photoshop we made collages from my collection of Newsweek magazines and experimented with all the tools (crop, lasso, paintbrush, color, eraser, etc) on the left side. On Thursday, we will learn about three of the tools using two different photos.

The first day of Web Design we learned about the html, head, title, body codes as we wrote “Benvindo ao Mundo!” Each day I will teach them more code and about web design using the lesson plans that I found on Microsoft Website. At the end of the class, the students will have a start of a webpage of they own.

Here are the student’s collections of the art work:

Sunday, May 25th we headed for a walk through one of the Ribeiras after church service at 1:30pm. We walked back into town around 7pm, which I was a little hungry because I only ate a cheese sandwich for lunch and crackers for a snack.

In the beginning of the walk, Ribeira de Torre was green and brown but towards the end it was green (see below for the photos). We walked past a friend’s tank (somewhat like a swimming pool), my counterpart’s house, tossed the soccer ball around with a couple of my students for a few minutes before the students headed into town, saw a few friends, and watched a soccer game on the way back.

Tossing the soccer ball around with my students, my thoughts were, I need more practice because I kicked it way to far once and while but it was fun to get out a play.

Soccer (futebol) is a big activity on Santo Antão. You see many fields in the Ribeiras big and small. The small ones are for the children to practice which the big fields are for the playful games between friends. These fields are completely dirt and you can view the players wearing tennis shoes, scandals, or no shoes.

They are many different types of tanks; for drinking, watering the plants, or sometimes only for swimming. You can use the tanks that are used for watering the plants for a cool drip on a hot day, if it is clean and you know the owner of the tank.

Soccer, swimming, playing games, chatting with friends, or passé (walking around) is some of the pastimes for the youth.

Here are some photos from the hike:

Sunday, May 11th a friend and I left for the morning car at 7am to get up to Cove so we can hike from Cove to Paul. When we arrived in Cove which was chilly, which cost us together 500 CVE for the car ride. It was overcast with bits of rain drops but mostly cold. I didn’t bring a jacket because I didn’t expect it to be cold but nearing Paul they was no need for a jacket so I am glad that I didn’t bring one.

Starting out in Cove, we walked down a small cobblestone road between the mountains on one side and pine trees on the other side. It felt like Oregon. The weather was still overcast but you could see the sun peeping through the clouds so you knew it was going to be nice. We started to ascend up for a few moments before we descended down the Ribeira towards Paul. The whole walk was covering in green plants with flowers. I couldn’t believe how green it was.

We ran into friends on the hike, stopped for lunch and snacks, and to take photos. After looking through the photos, I decided to post five of my good shots.

Descending into the Ribeira of Cove, you could spot some soccer players playing at the local polivalente. You could see many water tanks scatter around the valley for the plants (sugar cane, lettuce, coffee, beans,…). We even stopped at the local Austrian’s house (bar & restaurant) for a small cheese plate. Alfred (Austrian) grows local basil and parsley, makes grouge and pouche, and the cheese is from his local cows. The cheese was delicious.

Coming into Paul, we found a car to take us back home. Arriving home, I took a nap until 8pm because it was a fulfilling day.

Sunday, May 4th a friend and I decided to go for a short walk through one of the Ribeiras. If it was mango season, which is, July to August the trees would be covered but I have to wait.

I brought my camera and I took some awesome shots of the mountains, the sun coming through the trees, and the greenish. See below for the photos because I took some great ones.

Around the evening of 14 of April, I walking by down the street from my house to check on to see if we have Internet yet (it was down for two weeks because a boat hit the line to our island) and I just looked into the yard of the Police station, and guess what. Guess what I saw, a Karate class warming up.

Remembering Karate from high school, I was invited inside to watch or join. I decided to join in so I quickly went back home to change because the police station is across the street from my house.

For 1,000 CVE each mouth you practice for two hours, four days a week. The class is schedule from 6 to 8 or 8:30pm but doesn’t officially start until 6:30pm. Mostly the students are arriving from 6 to 6:30pm so you can warm-up, jump rope, and/or practice during that time. We have on average about 15 to 20 adults with about 4 to 10 children. The last three weeks I have training we had four children but recently 10 students have been practicing with us.

The class officially starts at 6:30pm with warm-ups (stretches, jumping jacks, and jumping routine), then we practice punches and kicks. Then, we divide into pairs for technical. And sometimes we spar. By the end of class, I am exhausted and ready to hit the shower.

Overall, I am meeting some new friends, learning new vocabulary, and doing an activity that I have enjoyed since high school but couldn’t startup again in college because of my school workload. I am glad that I am back.

April 1st, around 10:45am my group of students for the Photoshop course showed up late but showed up. We went over the formulated of the class and we cracked open the program. We learned about the layout and tools, and then we started our first art project, “collage with Newsweek magazine.”

The Photoshop course is two days a week for one hour (10:00 to 11:00) for one month.

The weeks to follow (4 weeks) will be working with other photos that I have taken samples from Photoshop, or the students. It is structured more like art activities, experimenting with the program. We learn about the different tools and experiment.

The class is more like art class with activities to experiment with the program and get to know it. At the end of the class, each student will get a copy of Photoshop to continue to play around and learn how to manipulate the photos. I think the students are enjoying the class.

Here are the collages from the first day:

“Crioulas ne top d’mund”

Camp Crioula was a success, with 31 teenagers (15 to 19 years old) and 4 junior counselors that attended last years camp. This was the second year of the leadership camp for girls, which lasted for 5 days in the zone of Ribeira Grande.

The campers attended many sessions, which was getting to know each other (yarn connect game), selecting teams (popping balloons with a name of a junior counselor and a camper’s name), selecting team names for the week, women’s health with the help from the nurse, self-esteem, AIDS (with the banana race), motivation, leadership, etc. Some of the speakers were the nurse from the hospital, couple of the local teachers from the school, and us.

Beside sessions, the campers did art projects, which were making dolls, decorating there journals and folders, friendship bracelets, and tye-dye. The campers tye-dye the shirt that each receive with the logo and motto. Beside, art projects, the campers had a soccer game. Go Team!!!

The campers, junior counselors, and volunteers all had fun and we really enjoy ourselves. We all took a ton of photos during the week, which can be few here, http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbtGTdm3bNmL8g.

Easter weekend was a blast with food, drinks, music, and Frisbee; it was almost like being at home celebrating the holiday with friends and family. The activities, before heading over to a friend’s house for Easter dinner, I attended Easter Mass. The church was full with seven or more to a seat, with standing and sitting around the edges, and it took over two hours because it was a half hour late but normal.

A few other volunteers joined us from the different islands (Santiago & Fogo). We made a ton of food (chicken, fish, cheesy potatoes, salad, and green beans). Some of the recipes used were found in a couple of magazines that were sent from family and friends in the States. Thank you for the magazines because the chicken recipe was delicious.

While the food cooked we hung out, talked, drank, or played Frisbee with the children outside (see the photos). The children loved the Frisbee and we had some good players too. During the beginning, it was I and another volunteer throwing the Frisbee around before the children joined us. When we had a big group, I took out the camera and had some fun. Even a child helped me a take a few of the photos (he might become the next camera man). Frisbee was fun and it was something different then being inside waiting for dinner.

The two volunteers in Coculi did dessert, which was, fabulous. We had about four or five desserts to choose from, and I choose them all. I loved the homemade chocolate peanut butter balls.

We had a great weekend, celebrating Easter.

P.S. Easter was great. I wil upload photos and info in the next entry in a couple of days.

The press release for the girls camp that the leaders (second-years) put together and I am helping out with came out today on the four newspapers in Cape Verde. Visit http://www.expressodasilhas.cv/noticias/detail/id/2829/ to view the release. Here is a brief section of the press release:

"As Voluntárias do Corpo da Paz vão realizar o segundo acampamento feminino, denominado "Camp CRIOULA," entre os dias 25 e 30 deste mês, no Centro Agrícola de Afonso Martinho, Concelho da Ribeira Grande, na ilha de Santo Antão. De acordo com uma nota da organização, "Camp CRIOULA" vai oferecer informação e formação nas áreas da liderança, orientação profissional, saúde da mulher, prevenção da gravidez na adolescência, educação ambiental e o conhecimento da personalidade das 40 (quarenta) raparigas, na faixa etária dos 15 e 19 anos, oriundas de todos os concelhos e localidades da ilha de Santo Antão."

Today is the first day of Spring and it is feeling a lot warmer in Cape Verde compared to December and January but I do miss the flowers and trees coming to life after the Winter Season. Please send photos of the Spring Season in America.

Happy Easter or Pascoa!! I hope the day brings Special Joy on this great occasion. Have fun…

1. Visiting with family and friends…

2. Eating some delicious foods (I will be too)…

3. Taking some great shots of the holiday (I will post some photos of our Easter Dinner)…

4. And having fun.

Have a great weekend with family and friends. Enjoy life.

Dia do Pai (Father's Day)

Today is Father's Day in Cape Verde. Some of the examples of how Cape Verdeans thank they Fathers for being so great are:

Send an email.Or call.Buy presents, for example, perfume, watch, certificate for being a great dad, take them out to dinner, or give him a big kiss.etc, etc, etc...So, Dia do Pai to all the DAD's in the World.