Fika fixi

Txan Blog 2

This is my first attempt to write a blog up at site. We’ll see how long the battery lasts. Good thing I have a Gateway (sarcasm!). Everything’s going well; last week was eventful.
Tuesday I came to São Felipe to watch the election in a bar with some other volunteers from Fogo. We lounged for awhile, did internet, shopping, etc, ‘til it was time. We went to a bar run by a guy name Vicente to hang out before dinner. Then we went to Tropical, whose owner lived in the US and promised CNN on the satellite. Getting it turned into somewhat of an ordeal but we had it by the time it was important. Before that we watched election coverage from a French station. It was a fun group, with a former volunteer, current ones, people who’d lived in the US, and Cape Verdeans interested in the race (most of the population was aware of the election, and I’d guess 99.9% were pulling for Barack). We were there ‘til 4:30 am our time (pretty late when you go to bed at 9:30 pm regularly), when we got the final result.
Everyone was ecstatic and felt the importance of the event. I have to admit I shed a tear or two when Barack made his speech in Grant Park. We wandered the empty streets back to the volunteer’s house where we stayed, passing out wherever we could find room on the floor, futon, or beds. Around 8:30 we got up, a few of us got breakfast (so good…goat cheese, fresh bread, coffee, banana), and ran errands. I went to the market to get produce, including kovi (kale?), carrots, onions, cabbage, and garlic. Even though my village produces lots of food, it’s nearly impossible to buy there. Then the internet and back to the house.
Many Cape Verdeans have asked me about the election and expressed excitement at Barack’s victory. I don’t think Americans realize how important this election was to the entire world (I don’t think we care about the world outside our borders much, and it’s a shame). The average Cape Verdean probably is fuzzy on the policies of the two candidates, but they know about the wars that have started over the last two terms, the economic problems, and know that with Barack there’s a better chance of positive change, especially regarding war. Cape Verde is a very peaceful country. There are no tribal divisions like on the continent, which fester because of a lot of things, including arbitrarily drawn borders by colonial powers. That’s because the Portuguese pretty much destroyed any differences, good or bad, between people, when they brought them to these islands as slaves. Older Cape Verdeans also remember men getting shipped off to fight for the Portuguese in Angola, to essentially forced labor in São Tome, or fighting for freedom in Guinea-Bissau. I suppose I’ve gotten off track…
We waited forever for the car back to Chã das Caldeiras, and ended up going with a Parque Natural pickup, which was great because it was free. It’s expensive to go back and forth, so whenever you can get a free lift, take it. The ride was nice, with awesome views of the mountain as we climbed into the clouds. We picked up a family along the way, and I ended up holding a rather disheveled baby boy since I was in the cab and his parents were in the bed. The bed affords a much better view but you have to hold on and ride with fresh-ish fish, and possibly goats, chickens, or pigs.
Friday was the inauguration of the winery, which felt very un-Peace Corps but was really fun. It’s been running for…5-10 years but finally everyone got together to celebrate. After waking up a little late I ate a PB&J with terrible coffee I bought from Super Rodrigo (the Wal-Mart of Fogo, so they say) in São Felipe. Then I scrubbed my backpack, which not surprisingly got fish juice on it riding in the bed of the Parque Natural pickup. Afterwards I took a shower, or rather, boiled water, put it in a bucket, and took a bucket bath.
Around 10:30 I got to the winery, thinking I was late, but nothing had happened yet. I sat with the women and peeled potatoes. There was a ton of food, including two goats, two pigs, at least 100 pounds of potatoes by my estimates, pot after pot of beans, rice, and everything else that makes a Fogo feast complete.
Around 12:30 things got rolling, with all VIPs arriving. There was a representative from COSPE (Italian NGO active here which supports the winery), the ambassador from the European Union (the EU also funds the winery), the head of the zone’s council, the minister of environment, and incredibly, the president of Cape Verde. He gave a great speech, in Kriolu (everyone else spoke in Portuguese), about how Fogo has potential in wine, coffee, aloe, and fruits, as well as tourism, but it has to do things well. It’s no good to produce crappy wine or coffee or run a second-rate hostel.
After the speeches (the president spoke last, as he was the most important person), there was wine tasting (white, rosé, passito, and red), Fogo goat cheese (so good), and toast. After the one good corkscrew broke I helped with my Swiss army knife’s corkscrew. Then came food, bowl after bowl, plate after plate. Everyone was stuffed, and there was a lot left over. This was great for the community, as many women came and took some for their families. No one eats much meat here, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the best meal some of the kids had eaten, and certainly more meat than usual.
When it all wrapped up around 5 pm, Lauren and I went over to Casa de Ramiro, a store/bar where Ramiro and family/friends play traditional Cape Verdean music. We sat awhile with the mix of locals and tourists who normally fill the tiny place in the evening. Exhausted from a day of gorging myself, I made the short trek downhill to my place, ate cake for dinner, and hit the sack.
Otherwise I’ve been keeping somewhat busy, reading, learning to bake bread, talking to people, getting back into running, practicing Kriolu, casking fijon. I just finished The Three Musketeers (thanks Shanka!), the 12th book I’ve read at site. Pretty soon I’m going to start giving an English class for the mountain guides and others involved in tourism. We get a lot of Germans, all of whom speak English, and expect an influx of Brits. I hope to get that off the ground in the next few weeks. I just made a delicious pot pie for dinner. It was great. I’ll make it for you sometime, especially if you visit.
Well, that’s it. Thanks for reading. Fika fixi (stay fine)