Well this week we went to a place called Sambala. It is an actual resort that is being built in Santiago. It is massive!!! I mean it is a really cool property and it is going to have some really amazing things there. The villas and houses are relatively cheap for a resort on the top of a mountain next to the beach. It is an odd feeling going there though, because you drive through the capital city (Praia) and through a small village, and out in the middle of nowhere is this giant resort. When we first got there I was shocked by the scale and all the great things that were gonna be there, but then they got to the good part. The group is actually going to move the closest, and only town halfway across Santiago. Granted the villagers will have a better school and access to more water, but they are moving them to add more villas and also so that the inhabitants never have to really see real Cape Verdeans. Samabala will actually employ about 3,000 workers, 800 of which are currently working there. However, about 90% of the workers are not from C.V. they are from the continent. I mean Samabala is doing great thing like eventually it will be a sustainable eco-tourist resort with wind power as well as solar panels for energy to the houses...but that´s 15 years away. This is a round about way of saying that tourism while good in some ways is a shady industry.
The company that owns Sambala is a british company, and they are appealing to the brits because this is their closest group of tropical islands. The people that are going to live here are going to be living in a self-contained environment (grocery stores, shops, restaurants, etc.) and if they really wanted to they would never have to step out to Cape Verde. Cape Verde yells and claps when we get rain (chuva) more like mist (brufa) but this place is going to have 2 pools and a large number of fountains in all of the resort´s villages. They are taking trees out in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing! They will never have to see real villages or the impoverished people that live in the country. Which is probably how they like it anyway. I don´t know it just makes me think of all the ways that I support places like Jamaica, South Africa, or any other place that has a booming tourist economy but a high percentage of people in poverty.
Finally, I saw Sicko on Sunday. I thought it was great. I watched it with about 4 other trainees and 3 volunteers and all of us had the same reaction: wow maybe I should move to France or England. hahahaha! It was actually really weird watching that kind of movie out of the US. I was happy that I got to see it because I thought it was a great movie and it was very well done, but I think it was even better because I wasn´t in the US. I thought maybe I am crazy for wanting to live in another country, but hearing other people say "that movie was great but it kinda makes me not wanna go back to America" was slightly reassuring. I mean I love America and I will definitely be back but I wonder if my time here will make me more critical of things that happen back home. I know that if I make it two years I will come back with a greater appreciation of the country but hearing someone say "look at a country´s greatness not by how they treat the rich or healthy but by how they treat their poor and sick" makes me wonder.
Anywho, have I mentioned how much I miss washing machines and dryers. My host-mom washes clothes for about 9 hours twice a week. I try and help but I suck at rinsing the soap out part. She is always like "nau nau" or "mas forsa" (meaning more strength) because in case you were wondering I am a weakling here! hahaha! oh well. Oh, and that whole thing about not having chicken for 2 years...completely false! I had fried chicken for lunch today...it was good. Fried chicken here is "Frango." Õh and if anyone has any ideaon what I should cook my family for an american dinner on Monday (Segunda Ferra) I am all ears!
No comments:
Post a Comment