September, 15th 2006


They tell you to be prepared for a rollercoaster ride when you get to your site. Well I am here and lets just say this is unlike any other rollercoaster I have ever been on. I don't particularly like it. As I mentioned earlier, I am still living in a hotel, while my Peace Corps boss on another island just keeps saying in his Dominican Republic accent, "don't worry, Nadia, we will get everything worked out. You just relax." That is far easier said than done. I know I am on a beautiful beachy island, but the rollercoaster ride is giving me whiplash and I'm exhausted. I don't do much just yet. My daily activities include waking up around 8:30, eating breakfast wandering over to the high school maybe hanging around there not doing much for about an hour. Then I walk across the street to the Youth center where I sit on the internet until about lunch time. The rest of the day is spent either looking for a house or just wandering the town.

Yesterday, however, was a small break from the ordinary. I was able to see the sea turtles. The Youth Center has put together several programs for the children each day. Yesterday we drove the 2 hours to the other side of the island to watch the baby turtles hatch. It was so cute and a high point of the week for sure. (I have pictures, they will be up I promise as soon as I settle down and actually unpack some of my things). But the morning is usually a low point of my day, I am most down when I wake up. During the day, things get better and there is usually hope that maybe we have a house, or maybe things are moving along; but by evening usually something comes along and we are dissappointed again. This is the cycle of my day and my emotions. It is at times like these where I miss the rest of the friends I have made here in Cape Verde and I actually miss the training site on the other island. And of course, I miss home. There aren't a lot of people here in Boa Vista, the town was surprisingly small. And since Leland and I look like tourists, we still get treated like them. Meaning we pretty much get completely ignored.

I know these first three months are supposed to be the hardest and I expect that they will. I will be teaching 8th, 9th, and 10th, all three different levels, so my work is clearly cut out for me. But I know things will get better. There are about 8 of us newbies who have Capricorn birthdays, which as you know falls conveniently around Christmas break. Leland and I are 2 of them so we have decided to host a large party here during the break for all who want to come. Our house that is currently in construction looks very nice and will be brand new and big :) So we have that to look forward to and seeing our friends again during the Holiday Break. I know this pales in comparison to the giant family cruise my ENTIRE family will be on. But for us it is enough and we take the tiny pleasures any way we can. I miss everyone and seriously hope I have some good news next time around, haha.