CARNAVAL AND SANTO ANTAO

So I finally made my trek to the northern islands. I left on Thursday because our flight was at 8 am on Friday and there was no way I could get to the airport that early from Calheta. We left the next morning and we got to Mindelo, Sao Vicente at 9:30 or so. The airport in Mindelo was in the middle of nowhere and we were blowing in the wind waiting for a car. The taxi ride is supposed to be 800 eschudos but we got a free ride! We went to the new volunteers house. There was ex-volunteer from Cameroon, named Byron who just finished his 4 month motorcycle tour of West Africa (Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina-Faso, Benin, Togo, Ghana-where he worked for 6 months, and Senegal) and he was ending his trip in Mindelo in Cape Verde. However we convinced him that he had to go to S.Antao and then convinced him he had to see the Island of Santiago for a totally different, non-tourist side of Cape Verde. So he stayed for an extra week and a half.


Over the next 4 days we did nothing but listen to Parades, watch the floats, party, and eat. I had so much fun. We ended up going to this warehouse party on the beach and it was sooo much fun. We danced until 5 am that night and I never thought I could be that tired. On the Saturday before carnival started we went to the really cool dance-club/bar place. It was all traditional brazillian/Cape verdean music but it was so much fun. We didn´t exactly know how to dance to it so we did the steps we did know and then made up the rest. From there we went to the street to go to the hotel party that the entire town goes to, and during our walk we danced and paraded around with the drumming bands that were goin up and down the street. The hotel party was cool because it was live music, a lot of people in costumes, on top of the roof of this gorgeous hotel. Sarah, Byron and I ended the night eating what we thought was hamburger but could have easily been some sort of dog meat sandwhiches on the side of the road. It was awesome!
Sunday was resting day. On Monday was our excursion to the warehouse party. Tuesday was all about the floats. Originally, I was thinking it was like parades in America: you get up early and you are done by 1. Not here. It was a parade from 9am until 10pm that night. I was ehausted just watching them. It was crazy because they actaully had girls on floats doing Samba and other traditional dances wearing barely any clothing for the entire event. Little kids parades were cute too. All the kids dress up in matching outfits. Like there was a group of kids super heroes, a group of ballerinas, a group of animals, a group of trees and flowers, etc. The also had Capoeiras running up and down the street which was amazing. Interpretive dancers came out for Carnival. And the highlight…the Mandigos! These are men, women, children, and older people who at one time used car grease, but now use charcoal and cooking oil to paint their entire bodies black and wear minimal clothing and they run, dance, play the drums everywhere. They are not in lines and they run up and down the streets “tagging” people. So we would see people with black marks all over their face, arms, and shoulders. They were definitely terrifying but highly-entertaining.

I mean it was non-stop dancing, singing, drums, food…it was pretty cool. After the big day, Tuesday, what we call “fat Tuesday” for Mardi Gras it was mass time. So the next day (wedenesday) everyone went to church for Ash Wednesday. That was the day we got on the boat and left for Santao Antao. It is the most gorgeous island in Cape Verde. Huge mountains, green all year round, and beautiful coastal scenery. I understand the hype completely. I went hiking twice. Once 3 hours all down hill from a crater into a valley. Beautiful! We ended up at this Bar called Bar-curral. And they make their own cheeses and grogue. Oh by the way, the best grogue in Cape Verde comes from SA. The cheese was unbelievable. They also make fresh bread to go with it. We ended up ordering food because we stayed so long. And they actually went to a garden to get herbs to put in my omelette. I mean, I do that at home but I have never been to a restaurant that did that. so good! The next day we did a 5 hour hike up and down about 4 mountains from Ponto de Sol to Cha de Igresa. It was a HARD hike and I thought I might pass out. But it was so worth it! There was really beautiful scenery and we went from beach, to forest, to plains, to valleys, to desert, back to mountains. I was very sceptical because everyone said that it was a hard hike (one person hurt their knee and one girl twisted her ankle on this hike) but they said I should go because it was unbelivable scenery and I would feel very good about myself for doing it. So I did it and they were right. We stayed in Santao Antao for 5 days. I brought back mounds of cheese for gifts.We left and went back to Mindelo and I got home on Monday around 9pm.


The language up north was sooo different. I mean I have now been to 6 of the 10 islands and I swear this was the hardest. They call the kriolu up north Sanpajudu. They speak very fast and they cut off their words a lot. They also have a lot of portuguese and european influence. So they don´t use kriolu greetings.They will say “todo bom” or “todo dretu” or “todo cool” (all of which is like How are you) it was odd. But what made me proud at times was the fact that I could communicate and understand. It made me realize just how far I had really come.

So yeah, I had a great Carnival and a wonderful vacation. I think that I would have really missed out if I had left without seeing those islands though. They are amazing, gorgeous scenery, gorgeous people, and fun times. It was a really good experience.

CHRISTMAS IN CALHETA!

(25 December 2008)


I just wanted to give you an update on my last Christmas in Cape Verde. I had a pretty awesome time. Whitney and I planned it out pretty well I have to say. We sent out the invites on Thanksgiving Day and we ended up having everyone except for 4 volunteers on this island at our house. One volunteer came from Sal and another volunteer from the island of Maio. My friend and volunteer Emily brought her friend who is a volunteer in South Africa, another volunteer brought her boyfriend and her brother who was visiting from the states, and Justin's mom was there as well. Whitney and I have been on the go… buying, planning, and organizing for over a month. We went to Praia and everywhere in-between for supplies, decorations, and food. But it turned out really well. I made eggnog that was a huge hit (I had to use grogue, which is like Cape Verde's official liquor and is like unfiltered vodka and moonshine instead of using rum or bourbon because it was soooo much cheaper) fortunately I don't like eggnog so I drank enough to taste but I couldn't bring myself to drink a full glass. I made cream of mushroom for Whitney's green bean casserole, and then I made stuffing, potato salad, three chickens, and one ham. The ham gave me small heart pains. I cooked it double the time because I could never tell if it was done, but luckily Justin's mom was here and she informed me that it was done I was just unsure because I am use to cured hams that are already brown. So I put my homemade glaze on top and it was devoured in literally minutes.
So when everyone arrived they had to read the schedule and they received the 2 page Holiday trivia (which had Christmas questions as well as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah questions and they had to complete it by 8) and then they all had to place their gift for gift exchange in the gift bucket, and place their food dish on the table. So we ate and then We placed all complete trivia on the wall for everyone to see, then Whitney and I went to Christmas eve mass at 9:00pm and during that time everyone was supposed to choose a song from our 11 hours of Christmas music ( 6 hours of which came from my neck of the woods…Oh mama, bebe, and missy, backdoor santa" was on that list but no Santa Claus wants some loving. I am saving that for next year!) that had been playing all day. We came back from mass exhausted because we had to stand for 2 hours with all the other 400 people that were there.

When we got back we set up karaoke outside. We let the three "visitors" be the judges. It was funny because none of them were shy in the way you would think that they would be. They gave constructed criticism and number amounts. It was the funniest thing that I have seen in a while. One group (adeyemi and Andrew) sang the fresh prince of bel-air theme and everyone sang along. They should have been disqualified because technically that is not a Christmas song but they added a "merry Christmas" at the end. Emily and Justin won karaoke with a pretty synchronized version of "
Feliz Navidad." It was actually pretty well done. After that we had gift exchange that we actually had the best gift winner (the gift was an awesome coffee pot) and the funniest gift (a hammer with a bag of nails). Then we gave the rest of the prizes:

Trivia Winner-Emily
Cookie decorator winner-Anne
Closest relationships to Santa or lives closest
to the North Pole- Jessica
First person to Arrive- Jackie
Most cups of eggnog-Andrew
Best Christmas Outfit- Whitney and Dannielle (self-declared)

We had a really great Christmas. I think it was the perfect way to celebrate for us. It was festive, fun, and there was enough going on that we could forget for a couple of hours the fact that we were sad not to be with our families and friends back home. I think it was a good way to celebrate and give everyone the chance to be together and celebrate. We then tried to go to the discotec (club) but it was too expensive and so we came back and hung out. Most people didn't sleep and left at 9:00am on Christmas day. But a few people stayed. Christmas morning Justin's mom came over and she made homemade biscuits (with self rising flour and Crisco!!! That she brought in her carry-on.), and we ate Whitney's awesome egg casserole, and hash browns. Before Alex and Joe left they made lakaa (I think that is how you spell it) which are Jewish potato pancakes. Those were good! We ate all the food and then everyone left. Luckily, everyone saw all the work, time, money we put into all of this and they cleaned up EVERYTHING! I went to bed about 3:00am and I heard around 5:00am my friend Brian yell to everyone "I think it would be wrong to just leave and leave this place a pigsty! " He rallied everyone together and they cleaned for a couple of hours. Sarah came from her host fam's house later that day and we watched 27 dresses, some bad lifetime movie and to end the wonderful Christmas movie night we watched Batman the dark Knight (which was a Christmas gift from my friend Endia), then we exchanged gifts, and then we ate leftovers all day. That night a really famous Cape Verdean Singer came and we went to his concert. Then Whitney, Aguinaldo, Papi, and I went to the club. It was an awesome way to end the holiday.

The next day we did nothing because we were so tired and It felt good to relax. As much fun hosting that party was, it was exhausting. Later that day we went to the beach. All in all it was a fun time. I think bing here really does make me appreciate all the Christmas "traditions" that I have with my family. I mean I do believe that I took them for granted because they were always a part of my life. But being here I now know that Christmas, thanksgiving, etc. are really important to me. I completely understand the fact that it is the happiest and most depressing time of the year. I had a great time doing this and I really think everyone enjoyed it and appreciated it but I am very excited about the holiday season next year and being home in GA!
New years is another excuse to have a 3-day party so I am now getting ready for that. I bought some material (red) about 3 months ago and I now have a man in my town making a shirt for me. If that does not go the way I want I will be wearing this really cute red dress I bought in Praia. Well I love you all and miss you more. Have a great rest of the Holiday

SAL (salt) e BOA VISTA (good view)

Well I know it has been a while since I wrote to everyone. I felt like there has been so much to write about that I sort of got overwhelmed just thinking about it. But I owe you some updates, so here goes…
Well in October I went to the islands of Boa Vista and Sal (the names of the islands literally translate into good view and Salt). Boa Vista is gorgeous! The beaches have ridiculously white sand and blue water. There is also a desert there that is so amazing and almost indescribable in its beauty. There were literally times that I just couldn't even speak, I just had to stop and stare. The pictures we have don't begin to compare to the real thing. However, even with all the beauty I could never live there. There were literally no cape Verdeans, ok there were a few, and it was so touristy. They had resorts the size of cities. Everyone we saw was either from another island, Italian or Portuguese. Even with all that I thought that I was ready for Sal…not so much.

Sal is the tourist capital of the islands of Cape Verde. There were hotels and resorts everywhere! It also had magnificent beaches and beautiful scenery. There were also…restaurants! We actually went to an Indian restaurant that was owned by a married couple from India who lived in the Canary Islands for like 20 years. They were really nice and the food was good. But the downside because the islands are relatively remote and far away from Santiago, food is very expensive, therefore restaurants were expensive and the portions were a lot smaller. Even on Boa vista an orange was 4 times more than on the island of Santiago.

In Sal we went to the salt mines. It was really cool. They have pools with water and they are filled with salt and you can go and sit in the pools and your skin comes out unbelievably smooth. People from Spain, Portugal, and Italy come just to lie in these pools and see the salt mines. It is a national park so all cape Verdeans get in for free.

Overall it was a really good trip. I had a great time although I am pretty sure I am going to avoid taking boats after the 8 hour trip to Boa Vista and then another 5 hours to Sal and then the 12 hour round trip back to Praia. I mean it is a lot cheaper but now I understand why. I am gad I went as well because it allowed me to see the beauty in Santiago in a better light. I knew that I picked the right island a year ago. I love Santiago. I love the Kriolu here, I love the culture, the food is great here, the people are beautiful. I have a connection to this island and after coming back from Senegal it definitely has a connection and strong stereotypical African essence. It is a beautiful island but also that is what I love about Cape Verde: that EVERY single island is so drastically different and EVERY island's kriolu is so different and unique but they all are proud and strong in their patriotism and loyalty to Cape Verde.

Acampamento de Meninas 2008- Sua Mente..Seu Corpo...Sua Escolha (your mind....your body...your choice)

So I am writing 3 days after the last day of our girls camp, Acampamento de Meninas 2008- Sua Mente..Seu Corpo...Sua Escolha (your mind....your body...your choice) that Whitney and I put together in Ribeireta last week. Overall it was awesome! The girls loved it and even though it was a lot of work I had a good time too. It rained 3 out of the 5 days but it was still a good time. We had around 16 girls and 4 youth leaders. The girls did the 35 minute walk from Calheta to Ribeireta. The agenda was based on a different subject for each day;

Monday-Lines of Communication

Tuesday-Making good decisions and leadership

Wednesday-Safe-sex

Thursday-Gender roles and Self esteem

Friday-Saying goodbye

Most of the subjects overlapped. We had the youth center director come and lead one session on good decision-making. The head doctor from theHospital came and talked about HIV/AIDS, Contraceptives, and Teenpregnancy. One lady from ICIEG (Instituto de Cabo Verdiano de equalidade e igualdade de Genero) which is like the national organization for promotion of gender equality came and lead a 3 hour. She did a session on Gender roles and self esteem. The session on safesex the girls were able to anonymously put questions or concerns thatthey had about those topics and the doctor randomly answered them throughout the session.Everyday they had an art projects. The did art projects where theyused whatever form they wanted to depict how they saw themselves, usedmagazines to pick out leaders and why, drawings talking about AIDS andearly pregnancy, and they made bracelets. We used one activity from the book that my sister sent me about making positive "flowers." The flowers exercise we used for the last day in which each girl was given 4 petals and had to choose 4 names (one petal for each girl), then theyhad to write a positive phrase or a word about that specific girl. They thought the activity was confusing at first but once they got it they loved it! Also on the last day we gave out completion diplomas.

This weekend the trainees came to "shadow" us in Calheta. As we were walking around we saw 4 girls who went to the camp. They were so excited to see us. The showed the trainees all the things that they made and they could explain the different topics. One girl and her mom came to my house and her mom says that the girl wants to laminate her diploma. Another mom yelled my name in the middle of the street and was going on and on about how thankful she was because her daughter had such a good time! All of them want us to do it again. I am very glad it is over but I am even more excited that I actually got to do it.

The support once we really got going was unbelivable. The friday before camp Whitney and I made a competition amongst the youth group at the CEJ to see who could get the most donations by sunday. On sunday night we had over 20 kilos of rice, over 4 kilos of corn, sugar, flour, and 6000$00 eschudos given to us from neighbors and random people in the town. The store that I go to almost every other day gave us 30 eggs for free. CCS-SIDA(comite para combate SIDA) which is the governmentally regulated sector to fight AIDS in cape verde gave us money as well! We do have money leftover and according to people in the community I have talked to it can be used for extension projects with the campers and maybe even a boys camp if we wanted to do it. I had a really great time and it seems that the girls did as well!!!

Di Volta Pa Txan di Tanki

Last weekend I spent the entire weekend with my host family. It was interesting because I had not been back since Christmas and I missed my family there a lot. I can never seem to find the time to go back or to call them as much as I want but I made time last weekend. Everyone was soo excited to see me and I was overjoyed to see them as well. I ate a lot, I mean in general when you go to a cape verdean´s house you eat a lot but I ate so much more at their house. They recently made a wood kitchen and the food is so much better when it is cooked on a wood stove (well not so much as a stove as three rocks and then wood or linha but it is perfect).

A lot of cape verdeans live abroad (actually there are more cape verdeans outside of cape verde than within) and my host-mom´s son came home from France. He has been living in France for 7 years. He showed up 2:00am on Saturday morning, and I woke up to a sound that sounded like "grita"-ing and "txora"-ing but was really a happy yelling. He is staying for quite a while but for his family I am sure it is not long enough.

I am planning on going back next month. My host family is really cool and they always help me to relax and I just feel so comfortable at the house, in their family.

Brinquedo Do Lixo (making games with trash)

Some of the girls at the end of the activity. Flowers and photo frames!

So in honor of earth day and ambient (earth) month here in Cape Verde, I tried to come up with an activity that was not just a trash pick-up. About 3 weeks ago, I saw in one of my co-workers desk that she had a book about making games out of trash. So that is how I got an idea for an upcoming project. So on Sunday, the 20th of April, initially about 10 children (that very quickly turned into 30 children) came and made picture frames and other art work out of plastic bottles and bottle caps. Yes this was the art teacher who helped us out. This is an example of the flower...and yes every part of it was made out of a soda bottle.

It was hectic but I think it was fun for the kids to have a little creativity in their lives; they do not get that very often. They were excited to start, excited to take the work home, and wanted to do it again. In the beginning there were around 5 girls who helped us find bottles and bottle caps and they were great! Before the activity started though, I used my “influence” on all the kids I knew to get them to invite their friends. This art project was fun, hectic, and sometimes a little frustrating but it had such a great effect on the kids that I think we will have to try it again.

These are some of the kids making the flowers. Check out the bottles on the
table...that is only half of all the ones we found.

Yeah I think they had fun...or they just love to take pictures. Maybe a
little of both.

This is a small sample of the traditional dance of Batuk. The beat that the women are playing is the traditional beat. However the song being sung now aer usually about Social issues. These were "batukadeiras" from Pilão Cão, Ponta Verde, Rabelado, and some other zones that I can´t quite remember at this very moment. This is one of the coolest experiences during the meeting. I felt a connection and such a shared pride for these women dancing and singing. They loved it...this is a dance that, as they will tell you, was born out of pain and suffering and they will also tell you that you have to find joy and motivation anyway you can, even through dance and song.

Dia de Mulheres de Cabo Verde

This year in Calheta de Sao Miguel, Cape Verdean women’s day was celebrated on March 29th. During the previous two weeks I went around Sao Miguel taking pictures of the life of women; and so there was a small exhibit of the pictures that I had taken as you walk into the conference room. The Expo was named “Exposição de dia a dia de Mulheres de São Miguel.”
It was a Saturday and the Social development part of the Câmara, a Peace Corps volunteer (me), and 70 women and 6 men came together for an open forum about the problem of Domestic Violence. The discussion began with what was considered harassment, the different forms of harassment, and then different forms of abuse. It stayed on task for the most part, but the conversation inevitably led to gender roles in Cape Verde and how women and men do not see each other as equals in marriage and in the home. “Machismo” and relationships outside of marriages was also a hot topic. The few men in the crowd actually did voice their opinions which helped add fuel to the conversation. It also helped to have “real-time” examples such as stories people knew about from around Sao Miguel, as well as the much talked and reported about stories on the news concerning domestic violence in Praia and Assomada. At one point the president of the Camara showed up to say “happy women’s day” to the women there and also to give a very short talk on women’s roles in development. The forum was concluded with a very prideful and excited Batuk presentation and then lunch was served outside.

Batuk and Dia de Mulheres

Last weekend I went to a Batuk festival in Mato Correia. Mato Correia is a really beautiful place. It is definitely out in the fora and almost seems untouched. Houses sit not only on top of hills, but on sides of mountains. Sometimes I wonder how do people walk home? Or how do the houses stay up? hahaha! It was an interesting experience all together. When we first got there, there were soo many people. Literally hundreds and everyone was eating. At first, I stupidly thought that people brought their own food, but then I was asked by an older woman to come into her house and eat. I realized that not only was I going to eat there but EVERYONE was eating there. Apparently her house was the designated food place. I ate so much I was stuffed. later we walked down to where the stage was set up. We watched about 5 groups perform the traditional dance of Batuk. It was great.
Since a lot of people are moving away, and outside influence is becoming much stronger a lot of the traditional dances of Cape Verde were slowly going away. Other Cape Verdeans noticed this and started a huge campaign in the last couple of years to bring it back to the forefront. So a lot of the zones now have young girl Batuk groups. At the event, we watched as the Batuk group of Mato Correia became an official group. It was actually very touching to watch the girls get encouragement and support from some of the older women.

March 8th was International day of Women (Dia de Mulheres). Unfortunately, like most places in the world the work of the women goes unappreciated and unnoticed. Saturday was a day to say thanks, to recognize, and to also strengthen women around the world. In Cape Verde it was all about awareness. There were different events around the country. In my town, OMCV (local chapter of the national women´s Organization) had a palestra (round table discussion) about women issues. It was interesting to listen to the president, as well as doctors give information to women and girls in the community.

They mainly talked about AIDS and HIV but there was also an overall theme of be good to yourself and take control of your life. Especially when a guest speaker came to talk about her own experience being a women and finding out she had been infected with HIV by her husband. It was sad, interesting, but uplifting as well becuase she gave her story through song (with the help of a batuk group from Pilão Cão). It was inspirational and a definite self-esteem booster for the women.

Dia dos Namorados

I think that life is going to be very interesting for the next 18 months (or maybe 30 months depending on if I renew for another year.Haha!). I am excited, sad, lonely, creeped out, joyous, curious, scared, exhausted, and happy everyday. Not all at the same time but definitely all of those throughout the day. I of course go through these sorts of cultural mood swings but now I am more able to recognize them and I think I am getting much better at dealing with them. I also find that although I remember saying that I was learning a lot about myself at the beginning, I think that currently I have learned a lot more about myself in the last 5 months, which 7 months ago I would not have known was possible. I am learning about my own level of pessimism, my frustration threshold, and my previously unknown to me "set ways." Things that I never knew were important to m e are now very important. Places that I now consider essential were always staples before so I never thought about them. Activities and interests, that I realize now, I truly love and I could not possibly live without and probably would have never discovered had I not come here. I am learning that I care more about people than things, and not having money does not mean unhappiness.
After talking to a constant source of enlightenment, my sister, I have learned that in many ways I am stronger than I know and that when I am weak there is always God to pick up the slack or sometimes just pick me up. I have a passion for other things other than movies and books (although they are important as well) that maybe in the past would not have come up on my top five. So I guess, all in all, I am trying to say that I am learning, and hopefully growing, and that when I finally wake up from this dream I will be a stronger, more knowledgeable, and self aware person.
So work has begun, I am actively working on starting a girl´s summer camp, my roommate and I are starting a girl´s soccer team, and I and another volunteer are working on HIV/AIDS projects for women here. Since you can only get tested for Sexually transmitted diseases in Praia and since half the men and a lot of women think you can only get AIDS if you live in Praia and there is no HIV in the Fora, we are also trying to convince the "cool" guys here to go with us in a few weeks to Praia for a "look even the cool kids get tested for AIDS" field trip...

So two weeks ago, I went to a place called Picos. It is in Assomada and it is this tiny town, but it has one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen. Most of the churches here are painted in some sort of fancy color and this one has about four different colors. I went there because two men got ordained to be priest (Well it is the first stage in ordination; they will not have the official ordination until June apparently). One of the two men was from Calheta, so a lot of people from Calheta and the surrounding area of Sao Miguel went. It was a good event to go to but it was sooo hot. The Red Cross was there as sort of on-hand emergency team and they had to carry a couple of people out on stretchers. None of the churches are big enough to hold all the people so usually services are held outside and every one brings their own stools or chairs. I stood the entire 4 hours.
So two weeks ago was Karnival. Karnival is celebrated on all the islands but is most famous on the Island of Sao Vincent and Sao Nicolau. It is literally like a national Mardi gras before the big religious holiday. On Saturday Whitney and I went to a teaching technique seminar in Praia. The lady who was giving the seminar is actually from the teaching English council or something and she is a representative for something like 27 countries in Africa, but she lives in Senegal. She came and gave a great presentation but she said she was going to let us go at 2 instead of 5 because she knew that most people had children and family members in the kids' parades that day.
We got back to Calheta and everyone was out on the street. I got to watch a little bit of the parade. Kids in fancy colors and funny dresses, it was very cute. On Tuesday was the official start of Karnival and everyone was in the big parade. You wear a skirt and do the Samba up and down the street. It was fun to watch. That night everyone went to the beach to listen to people play music from Brazil, but the weird thing about Cape Verdeans is that although they seem to dance at the drop of a hat anywhere else, they do not dance at concerts. That was like my 6th concert here and yet again no one danced. I am just thinking about how opposite we are because Americans seem shy to dance anywhere other than at a club, wedding, or a concert. Cape Verdeans will dance in the street, outside their house on the porch, in the Hiace butmost don´t dance at concerts.
The next day, was Siensa (Ash Wednesday). I woke up at 7 to my stomach hurting but I decided not to worry about it. I went to Elsa's house and we all went to mass. It was a good service. I got ashes on my forehead like a do every year, but no matter how many times I go to Mass here, people still ask if I am Catholic. They are shocked to hear that there are Catholics in America. Everyone thinks I am protestant. But that is not all that surprising because there are only 4 religions here: Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh day Adventist, and Mormons. Then there are other religions that no one talks about: like Islam. People don't talk about Islam because they don't know anything about it. I have yet to meet a Cape Verdean Muslim. Still I think that people respect them because they say they pray all the time (which is a high priority for a lot of Cape Verdeans).
After Mass, my stomach still hurt but I had promised 3 people I would come to their house for lunch. Apparently, lunch on Ash Wednesday is a big deal. My roommate and I went to the closest neighbor's house first. We had soup first; the soup was beans and egg. Next we had rice, this fish called Serra, Kouve (CV collard greens), and carrots, Potatoes (regular and sweet), Mandioke (yucca), and Txeren (kind of like grits). It wasn't that bad until she wanted us to eat 3 plates. After I told her my stomach hurt she didn't pester but she did put out dessert; Cuscus and Mel, which is the equivalent to dry, cold, cornbread and the sweetest honey you could imagine. Let's just say I had to run home. I felt like crap. I decided to lie down and not go to everyone else's house. I did want to go to the beach with everyone though, but I did not k now if I could make it out of the bed.
After about an hour, I decided to go with my roommate to the beach.

Well that officially ends the festa season. There will not be another party until May (well there is a party for Easter but it is definitely more food and family than dancing and parades). I think I am done with all that anyway and I am so tired. So as you know, Valentine's Day was last week, well "Dia dos Namorados" (day of boyfriends and girlfriends) in Cape Verde, Portugal, and Brazil. It was an interesting time. Well I decided I was going to have fun with it! I thought be cute today and, of course, wear the colors of V-day (red, white, and pink). So I wore a pink shirt that looks almost red. The night before we made a huge batch of cookies and I took some with me to work. I went to work and everyone was pretty normal, but when I handed cookies out people were slightly shocked. But it put me in a good mood. So that evening there was singing and music in the praca and everyone went. My roommate had on a bright red shirt and I had on a pink shirt. But the entire night, every one kept asking us where our boyfriends were or asking if we were looking. We later found out that on Valentine's Day if you wear those colors it is the color of "apacianado" meaning passion. Usually only worn by people who have a boyfriend or girlfriend or who are actively seeking "passion" in their lives. I was shocked that I didn´t know this before. On Valentine's Day in the states we wear those colors right? And they don't mean anything, right? I think on the day of love, you are allowed to show that you are happy about love; whether it be love for family, friends, or partners. And even with those colors on, we got about 50 proposals a piece. HAHAH! It was a very hectic day!

September 19, 2007

This weekend something really sad happened: A 20 year old guy died on the beach. It rained a lot Thursday and Friday and of course the water washed mud into the ocean. So on Saturday the water was really murky. Apparently the guy dives a lot and he did so on Saturday and never came back up. They searched for his body for 2 days. I walked out of my house to see people gathered in groups talking about it. I then saw people running to the beach. I have never seen anything like it. People were literally running from all over the town to the beach to watch divers search the water. After not finding him on Saturday, divers from Praia came and they found him on Sunday afternoon. People began to yell, sing, and cry. I even teared up at that point because I knew someone´s son had just been found dead (when they found his body someone had to come meet the boat in the water to give them a white sheet to cover the body before the boat could go back to shore). Caheta has over 10,000 people and I think all those people were out on the beach when they brought the body to shore.
In Cape Verde when someone dies the family mourns for seven days. People are expected to go to the family´s house and cook, clean, and help with the preparation of the body (they do not embalm in most cases, and they use different methods and chemicals to prepare the body for the casket). After the 7 days, the family still mourns and for about a month people do everything for the family (cook, clean, etc.). During the 7 days, people come to pay respects to the family at the house. This is called a “visita.” One is expected to go to the visita even if you don´t know the person. It is very disrespectful not to go and everyone will know if you do not go. Some people will stop speaking to entire families if someone did not show up for their family member´s visita. Unless the person was not liked in the community then people do not go and that is acceptable. Anyway, at the house of the family everything is cleaned and all the furniture is covered with white or the brightest and best cloth (none of the furniture can be seen), 2 candles are placed on the shrine-like area, along with religious paraphanelia. The 2 candles must be lit for 24 hours for 7 days. The candles are actually the lights the person will use to find their way to heaven (the family lights the path for the person). Also someone has to be awake every minute of the 7 days. Which usually means that people come and stay at the house at all times of the day and night.
It is customary that the person´s body must come to the house before going to the cemetary. The visita I went to in Matu Sanchu, was of an old man and his body stayed for almost the entire day. When I went to the Visita his body was still there. Since the guy in Calheta was so young and he died in an accident he could only stay at the house for maybe an hour and his body was not there when we got to the house that night. Since he was not in a good state (spiritually) because it was so sudden, he was rushed to the holy ground (cemetary) and buried. The body has to come to the house because if it does not the person can not find the path to get to heaven. The person must enter the house head first and must be carried out feet first. If they are carried out head first then their soul will not move on and will stay in the house.
After all that there are rules for funerals as well. Mothers and Fathers are not allowed to go to the funeral of their children who die. They believe that if the parents go they will bring more death to the family. The parents are also forbidden to wear mourning colors. If an uncle loses a nephew or niece he can not carry the casket of the nephew or niece. Essentially, one can not carry caskets or attend funerals of people who are subordinate (i.e. Grandparent to Grandchild, parent to child, etc.) but the reverse is expected. If one is a widow or widower they have to wear head to toe black. The traditinal cloth around a woman´s head and waist, the man´s socks all have to be completely black and they have to dress in black for 6 months (since tradition is changing some people only do it for 3 months) but I have met people or seen people who do it for the rest of their lives.
The biggest cultural difference for me is the tradition of “wailing.” When I went to the Visita in Matu Sanchu you could here the song-like yelling and crying (wailing) from more than a mile away, and after we go to the house every step to enter the house it was louder and louder. The first time I heard it, my heart was beating out of my chest and you can feel it in your stomach, I almost started crying because you could hear people´s pain and it was loud. At this Visita it was relatively quiet. However, after being there for an hour I got up to leave. I went outside to walk home and there were Hiaces (about 7) full of people. People were coming to pay respect from all over the town. The small house was packed in seconds. People were walking in lines and groups. They were coming from the street, and from behind the house from the mountains. It was amazing to see that much respect being paid to someone so young and he was not even a celebrity; he was a member of the community and that was all that was important. That is when the wailing started, and that was first time that it realy hit me that he was younger than me and all his young friends were coming to say goodbye to him.
I noticed really for the first time how different mourning in America is and mourning here. Here it is out in the open. People wail in the middle of the street and they wear clothing of a mourner without fail. I was telling a neighbor that mourning in America is much more private. People cry but usually it is silent or the volume is very low (she was shocked). I told her that I would never go to a wake of a person I did not know and I hated going to funerals. But that Visitas are very similar to “wakes” in African-American culture. People go to the person´s house and play cards, cry or laugh, and they eat and talk about the good times or memories of the person. She said that was very African to have an almost warm feeling about someone moving on and taking time to remember them by staying up playing cards and talking. She said in general that Americans are more private with emotions. I told her I agreed. People would be shocked (or confused) if someone yelled, cried, and sang loudly for 7 days for the death of someone. She said she had a friend who went to France. Her friend witnessed a person getting hit by a car. The friend screamed and cried. Another woman came up and asked her “Oh did you know that person?” I think in some ways that symbolizes the differences between our different cultures when it comes to death. In Cape Verde, if someone dies you pay repect, even if you don´t necessarily know the person. People know everyone here, so it would not be uncommon in Calheta for 10,000 people to show up at your house if one of your family members died. People are close here in a way that I never experienced in America. Not that either way is right or wrong it´s just different. I think we (americans) are very close to one another and that we care and love each other sometimes without filters or barriers, and sometimes people mourn openly. I also know that the wailing done here is sometimes not always genuine (people sometimes go to visitas to cry away their own problems). But public displays of affection here and in a lot of other cultures is definitely not a private issue: Girls holding each other around the waist, men and men holding hands, etc. it is all very intimate. And it is not uncommon in a town of thousands that you would know everyone, and if not everyone, every family. Sometimes it is beautiful, and sometimes it is annoying. People stare at me, not because I look weird but because I look Cape Verdean and they don´t know me. Once they know my name and that I am American, the staring subsides (a little) and they treat me like a long-lost family member. And that part does feel great!

September 18, 2007

I have lived here, in Calheta, for over 3 weeks and yes it is hard. I thought that I was fully prepared for the difficult task of integrating and being on my own. However, nothing anyone can tell you can truly prepare you for the reality of your life as a Peace Corps volunteer. I think that in the beginning it is hard because not only are the language skills low but also your job or jobs can be frustrating because you don´t fully know what you are supposed to be doing nor do your bosses know what to do with you. However, everyday it has been seemingly getting better. At first you feel completely alone because you know no one and no one knows you. Yet, the only way I have found to cope with that is to put yourself in uncomfortable positions. I mean the entire process is uncomfortable but one has to make it even moreso by getting in people´s way. Saying hello to everyone, introducing yourself to anyone you talk to (even if it is very briefly), eating lunch or dinner in another persons home, going to people´s houses to talk even if you don´t have the language (“txiga”-ing), and also attending every event possible. I have been here a very short time and I maybe know 10 people´s names but a lot of people know mine because I have told everyone I have met, and because everyone talks in town, other people I have never met know my name. I think getting out there and seeing the town and people is hard because I am relatively shy, however, in the last 11 weeks I feel my shyness slowly melting away. I do not think you can be judgmental, negative, or shy in this kind of work. I think a lot people find that out very quickly. You will not have fun, meet people, or grow as a person with any of those traits.
I have a few jobs in town. I work at the Camara (local Government). I do not do very much there but it does allow me to meet a lot of people and also puts me close to major people within the community (the President, the secretario, etc.). Through this job I also met a girl who works for Morabi, the organization that handles micro-credit for women.
I also work at the Centro di Juventude. Which is a great job because it puts me around a lot of the young people in the community. It is also the place I know I will do most of my work. I have already participated in programs about volunteering and will soon teach English classes there and help in a safe-sex informational. I know that there is not a lot I can do right now because I do not possess enough language to convey all that is necessary to be effective, but in the near future I will hopefully be a great resource for them and will help facilitate activities for the group.
I will also work at OASIS. Which is the national Women´s Association. I have not started really working with them because there is not much to do other than help with events, and because I have little language I can not really help with that quite yet. But I have introduced myself and I have let them know I am around.

September 1, 2007

So I know I have been neglecting my blog duties but here is probably one of the most important entries. September 1st 2007 was the day I swore in as a volunteer! It seemed like it has taken a lot for me to get here, and I guess it has. I had to go through the almost year long application process (lots of paperwork, interviews, and fighting with doctors for appointments, etc), then packing my soon to be life in two bags, then saying goodbye to my family (including friends whom I consider my extended family), then the long treacherous trip through Senegal (*wink wink*), and then this nine-week cultural and technical training period. I mean no matter what happens after this I have actually become a Volunteer and I have lived successfully in Cape Verde for more than 2 months. Anyways, the swearing-process was emotional because although we have only lived in our homestay houses for 2 months a lot of us feel like our temporary towns and families have become very important and very much a part of our hearts. We had to say goodbye to them and soon say goodbye to one another.
Swearing-In, in some ways, felt very surreal. It was a very long nine weeks! But the ceremony was relatively short and two new volunteers gave speeches in Portugese and Kriolu (both of them did very well), and of course we were sworn in by the Ambassador (that process was a lot shorter than I was expecting). After the ceremony we ate snacks, watched the Batuk group (from txan di tanki) perform, and took a lot of pictures. We had around 4 hours to get everything we needed and leave for our sites if we were on Santiago. I walked around the town with some of the volunteers and then very soon said goodbye to all the other new volunteers. That was unxpectantly very sad. And on September 1st I came to the beautiful town of Calheta to start my two-year service!

N KA SABI-Aug 18

This week has been crazy!!! Ok so first thing first. I live in a town named Txan di Tanki in Santiago. Most towns in Cape Verde have a patron Saint and they have Saint Days. The saint for TDT is Senhora Graça and her Saint day is August 15th. Although, it is only supposed to be for one day TDT celebrates for an entire week. So starting on the 11th, people were buying clothes and getting food. Music was being played at every house, all day, everyday. There was a huge soccer final game on the sunday before between Txan di tanki and a neighboring town. They got down to the end and neither team scored. So because it was the final they played sudden death. But here, Sudden death is done differently instead of people staying in their seats, biting their nails, and peeing in their pants, everyone, and I mean everyone, gets on the field and surrounds the goal post. So there I was with the entire town standing on the field and watching as txan di tanki ...lost. It was so sad. Everyone was sad...I couldn´t really see any of it but I knew they lost because my host sister pulls me and was like "nu bai gosi" (let´s go now). I was wondering why she was pulling me but then I realized because the other town was going crazy in victory... and tdt was going crazy in anger. There were fights, and a lot of drunk people and a lot of people who were just there for quinze de agosto looking to have a good time. So we left to the safety of our side of town.
Because Community development is the only group in Txan di tanki we were able to get Aug 15th off as like a holiday. My families exteneded relatives came form everywhere (neighboring town, islands, etc.) and stayed in the house. There was always a different group of people in my house laughing, eating, and drinking. I never realized how important food was here but literally they take it seriously. You prepare, cook, and eat all day during holidays. I woke up on the 14th to the sound Pigs, cows, and goats being slaughtered. Literally, starting on the 13th multiple families had the skins of animals laid out in the front or on the side of their houses. Needless to say, it was a party for 3 days prior to the actual party.
Anyways on the 14th everyone cooks all this food and at night people go to the discotec (club). Well me being an American I thought oh we should probably get to the club around 11. Umm no. We actually left our houses about 11 and walked through the streets. It was like a huge town block party. We get to the club around 12am which is still early for Cape Verdeans. Other PC Volunteers from two towns over came and surprised us about an hour later. Let me just say that I thought I had danced before but you have never had a real dancing experience until you have danced to reggaeton, reggae, and then Funana (a traditional dance in Cape Verde...Think of the fastest hip-hop song and then multiply that beat by about 20) in a club with no air conditioning or fans, with windows that blow no air in because it is almost as hot outside as it is in, and filled to complete capacity (a space for maybe 300 with about 600 people there). We left the discotec around 5 and I went to bed around 5:40. But I later found out that wasearly, generally on quinze de agosto you donºt leave the club until 8...so we were lightweights compared to everyone else. ~

I woke up around 10 and watched a huge processional from the city to our village from the town street. I joined in with other Peace Corps Volunteers once they passed my part of town. We walked through the town with the Senhora Graça statue at the front, next to the priest who was giving his sermon over a huge intercom (speakers in the back of a pickup truck). After Misa (mass) we all went to random houses and ate all the katxupa (cuchupa...traditional CV dish), txeren (cheren...cv form of grits), and arroz (rice) we could stomach. Although Grouge (the official liquor of Cape Verde...the strongest form of liquor I have ever encountered) was very abundant. So it was an intense 5 days for me full of random cultural events. I ate, danced, and witnessed a lot... and it was fun!!!
Yesterday was a big day for Peace Corps volunteers. We actually got our site placement. Which means we all found out where we are going to live for the next 2 years. To find out we had to play a game. The current volunteers made pinatas. One was a donkey for all the Community development people and one was a pig for the TEFL people. We had to break them and inside was candy with papers with our names and site written on it. Each person picked up one and read it.
So my wish came true and I am staying on Santiago. I am going to live in Calheta de Sao Miguel. I will be working with 4 different organizations. OASIS (agricultural group) OMCV (the large Women´s association), One of the CEJs (youth centers), and the local Camara (like a city hall). Yeah it is gonna be a lot but I am so excited!!! I am apparently living alone but my current LCF (language teacher) lives in the town and I am soo excited because she knows everyone and that will really help me integrate into the culture there. I am pretty sure I will have electricity and possible water. Oh and I am very close to the beach! Well this was a brief overview of some of the events of the week. I will try to put more pics up soon but my camera died so I need to charge it before I can put all the pics from site announcement day and quinze de agosto. I must take a pic of the wildlife here (roaches, spiders, etc.) because they are unbelieveably big. I actually could here them crawling around my room at 3am. But I couldn´t see because we don´t have electricity after 11pm and didn´t have my flashlight...it was a very sleplees night. hahaha!

The 5th week mark

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!

Sta SABI- July 12

*My host mom brother, and niece, and PCV Andrea *

So the last week has been busy. I have been to so many towns in Santiago it´s crazy! Everyday we go somehere different...which is good because it keeps our minds off America and at the end of the day around 5 or 6 you come home and talk to your host family by 9 or 10 you are exhausted. My diet here is actually not very conducive for that whole skinny thing I was going for. I have never eaten so much rice, beans, and potatoes (Arroz, fava, and battatas or Yuccas) in my life!!! Starch is all you get here. However, it is still probably 50 times more healthy than what we eat at home. We have all the meats however I eat a lot of fish and decent amount of chicken (petxi and gallena). My host family is so nice and they try to cook stuff I like.

Cape Verde is such diverse place. Even though the dialect is Kriolu (which varies north to South, island to island) all classes, radio, tv, and official documents are in Portugese. And starting in 6th grade all kids take either english or french. So everyone here can speak kriolu, understand and probably speak portugese, and possibly understand or speaks another language. More Cape Verdeans live outside of Cape Verde than in so everyone has family or friends in Brazil, US, or Europe (London, Portugal, Netherlands). That influence is definitely here (on T-shirts, food, music, etc.). But sadly, 80% of CV´s economy come from remittances ( money sent to family/friends from someone not in CV) which makes it hard for people to see a reason to work all the time bc they are so dependent on the money from other people.
Tomorrow I am shadowing a current volunteer. So I am flying out to Fogo. Look it up...it´s amazingly beautiful and everyone seems to think it is Sabi (C.V. word for awesome!... Which I have added to my permanent dictionary or fave word along with about 5 others!!)!! It is the island with the active volcano (no worries...no eruptions since 1995. hahaa!) I am excited bc the kriolu is different there and it is gonna be a completely different culture. I will make sure to tell you how it went.

Tudo Dretu!-July 20

Well I finally have a minute to tell you about what has been going on the last week. For the last 5 days we have been shadowing current volunteers all over Cape Verde. I shadowed a current volunteer on Fogo. She works in a Camara (governmental building- "city hall") but she also does stuff with kids and women. So I won´t bore you with the technical stuff but I did have an intersting time there. I learned a lot about the relationships between men and women. She pretty much gave us the dirt on how men treat women and how women just seem to take it. She says that if you are going to have a relationship with a guy you have to set up concrete guidelines for a relationships ( i.e. telling him that you believe in monogamy, that as a woman you want to be respected publicly and privately, etc.) I don´t think that all guys are like that but most of them believe in having a lot of pikenas (girlfriend) and having a lot of children not with their wife. One of the guys we met father has 27 kids, 9 with his wife and the others all over Cape Verde; and he is definitely not alone. I met another guy who had 33 siblings...crazy! I mean I hate to generalize but it seems that monogamy is not of great importance. However, it´s partly the fault of the women here, who accept that behavior, thus the low divorce rate. Some women even let the husband´s kids stay with them! But I still wanna make sure that everyone knows that I mean there are a lot of men and women like that not all of them.
We received our site preference sheet today. It is just the sheet that asks you where you want to live (urban, rural, etc.), who you dont want to live with, and which exact job for particular islands you want. Í am pretty sure I am gona end up on Santiago because I have boldly expressed that to my sector leader and I think I might be right in the city (Praia). So if anyone comes to visit I will be able to really show you around the hub of Cape Verde. someone will be staying in Mindelo, which is the center of Karnaval which will be cool bc we will have someone who really knows about the town. I am excited because I am pretty sure I am going to Karnaval this february so i will get to test the waters before anyone wants to come to karnaval in 2009. oh, and a current volunteer is actually starting a trip to Ghana in January and she said that anyone who wants to come can (it´s only about $600!!). So melissa, I might get to see your old stomping ground a lot sooner than I thought. It´s cool here because a lot of the other trainees here are really open to going places with other trainees, and people are already making plans to start a trip to Brazil and Portugal, and since a lot of people will be in fluent in Portugese that trip will be amazing! On a sad note, we already had one person ET (early terminate) which was sad because no one saw it coming and I spent most of my 4 days on Fogo with her. However, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I am sure it will still be difficult everytime.

Bon Dia- June 29th

Hey everyone!!!
I am sitting in an internet cafe in Praia, Cape Verde at 5:45. Well I just wanted to let everyone know that I did make it from Atlanta, to Dakar relatively safely. We reached the capital with a full entourage of people. The Senegalese ambassador and the Peace Corps Country director came...and from the looks of it so did the entire city of Dakar. They almost attacked our van to say hello it was really weird, nice, funny, and just a tiny bit scary. We went to this really pretty hotel (on the outside). My group (around 30 people) stayed up the entire night and lounged by the pool and ate a senegalese lunch, and stared at the amazing beach as our plane was delayed for a few more hours.

We all were kinda sad when they said that we had to leave. We got to the Senegal Airport (which is much more laid back in customs than America) and boarded our plane for our whopping 1hour and 30 minute trip!
Anyways, we got to Cape Verde around 3 and we had a full welcoming crowd...it was awesome!!!! We got here and met everyone and saw the city which mind you is poor but very beautiful. It almost looks like we are in a latin American community. The scenerly is great, we have a mountain on one side of us and a HUGE beautiful beach on the other. So far I really like Cape Verde. And yes they are beautiful people...
Our orientation/training is alll day!!! from 8:00am to around 5 or 6. Its all really informative but overwhelming and scary. On Sunday we are meeting and moving in with our host families. We are gonna live with them and eat every meal with them. Since my job is Community Development I am actually pretty much only learning Kriolu (pronounce creol-ooo) because that is the local dialect. Like everyone speaks it but the formal and official language is portugese. So I might have to learn a little for writing.
I thought they were exaggerating the fish thing but now I think they underplayed how much fish they eat. All day, everyday, every meal. I have only eaten fish since I arrived in Africa. I LOVE IT!! We have bread, rice, potatoes sometime all three every meal. And it`s good! It is flavorful but without all the jazzy stuff. For lunch today we had eel. oh mind you all the fish is fried. itºs soo funny bc a couple of guys in our group and I were laughing that we only had eel as sushi and never thought to fry it!! I have met some really awesome people and I am having a great time.

Making decisions about what to do for long periods of time has never come easy. Being in College has made it easy. All I have to do is go to class and decide on something that I can actually accomplish and fill the already pre-set requirements for it (i.e. Major). Now there are things like deciding where to work, live, and for how long. I know that I would love to go out of the country and work. However, I have been recently told I would never do that because of my attachment to my family. I think that I wouldn't do it because I wouldn't have the money. I love my family I really do. I will come visit but I want to live somewhere different. Well there it is! I guess I am on the hunt to find a job overseas. But how to do it? I have been thinking for a long time about joining the peace corps ( learning a new language, volunteering and helping people, and living in a completely different country), but I still wonder if I am cut out for something like that...

Dinner and friends...what more could I ask for. I had a great dinner with my family and friends tonight. Dinner, the sunday before one of us (melissa, bianka, and I) goes back to school, has become a tradition over the last 4 years. They are always sooo much fun and there is always great food. Today was especially interesting because it will be the last one, since I am supposed to graduate this year. The dinner was especailly good; my mother seemed to go all out. The fried chicken was awesome!! hahaha!! I was a little teary eyed when Melissa and bianka left, but it's ok they got over it and so did I...hahaha! I am always so excited to have all my family and friends around because they love me no matter what and they are just so much fun! I hope when I have a sunday dinner next year they are this much fun when I tell them that I am going into the Peacecorp. I am sure they will still be supportive and loving. Well I am quite tired, time for bed it is.