Last Week as a Trainee

É modi? (What’s up?) A week from writing this we swear-in (a few days from revising as I didn’t get a chance to post). I’m excited to end training, as I think most trainees are. It’ll be sad when we spread out to our islands, though it’s probably not a lot different with volunteers in countries on the mainland, given the remoteness of their sites. It’ll be tough to say goodbye to everyone, but we’ll get together for trainings and visits to other islands or the continent (as I plan to do…roundtrip to Dakar is $500ish).

We went to Praia today (last Friday) to the embassy and to see the hospital, pharmacy, Peace Corps office, etc. Leah, our Kriolu instructor Arlindo, and I got awesome Senegalese food and juice made from hibiscus boiled with sugar, also Senegalese. 200$00 CVE for a solid meal isn’t bad (that’s $3 USD). Street food + no stomach problems = awesome. Apparently it’s Ramadan so the Senegalese restaurants were rather deserted, as many Senegalese in Cape Verde are Muslim. Happy Ramadan Ammar!

And speaking of friends from home (I miss you all), I met a Cape Verdean who looked exactly like you, Mary G. Well not exactly, as, well, you’re descended from Europeans and she from Africans, but other than that, mirror images.

Praia has a reputation for being dangerous, but I think if you’re careful it’s okay. It’s like any other big city (but Praia isn’t big…100k-150k). I think Praia’s safer than Dakar, Conakry, Freetown, Accra, etc. Anyway, we’re getting to know it and it’s cool. I was trying to haggle with a Cape Verdean woman over a watch band in the market and she asked how long I’d been in Cape Verde. When I said two months, she said much to my delight that my Kriolu was quite good for having been here such a short time. She did not, however, lower the price. It’s better to haggle with the Senegalese and Guineans and other West Africans.

We often have discussions regarding Cape Verde versus the continent. Most of us assumed we were going to Mozambique when we received nominations to Portuguese-speaking Africa. That assumption kind of symbolizes CV’s relationship with Africa. On a map it’s pretty close, though Europe’s close too. The people look African, but with European blood as well. The language, Kriolu, is a mix of Portuguese and languages from Guinea-Bissau, but is 80% Portuguese. It’s not Africa, it’s not Europe, it’s Cape Verde. Apparently Peace Corps Volunteers from Senegal vacation in CV, but we want to get there. Perhaps the grass is always greener on the other side. Actually, though, the grass is always greener in Senegal since CV gets 10 cm of rain a year.

As for me and everyone who knows me, my heart is with Africa. I will get back to the continent. CV has different challenges than the mainland. It’s unique in that I’ll combine environmental knowledge and passion with business acumen. I’ve warmed to the idea of using business, as being in Africa to try and help is more important to me than escaping business. It’s a change of heart, but I don’t think it puts me any closer to returning to the corporate world. If any fellow Ross alumni read this, sorry about Lehman Bros and Merril-Lynch.

So anyway on the 21st I’m off to the volcano. A current volunteer just moved to the town, so if I want to play Scrabble etc. I won’t have to trek down the mountain or take the three hour ride to São Felipe. I look forward to running on the park’s trails and eating fewer carbs. I will miss my host family.

All right well I think my host mom noticed that the house is using a lot of electricity, but she’s not sure why. So in that case, I shall shut down. I have to enjoy the electricity while I’ve got it though. Perhaps indoor plumbing as well? Thanks for reading this rather stream of consciousness entry. Txau!

N mataba pomba!

The title of this blog says “I killed a pigeon!” Leah’s brother killed one and I killed the second. Afterwards Leah’s sister and I plucked them and watched her mom gut them. We held them tightly by the head and spun the bodies around until their necks broke. I think I’m going to kill one of our chickens soon.

Other than that extreme update, all’s been well. Kriolu is coming along all right. We had a practice test to see at what level we can speak. I made intermediate-mid which is what we need to get commissioned, so I can breathe a sigh of relief. On Fogo I’ll have to learn a slightly different dialect of Kriolu but it’s mostly the same. I hope to pick up Portuguese after I get solid in Kriolu. The volunteer I’ll replace indeed got quite good so I hope to follow suit.

I was sad on Saturday as I missed Michigan’s opening football game for the first time in years. As I write this on Monday night I still don’t know if we beat Utah. All I can do is hope for the best. I’m not sure it’s possible to watch a game live in Cape Verde; perhaps Praia has a bar that gets American TV.

We went to Praia on Friday to visit some various agencies. It was nice to return and see that it’s really quite manageable when you can speak Kriolu. We went to a huge supermarket (by CV standards, so maybe like a smallish Kroger). It was incredibly overwhelming after only seeing mini-markets and the regular market in Assomada. I left with a headache and none of the groceries otherwise unavailable in Assomada and certainly Fogo.

Sunday we did an activity with the village kids. We played duck-duck-goose (or duck-duck-turkey because we didn’t know the word for goose in Kriolu) and then did a project, making picture frames from trash we found in and around Assomada. It went pretty well. It’s amazing how creative some of the kids are. The boys make really intricate cars from discarded tin cans, bottle tops, and wire. It always makes me wonder what kinds of awesome things they could do if put in the right situation. I think it’s important for us to at least tell them they’re smart and creative since they’re relatively ignored by their parents, who are too busy working. Mostly kids are surprised we’d even stop to say hello, let alone compliment them.

Anyway that’s about it here. I’m enjoying myself in the village but look forward to relocating as well. It’ll be tough to say goodbye to the other trainees (or volunteers by then) but the challenge excites me. Thanks for reading and leaving comments. Ti logu (until later).