Yes yes, I know it's been months since we've had an update...and this isn't really going to be a good one, but here are some pictues from my mom's trip to visit last month!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/collections/72157622513474057/

New in Cape Verde:

- Dove and Josh get a new puppy! Her name is Bolacha and she's 6 weeks old

- The rain season has come and pretty much gone, wiping out numerous roads and washing out fields. It was our heaviest rain in 25 years - yikes!

- Dove and Josh "passed" their Mid Service Medical exams with no worms or parasites!

- New Volunteers were sworn in on September 19th; Dove helped with the training and transport back to the northern islands

- A National Geographic expedition ship came into Port Novo last week and Dove and Josh got to hang out with 80 or so American visitors and help with the tour of the island

No promises on our next post, but we'll *try* to be better in the future!

If there is one thing in Cape Verde they know how to do, it's throw a party. Of course, if there are two things they know how to do in Cape Verde, it's throw a party, and make the liquor to serve at it. But that's a blog for another time...

Festival season kicked off with Cocouli back in May, but the REAL party was in June, at the Festa de San Joao Baptista. Yes, that's right, all this excitement and hullabaloo over a saint. Officially, the party started on May 30st with activities for kids and soccer tournaments, but the festivities kicked into high gear the week of the 15th with live music in Abufador (a zone in the city of Porto Novo). That lasted 4 nights, starting usually around 9pm and continuing until...uh...well after we went to sleep.

But even THAT didn't constitute the REAL festival, seeing as the ACTUAL saint day wasn't until the 23rd. So the weekend before, the entire zone of Abufador turned into a street party (though the street itself wasn't blocked off until Sunday, but what's a few cars driving down the road amongst a group of drunk folks, right?). Much like other festas, San Joao consists of lots of drinking, lots of walking around, lots of food vendors selling grilled meats and french fries (out of little make-shift shack type restaurants and bars called "barakas") and lots of general craziness. On roof tops, discos magically appear for festa goers to dance the night away (by which I mean, around 2am folks start to GO to the discos and dance til dawn), there are fashion shows in the racinda (sort of like a small stadium) accompanied by live music some days, including big acts such as Gil (zouk singer that everyone loves here - we were too cheap to spend the $1000CVE to get in).

Our friend's aunts baraka (you can see how dusty it was!)

During the day, you can visit these same baraks and also ones that sell clothes, sunglasses, shoes, jewelery, sort of a flea market with both cheap products from China and stuff that has been sent over from Brazil and America...which probably were also made in China. On the weekend (19th - 21st) there was an agricultural fair, where - I hope you're sitting down for this - we found BROCCOLI! Now, it might have been the WORST broccoli I've ever had in my life, totally bitter, but we were in heaven. Santo Antao is well known for their cheeses, grogues, ponches and liquors (the last three all being forms of alcohol, btw) and some of the producers have learned some great marketing principles and bottle their wares quite nicely. We bought a few unique flavors of ponche and liquor, including passion fruit. We also had the privilege of trying bolacha liquor, which was AMAZING, and chocolate as well - sort of like Bailey's style drinks. Bolacha, btw, is a type of cookie/biscuit (Tarantellis - think Italian nothing cookies). Most days as well there were horse races by the ocean. We generally skip these - let's just say that animals aren't always well cared for here and leave it at that.

The agriculture fair

So we spent the days of the weekend shopping and doing agricultural stuff and the nights partying our butts off, and come Monday...we were exhausted. We TRIED to head in early, but then my counterpart insisted that Monday was the best night! There was the Desfile de Grupos de Sao Joao! Huh? So out we went, no idea what to expect, other than it was "sort of like Carnival!" and we'd be walking with this group...er...ok...well, each zone that chooses to designs a float, has dancers and women walking around with fruit and statues of saints on their head and palm leaves, and everyone is danced in "old" aka traditional clothing of long black skirts (or pants for the men, with the pant legs rolled up), white blouses and lensus on their head (long scarves that you wrap your hair in).

Getting ready for the Desfile de Grupos

They dance in pairs, in sort of a...4 4 count...sort of like...er...well they walk up to each other, taking big steps, and then raise their hands and jump forward, slamming their pelvises into one another. I am so not kidding. Then they back up, some spin around, and then repeat. It is QUITE the site to see. Men do it with men, women with women, and men and women together.

Dancing the Coladeira :bump:

Did I mention it's a fairly sexual culture?

And here's where they randomly plop a church down...check out my counterpart with the drum...and the dude in the yellow - BEST outfit EVER!

Oh and one other thing. At ALL the festas we go to, there is always someone in the procession wearing a boat. Yes, WEARING a boat. We have tried to get to the bottom of this phenomenon to no avail. We've come to the conclusion that it must have something to do with the whole living on an island thing, especially before there were planes. We're still looking into it. In other news...my counterpart has enlisted yours truly to help with choreography for next years festa in our zone (Armazem). Stay tuned...

The boats

But wait, there's SO much more!

I know by now you're asking yourself "Wait wait guys, if you are out til 4 or 5am every morning at the disco and dancin' in the streets, and then getting up for daytime fun (oh yeah I should mention the heat here was in the 100s during S. Joao so there was no sleeping past 8am)...WHEN do you SLEEP!? Well...we asked the same question to several of our friends and co workers, and the response was always the same: SO FESTA!!! "So" in Kriolu means "Only" and "festa" of course means "party like a rockstar." So there you have it: no sleep, just party. And that is literally how it is. We tried really really hard to nap, but how could you when it was 114 degrees out? I think by Tuesday afternoon I was actually in tears I was so tired and hot and miserable...but of course Tuesday is the MAIN day, and we haven't even gotten there yet...

Tuesday is the actual Sao Joao Baptista day. What exactly does that mean? It means that everyone piles in cars at 7 30 in the morning from Porto Novo and heads up to the small town of Ribera das Patas, where we meet up with an actual statue of the saint and then WALK back to Porto Novo. Or, if you're like any reasonably intelligent (and lazy) person, you walk to Lagedos and then take a car the rest of the way down. So we did! Tons of people were there, lots of drumming and drinking (at 8am, yes) and a couple of stops along the way for food and booze (if you were fast enough to get your hands on it) compliments of the local government (see why they weren't able to fund our girls camp?). We walked, we took pictures, we saw dancing in the streets, we bailed. Tried to finally take a nap but no, 114 degrees would not allow it, and so we struggled through the day (I think I took 4 showers that day) in order to party it up, again, at night. Of course that night was the biggest of the party nights and we stayed out for all of it. Or at least all of it that I could stay awake for - I have a vague recollection of falling asleep at a table...the next night was more of the same: lack of sleep during the day, partying all night until FINALLY, the final night of the festa arrived: Dia 25 de Junho, Sao Joaozinho, where the Saint returns to his home in Ribera das Patas to chill for another year.

The procession from R. das Patas to Porto Novo

Saint JB, up close and personal

That nights party was up in R. das Patas, and...of course...we dragged our butts up there around 4 30 to check it out. It was definitely smaller, but more intimate and more fun. We saw more people we knew and had fun laughing and talking and drinking and dancing. That day we actually sort of got a nap in at another volunteers house (sort of) and headed back out around 11. Little did we know...

Because we'd gone up so early, we grabbed a backpack with clothes to change and my contacts, glasses, random stuff. Because we were in Ribera das Patas, it never occurred to us that it would be a bad idea to take said backpack down to the party with us. We were obviously mistaken. After wandering around talking with friends and having a grand old time, we went up to one of the roof top discos (yep, they had them in RdP too) to dance. I was dancing with our friend Chuky when I saw Josh walk by with our friend Nany...and an open backpack. I grabbed him and looked inside - they'd taken almost everything. It was the most random assortment of things too: my glasses, my sun glasses, my make up case (?), our pen drive (damn), my brush, Josh's PC hat, Josh's shorts, his shirt...but they didn't take everything, and I still don't know why they took things like my comb...but alas, for the first time in Cape Verde, we were "cash or body"'d.

The expression "Cash or body" or, as they say it "cah sho baw dee" sounds like it is: it's what muggers say when they want your stuff - gimme your cash or I'll take your body. But people, especially in the fora (countryside) use it for any sort of pickpocketing etc. Apparently what happened to us, several young gentlemen from Mindelo (our friend described them as rastas) circled around Josh from behind without him knowing it and then unzipped his bag and robbed him. Because there were so many of them, they were able to cut him off from our friend Nany and cause a distraction so no one could either notice or stop them. Nany saw it happen (that's how we know who it was) but because he had been cut off from Josh, couldn't do much. Plus...they took his picture (Nany's), which is what they will apparently do as a threat, meaning If you tell who we are, we know who YOU are.

Okay this all sounds far more sinister than it really is, though I suppose I could be wrong and maybe it IS really that sinister, but in the end...it WAS the last night of Sao Joao after all...and there wasn't anything we could do about it...so we found a friend of a friend who had a baraka and stashed what was left of our stuff and went back to the disco to dance our cares away. And dance we did! It was probably (post theft) one of the most fun nights out I had had to date. There is nothing like being with a group of 10 Cape Verdean friends in the midst of a packed crowd dancing together, especially when you are the only white people there and you really, really like to dance. I admit it, we like the attention, but then again we like the attention we draw when we're dancing in America too!

Around 5am we took a Hilux home (open backed pick up truck with benches) and fell fast asleep. Thus ended what is truly one of the largest saint festivals in all of Cape Verde, and we could not have been happier.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another exciting episode of "24 Hour Party People." In the next installment, Dove and Josh go to Mindelo for a 10 day vacation starting with Love Feria and ending with the huge music festival Baia das Gatas!

Well it's been a couple weeks since our last update, guess it's time for a new one!

Summer is in full effect here in Cape Verde. It is HOT, but usually not unbearably so (most of the time). Kids are out of school, folks are at the beach every day, and our new youth center is in full swing.

I've started working several days a week at the center, where kids ages 3 to 10 come to hang out and do structured activities. Mostly they do art projects or put together puzzles, play games etc. I've started teaching them English and will be starting a more structured program next week, with each week having a Theme and each day doing an activity related to the Theme. Next week is "ME!" so they will start out by making name tags that are decorated with pictures of things that could describe them...for example if they like music they could draw music notes, or books if they like to read.

I have a meeting on Tuesday to see about other activities I can start doing for older kids. It seems like the center was designed for a younger audience, but it seems a shame for that space to not be used to benefit the whole community. We'll see what we can do.

Josh is still plugging away doing programming for the Camara. He's also working at the youth center behind our house, teaching one of the women that work there basic computer skills so that she can teach other people (sustainability! ).

Last night, we were treated to a wonderful meal (and REAL wine!! OMG!) by the Country Director of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (a big deal in American foreign development work). It was wonderful to sit down and speak with him, about everything from development work to language, women's studies to wine. A big thanks to our Country Director Hank for mentioning our names to him, it was such a pleasure.

Today was a pretty big day - there were 3 "inagurations" today, all related to agriculture. The biggest one is right at the city limits of Port Novo and is sponsered by the Millennium Challenge Corporation . They'll be opening a cold storage facility that will help preserve the food that is grown and harvested on our island. In addition, there has been an embargo on the food produced on Santo Antao for the past umteen years due to a millipede problem. However, with the new facility they will be able to treat the produce, allowing it to be shipped and sold off island. Pretty cool.

The other cool thing about today was that here we are, in an African country, and on stage giving speeches is the Prime Minister (who we got to meet and speak with for a while) and the President of the Camara (local government). The PMs political party is PAICV, whereas the President of the Camaras party is MPD. In America, maybe this is commonplace, but looking at the history of many African countries, it's an amazing testimony to the democratic process in Cape Verde to see this.

The new volunteers arrived on July 15th, which also means that WE have been here over a year now. I honestly can't believe that I haven't been in America for a year - how fast time flies. We're still thinking about extending for a third year if we can, as long as we have enough work and projects to keep us busy and contributing to our community. We really do love it here (most days). It gets harder to blog though, as life here seems to be, well, normal to us. Trust us, there is still lots going on, we're just used to it by now.

Last month was the Festa de San Joao Baptista, but that will have to have it's own blog entry (I'll get on that). Its high festa season and we've been thoroughly enjoying them. Next week we head to Mindelo for a big party, then a week on the beach, followed by Baia, a huge music festival on the beach. It should be pretty crazy, and we're psyched to get away for a bit.

So, I guess that is it for now. Oh yeah, thanks everyone for the KoolAid! And in case you didn't know, my mom is coming October 2nd to visit for two weeks. WOOHOO!

I hate to have to write this blog…but our baby Gus Gus died last Monday. We think that he had a bowel obstruction, no doubt caused by one of the many things he liked to eat while playing in the street or in the house. He was really the best puppy and brought a lot of happiness into our lives. He was not even 5 months old when he left us, far too short of a time for us to love him.

Our beautiful baby boy

One of the saddest parts of this for us is that you all will never get to meet and know our little guy. I know everyone must say this about their beloved pets…but he was really the coolest, most amazing dog ever. We wanted to share with you some of his amazing qualities in hopes that you can get a little taste of how great he was.Our little guy on his first day with mom and dad I met Gus when he was in utero I guess, and then again when he was only a week old. When he came to us he was the tinyest little thing. It took about 10 seconds for us to fall in love with him.Our first meeting

Before too long he started to become our little “pog” (puppy-dog) and then “duppy” (dog-puppy). He learned to potty on his paper when we said “fazi shee shee” which in Kriolu means “go potty.” He learned to sit pretty, mostly in the hopes of getting our food, and when we said “mon” (hand) he gave us his paw…sometimes both. When he barked, we would tell him “kala boka!” which means, literally “shut your mouth.” He would bark again, softer, and still softer when we said it a third time. We couldn’t help but laugh. He was just so smart (and sneaky – he knew he could get away with anything).Helping dad build his playpen

He loved to sit with us and on us, especially on his daddy’s lap when dad was reading. He was a good reader, helping dad turn the pages and point out where dad had left off…he never chewed our shoes (thankfully) but managed to get into everything else. He always loved to be near us, even when there were other dogs around (except his girlfriend, Feya, who was about three times his size). He liked cooking with mom, or rather sitting under my feet while I cooked, but I think that he was just hoping I would drop something. Actually, Gus had a thing about sitting. It was like he was never content sitting just on the floor, like a normal dog. He liked to sit on things. Like when we were sitting on the couch, he’s sit on our foot, like it was a chair, or he’d sit on our leg or really any part of us, so his hindquarters were elevated above the rest of him. He’s sit on bags or rocks or the power adapter, anything really that was above an inch tall, if he could, instead of just sitting “normally” like a puppy on the floor. It was as if he couldn’t fully accept that he was a puppy and instead though he was part human, and used everything he could to sit in like a chair. Reading with dadA new chair!

He was smart and industrious and it took us numerous attempts at a play pen before we could construct one that he couldn’t climb out of. That only lasted about 2 weeks, until he was big enough to just jump out of it. When we doubled the size, he figured out how to push it aside, and when we reinforced it, he just climbed out. Fortunately he was big enough at that point to let have a bit more freedom than his playpen. Escape!

He loved his Kong, an indestructible toy we had mailed to us. I tied a rope to the end of it and used to go “fishing with him.” I’d launch the Kong and it would bounce and he would try and latch onto it. He always let me take it from his mouth without so much as snapping. He loved playing fetch with his little tennis balls (and he almost caught on to how to bring it back to us so we could throw it again) and tug with his “UFO” as dad liked to call it. Before he completely destroyed it, he would latch onto it and dad would run him round in circles til he got a little dizzy. Recently he had taken to talking with us – making weird noises, not barks, like he was really trying to make human sounds. He made us laugh all the time. He had just learned the trick to getting to sleep with us over the past few weeks – at night he go into his kennel (all we had to do was lead him there, he never argued) and after a few hours, he’d whine a little. I reached over and let him out and he went right to his paper to potty, then would come back and look at dad to pick him up so he could give us kisses and squeeze between us to sleep. Of course our wiggle worm couldn’t stay still and kept us up most nights…that was ok though, it was worth it. He was so different than all the other puppies around here…we taught him early not to bite, and so when the other dogs would “fight” with him, he always lost. We taught him to be calm when we tormented him a bit, by pulling on his ears or tail; we figured that it would prepare him for when we had kids and they started pulling on him – that way he’d never bite or even care much. When our friend came over with her baby, he didn’t mind when she poked and prodded him. He was a protective little guy, and every time he heard someone come into our building, he’d give us fair warning (until we told him to be quiet…then he’d give us another warning, just quieter).Our little protector

Everyone in the neighborhood, and the city really, knew and loved Gus. If we went out without him, they all wanted to know where he was. I’m pretty sure they all like him better than us, or at least they all know him better than us. We took him into the grocery store with us – he had a human girlfriend there that he loved to see. He wasn’t very fond of mom keeping a tight rein on him when we were visiting the fish ladies – he would have rather been eating them (the fish, not the ladies). All the kids loved him even if he didn’t respond too well to them, and even the adults laughed at his antics and wouldn’t let the other dogs be mean to him. He loved to watch movies with us…or rather he loved to stomp on the keyboard while we were watching movies. He didn’t need a leash, he always just followed behind us and came when called. He loved the beach but not the water. He wasn’t too fond of other people and was even scared of the neighborhood chihuahua, Simba. That was pretty funny to watch. His other favorite thing to watch was the girls, our guinea pigs. They were introduced at a young age, so they weren’t afraid of each other, and Gus always tried to sneak into their cage. We kept a close eye on him…and he sat outside their cage and kept a close eye on them too. It was pretty funny to watch him watch them…and he liked to eat their hay too. We never quite understood that, other than he liked to eat pretty much anything. Except ants, he wasn’t a fan of ants. We aren’t either.Wishing he could play with his "sisters"

He used to sit so pretty, sort of with his legs to the side on his hip, and he’d cock his head at us and furrow his brow, deep in contemplation. He wore that expression often. One of his ears was “broken,” meaning that it flopped differently than the other, not so upright. It was just one of the things that made him awesome. Like many dogs here, he looked like he had Cleopatra eyes, lined with eyeliner, and it curled out to the sides and up toward his forehead. Also like many dogs here, he had 6 toes on each of his back paws. They looked so silly flopping about, but it was just another thing that made Gus, Gus. He was the most beautiful little boy.Sittin' pretty, even at 2 months

Probably the funniest thing he did was sleep on his back, with his lower legs stretched out and his upper ones sort of flopped over and his neck totally leaned to the side. It always reminded me of a chicken. I can’t imagine how in the world that was comfortable, but he slept like that in his kennel, on the floor, on his pillow, on the couch…such a clown. Then again he could never stay that way for too long, he liked to wriggle around too much, getting up, walking around for about 10 seconds, flopping down again. I timed him once, he didn’t stay in one position for more than 28 seconds.His favorite position

We called him, in the true Cape Verdean fashion of having multiple “nominias” (nick names) Gus Gus, Gus, Gustopher, Gusolupogus, Wiggle Worm, Worm, Stinker Butt, Monkey, Buddy, Bud, Pupper, Baby Boy…his dad loved to say “Such a puppy!” or “Such a boy!” as if there was anything else he could possibly be. I kept trying to get him to use an adjective in there, but it didn’t stick. I had a special bond with my boy, but so did his dad, and both our hearts were broken when he left us. When he was sick, we took him to the vet in town, who said he would be fine and that it was nothing. I knew the next day it was something more serious. He wouldn’t eat or drink and wasn’t going potty. I think we were in denial that it was a bowl obstruction because we knew that without surgery he probably wouldn’t make it. We went to the vet every day to try and help him…they told us that there were no vets with x-ray machines and no one to do surgery. We called the capital city to talk to the vet there, and they said the same thing. We had been all packed and ready to fly him there…but there was nothing we could do. We fed him water with a syringe to try and keep him hydrated, thinking that would be the worst of his problems…We stayed by his side day and night, not wanting to leave him, for four days. Monday night I knew it was bad – he was too weak to throw up any more and I told Josh we needed to sleep with him again. He started to mess himself…at first I hoped so much that meant he was better. We took him in the shower with us, and before we had finished cleaning him up, he was gone. We buried him the next day on the beach by the ocean. I didn’t want to…I kept thinking he would wake up and give us our morning kisses. He didn’t. Gus was like a baby to us, as silly as it sounds. Animals can be “pets” or they can be your little furbabies. I do feel a bit foolish comparing him to a child, but he came into our lives and stole our hearts in a way that I think surprised both of us. I can’t believe he is gone and that we won’t have more time to get to know him and love him, and that you all will never get the chance to fall in love with him either (as everyone did that met him). Sorry for the blubbery post, I just wanted to share our joy and pain with you. -Dove

"Bzot kre mais um ponche?" he offered, the strong sweet liquid already starting to pour into the glass. "Si!" Josh replied; "No obrigada, m ti ta toma feria" I said...I'm taking a vacation. From alchol, that is. And so we sat, Josh sipping his ponche, me trying desperately to hold Gus in my lap; he wouldn't stop freaking out over the chiuaua Simba who, although twice his age but only half his size, would not stop mounting him.

This continued for about 20 minutes, with sporadic bursts of conversation intertwined, mostly about work and the upcoming huge festa, San Joao. Our neighbor, Arlindo, who had invited us to "txiga" was telling us about his band that would be playing on Monday night, and how we should come. And how it would start around midnight. On Monday.

"Txiga" technically means "to arrive." As in "Nos txiga!" - We've arrived! But as with all languages, there are nuances and alternate meanings, and txiga also means to come over and sit and visit for a while. So when someone says "Txiga, txiga!" and motions for you to come towards them, it is an invitation to hang out for a while. It's sort of rude to turn them down, although as typical Americans we are generally hurrying to and fro...except it's not like there's really anywhere to go in a hurry. It's something we're learning to adapt to.

But we have yet to really master the art of the txiga. Maybe it's because I talk so much, or because in America we like regular streams of conversation, but I find it sort of akward. Here you are sitting in someones house, usually with the tv on, and no one is really talking or you talk in short bursts but not about anything in particular. Small talk...but really, really small talk. And lots of misunderstandings, or at least a degree of difficulty exactly understanding what each other is saying.

"When is your group playing?"

"Last Monday, in Paul."

"Oh, ok so when do they play in Port again?"

"Monday."

"So they played in Paul last Monday and in Port this Monday?"

"No no, just in Port for the festa."

"But the festa is next week..."

"Right, we start early and someone will play every night in the praca."

"Oh down here?"

"No, the other praca."

"Ahh, ok."

*end*

It got even more confusing last night because apparently, in our neighbors first floor, the Camara and some other NGO's have build a community/youth center, with one small room that has computers and chairs for classes, and another open space for youth. I tried to figure out who paid for it, who was involved, who would be doing programming, what sorts of stuff they would be doing, how he was involved, why it was built at his house...I think I got most of it...but I'm mostly confused by the following:

1. The project somehow involves the Camara.

2. The project somehow directly involves my Counterpart...you know, the one who never has work for me or time to work with me.

3. My Counterpart is apparently involved in setting up programs.

4. My Counterpart has never mentioned ANY of this to me.

*sigh*

But I digress, as this is about the txiga.

The artful portion of this for a foreigner is how to exit. At what point is it rude to stay? At what point is it rude to leave? How does one gage this, and how does one artfully rise and exit? They already think we're nuts because we eat dinner at 7pm...apparently 9pm is a better time to eat and they think it's funny when we get up to go make dinner when we're hanging out on the street outside...or txiga-ing. But when you are sitting around, akwardly in someones house that you really only know in passing, and the conversation is halting at best and for the most part you are watching Portuguese soap operas on tv...well...what happens next?

I don't know. I'm not sure I'll really ever know. It's like the whole toilet paper thing - if you aren't supposed to put the TP in the toilet, but there is no waste paper basket to throw the TP into, where do you put it? (the answers I've gotten were "on the floor behind the toilet" or "in the toilet anyway." Verdict is still out on that one.) So in our akward foreigner way, we said we should go so we could feed Gus and plus he was being a total wiggle worm. They also thought that was funny, that the dog had a feeding schedule.

Oh well.

Ti logu,

Dove

Sooo...Friday is my 30th birthday. Just thought I would remind everyone, which might prompt some of you to actually send us an email or comment on the blog (*cough* hint hint *cough*). Just sayin...

Also, I've had a couple of you lovely readers ask me what stuff we need on our little island. We're pretty set here, thanks to the bi-weekly spice-and-snack contributions of my mother, who apparently has nothing better to do with her money than spend it on me (of which I am eternally grateful). However, it's always fun getting "stuff" from folks, so here is a super short list:

1. Kool-Aid packets! Just plain ol' Kool-Aid, those $.20 packets, in most flavors except maybe apple and grape. Oh and Purplesaures Rex. Never did like that one. Nothing with sweetener, we add it here. I'm not a big fan of the uber sweet stuff we have here, plus you can make a mean cocktail with some Kool-Aid and sweetener.

2. Flax seed meal. As some of you have followed my expanding and then shrinking waistline (btw I'm down almost 25lbs now), I've started using flax seed meal a lot. I think Wegmans sells it in the Nature's Market for $5.

3. For my computer savvy friends who know how to use Bit Torrent and burn DVDs/CDs (as in don't go out and buy anything, just download it)...copies of this seasons LOST (we have through episode 8), Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy (I think it just ended), Season 5 of Sopranos (and any other seasons they have past that) and Season 5 of The Office (American version), and any season of West Wing except 3 and 4 (already seen them). We will also happily watch anything else you enjoy and want to send.

That's it, I think we have everything else we could possibly want.

A "for real" blog update coming your way soon...

The old soccer stadium

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of seeing a couple construction projects actually see an inauguration. Oh and how they love their inauguration parties. Especially when it's a soccer stadium. Nothing brings people together here like a game of soccer. So when the new beautiful stadium with artificial turf opened it was a big deal to say the least, and we were curious what it would be like. We were told to show up at 10 am and there would be a tour of the new stadium and so we did. Sure enough a fair number of people wandering around and checking out the new shiny stadium, but no real festa. We waited around in the heat for about 5 hours with nothing really going on but a steady growing buzz of activity. Then there was an announcement that everyone had to go outside for the ribbon cutting. We thought, great this is it! As everyone was piled around the flag poles that held oversized soccer flags trumping even the country flag, the ribbon was cut and we asked, "Ok, now what?" A youth soccer game of course, to come before the official game. Oh ... well since arriving, we've decided that soccer really isn't our thing, and to sit through two games, let alone one was a bit too much. So we decided to call it a day, a little disappointed that there wasn't more a party but glad to see a major construction project come to completion where so many languish. Oh and we came to find out later that we left at a good time, as we also missed a lengthy speech in between the soccer games that "officially" inaugurated the stadium; they like their speeches too. I guess some things are universal!

The new stadium

That brings me to our second construction project that was completed and inaugurated just two weeks later: The first paved road on our island. After our lengthy day of wandering the stadium and being underwhelmed by the activities, we decided to sit the actual inauguration of this one out, thinking the cool festa portion would take place later. This time the choice was not so well advised. It turned out that there was the mother of all parties at the end opposite end of the road, and by the time we decided to go, everyone was already there partying so getting there was out of the question. Ah well, that's life.

The new road

We've enjoyed the road since then. Just this past weekend I went with my counterpart and a group of others from the Camara to a "beach" (a place where the ocean meets land that isn't a cliff side). We had a cookout and just relaxed for the afternoon. Who knew that squid was such a grilling delicacy? Who knew I'd get so harassed about not having a "picania?" (ie a girlfriend on the side)

As far as my work goes at the Camara, that's making progress too. They have actually started to do some serious data entry in the program that I created for them after I gave them an update and opened their eyes to what the application could do. I love to see the excitement build as they roll ideas around in their head about what else it could. I've even taken the opportunity to publish some of the internationalization objects I've created for dealing with different currency formatting. (http://www.djangosnippets.org/snippets/1525/) It feels pretty good to be doing what I'm actually GOOD at while I'm here.

So we have discovered the wonders of using Skype with webcam, talking with my mom today. We'd love to be able to chat with her and anyone else using video, but before we purchase a new webcam, does anyone have one that they're not using anymore? If so, we'd love to borrow it for a while!!!

In case it's been so long you forgot what we look like!

Over a month has gone by and again we have slacked at our blogging efforts. Part of this is because we've been busy, part of it is because we've been lazy, but most of this has been because the longer you are a part of a culture, the less..."interesting" it seems to you, the less you feel you need to tell people about. Life starts to become like life anywhere, you have a flow to your day and things just don't seem that exciting. But I know some of you have been asking what's up, so I'll try and fairly quickly sum up the last weeks here :)

Return to Santiago - In Service Training - March 13 to 20

Wow, that was a while ago! Going back to Mancholy to visit our family was really great. We love them so much, and we had a blast. They cooked up a storm for us and on Saturday we had a little festa where we made a ton of American food - bean salad, quiche, squash pie, mashed potatoes, spanish rice...super good, super fun. The biggest challenge for me was remembering how to speak Badiu, the southern Kriolu.

Training itself was good. It was nice to see everyone and to hang out in the big city of Praia. While I felt it could have been spaced out better (ie more focus on project design management and less on behavior change; longer session on life skills and less "fluffy" stuff the first two days), we learned a lot. The most interesting aspect was our counterparts came with us for two days. You've all heard brief musings about my counterpart - the frequent blow-offs, the goofball attitude - and unbelievably, his behavior at training was no different. I was happy though that he acted this way so that Peace Corps could see what I was dealing with. Example: at dinner the last night, one of the second year volunteer was standing too close to a candle and caught her hair on fire. My counterpart was in the middle of his part of the talent show (a magic act) and as soon as the fire was out he kept trying to redirect all attention to him. He's sort of like a 6 year old with ADHD. Ah well. At least he's fun, right?

Sal - March 21 to 24

After IST we headed off with Jacky and Leah to visit the island of Sal. It was BEAUTIFUL! We fell in love, but mostly because we've been on an island that isn't very touristy, and to go to an island that is was fun. They had all the things we'd been missing: Amazing italian food, a wine and martini bar, 2 for 1 happy hour, an Irish pub or two, pina coladas, margaritas, tiramisu, and a gorgeous beach. For our anniversary (March 23rd) we started the day early and hit the salt pans, old salt mines about 20 minutes from Espargos where we stayed. We swam in the salt pools and after went to the ocean to snorkel, then had lunch. After we went to town and had an amazing dinner of beef caprecio, serra ravioli and gnocci with a tomato cream sauce. OMG. And tiramisu for dessert. We also hit this really cool spot where there is a natural pool, sort of like a giant tide pool, that you can swim in at certain times of the day. There's an awesome cave there as well you can climb into and swim, but the tide wasn't' right and it wasn't safe so we passed. All in all, Sal was great. Totally reminded me of the Caribbean and we can't wait to go back.

Boa Visa - March 25 to 29

Boa Vista is one big island of beach. Much less developed than Sal, it has a budding tourist industry which provided just enough variety of bars and restaurants to keep us busy. More homemade gnocci, awesome grilled octopus and squid, a fantastic pizza or two...mmmm. BV has amazing beaches, some of which are totally secluded and no one goes to. Most days we just hung out near the wind surfers and sunned ourselves, but one day at breakfast we met this really awesome German couple (Hi M and J!) and rented a car with them (PCV's can't drive, so we really wanted to see the island and were glad to find folks that were happy to split the cost and take us along!). We saw everything - the wreck of the Santa Maria, Baia das Gatas, the desert dunes and the 18 km long beach of Santa Monica. We were the only people there on the entire beach...it was paradise. No development just us.

On our third day there, we went to visit Guest House Orquedea, a spectacular place to stay if you are ever in BV. The PCV who used to live on BV had friends there, and we asked him to take us snorkeling in the bay. There is a small islet right off of the main town in BV, so close you can swim there (it's very shallow to get there as well) so he took us out, we snorkeled around and then swam to the island itself. A few hours later he picked us up, after exploring the old military fort and the beach. It was pretty awesome - we were literally stranded on a desert island for about 3 hours lol. Okay not stranded, but we had our camera so we didn't really want to swim back.

All in all our vacation was spectacular. We've decided we don't really want to go to any other islands anymore, we just want to revisit Sal and Boa Vista. They are just so totally different than either Santiago or Santo Antao. That's the beauty of Cape Verde. Don't forget all the pics are on our flickr page!

Introducing...GUS! Arrival March 31

Josh and I have been contemplating getting a dog for a while now. Back in January we found out that a street dog that has a great personality was pregnant up in Ribera das Patas, so we talked to the owner and asked if we could have one of the puppies. I met our new friend about a week after he was born and totally fell in love and named him Gus Gus, like the little mouse from Cinderella. They don't really have breeds of dogs here, so we call him a Cape Verdean Street Mutt or an "Island Mix" but he's wonderful and sweet and we love him to death! You can see pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616988115864/ He's getting to be a big boy now, almost 8lbs!!! He shouldn't get too much above 15...we hope!

Easter - April 11th and 12th

Cape Verde is a Catholic country, so holidays like Easter are a pretty big deal...or at least a pretty good excuse for a pretty big party. For this Easter we skipped the baskets and headed to the big party Saturday night in Ribera das Patas. It was really fun, tons of music, we're finally getting this Zuke dancing thing down, we saw tons of people we know and it made us realize just how integrated we're becoming. I'm sure there were some religious activities going on as well...but we didn't see them!

Site Visit from our new APCD - April 23 to 24

Our new APCD (the person in charge of the Small Enterprise Development Program) came to visit us at the end of April. This was a great opportunity for me to 1) show her the three project proposals I'd been working on, 2) explain the difficulty I'd been having with my counterpart and getting him to work with me, and 3) get a free meal (woohoo!). I'm very proud of my project ideas and it seems that my counterpart is interested, but he is also very busy and doesn't seem to be able to help me move forward with them. Ana Lisa tried to help me out but from what I understood of the conversation, he wasn't entirely truthful about the work he was doing with me. That's neither here nor there I suppose, but it still was nice to be able to talk about the issues.

Festa da Santa Cruz - May 1 to 3

This past weekend we went up to visit the girls in Cocouli for their town's saint day festival. I mentioned how Easter seemed to be a pretty good excuse for a party...so are saint days. The whole tiny town converted into bars, shops and discos and the parties went all night. We had a wonderful time with the volunteers from the North - got to see some folks we haven't seen in a bit, ate some great meat on a stick, had a few drinks and danced til the wee hours of the morning. Saturday we grilled out and watched the horse races from the roof of their house, which was awesome. Sunday was the church service - and the church is right outside their back door so we got to watch all the goings on from our pj's on the balcony. The best part was the auction after church for things like giant bushels of bananas and 10lb squash lol. The other great part was that Gus Gus came with us and everyone fell in love with him. He was super well behaved and it was good to see all our training efforts have paid off!

The General Stuff

In other news...I had two meetings with my counterpart post APCD visit - he bailed on both. We were supposed to go visit Morabi clients ever since I got back from vacation; that still hasn't happened. Tired of sitting around for...um...7 months!?!? I went to my "official" counterpart and asked if I could work with someone else in addition to my partner. I ended up in the division of Youth, Culture and Sports and had a meeting about setting up some youth programs in conjunction with the Youth Center in town. Today we were supposed to have a meeting...but the director was in S. Vicent so who knows when THAT will actually take place. At least things are moving along with the girls summer camp we are planning, and I at least have more of a variety of potential partners to work with. I'm also hoping to go and talk with OMCV, the womens group, about implementing some of the projects I designed. They also work with micro credit, so I think we could adapt the ideas to fit their needs as well possibly.

I'd mentioned back in the winter that I had been gaining weight and was big and fat. Well, I was...but since January I've lost 19lbs and am back to my "pre road trip" weight (you guys remember that's when this whole Giant Dove thing started). I'm feeling awesome and hoping to maybe lose a little more...we'll see! I'll have to post a new pic on here so you can see my sexy little butt. Now the only problem is the clothes that were getting tight are now getting too loose...never ends.

(Much smaller bariga)

I think that's all for now. Sorry for the long intermission, hopefully I'll be better in the future. Maybe now. We'll see :o)

Ti logu,

Dove

Hey everyone, Josh and I are back from IST (In Service Training) in Praia, which included a visit to our host families. After that, we spent 4 days on the island of Sal and 5 days on Boa Vista. I'm still pretty busy catching up from out long time away, but I wanted to get some pictures up for you to enjoy. The corosponding blog will be up soon!

In Service Training:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616182927874/

Sal - Salinas:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616094297091/

On our anniversary we went to the salt pans of Sal and spent time walking around and floating in the small salt lakes.

Sal - Buracona:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616197279392/

A really cool lagoon type pool and a hidden cave - very sweet.

Sal - The Other Side:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616118613743/

A look at the poverty on Sal

Sal - Santa Maria:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616208156606/

Hanging out with Jacky and Leah, enjoying 2 for 1 happy hour, awesome homemade gnoccis and tiramisu, pedicures, Irish pubs, pina coladas, and a beach to die for...what more could you want?

Boa Vista - Sal Rei:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616208582332/

The main town on the island of Boa Vista

Boa Vista - Guest House Orquidea:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616120653545/

Leland, a RPCV from Boa Vista, told us to stop in and see Gerry. He was a great guy and his bird was a riot! A BEAUTIFUL place to stay if you are ever visiting Boa Vista.

Boa Vista - Beaches:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616121014435/

Estoil, Chave, Gatas and Santa Monica Beaches, plus some shots of the old brick/tile factory on Chave Beach and the towns up near Gatas

Boa Vista - Kite Surfing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616210709320/

I snapped some great shots of a couple of guys kite surfing, one of the main past times on Boa Vista.

Boa Vista - Desert of Viana:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157616211976198/

No desert island would be complete without, well, a desert!

Stay tuned for some actual updates on how COOL our vacation was, and how we may never come home again...

From all my postings, it may appear that Josh and I do nothing but go to festas, sunbathe and play with our guinea pigs. In the midst of all this, believe it or not, we do manage to fit in time to do “real” work too. Bird, you asked us what we were doing, and if we thought what we were doing was really making a difference, so I thought I’d post a little “work plan” update.

Although I initially came to Cape Verde to do Youth Development, the most important skill to have with Peace Corps is flexibility. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m working at the local government office and, more specifically, with the NGO Morabi. Morabi is a women's organization in Cape Verde that also provides micro credit to women (and men, if they have a woman to cosign on their loan) to start micro businesses. This can range from animal husbandry to agriculture, to making and selling baked goods and jams, to running a bar or small market. In Porto Novo, we have approximately 40 micro credit clients, most of whom are concentrated in the city.

My job is broken into several related parts. First, I work with existing micro credit clients and offer them "additional" services and trainings; for example, an introduction to marketing concepts or help with writing budgets and teaching smart accounting practices. This can also include making connections between businesses. For example in Cirio, we have a client who is a shoe maker. When I asked him how he sells his shoes, he said it was by word of mouth. He receives orders and then makes the shoes, and then when someone is heading down to the city, or to where the customer lives, they will deliver the shoe. Some ideas I am discussing with this customer is marketing – how do people find out about his product? Would it be possible to make sample shoes and display them in stores in the city? Would he be able to handle the additional orders if he were to receive them? What is his current work capacity? Other things to consider is depreciation of big ticket items – if he has 3 sewing machines, has he factored the cost to replace these when they break into his monthly budget, or does he have a separate “savings” to buy a new one when necessary? If not, this is something I can help him to understand and hopefully to plan for.

The second part of my job involves "recruiting" new micro credit clients. There are several challenges to micro credit in Cape Verde, and one of the main ones is lack of information. So my other task is to educate more people about the benefits of micro credit and micro enterprise. I’m currently designing information sessions to give to different communities about these things. Another challenge is lack of the “entrepreneurial spirit.” In America, we are saturated with the idea that opening our own business is a perfectly viable career choice; in Cape Verde, this can be a foreign concept. Part of my training sessions focus on the WHY’s of opening a small business, the HOW’s, and the WHAT’s, as in what sort of businesses are viable options in Cape Verde and how you can choose one that will work best for you.

The third part of my job is an extension of the second; once we hold information sessions to introduce people to the possibilities of entrepreneurship and micro credit, I want to run small business training courses. This “work plan” continues on to include a small business mentoring program, a summer business camp for girls and finally an after school business club, where girls from the business camp will partner with American youth (possibly through Junior Achievement) and open and run their own small business, using a micro loan from the American partner.

In addition to this, we are now starting work on planning Camp Crioula, a girls summer leadership camp that has been run on our island the past two years. This year we are looking to reach 40 girls, including 10 from the neighboring island. This will hopefully take place the last week in July.

So...yep, we do work around here, but things move slowly and the most important catalyst is language. This in particular is why my work has moved more slowly than others; not only did we move to the northern islands and have to learn a different “way” of speaking Kriolu, but I’m also in the business sector and in my work, if I can’t explain something or understand what someone is saying, it can have a real negative effect on someone else’s life. This is also the main reason that Josh and I want to stay here for an extra year; the later parts of my project, including the business camp and after school program, would be implemented next summer and school year (although there is a possibility of having a winter camp over the break).

I’m sure Josh can better explain what he is doing in his work, but in a nutshell, he’s working on several programming projects, including designing a database for storing tax information, one for helping to monitor water in our concelho, and working with me on a way to streamline the credit process for Morabi. We’re also looking at designing an island wide website with links to each concelho.

Now that we've talked about work, it's probably a good time to mention that we're leaving for training in Praia on Thursday, and then will be on VACATION visiting the islands of Sal and Boa Vista from the 21st to the 29th. Sorry, no blog updates during that period I'm afraid, but I know we'll have TONS of photos to post when we get back! The 23rd is our 2 year wedding anniversary (and Josh's mom's birthday - Happy Birthday!), and we thought what better way to celebrate than sitting on a beach doing NOTHING all day along!

Ti logu,

Dove

Not even a week since we got back, and I've already got pictures! Wow!

So...not much to say specifically about Carnivale, except it was a TON of fun. Most of you know I went to school in New Orleans and so I've experienced a little bit of Fat Tuesday already. And some of you know how much I disliked Mardi Gras proper in New Orleans - too crowded too many tourists, too many people spilling beer on you etc. But the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras were awesome, just the locals celebrating their favorite holiday.

Carnivale in Cape Verde is like that, the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. The people that live here far out number the tourists, although quite a few Cape Verdeans who live abroad take this opportunity to come home and visit friends and family. We heard a bit more english than we are used to, but it wasn't overwhelming. Just like you'd expect there were dancers in the streets, music, drumming, and really awesome huge floats. But there weren't a zillion people, so you could move around, you could walk fairly easily to get some food or a drink, and people in general were pretty awesome.

We arrived late on Sunday, but in enough time to have dinner at this fabulous little Italian restaraunt - gnocci in 4 cheese sauce anyone? Plus sangria, which was delicious. Some folks made it out that night but me and Josh were zonked, so we made it an early night.

Monday was a blast - we dressed up in our Burner best and turned lots of heads (who wouldn't in a fluffy rainbow tutu?). Things were mostly happening at night, so we headed for schwarma and pizza and then to the praca to party. After the parades and dancing started to let up, we opted to hit a warehouse party out by the beach bar...and were we glad we did!! Many of you know how much Josh and I loved techno and electronic music at home, especially when we could dance our butts off til dawn, and since we've gotten here we haven't had much of an opportunity to do so (at the discos they mostly play zuke, which is repetative slow dancing and for me, not something I enjoy). So we coughed up the money, enjoyed the open bar (some of us more than others *cough* Josh *cough*) and danced til about 4am. The music was stellar, the vibe was awesome, I got down with a "naughty nun" (oh how I wish we'd had our camera) and it was just a great night over all. Then someone needed help getting home and good samaratin that I am, everyone arrived safely at their respective destinations.

Tuesday was the big day, and the parades started around 2. We were totally exhausted from the night before but made it in time. A big group of us from Santo Antao all dressed like cave people and had a fantastic time dancing in the streets (seriously, every time the drums started, we started dancing, and every time Josh started dancing, everyone stopped and watched us and joined in - it was really cool). The parades stopped around 6 or 7, and we headed home cause we were cold in our rags and loin cloths. We had planned on hitting the Hotel Mindelo for a later party, but instead we crashed. We needed it.

Wednesday was amazing. We hit the beach around 11 and spent the whole day getting fried there. The weather was awesome, there was a great breeze, the chicken at the beach bar was delicious...it completely felt like we were on vacation....that ended too soon :o(

The pics tell the story way better than I can, so without further adu...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157614760589554/

C took a bunch of video clips, so once I put all those together I'll get them on line. Enjoy!

(Once again we have fallen slightly behind schedule with our blogging, but hope to catch up this week. Although many of you probably know that Carnivale was this past weekend/week, and we did go to Mindelo for the big party, THIS post is dedicated to my friends.)

A month or so ago, we received an oddly cryptic email from our friends Kim and Bird. It was a series of clues with the title "Airborne Art." The clues were similar to those in the photo above (though not as cooly rhymed). We tried to figure it out and weasel some sort of clarification out of our friends...but the last "clue" they had sent stated "Patience is a Virtue;" I knew we were screwed.

A few weeks ago, the package finally arrived! That's me above, feeling pretty excited about the swift delivery. Part of the instructions said we had to invite over a bunch of our sexy friends and make a party out of it - it even came with SEXY necklaces for us to wear - so we planned to unveil the package that weekend.

Not all our peeps could make it, but L & K came down for the night, and we got to work (with the help of a little vino)!

At first, we were a little lost...

Then we made a few important discoveries and were on our way!

Slightly off topic, but check out my shoes! Those are slippers Kim sent to me a while back, and on the bottom they have fabric rope type things on them, so that when I walk I am dust mopping the floor!

Now, if we turn this piece this way...I think maybe...

We've got it!

I know the picture isn't the greatest (because our lighting here isn't the greatest...) but if you can tell, it's a map of the Cape Verde Islands, Jackson Pollock style. The easiest way to see it is to look at the lower left to lower middle - you'll see the islands of Brava, Fogo and Santiago. In the upper right, you'll see our island, Santo Antao. Also see if you can find the clues - the bird rising in the West, Dusty settling in the East. We had such a fabulous time figuring this out - it just took us a couple weeks to figure out where to hang it so the most people would see it.

Continuing on with the Ode to My Friends...yesterday, Kim's missing package arrived! So for anyone counting, we have lost ZERO packages (that we can tell...) and only one letter (but I bet it comes eventually!). The envelope was crammed full of spice packets, Good Seasoning salad dressing mix (omg Kim, awesome idea, our salad last night was increadible, first time we've had a salad in fact in months!), and hot cocoa. And because a package from Kim wouldn't be complete without a little something fun(ny)...

Snickerdoodle thought this was particularly hilarious.

I also want to thank Meredith for including me in the "book tree" and including all the letters and lables so that life was a lot easier - I got them all mailed out and the book I'm supposed to send is in the mail! I'm so psyched to see if I actually get any books back :o)

I have truely been amazed at the level of involvement our friends and families have had while we're over here...we've been well stocked with letters, spices, books, movies, candy, cookies, music, all the things from home we've been missing. If any parents or friends of other PCV's or future PCV's are reading my blog, know that there is nothing as exciting as getting mail while you are in the Peace Corps. You don't need to send huge boxes or things that cost a lot of money; PCV's get just as excited with a letter, a picture and a bouillon cube :o)

Next up will be our Carnivale 2009 report, and some great pics! (Kim the art supplies you sent, along with the masks, arrived just in time for Carnivale!)

Ti logu,

Dove

...a new blog!

Sad to say that there hasn't been a HUGE amount going on, which accounts partially for our lack of reporting. When we last left off, it was after the festival for Liberty Day. The following weekend there was this really cool agricultural fair up in Ponta de Sol, on the other side of the island. It's about an hour drive to get to Povacao, and then another 15 minute ride to P. Sol. We got there Friday night and spent the weekend at the fair. It was pretty similar to the fair in Lagedos that we go to every month (this month was no exception, we were there this Saturday!), except it was bigger, maybe 4 times the people, and at night they had live entertainment. We got tons of good stuff, INCLUDING broccoli and cauliflower! It was worth the trip just to make some of Merediths delicious roasted broccoli with lemon, garlic and red pepper flakes (no olives, sorry Mer!). Plus of course we saw tons of people from the Camara in Port up there, and we always find it good to show our faces around the island as much as possible so that we're really integrating with the culture on many levels. The president of the Camra in Port was there and told us they have a similar fair in PN around June, so we're looking forward to that!

Also that weekend was Municipal Day in the conselho of Ribera Grande, so they had a live free concert in the street, including fireworks (the concerts are pretty common, the fire works are not). The music was great; a funana band from Praia was playing when we got there and they closed out the show. It was freezing with a light drizzle but apparently we survived.

We also made it to Mindelo for Super Bowl Sunday - GO STEELERS! Michelle, if you are reading this, we had several toasts in your honor and even tried to call you, but we got the machine! It was a great night with lots of pigging out on pizza - this restaraunt Flostells in Mindelo has some GREAT pizza, really really awesome, almost like American pizza, and they have one where you can get schwarma meat on it, which is sooooo awesome. Yeah, sometimes, like on Super Bowl Sunday, you just need some beer and pizza.

I've started going up to visit one of the volunteers, the one in Ribera das Patas, a couple times a week. She has a boyfriend who is SUPER patient with language, as is his friend, so in exchange for lunch I can sit down with them for 4 hours and just talk and practice Kriolu and not feel too stupid, plus the volunteer is usually there too so she can help with things I don't understand or help me say it better. It's definately one of the highlights of my week. It also gives us ample opportunity to walk around the town, meet and talk to new people, become familiar with that particular community (which is part of my conselho and are people I hope to be working with) and get some good walking/hiking in!

Work is...slow. I'm not sure what is going on but my counterpart said he is sorry but he has something really important going on and can't meet with me. This is after he said I'd really start seeing clients in February. I have this great four part program, complete with timeline, that i want to start working on, but I can't do anything until I talk with him. Thank you Peace Corps for letting me borrow MakingCents.com's BEST Game to review to see if it's something I want to use in my project - I'm pretty sure it is and I"ll be running a test game with some volunteers hopefully this weekend! It's basically a game that teaches you how to open and run a small business, but it's fun, almost like you are playing LIFE or Monopoly. If it works out well then I'm going to see if the Camara will buy a copy and see if we can't use that to start up some business training courses and possibly a summer business camp for girls, plus a mentoring program for business owners in the community and...ok I'm getting ahead of myself, but you can see I've got some ideas!!

Josh is doing GREAT! He met with NOSI today, the IT department of the national goverment who handle programming for nationwide databases and manage the interisland network. He got to review with them his plans for the new Camara building. He's also started working on some programming to put tax information into a database. Exciting! Well, not for me, but Josh is thrilled to be programming again. I never see him anymore, just like in America ;o)

Right now we are getting reved up for Carnival in Mindeo; we're leaving Saturday the 21st and staying in a for real hotel - can you believe it? Complete with air conditioning and maybe even hot water!!! There is a large group of us from the island that are going together as a bunch of Sexy Cavemen (okay, just cavemen, but you know when I'm involved it's GOT to be sexy!!!). I just finished my costume and am working on the guys now. Plus I had my mom send my tutu and rainbow corset AND I got some great goodies from my friend Miss Fidget, complete with this rockin' wig, so I'm PSYCHED to be dressing up like a fool again - I've missed costuming! We'll definately send pictures from the hotel rooms, but not from carnival itself I think - too much concern for theft and safety.

So that's it, kind of a lame update, but things are going well, life wise. Eating lots of beans. Gotta love that. OH and Pat, thanks SOOO much for sending the musical Christmas card that Josh JUST opened again, for the zillionth time. ARRRRRR!!!!

Ti logu,

Dove

Yep, that's me, total slacker. What can I say, I've fallen off the blogging wagon. No worries, I'm sure I'll get back up on it soon ;o)

To get you started...here are a few pics of Porto Novo. Some of you have been asking what it's like where we live, so this should help give you an idea:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157612508191421/

So let's do a quick rundown of life in Port. After Christmas, me and Josh, along with some other volunteers, went on a hike that started in Cova and ended up in the Ribera of Paul. It was gorgous. The hike starts basically in a pine forest and ends in a rain forest. You start at the top of the crater of the volcano, hike down into the volcano, to the other side and up out again and down the outside into the ribera. At the end of the hike we stopped at O Corral, the infamous grogue and cheese guy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157612507078159/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/3198236482/ (a video of our hike)

On the 30th, we had a Christmas party at the Camara. Yes, another Christmas party. It was more of a small luncheon just for our department. Food was really great, and we even had champagne! Okay, sparkeling wine. We did a sort of secret santa type thing, and I got this beautiful cross stich of women working in Cape Verde, and Josh got these cool terra cotta plates, one was of all the islands, like a map, and another was a scene from Porto Novo. Super cool

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157612579105342/ For NYE, we left the island for the first time since arriving at site and went to Mindelo, across the ocean to the island of Sao Nicolau. We had a blast. Not only did we enjoy the best pizza I've had in a long time and schwarma, but we partied all night long into the wee hours of the morning. We decided to go all out and pay the big bucks to head to a hotel party. But first, there were fireworks. So we went down by the water and watched them light off what was quite possibly one of the most dangerous fireworks displays ever lol. Then there was this awesome women's drum corp that played for about 30 minutes while a bunch of Cape Verdeans, in keeping with tradition, jumped into the ocean for the first swim of the new year. Then we hit the party, where there was a buffet dinner plus tables upon tables of snack foods (including several pig heads - have I mentioned I'm taking a vacation from pork? Actually, we're at this point pretty close to vegeterian, not for any other reason that it's cheaper and some of the meats here really disgust me. Chicken and fish are fine, but other than that I would just rather not go there) and three giant dessert tables. Open bar was all night long, as was the live music. Around 9pm we were all pretty exhausted but we made one last stop at the praca to see the drummers again and danced out butts off before we dropped. Enjoy the cheesy "Prom Photos" we took after we got dressed up, including our "Island Photos" with us spelling out the intials of our islands using our hands and bodies, and the traditional Cape Verdean group shot, where no one at all smiles:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157612529207965/

In the time since we've been back, it's been a whirlwind. I've lost about 5lbs (phew!), Josh is nearly finished with his network design for the Camara, I've come up with a project plan for myself and have a meeting about it tomorrow (keep your fingers crossed - if all goes well I'll post my ideas next time!), we gotten a couple more "long lost" packages, one that was mailed November 3rd, the 2nd year volunteers have returned from the states with lots of goodies for us (yay makeup!)...and yesterday was Liberty Day!!!http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157612541717419/

So something cool about Cape Verde. They received independence in 1975 but were a one party system until January 13th, 1991 when they had their first democratic elections. Previously, the party PAICV was in charge, but in 1991, the new MPD came into power and stayed in power for 10 years. Although the current national government is PAICV, our local government is MPD...so of course there was a HUGE party. It was held in Ribera Das Patas, out in this sort of...well field I guess. I can't explain it. It was a day full of dancing and eating and drinking. By the time we got home around 7 30 we were exhausted and fell right asleep (then woke up at 2am and watched Wall-E, which BTW ROCKS!). It was really neat to see, and to actually hear one of the "fathers of democracy" give a speech about something that just happened less than 20 years ago.

Well, that's us in a nutshell. Enjoy the photos and we'll write more soon!

Ti logu,

Dove

Happy Holidays everyone! It's been a busy time in Porto Novo, with lots of festas, food and friends. The festivities started on the 19th, with the "Festa de Viellu." My boss had told me about this festa a few weeks before, but I guess something was lost in translation. He kept talking about the "old festival" of Natal, and I kept thinking, well duh, yeah, Christmas is old...and then I thought Oh wait, they have a festival here in Port that they must have been doing for a long time, so it's an old festival. Nope, neither of these were right. Turns out it's a festival FOR old people. And yes, they call it the Festival of (the) Old. Nice. It was a lot of fun - it started out with a mass, complete with an Italian priest walking around with a little baby Jesus doll, food, wine and dancing. It might have been the best day I've had in Cape Verde so far; Josh agrees. Those old people know how to party!

(Don't eat me!!!)

On Monday there was a repeat performance in Das Patas, the next town after Lagedos up in the mountains. More mass, more food, more drinks, lots more dancing. We spent a lot of time taking pictures, cooking, serving food, cleaning up, arranging furniture and amusing the Cape Verdeans with our American dance skills. Another fantastic day.

(The most interesting Nativity Scene ever...)

Saturday (yes, we're skipping around in time) was the First Ever Porto Novo Christmas Fair. Similar to the fair in Lagedos, this was held in the praca right near our house, which was pretty cool. Lots of music and dancing again, plus some guy brought his sugar cane "juicer" and people could juice their own cane. We put the pictures on line here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157611812565322/

(We'll have a video up soon, but we can't figure out how to edit it...hmm...)

On Christmas Eve we had a party at the Camara for all the employees. It was a nice break from all the running around and cooking and cleaning that happens around the holidays, plus they make pretty good pizza in Cape Verde (or maybe I'm just getting used to it) and they went all out for the office party. We stayed for a couple of hours then headed home to start cooking for our guests around 1 (we closed early that day).

(Josh and Vava, his counterpart)

Christmas Eve, our friend Cathryn from Mindelo, her sister, Megan from Port and Tiff from Ponta de Sol all came to stay at our place. I made pasta fagioli and pizza frita (from scratch, of course) and it was OMG delicious. Best fried dough ever. Seriously, don't ever used store bought dough to make fried dough again; just take the time and do it yourself, it's worth the effort. Everyone enjoyed the food, although we had enough left over to feed the rest of Port I think (which was good, we had it for lunch the next day). We watched some movies before bed and then turned in around midnight, at which point our friend Nany from up the road came to our window and started whistling for us to come walk around with him. Apparently stuff starts happening around midnight on Christmas Eve and everyone hangs out in the street. We were exhausted though and had to pass.

On Christmas morning I made muffins and we pigged out again, then opened gifts. We each got each other a small gift, under 200$ or about $2.20 USD. I got lipgloss, a bracelet, some hair clips and a juicer; Josh got a bracelet, a pen, a really nice wallet (NOT under 200$ and from the States, but that was Megans doing) and some foot stuff for his awful stinky feet. We ate more pasta fagioli then went for a walk on the beach (it was about 83 out) and came back for some homemade hummus and pita bread - yes, I made pita bread, and it rocked. We watched Love, Actually and had dinner around 8 (we were too stuffed from the hummus to eat earlier). I made blackened Amberjack (fish), baked BBQ chicken, garlic smashed potatoes, sauteed kale, squash pie, stuffing, corn bread and baked beans. Everything was delicious. We were all so stuffed we couldn't even eat all the cookies I'd made for dessert.

So here are the Christmas Day photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157611753227727/

And here is the video I promised:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/3146255261/

Saturday we went hiking...but that's another blog!

Ti logu,

Dove (and Josh)

"So Vava is going to Tarafal to fix a satellite dish and said I could come with him. You wanna go?"

"Um, sure..."

I've wanted to visit Tarafal since before I came to Cape Verde. I had heard how peaceful, how beautiful it was, and how once you got there you never want to leave...

...and part of the reason you never want to leave is the road to Tarafal. Or rather, the path where a road should be. Thus explained my hesitance at going to Tarafal for the day. The last group of volunteers who went ended up taking a boat to Mindelo and another boat from Mindelo to Porto Novo instead of braving the road back, several days after they arrived. And we were going both ways in one day.

Starting at 5am.

But I love an adventure and so 5am Monday morning, we were off. Well, 5:15. And then the gas station wouldn't give us gas for some reason, so we had to drive around to someoneelses house to get something or other and then go back to get gas. So 5:30 and we were off.

The road starts off rather well, like a road should be (or like a road in Cape Verde is...like a brick road, sort of smooth and only a little bumpy), heading towards Lagedos. After the turnoff for Tarafal, you've got about 13 more minutes of peace until the road ends. Literally. It just stops, and in it's place is a sort of carved out dirt path littered with fallen rocks, some of which are now embedded in the dirt path, many of which you have to maneuver around, frequently on cliff edges. At 5:50am, which is still dark. I think we averaged about 15km an hour, which is about 9mph.

Around 6:45 we made our first stop for photos (see the flickr link) of the highest point on Santo Antao. And a shot of grogue. The moon was still up and we got a great shot of the changing sky. It was chilly out, which only added to the ambiance.

**So a side note about grogue and drinking in Cape Verde. People here drink. Many people drink a lot. A lot. Frequently. As in starting at 6am and continuing through the day. In America, we might consider half the population of Cape Verde to be alcoholics - if binge drinking = alcoholism, and binge drinking also = 5 or more drinks in a day/night...well...But this isn't America, and while I won't downplay the affect of drinking on the population (mostly men - drinking is much less acceptable among women. Not to say women don't drink, just usually less frequently and not so much grogue), there is a cultural element that vies alcohol and alcoholism differently. People recognize there are alcoholics, but that's typically reserved for those people that walk around visibly drunk all day, slurring their words and stumbling, or just blurry eyed and not too coherent. So all this to say that a grogue stop or two on the way to here or there isn't that uncommon, and in fact I have yet to make a trip of longer than an hour with a Cape Verdean that has not involved at least one grogue stop.

And if I haven't mentioned it, grogue is alcohol made from sugar cane. Many people brew it themselves; some is really good, most is pretty harsh, all of it is really really strong. Moonshine anyone?**

Most of the drive was done in the dark or dusk, and it was beautiful to be traveling in the mountains watching the sun come up and the sky changing. It was almost enough to make you forget the road. Almost. Oh and the other thing...Vava is always warm. So even though it was chilly out (very chilly, as many mornings are, especially at higher elevations) the windows were open and when it got too dusty, the windows were closed and the A/C went on. We froze in the back seat.

About 45 minutes outside of Tarafal you can look over the cliffs and see the town. It's beautiful, a dot of green in the stark brownness of the dry mountains. You see the small plots of farm land and the black sand beach, the fishing boats that take most of their catches straight to Mindelo because there is a better market there. It's one of the most isolated places on the island, possibly only eclipsed by the town next to it (Montrigo I think) which is only accessible via a three hour hike or hour boat ride from Tarafal. Amazing. For all its development, this is Cape Verde too.

We arrived finally, driving past the stretch of black beach and the shaded tree lined paths, up the cobblestone roads to the local Camara building. At the hotel next door there was a huge breakfast waiting for us, complete with fried fish, eggs and catchupa; it was our first taste of catchupa since leaving Santiago, and it was delicious.

Tarafal doesn't have electricity until 11am, so we walked around, down to the beach, talked to the fisherman preparing tuna - because the electricity is sporadic, there isn't a whole lot of ability to refrigerate things. Thus, the fish they do get is frequently salted to preserve it. (see photos!) The fisherman made fun of us in Kriolu, not realizing we spoke it, but it was fine. I'm sure they're used to tourists coming and taking their pictures and think it's amusing. Yes, despite the access issues, Tarafal is a tourist destination, and if you're willing to brave the ride, it's a lovely place to spend a few days relaxing, hiking and snorkeling. We drove up to the higher reaches of the village and saw their irrigation supply; the system they use for irrigation here is really cool - sort of like narrow cement pathways that double as footpaths to carry water to it's destination. The water comes from giant tanks that are typically filled with rain water; I'm not sure what happens in the dry season. These also sometimes double as local swimming pools. Did I mention Peace Corps requires us to filter and bleach our water?

Around 11 we drove up to the towns satellite, where I did some sun bathing and reading (and napping). We were there about an hour when it was discovered something needed to be replaced...and we were done. 3 hours here, 3 hours back for 1 hour of work that couldn't be completed. And two meals - lunch was waiting when we got back to the hotel. Two kinds of potatoes, two kinds of fish (tuna and something else that was pretty yummy) and rice. Cape Verdeans are big on starch.

I don't know if the ride back was better or worse, if it seemed faster or slower, but it was definitely painful. No wonder they stopped for grogue; it numbs the pain. We had refilled the 16oz bottle they brought on the way there with some of the local brew in Tarafal (Grogue de Jaim, which I was told was the best on the island, and which I concur was quite delicious - smooth with a sweet aftertaste). We stopped too to pick up some fresh goat cheese on the way back, and by 6pm, we were safe and sound back in Port.

After 6 hours on those "roads," both of our backs felt horrible. Josh felt like he'd pinched something, I felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my lower back. Two days later I'm still taking Tylenol for the pain though it is subsiding. I can see why the other volunteers took a boat back. But after all that, we're planning on celebrating Easter in Tarafal - that's their big celebration, and for 1500$pp a night (which is about $18usd) you can get a clean room and three meals a day. Good food, good parties, good snorkeling? We're in.

We took a lot of photos, so here is the link on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157611280315413/

Next time: Christmas video!

Is that a Doodle in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

The girls napping on mom - this was the cutest ever. Muffin was eating grass on my stomach and then out of my hand. All of a sudden, she ran up my chest and started looking at me. It freaked me out at first, but then she started making her cute noises and cuddling up under my chin, like I was a guinea pig. Doodle followed suit and decided to put her head down on me and snuggle and nap a little.

Josh's girls

Some quick updates before my "regularly scheduled blog:"

The little baby piggy we adoped has been dubbed "Snickerdoodle" though we usually call her Doodlebug. So we have Muffin and Snickerdoodle, and they are the cutest things ever and are growing up to be big little piggies!

Moregal is Greater Amberjack and if you ever have a chance to try it, it's delicious. The pink fish has been confirmed to be Red Snapper.

Operation Lose My Belly is under way with a plethroa of lentil and bean dishes and finger crossing. Goodbye Mars bars, I miss you already.

Packages are delayed due to holiday mail rush. Have no fear, they should arrive...eventually!

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

The first Saturday of each month brings us to the Lagedos Fair. Lagedos is a small area in Das Patas in the fora, where you begin your climb into the mountains, about 20 minutes outside of the City of Porto Novo. The Fair is equally small but very enjoyable. There is one main building run by the women who make some of the best jam I've ever had, as well as purses, teas, coffee, grogue, ponche, liquors, woven small baskets and this strange beet candy. Outside the main building (which is about the size of a bedroom in America) are stands where vendors can sell their wares, mostly baked good, produce and grogue. On any given day there are usually 8 to 10 vendors. In addition, there is a small restaraunt selling the plate of the day and an outside bar where you can sample the liquors sold inside the main building, plus get a glass of bissop juice and the freshest, most delicious apple juice ever. We missed the fair the first month we arrived, but don't ever plan on missing another.

It's not that there is that much to do in Lagedos. It doesn't take a whole lot of time to visit 10 vendors and have a glass of juice. But there is something about the atmosphere there, something in visiting your neighbors, praticing your language, meeting people you know and supporting local economy that can't help but make for a good time. Both times we've gone we've seen people we know, and now we are getting to know new faces and hopefully securing our place in Cape Verde as "the white non-tourists." Plus, for me, I have an alternative motive - the small businesses in the fora may provide me with project opportunites, either in the realm of micro credit or in helping with business training. I personally would love to help with advertising the fair, especially to tourists coming off the boat who would have no reason to know about or visit the fair under normal circumstances.

So if you plan on coming to Santa Antao any time in the future (which you all should be), be sure to schedule your time around the first Saturday of the month and hit up the fair. You won't be disappointed.

The Lagedos Fair

The lunch spot

Enjoying our juice

We took some photos of the fish we've been eating that we can't idenfity - we forgot to take one of the "bika" we had yesterday, but we'll add more as we eat them. So if you know what we're eating, we'd like to know too!

We think this little guy is red snapper. They called it "falwe" (falh - way). They cleaned it for us, including descaling, so originally our little fish friend was more pink and red. Tonights dinner, yum!

This is the one they call "moregal" (more eh gal), except that another time we were going to buy fish, it also was called moregal but din't look anything like this. Hm. We think maybe they cut the tail and it didn't really look like that originally. We can't find any fish online with a tail like this. The meat was soft but pinkish when we cut it, and it was really good with cajun spices.

In a valiant effort to stem the growth of my every increasing bariga (that's stomach for those that don't speak Kriolu), I have been attempting to cook healthier, better foods for us. Let me back up for a second and say that I've been cooking since we arrived, even during our homestay, and in general, I've done fairly well. However, during holiday time, times of stress, times of loneliness, a girl has been known to turn to a Mars chocolate bar for comfort. And the turns have been increasing.

It's not like it's easy to eat well here. There are no "boneless skinless chicken breasts" waiting for me in neat packaging at Wegmans. No "clean food movement" to provide me with organic free-range omega-3 fatty acid packed lamb. No jumbo sized vegetables overflowing the produce isle; hell, there aren't even any decent frozen vegetables to come by on this past shipment (I personally do not consider peas, corn or even really carrots real vegetables - the amount of sugar and starches outweigh the nutritional value). There are no low fat or low sugar products. We frequently can't find skim milk.

Here is what we have plenty of: fish (although most times we're not sure what type it is and therefore aren't sure how to cook it - my mom hated fish so I never learned to cook it anyway), chicken legs, rice (white), flour (also white), sugar, salt, white bread, lentils/beans (thankfully, though I'm still not used to eating so many carbs in a protein source), full fat yogurt, and lots of stuff in cans - corn, peas, tomatoes, hotdogs, other random processed meats. We also have processed cheese slices, white potatoes, ramen and other salt laden soup products, as well as a variety of cereals.

Usually, you can find some assortment of lettuce, onions, kale, cilantro, green peppers (here, they are the size of a plum), carrots, garlic, squash (though we don't really know what kind it is or how to cook it)...um...oh usually we have apples and oranges too. Sometimes tomatoes, though they are usually green. The biggest problem with all of these delights is that they are very, very expensive. The second biggest problem is that they are sporadic. One week we will be swimming in kale; the next entire month we're dry. Right now you can buy cilantro for about a buck a pound; give it a few weeks and we'll never see it again.

Being used to a high protein American diet (even lower protein diets in America are high protein for most of the rest of the world), my stomach and metabolism aren't used to sharing the calorie load with so much fat and carbs. I feel like I'm ALWAYS hungry and you can't whip up a healthy snack around here like you can at home. No 100 calorie snack packs, thank you very much. This accounts for my growing rear end (no need to mention the chocolate, I'm on it). This is apparently the norm for female Peace Corps Volunteers, especially in Africa; usually they gain a lot of weight their first year, and hopefully lose it their second.

So, as I said in the beginning, to prevent this downward spiral into stretch pants and men's clothing, I've been trying to cook better. This week we've made a vinegar based coleslaw sans oil, a Mexican bean salad and a warm lentil salad. My mom sent me a spice packet for White Chicken Chili, and to make it both last longer and be healthier, we added lentils, onions and canned tomatoes to the mix. It was fabulous. We're trying to eat fish twice a week, Josh has learned to take the skin off the chicken (and debone it, AND debone fish - go Josh!), we actually found light margarine, with the arrival of the spices from Josh's dad and the tea from my mom we're enjoying a little flavor and luxury. Our friend Tiffany FINALLY found soy sauce and is sending some our way next time a volunteer swings by. I'm trying (so far, successfully) to halt the brownie production. And although it is missed, the popcorn has had to go.

The most frustrating part of all this is that I KNOW how to eat well, how to prepare food that is healthy, with good fat, complex carbs, all that good stuff...but I don't have the resources to do it (including money). But with that frustration comes the learning of how difficult it is for Cape Verdeans to cook and eat healthy too, and why they rely on things like corn, rice, potatoes and beans for staples (cheap, filling, and some nutritional value).

So...if anyone has any "favorite" bean dishes, or lentil dishes, or 100 simple ways to prepare fish, send them our way! 'Cause while the "Mexican flavored EVERYTHING" right now is mighty tasty (given our current abundant supply of cilantro, which btw Josh now LOVES, and our recent procurement of a buttload of cumin), it's sure to get old sooner or later. Oh and KIM, if you can send us the recipe for the infamous Carrot-Ginger Cole Slaw we'd love you even more than we do now (if that's possible). Maybe someday we'll come across some ginger and raisins and it'll be close enough :o)

Ti logu,

Dove

This year at Thanksgiving, I have a host of new things to be thankful for. As always, I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. I am thankful that I can call some of the most amazing people I have ever met “friends.” I am thankful for my husband, and that we can share this amazing opportunity together. I am thankful for our happiness.

But I am also thankful for many new, different things that wouldn't have crossed my mind four months ago. Brownies, for example. You know, the chocolate dessert. Yep, I’m super thankful for those - there is something special about their chocolatly goodness that puts a smile on my face every time I eat one (plus it's one of the few desserts we have all the ingredients to make on a regular basis). Spice packets too. That little invention is something we should all be thankful for (thank you McCormicks). I’m really thankful for the Internet, and that is has allowed us to stay in touch with our friends and family, and also to keep a pulse on the world, what’s going on, to watch the election (which, btw, I’m also super thankful for). I’m thankful that bucket baths really aren’t that hard to take, that electricity isn’t as important as once thought it was, and that your hands get used to washing your clothes on a wash board. I am thankful that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I am thankful that it was 78 degrees here on Thanksgiving Day. I’m super thankful for Hank, our Country Director, sending us a turkey this weekend, and for being able to share a real Thanksgiving meal with our American and Cape Verdean friends, complete with mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, gravy, key lime pie and apple crisp. I’m thankful for the fish ladies on the corner that call me over every day to buy the catch of hte day and have forced me to learn how to cook fish in numerous ways. I am thankful for how quickly humans can adapt to new environments, to doing without, to grow. And (sorry guys) I’m pretty thankful that we’re not home right now dealing with this whole economic crisis business. Watching it from afar has been painful enough.

There are too many things to name this year, too many things to be happy about, to be thankful for. But most of all, I am thankful for all of your emails, your blog comments, your messages through our parents, your chats, your letters and your phone calls. Yesterday, to make it a true day to give thanks, Josh was able to talk to his parents and his sister, we got a letter from both my mom and Josh’s parents, and a package from Claude and Ollie – amazing. I know no one planned on all these things arriving in one day, and especially not on Thanksgiving, but what a great surprise. I am very, very thankful that we are in your thoughts, just as you are all in ours.

Ok so when dealing with computers around here things rarely come in small doses. What I’ve been spending most of my time with at work is slaying viruses. I have yet to find a computer that has come out completely clean and it’s not uncommon to find hundreds of infections. For those of you out there running one of the flavors of free anti-virus programs I strongly recommend Avira (http://www.free-av.com); it may even best your purchased anti-virus. I had one of those other programs and I might as well have had nothing at all, at least for the viruses that are most common around here. No anti-virus program is perfect but this one I’ve found to be one of the best, especially for free.

The next task that was handed to me just a few days ago is even bigger; really I can’t imagine it being much bigger. The Camara is building a big shinny new three story office building to consolidate all of the different offices they are working in now. They are currently in buildings scattered throughout Alto Peixene (an area like Armazem) with what seems to be rented space for all but the main building, which is a very nice old house with the best view in Porto Novo over looking the port; I’m going to miss that one. So, a few days ago they approached me with the schematics for the new place and asked if I could tell them what they needed for a network. That one took a little while to really sink in, but bottom line is that I get my own very large play area. Anything technological that you could imagine in an office building I get to recommend and help setup, from computers to servers to copy machines to projectors. What an opportunity!

Now before I get too excited, I still can’t see too far into the future as to when this will get to the implementation stage. They are still in the process of building the new building, though they seem to be on pace to finish within the next 6 – 7 months. You never know how long things are going to take around here. In addition to that they don’t have a budget yet for the equipment they’ll need. I have a hunch that they will be creating the budget from what I recommend. Should be a busy, fun and interesting next few months!

Okay so a couple things we thought of. Carolyn and Aunt Shirley, Dove says "Remember when you guys bought me that spray can that you put olive oil in and then pump full of air so it acts like a cooking spray? I don't know if they still make those, but it would be quite handy." Olive oil is really expensive but we like to cook with it; the spray bottle would help our wallets (and Dove's thighs).

We're also thinking about a small CD booklet, like the ones you use to store CD's in the car or take with you. We have lots of CD's that we transport from time to time (I use them at work a lot) but they have been getting scratched up. It'd be helpful to have if anyone's got one laying around they don't use (but don't go out of your way to buy one, we can wrap them in paper if we really need to).

We promise a real update later today...we've been running out of bandwidth!

Oh yeah, we could use one of those waterbottles for a guinea pig cage too...

My mom called the other day and said she'd been asked by some of you fine folks for some ideas for Christmas, since it's coming up and since packages take 4 weeks to get here. So I thought I'd post some ideas!

First, on the left hand side of our blog, you will see a section that says "Send us stuff!" along with our address. Under that are two buttons for our Amazon wish lists. Basically, we picked out a bunch of stuff on Amazon.com we'd like, so if you click on the button it'll take you to those lists. Also, there is an option at the top of the list to sort by different criteria. If you sort by "priority" you'll see what we'd like most.

Okay, other stuff...

Candy - Josh is craving Sour Patch Kids or the bulk sour fruit salad. I'm craving Starburst, Skittles and Reese's Pieces. Go figure.

Conditioner - that's just for me :o) Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioning Balm or Fortetherapie Strengthening Conditioner. Cape Verde is DRY. My hair thanks you in advance.

Costumes - Ok all you Burners out there, a great Christmas gift would be to send us a set of costumes to wear for Carnival in February! Heck, you can send us our own costumes for all I care, we just want to have costumes!

Mary Kay face wash - I'm sure my Mary Kay lady Michelle would love to hear that you're shipping me something! There are two kinds - Normal/Dry and Combination/Oily. I could probably use one of each as the "seasons" change here. I could handle some decent eye cream too...man, I'm gettin' old...

Guinea Pig Shampoo - So we still haven't decided on a name for #2 yet, but that doesn't make them smell any better. Bunny Bath by Four Paws is a good one and is pretty cheap.

Guinea Pig Pellets - Since they EAT the piggies here, they don't care too much about what they feed them, so we can't find piggie food for our girls. There are two kinds that are supposed to be best for them:

http://www.kmshayloft.com/pellets.html#timothy - Kleenmama's Hayloft Timothy's Choice

or

Cavy Cuisine by Oxbow (I think this one is sold in Petco or Petsmart, not sure about the other)

Movies/TV shows - We'd love to have some "series" tv shows, like The Office or Grey's Anatomy (not necessarily those, but whatever is supposed to be good - like we know), that the rest of the world seems to love but which we never got into. Law and Order is always welcome of course. These are great for nights when we're too tired to watch a whole movie but too awake to go to sleep right away. And sick of reading.

Lotion - this is actually for Josh...they don't have any decent lotion here really and it's really dry here; his hands aren't happy. So nothing smelly.

Sunglasses - also for Josh, his broke. Nothing too girly. I still have all three pairs I came with.

Music - Can you say "mix tape?" Just stick some of your new fav mp3's on a cd or dvd and send it out already!

A McDonald's Cheeseburger - Do you think that would ship well?

VISITORS - this means YOU! Come see us!!!

More to come...

Well, we have a lot to post, but are short on time. It's amazing how slow things seem to go, and then another week is down! But for this post, we have a purpose.

After a mis-step or two, including the arrival of a little boy piggy, we finally have a girlfriend for Miss Muffin-head. She is unbelievably cute, as cute little Muffin, maybe cuter! Definately younger. But we can't seem to come up with a name cute enough for her. We have a long list we've been debating: Peanut, Cupcake, Puddin', Sundae, Parfait, Bailey, Kaluha, Cookie, Snickerdoodle, Reeses Pieces, Buttercup, Beanie, Button, Lucy...but none of them seem to say YES! That's IT!

So here are some pics to inspire you all and hopefully you can come up with a better name than us!

The newest of the Russo clan

Playing with mom

Our two cuties!

Meep

Hanging out together

As we woke up this morning, after a long night of refreshing screens and live CNN video, of reading blogs and polls, of exhaustion and cautious elation, we were greeted by the news that yes, indeed, Barack Obama was (still) the next President of the United States of America. We had tried to stay up (given the four hour time difference) to wait out the final results of both Virginia and Florida, but as stations and websites began reporting (and even the McCain camp admitted) there was no path whatsoever to victory for the Republican candidate, we called it a night. When we woke three hours later, we raced again to the screen to confirm there was no repeat of 2000, that the the results of the night before remained the same. And we exhaled.

Being abroad during what is most likely the most important, significant and historic (although I am loathe to use that word as it was used so frequently last night I couldn't help but roll my eyes) election is a mixed blessing. There are very few people to share in your bliss, just your fellow PCV's, though again given the time difference and the lateness of the results you are typically alone for the duration and unable to celebrate until the following day and although most of the world was anxiously awaiting Obamas victory, there is no substitute for the joy shared among fellow citizens.

But there is great pride in being an American in a foreign country today. We, as PCVs have dedicated two years of our lives to not only help to improve the lives of people in need, but also to share in a cultural exchange. The past eight years, no, the past 200 years in American history have given a strong impression to the rest of the world about the certain aspects of our nation, and no matter how much greatness we have achieved, the cloud of slavery and of racial injustice have colored the world view of America. And today, we can hold our heads high in the knowledge that, while the election of a Black president (although I find it even more significant that our next President is of mixed race) may not signify an end to discrimination or racism or a system of privilege and disadvantage, it signifies our demand for change, our willingness to progress, and our belief in the fundamentals that our country was built on: that anyone can achieve greatness.

So here is what 300$00 (Cape Verdean Escudos), or about $4.20, can buy you in terms of tuna, assuming you know the guy who knows the guy that catches the fish. Pay no attention to how horrible I look - I was cleaning a fish! So what exactly is a girl to do with all this fish? Especially now that we're going to be getting a package like this once a week? First things first - ceviche! Ok, MAYBE it's not the greatest idea to eat fish raw, especially when it comes to you in a plastic grocery bag in the back of a truck, but isn't that what the lime is for? To cook it a little? Well, if I do get sick and die from some strange food poisoning, at least I will die with a happy grin on my face. Plus its a great way to use the butt end of the tuna and still save the middle for steaks! My ceviche recipe:

4 limes, squeezed

1/2 an onion, diced

1/4 c olive oil

2 hot peppers, diced

salt and pepper

- combine well, add about a cup of fresh tuna, cut up in a mish mash of sizes and shapes, stick in the fridge for about 20 min, gobble up, repeat.

Another week down, and so much to write about! I'm not sure where to start, so maybe I'll start at the end...

Yesterda Josh and I were invited to go into the fora near Cova to eat corn. That's all the info we got on the outing, except to be at Josh's counterparts house at 10am. We'd been out at the opening of a new club the night before, so it was a struggle to get out of bed to make it there on time...and then in true Cape Verdean fashion we didn't leave until 11:45. Cova is right at the top of the old volcano, and yesterday was a particularly cloudy day so we spent the whole afternoon sitting inside a cloud. If you've never sat inside a cloud before, its a very cool experience. It's cool, much cooler than life outside the clouds, and misty, like it's raining in all directions. We were dressed in sweatshirts and pants and were still cold after about 3 hours. Another aspect of the coolness was the drive up...it was a clear day outside of the mountains, so we had a great view of not only Sao Vincent but also of two of the three islands that make up Sao Lucia. It was the first time we'd seen them. Living on an island is soooo cool.

We did exactly what they told us we'd be doing - we went to Cova and we ate corn all day. A couple of guys (oh did I mention it was all men there? Mostly those that work at the Camara, but still majorly akward for me!) were inside boiling salted fish and corn, so the corn had a salty fishy taste but was still good. Then another couple of guys built a small fire and roasted the corn right in it. Corn here is quite different from the corn we're used to in New York; the kernels are larger and it's tougher and not so sweet. But when you roast it right in the fire it gets chewy and tastes sort of like roasted popcorn, and you can pull the kernels off one by one and pop them in your mouth. I think we each ate 5 ears of corn. It was really good. We tried to show them how we roast corn in America, leaving the husks on, but they were confused and thought we were idiots, though they did roast two ears like that for us but wouldn't eat it that way themselves. When we left they gave us a huge bag of corn to make at home and kept repeating that we were supposed to take the husks off before boiling them. It was pretty funny.

There are two political parties in Cape Verde: PACV and MPD. The Camara in Porto Novo is MPD controlled so most of the people there were MPD, but one of the guys was PACV. It was pretty funny, they spent the whole afternoon drinking and arguing and arguing louder and more as they drank more. It reminded me of guys getting together in the states to watch sports on Sunday - no women around (except me), making "manly" food, enjoying some beers with the guys. I think next time I'll let Josh go on without me.

At the end, they piled up all the leftover corn husks and Josh's counterpart put them in his car. I asked him what they were for and he kept saying "something something pig" and I said "huh?" and he said "something something small pig" so I said "OH! Liton?" which means baby pig in Kriolu, and he said "No no, you want me to show you?" and I said "Of course!" So back in Port we stopped at his fathers house, which is right around the corner from us, and went in to see these small pig like creatures. As we walked into the back, there was this strange purring-squeeking-chirping noise that completely freaked me out. Then they opened this large pen and inside were about 100 guinea pigs!!! They were so cute, running around and purring, and I started to chase after them and squeeling myself and saying "M KRE! M KRE!!" which means "I want I want!" They thought it was hilarious and gave me one to take home; we insisted on paying for it but they refused. We're still not sure if they raise them for fun or for food...but in any event...

Josh and I got a pet! Her name is Miss Muffinhead Pettagonia Fofanu, II, but we call her Muffin. I think we're going to adopt a second one so she dosen't get lonely (guinea pigs are very social creatures). She is currently living in our laundry wash basin, but we're going to build her a cage. She's so cute! Pictures are below :o)

In other news...Halloween was out first celebrated holiday in Cape Verde; here it's called Dia di Brudja, or Day of the Devil. There is no trick or treating or costumes really; people that go out usually dress in all black and it's like most other nights at the clubs. My friend Meredith recently sent us a care package (with totally awesome stuff! Thanks Meredith!!!) and had wrapped this cool dragonfly magnet in a scrap of zebra patterned cloth. It was just enough to make four ears and a tail for me, so Josh and I brought "sexy" to Cape Verde and went as sexy zebras. Other CV's were wearing costumes too actually, but most people were in black. We had a great time dancing until 4am and talking and laughing with everyone.

Saturday we went out to the opening of another club. The atmosphere itself was cool but they played the same type of music the whole night, this slooooow couple dancing music that is popular up here. They seriously played it for two hours straight, it was painful. We left around 3 30 I think.

In work related news...Josh has been helping all sorts of folks with virus control and other assorted issues that come from having a computer in the land of sea, salt and sand. I spent the majority of the week translating some documents about MORABI, a microcredit institution in Cape Verde, from Portuguese to English, which was MUCH harder than I thought it would be, but now I have a better idea of the organization, which I believe I'll be working with. I also spent a ton of time compiling resources on micro finance in general and reading as many websites as I can. I'm glad that I have a) a computer with internet access at home, b) free time to learn as much as I can about this stuff and c) something to do finally!

Another sort of odd thing I'll mention, because it kind of threw me off. Last night, after our adoption proceedings (but before we went out to dinner for Megans b-day), we stopped at our friend N's house because it was his birthday as well (21, though not so big of a deal in CV). He told us to come at 6, so, like good Cape Verdeans, we got there at 7 with a plate of fresh and hot sugar cookies (he told us to come by for a "lantxi" which is a snack here). So we get there and told them we only had an hour, we had to go to dinner with some friends, and immediatly everyone rushes into action. His brother and father leave the house, as does he, to go to the store, his mother and these two girls that are there go into the kitchen and start cookign and leave me and Josh in the living room with his 6 year old cousin. So for about 30 minutes it's just us and this kid hanging out. Then N comes back and has some cookies and brings us a snack. Then...here's the part that threw me...I ask him who the girls are in the kitchen and he says they are his and his brothers girlfriends. I was suprised because I'd asked him before if he has a girlfriend and he said "Not really." So I started making small talk about her and why she never came out, what she was doing etc, and she says that she's 4 months pregnant. I didn't know what to say. And I'm not sure why it threw me off so much, except that I would have thought he would have mentioned having a girlfriend that was pregnant with his child sooner than this, and he was just really flip about it, though looking back I think it was more embarassment than being flippant. Anyway, then I kept thinking about how things like this happen, what happened to birth control, why was she keeping the child, how would they support it (N doesn't work; the unemployment rate in CV for youth is very very high...he's and his brother are both still living at home). Granted, it's not that different from a lot of situtations in America, so I'm not sure it WHY it threw me off so much, other than it just seemed like he was spending a lot of time with us and when we asked him about his life and what he does all day he never mentioned her...so we tried to say congradulations and then insisted that they both come over to our house for dinner this week. We'll see what happens!I guess that's all for now...enjoy the photos below of Halloween and Muffin! We'll post more of our other new friend when we bring her home!

Josh and Muffin hard at work

Smile!

Little Miss Muffinhead

EEK! Don't squeeze so tight!

Ah, yes, our first experience running out of water. We all knew it was coming right? But first, a weekend update...

This may have been the most "normal" of weekends we've spent in Cape Verde thus far (minus the lack of water, but we're not to that point yet). On Thursday, we went out for pizza with some friends. Then on Friday, we had dinner at the other PCV's house in Porto Novo. It was an interesting mix of American and Cape Verdean - the people, the food and the drinks. C made some fabulous lasagna and a Cape Verdean fruit and cream dessert. I whipped up some garlic bread and brought some red wine, and a couple other folks brought the fixin's for some Caiparinhas, sort of the Cape Verdean equivilant of Mojitos. The food was great, the wine was...well...cheap, and the caiparinhas were perfect for a relaxing island evening, sipping on the balcony under the stars. Around midnight we decided to go out to a local club near me and Josh's place. Typically people here don't go out until that late and then stay out until dawn. This is most likely why this weekend is the first time Josh and I ventured out - we're just getting too old for that!

We stopped first at our place to show folks around, and it was nice to have company and play host for a while. I'd forgotten how much I like to have people over to hang out. Then we trotted off to the club, which in the end we decided not to go into after sitting outside and mingling for a bit - I think we were all tired. The next day people came over to our place to veg a bit and enjoy some fresh brewed mint iced green tea. We did some laundry (in record time I might add: 38 minutes!) and then went off to catch a soccer game, which I have to admit I still find borring. BUT the idea was to mingle with the community, to spend more time doing with people in Porto Novo do, and thus the goal was achieved. After we went for pizza again and then took a nap before our CV friend took us out to the other discotheque in town. We still spent a good amount of time outside, but this time we actually went in (honestly it seems like more people hang out outside the clubs than go inside...plus there are usually small bars and food stands outside that you can go to, which are cheaper than the drinks inside, so I think part of it is a money issue). The club was crazy. Layout wise it was pretty similar to clubs in America, but there was this one very disorienting strobe light that drove us nuts all night. I immediatly was dragged out to dance (being the only white woman in the club and being taken for a tourist) and had to politely peel several very intoxicated men off of me, who's grasp of the english language appeared to stop at "I like you. You are very beautiful." It is definately a good idea for women to go to clubs with men they trust who can come to their rescue if necessary. Of course, this applies in the States as well, who are we kidding. Our evening ended around 4am at which point we exhaustedly fell into a blissful sleep.

Okay so let me backtrack for a minute here, to when we were doing laundry on Saturday. Josh went up to the roof later that night to take our clothes down and when he did, he saw two people we didn't recognize on top of the water tanks taking water out. The way water works at our place, apparently, is that water pumped up from the street to the roof of the house, fills a cement tank on the roof of the house (each apartment should have one), and then when you turn your water on the water flows from the tank into your sink with the assistance of gravity. So when I heard people on the roof (no one uses the roof but me and Josh, so I can tell when people walk up the stairs and new it was strange), Josh went to investigate. Each tank has a lock on it so pepole can't steal the water, but one of the tanks had the lock busted off and the two people had climbed on top of the 7ft tanks and were dipping in to fill buckets of water. Josh asked them what was up and they said they had no water in the apartment downstairs. On their way down, we showed them in our apartment that we did, in fact, still have water. Also, neither of the people on the roof were people we'd ever seen in the apartment downstairs, so we thought maybe they'd come in off the street to steal our water. I talked to the other PCV in town who confirmed this is done and that we needed to get a new lock for our tank.

Sunday, we notice our water pressure seems low, and then all of a sudden it stops. As in our toilet won't flush, our sinks are dry. We call the other PCV again and she tells us we need to wait until Monday to go to the water company. In the mean time, we have no water to cook, bathe, do dishes, drink....all those things that you do with water. So, we did what every good Cape Verdean would do in this situation: we climbed on top of the water tanks on top of house and took water out of the tank with the broken lock (which obviously wasn't ours, since our tank was dry). It was pretty hilarious - Josh laying on his stomach 7ft up on this huge concrete tank, dipping a pitcher into the water, dumping into my bucket below, then bringing it all downstairs to fill a wash tub to bathe in and the sink to do dishes in. Yes, probably not the most honest thing in the world to do, but seeing as we had to go to work the next day and it would have been two days without a shower, it seemed to be the best option. Oh plus, we were thirsty!

So the rest of Sunday we hung low, not wanting to torture the rest of our community with our unbathed selves, and wanting to spend some time alone since we'd been hanging out with others so much that weekend. Monday, the other PCV came with us to the water company, and it turns out they turned off our water for six months of non payment, and that to turn it back on, we had to pay the six months of back payments PLUS a fee to turn it back on. Given that we'd only been here for a month, and that it meant the water had been turned off for a while (seeing as we drained the whole tank...), Peace Corps obviously said they would reimburse us for the cost the months we weren't there and the cost to turn it back on. So we paid up and waited another 24 hours before the water actually came on. Fortunately we've been pretty good about learning how to conserve water, so we needed very little to get by for a couple of days.

I don't know if there is a moral to the story, except to pay your water bill...except that our first bill arrived after they'd already shut our water off...and we don't really understand why the water to the whole building was shut off, ie the apartment downstairs....or if we somehow paid for their water to get turned back on too...or if they don't pay their water, if ours will get shut off again too...but I guess the moral could be that water is good. And you miss it when it's gone. A lot.

The end.

Just wanted to post a little update about my work here. Today my boss at the Camara came in to talk to me and asked how my Kriolu was going. I told him it was going ok and that maybe he and I could sit down and talk about my job to see what else I may want to work on language wise. He told me that my job would be to work in the community with people and groups to offer information sessions and individual help on accessing micro credit. I showed him my flash cards of Portuguese business and development words, and he was impressed that I had been putting in so much effort to learn that sort of terminology. I asked him for more information on the micro credit programs they have in CV in Portuguese (written - nothing is written in Kriolu) and told him I could work with another volunteer that speaks English and Portuguese to help me translate it so I could understand it. So now I have more of a focus...he still said the most important thing is for me to keep learning the language so that I can answer questions about micro credit and help people fill out applications etc. and that without the language I really can't do much, but it felt GREAT to at least have a conversation about what my work will entail.

In addition, another volunteer who works at the high school and I are starting a secondary project. It was kind of funny, I had been tossing this idea around in my head of starting a small college information center at the high school, where the students could come and get information on scholarships and international schooling - typically, during 10th grade the school psychologist gives a small talk on post-high school options, and from what I gather the talk is basically just to steer the students in a certain way, either towards trade work or higher education. But after that, there is not a lot of guidence or follow up to see the students through. My idea, based on a few conversations I've had with students who have just graduated and are wanting to go to university but aren't sure how to make it happen, was to train the psychologist in internet research and develop a small on line database or even just links to websites that have information on scholarships etc. Also, we could work with the psychologist on using testing/surveys or something of that nature to help guide the students toward potential careers and then show them how to make those career ideas a reality.

So I mentioned all this to another volunteer, and she was like Dove, I've been thinking about the same thing, putting together a book of scholarships and school options. So we decided to join forces and see if we can't make it a joint project between the school and the Camara to help with funding (and plus, any promotion local government can get with regards to education has to be a bonus for them as well!). I think we are going to start working on survey's for students to get a better idea of what information they currently have and what information may be useful to them in the future. She teaches in the afternoons so that leaves every morning free for her and I to work together on this. Super stoked!

So that's the recent news on my work side of things!! I'm pretty exited and, although I thought I would be doing youth development and not micro credit, I'm happy to be getting some experience in that field. As far as development work goes, micro credit is huge right now, and I can't think of any better experience than serving in the Peace Corps in a country on the cusp of "least developed nation" and "medium developed nation" status, in need of volunteers to help train it's citizens in becoming financially self sufficient.

Feelin' good,

Dove

A new friend came to visit

Dove's first attempt at cooking fish...

So here we are, one month in. I have to say, it really doesn't feel like it. I guess that's how it is when your mind is constantly working on overdrive, trying to figure out how to handle all sorts of situations that seemed so easy and "normal" at home. Or situations that you'd never even thought about being in at home.

When we first got here it is was, How do I find out about this place when I can't understand a word they are saying? Fortuately, it didn't take us too long to find some friendly faces that could help us with our language and walk us through some basics, like turning on our water and electricity. In fact, our first day here we were even invited to stay with someone who had known the previous volunteers until our utilities were turned on. We very quickly felt very welcomed in our new home.

Of course everything hasn't gone completely as planned. After our frustrating phone call from Peace Corps a couple of weeks back, we just wanted to know what PC expected of us (since we'd obviously gotten it wrong the first time). None the less we did what was asked and have worked out a more regular schedule with the Camara. That's made the days fly by.

Beyond that, I think our involvement in the community is going as well as can be expected. People are starting to see that we aren't just tourists and we are getting a feel for how things work at the Camara. Dove is still in the dark in regards to what the Camara is expecting of her, but I'm starting to get an idea. So far I've just been helping keep computers up to date and running, while I wait for parts for the computer that will be mine.

Once I'm setup with my own computer they actually have a little database work that they're looking for me to do. Of course this is contingent on having someone I can work with who can maintain the project after I'm gone - Peace Corps development focuses on sustainable development, so if I do it all myself, what happens when I'm gone? The trick for me is that the national goverment is already working on a project that will do the same thing (organize government data). They have a centralized system where they are in the process of connecting all of the local goverment offices to main office in Praia, but my offices won't be on their network until our new office building completed, which should be done by the end of the year. Then after that who knows how long it will be before we actually receive the program. So, I will be creating a stop gap program that will be used between now and when we get the official program , with no real clear transition date. The bottom line is that I need to create an program simple enough to be maintained by anyone but robust enough to stay in operation for an unspecified length of time.

Of course...I'm still waiting for a computer.

We are (ok, Dove is) getting good with the food we have available to us here. Resources are always scarce when you live on an island but we've been eating well using a cookbook that PC gave us in training and tortillas that Dove learned how to make from one of the volunteers that left the islands durring our training. We're learning how to fillet fish, making burritos and questidillas, frozen chicken is abundent for many uses, and bread and eggs are easy to find. One of our favorite dishes out of the PC cookbook is an Indian Dahl made with coconut milk and suprisingly enough I enjoy adding cilantro to it. I never liked cilantro before I met Dove and she has successfully converted me.

Speeking of books, you might notice a new Amazon wish list icon on the left hand side of our blog. We decided to create a wish list for each of us. I have some books in there that I think I will like but I would love other suggestions too. I actually have time to read here!

Thank you everyone who has dropped us a line on the blog and in emails. It's always nice to hear from everyone back home. Now that we have DSL, we are also able to chat and even use Skype! Yay free phone calls!

Ti logu

Josh

So we keep trying to upload this, I hope it actually worked this time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIdZyt_CCLw

Bom dia! Our apologies for our lack of updates on the blog...so when we said we were getting internet "tomorrow" we really meant "when they finally come to the house and hook us up. Which was today. A week later. And since we'd already paid for internet, we didn't really have the money to go to the cafe to give updates. BUT we are now on line, in our house, so assuming the electricity is running...we 'll be connected.

This week in PN (Porto Novo) has been interesting and full, frusterating and fun. Last Monday we had our whole week mapped out of places we were going to visit and people to talk to in the community. And then we received a phone call from our Associate Country Director (APCD) who informed us that we should be at the Camara Municipal every day from 8 to 4. This was a huge surprise for us, since we had been told during training to NOT go into work for the first three months, or rather, to go in to work, introduce yourself, and then let them know you would be checking in periodically but that you were supposed to be learning language and the community for the first three months - which is what we had been doing. It was very frusterating to be doing what we thought we were supposed to be doing, and then be told (rather sharply) that we were wrong and that we must report to our site assignments at 8am the next day, and that they were going to actually call our bosses to let them know we would be there.

Needlsess to say, we were both pretty shocked and upset. It felt like we had been caught doing something wrong, though we thought we were just following directions. Never in this whole adventure have we wanted to just go and hang out and not do the work we came here to do, but we felt like we were being accused of just that. It was probably the lowest point we have had since we got here, and the first time we had thought about saying "Forget it, we're going home." We felt very disrespected and also concerned that we would lose face with our counterparts at the Camara who were now being told just the opposite of what we had told them once we first started

And so, we took a deep breath and went to work the next day. Josh had some things to work on for part of the day, being IT and all, but my job was less clear. In fact, it is still not clear. I tried to sit down with my boss and figure out what I should be doing, who I might talk to etc. and he basically said my language wasn't good enough and it would be too complicated to explain things now, so that I should go to a town 30 minutes away to work with a current volunteer to learn the language a couple times a week. When I asked what I should do on the other days, I was told "wait." I'm still waiting. I'm not sure that they understand that the person they want me to work with has lived here for over a year, and thus of course would have better language skills than I would, and that, even if I did work with her a few times a week, it's not likely I'm going to have my langage skills up to the level they are hoping in a short amount of time. I'm trying, I really am...but realistically these things take time. By the way, the car that was supposed to bring me to this other town for language lessons was broken down on Friday, so I wasn't able to go anyhow.

The upside...Josh is doing great and is really, really happy to be doing IT stuff again. He can tell you more about his work right now. Also, I talked with the APCD again at PC and I'm assuming he talked to some folks about our training because he seemed to believe that we actually were told at training to not go into work for the first three months...however, the misunderstanding was, because we were working in an institution that had a direction and such, our positions different, that we need to be in the institution to figure out how things work, what is happening, and how we might fit in. The converstation made me feel 100% better, primiarly because I felt validated that what I was doing WAS what we were told to do, and also because it made sense. In addition, it seems like my job will involve policy work, and working on ways to make improvements at the local government level, which was what I have been considering doing once we get back from Cape Verde (International or Public Policy). And I shouldn't be spending all my time in the Camara once I have a handle on how things work and what my role will be; hopefully I will be helping to build partnerships with outside organizatons and the Camara.

In other good news...Josh and I made our first friends in the community. He is a Capoiera instructor and volunteers nightly to teach kids in the community. He's also been helping us with language. Also, I have a language tutor now too...Claude, you asked about language here. First, I 1000 times agree you MUST continue language to be successful in the Peace Corps. Second, for some reason that I don't quite understand, because this is an election year, there is only enough money in the budget for 10 people to get a paid tutor. I didn't qualify for one because I scored too high on my LPI, which I am a little grumpy about because I wanted to use the money for a tutor to learn Portuguese. Everyone here SPEAKS Kriolu, but everything is WRITTEN in Portuguese, so any written work I do, any proposals etc, needs to be done in Portuguese, w hich I don't know any of. Fortunately we did find people willing to work with us for free, but it's difficult because sometimes they aren't available at the last minute, so you walk 20 min to go to a lesson and they aren't there. Ah well.

Sunday was beach day, and we are both nice and crispy. We finally found some cumin at a local market, and the Unicoop has cheese again (these things are a HUGE deal in PN, at least to us!). We discovered that the sparkling mineral water in the store is close enough to club soda. I made Peanut Butter cookies, chicken and mushroom alfredo, and Indian dahl, all delicious. Josh gave me my first hair cut - it's growing realy fast, or at least it seems so!

We hope all is well State side. This weekend was emotionally difficult for us because Josh's sister got married on Saturday and we couldn't be there. We tried to call but couldn't reach anyone, so we were both pretty disappointed. This is the third wedding we've missed too.

Being away for so long, things are bound to fluxutate, but in the grand scheme of things, things here are pretty good. Besides, how bad can life be stranded on a windswept island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?

So today we have an excellent update...starting tomorrow, we should have DSL in our house! Weºre going to try it out for a while, see if itºs worth it, but weºre feeling very isolated news wise, and itºs expensive to go to internet cafes all the time, plus rather irritating if you want to do things like chat with friends and family, so weºll see if this works!

We also uploaded some new pics of our place, and hopefully shortly weºll get a video on line. Right now itºs too big to upload. Things here are all excellent, we had visitors over the weekend and it was nice to hang out with other PCVºs. We had a mini birthday party for Josh (his birthday was on Thursday) and I tried out some of the Peace Corps Cookbook recipes...the macaroons came out great, the chocolate pudding cake was only so-so.

Iºve become quite adept at cooking with what weºve got here, but I have one major complaint. Bugs. Not bugs crawling around or outside or in the shower with you, but bugs in my food, and namely bugs in my flour. In the States, I rarely used flour at all, especially white flour. Here, thatºs all we have, and itºs a staple, so Iºve become the queen of mexican food with all the tortillas I make. However, there are these little black bugs and little whiteish worms in the flour here...so sifting your flour takes on a whole different meaning and necessity. Of course the only sifter I can find is a little tiny one that you would use for tea, so I guess I should add that to my list! Its odd, I think in America if I had bugs in my flour, Iºd squeal a bit and then throw the whole thing out. But here...thatºs just wasteful, and besides, I have yet to buy a bag of flour that dosenºt have bugs or worms in it, so even if I did toss it, the next bag would be the same. Its just something you have to shrug and accept. Grudgingly.

Work wise, Josh and I have been coming up with lots of questions to ask people at the Camara and at different organizations around town, and weºve been introducing ourselves and finding out exactly whatºs what in Porto Novo and Santa Antao. Or trying to. The language is still a struggle, as Iºm sure it will be for probably the first year; this is why the Peace Corps lasts for two years. I personally am feeling shy (yes me, shy) about going out and meeting people, which of course would help with language, but itºs probably our biggest challenge (if you donºt count the bugs in the flour. Kidding.).

Once we have internet up and running, weºll let you know what chat program you can catch us on, and when. Until then...weºd love some emails about the upcoming elections, the economy, or anything else of interest! We visit the Times regularly, but frequently the articles change quickly so we donºt actually see whatºs going on in the world. So if you see something you think weºd like to know about, tell us!! Or just send us the link.

Ti logu,

Dove