Some random thoughts:

It's just about perfect here as far as weather is concerned. At night and in the morning it's a little chilly, you need a sweatshirt. But as soon as the sun hits, it's nice and toasty, even a little too warm; but in the shade, with the breeze it's just lovely. Sort of like how Arizona should be around this time of year. If it wasn't snowing and freezing all the flowers.

There are a lot of pregnant women on this island. I mean, the population of this place is tiny, and there seem to be many women who are preggers. Helena (I have mentioned her before, she's the Portuguese teacher who took us to Joao Galego) is pregnant and just thrilled about it. Last week, an OBGyn arrived on the island and created quite the crowd. I believe he may have been here on vacation, he was staying at the hotel Leland and I stayed at when we first arrived. Or maybe his coming to treat the women here was an excuse for him to come to this island when the weather is just perfect. Helena informed me after class one day that she had to hurry and get to the pensão (hotel) so she could wait with all the other pregnant women to see the doctor. I walked in front of the hotel the next day where there were swarms of pregnant women waiting to see the doctor. Maybe if they lined up this eagerly for some sort of birth control method, they all wouldn't be as uncomfortable (ie waiting on the street for who knows how long while pregnant). But who knows, I'm sure a small percentage of those women may have actually planned to be pregnant.

Leland and I went to a town called Estância do Baixo (literally translated as 'lower state') on Saturday. A woman (Elizabeth) who teaches at the high school with me is dating a guy (Shon) who works at the Youth Center with Leland. So they invited us to their house on Saturday. We packed up food and drinks and headed out to the desert just outside their town. Shon dug a small hole in the ground, filled it with coal and lighter fluid and we had ourselves one of the best bar-b-ques I've ever been to. We ate and then we rolled around in the desert the whole day (don't worry, pictures will follow). The desert there is beautiful. It looks like the Sahara (although in all fairness I don't actually know what the Sahara looks like in person); it is filled with just sand dune after sand dune, with the occasional rock formation and random tree. We picnicked right under a huge tree and hung hammocks, talked and just chilled all day. It was all around a great time. It almost made up for the fact that we came home to no water.

Sunday, since there was no water, I spent the entire day on the beach in a hammock, and Leland windsurfed. It was a perfect day for lounging around. And in the evening I got to speak to my parents! That made me very happy. Luckily the water came back today, which is good because I still have sand caked in my scalp. But if you ever get the chance to barrel-roll down a sand dune, I highly recommend it.

So randomness, and fun. And the countdown has begun until we go to Mindelo for Carnaval (sort of the Cape Verde version of Mardi Gras). Leland and I are leaving in less than three weeks to take a vacation on the island of Sao Vicente. The second largest city, Mindelo, is famous for its Carnaval: a three day festival of craziness. We can't wait.

Before I begin, I just want to say that I am fine, everything is ok for the most part, so that's over. I am back from the big bad city and have discovered a few things over the past week. First and foremost: The Big City it slightly intimidating. My tiny town of Sal Rei, Boa Vista has just over 2,000 people. But not only is the population small, the town is condensed. There are no outlying neighborhoods, everything is packed within a 10-15 minute walking distance. Even the town I lived in during training (Sao Domingos) had twice as many people and the town spanned a least 4-5 times the distance. Everything is so spread out on Santiago.

We have one fairly large grocery store in my town (at least I thought it was large). It carries all your basics, plus the occasional foreign bonus. For example, you can almost always get chicken, beef, some sort of fish, eggs, flour, pasta, and kitchen items such as dish soap, napkins, etc. Recently, they had a load of spices come in, which was a nice treat. And about a week ago, they managed to import Suaza and Jose Quervo tequila. Something, I discovered, you cannot even get in Praia. Yay for us. But walking into the grocery stores in Praia is like a whole new world. There is one large "Americanized" grocery store that carries fruits and vegetables, and has a meat counter that is nicely stocked, but for all organizational and cleanliness purposes, still posses that air of Cape Verde. In another area of town, there is brand new grocery store that opened up since I have been in Praia (about 5 months ago). Being inside of it felt like being in any grocery store in central London. It was so European. There is just no other word to describe it. It was three stories. On the first floor were most of the food items, including a proper meat counter that was clean and organized, a produce section to rival some American stores, and isles upon isles of goods you would never dream of finding on my island. Things like soy sauces, curry pastes, even a Nando's brand piri piri (like we don't have enough of our own piri piri here). The second floor had beverages and household items and toiletries and on the third floor was an LG Electronics store. In between the second and third floors there was even a cafe with fancy tables and everything. It was so foreign to me, and yet part of the same country that I am living in. Cafes and restaurants (mostly, I noticed, foreign-owned) are mirroring ones you could find anywhere in Paris, London, or Italy.

Is this considered advancement? Because Europeans have brought their money and their exports and have built these big fancy stores with foreign goods? I never took an economic development class in my life but is this how we are going to pull this entire country out of its borderline third world status? That is a question I cannot even give an opinion on, I know too little of these things to pretend to be an expert. The interesting thing about this particular country is that we are a group of islands. And just because one city has managed to propel itself into borderline second world status, doesn't mean the rest of the country, or even the rest of that particular island, will immediately follow. These cafes and stores are highlights of an advancing nation, but the outlying neighborhoods are still poor and living in cinder-block huts with no electricity. Any country has this contrast, even in the United States, not everyone is on the same economic level obviously. But as far as growth is concerned, are the richer going to get richer, leaving the poor to get poorer? Or are all the economic levels going to grow together, still maintaining a class structure, but elevating them all to a level that is tolerable for everyone? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, other minute differences were noticed, which left me to ponder which place I would rather be: Praia, or Sal Rei. Taxi cabs are a must for any type of travel, especially at night. You have to carry your purse in front of you and guard it all times. There are a lot of people, and knowing every person who passes you in the street is nearly impossible. In Sal Rei, I can walk anywhere anytime probably naked with money taped to me and no one would bother me. Day, night, purse in front or in back, makes no difference. There is hardly any crime here in my town, and being on your guard is something that doesn't need to be thought of every time you step out onto the street. Praia, however, has it's markets with clothes and food of all kinds. The fact that there are more people there allows you to diversify your friendship base, also leaving more chances to maybe meet that special someone (not that I'm looking). Sal Rei, no one is really coming in or out of this town, it pretty much stays the same all the time. Same people, same festivities, same places to go, etc. But I never thought too much about that until I went to Praia, realizing that there were a million restaurants, clubs, bars, shops. I even saw the exact make and model of my father's car, only in black. That care was a rarity in Arizona!! My jaw was open for about 30 seconds after seeing it. Here in Sal Rei, there is one discotheque, a few restaurants, and one main grocery store, and all, like 10, of the privately owned vehicles are easily identified. But I like my town, and I like the people in it, and of course I love my beach. Boa Vista in general is just so laid back, "tud tranquil" as the Boa Vistans would say. Praia, is like a fast paced city; the New York City, if you will, of Cape Verde. I feel like Sal Rei is like Pensacola (although in all fairness I haven't been back there in a while). But just that type of feel to it. A small town where everyone takes it easy, hangs out on the beach, no one worries too much. The trade off is we don't have all the fancy things you can find in the big city. But it seems to suit us just fine.

In other news, my birthday went surprisingly well. During the day I suffered through uncomfortable doctors appointments and a blood draw or two. But in the evening, Neusa took me and another volunteer out to dinner. From there we went to yet another volunteer's house. Her college-aged students were throwing a goodbye party at her house for a student who was leaving to go to the United States. So my birthday kind of got incorporated into the party. It was fun: full of dancing, eating, and just having fun. So all in all, a fairly decent birthday celebration. Sidebar, I can't believe I am 24 years old. That's like mid-20s. The only downside, was I was practically unreachable so my parents were unable to call me on my birthday. But hopefully, I will speak to them tomorrow. Well that is all from me, I know this was a long one, but sometimes you just have a lot to say :)

Well, as most of you know, tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 24 years old. I think that officially puts me in the "mid-twenties." Yikes. But instead of celebrating with friends and family at home, or even with friends on my own little island of Boa Vista, I am here in the capital city of Praia, awaiting doctors appointments. I won't bore anyone with the details, I don't think there is anything to worry about, but let me just say that the word "lump" tends to freak everyone out. So I am here in this city. I am not exactly sure how many people live in Praia but I do know that it's over twice the amount that live on my entire island. So when I got here, I found myself a little dissoriented. You can't really go anywhere unless you take a cab because the city is so large and there are a lot of big hills. Plus it's not that safe here. I have to say, that I don't really like it. I have been a little afraid to venture out into the city, for fear that I won't be able to find my way back to the Peace Corps office or my hotel. It's a slightly alarming feeling. In my tiny 2000 person town of Sal Rei, Boa Vista you can walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes at the most! I hadn't even stepped foot inside a car for 2 or 3 months until yesterday when one had to take me to the airport.

But when I made this comment to Neusa, the Training Manager, she looked shocked. "You were overwhelmed by this?" she said, "what are you going to do when you get back to the States?" Hm. I thought. That's a good question. But I don't think it was necessarily the size of the city that intimidated me. It was simply being in a strange place and not being able to completely flow with the language and culture. It took me a little while to get used to the people and way of life on Boa Vista and I feel comfortable there. Being here is strange and different, and it's not my town. If had to live here, I would (hopefully) have no problem adapting to the people and culture here. But I don't have to live here, so I will go back to my little beach town where all the roads are second nature, and I can recognize just about everyone. I thought that maybe getting off my island for a few days would be nice. It just goes to show, be careful what you wish for.

As far as my birthday goes, Neusa offered to cook dinner at her house tomorrow night for me and invite the Volunteers that live in Praia to go as well. But I thank you for your comments and the packages that are being sent. I really don't have any special requests, but you can pretty much send anything. There are no restrictions on imported stuff, at least not that I know of. But this country is pretty relaxed, I think I could talk my way into getting a cow sent over here if I wanted to. So don't worry about restrictions, in fact don't worry at all. Whatever you send, I am sure I will love it. And thank you again.

Me and my friend Caryn who visited us just after New Years
Me and Leland at one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Yes, daddy there is wine on the table. Also notice the large poster behind us of delicious fruit that you can't get here.
Mel, Courtney and me at the beach. They arrived to visit just a few days after Caryn.

Nice day for a stroll on the beach...
The windsurf shack where we hang out sometimes.
Courtney, Leland, Mel, and me at the beach in Sal Rei. The surf shack is behind the camera.
Me doing laundry on New Years Eve. The water had come back on 30 mins before this after 8 days without. So I panicked and did the laundry before we ran out again.
Us just chillin at the surf shack.

"So, why did you decide to join the Peace Corps?" If I could feed a starving child for every time someone asked me that, there would be no more starving children in the world. I tend to give a different answer every time, depending on the mood. But, honestly, I don't have a good answer. And now I am here. I had placed myself in the mindset that this was my life, but as my grandmother aptly corrected me: not a life, a lifestyle. She is absolutely right. This is not my life. This is a temporary state until I find my next temporary state. I guess that could be the best answer to the afore mentioned question that has just hypothetically rid the world of hunger.

But what if I have decided what I want that next stage in my life to be? Do I maintain this current state, and just wait it out? Or do I jump to the next thing, eager to begin something else. I am, by nature, a quitter. But in my mind, I wouldn't be quitting so much as moving on a little faster than I had previously anticipated. There's a word for that as well: impatience. Something else I tend to practice. These are just my latest musings. Oh, the thoughts of an idle weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I do like it here, and I do intend to stay for the entire two years. And while teaching is not the easiest thing in the world, it definitely has its moments and rewards. The kids tend to grow on you. I care about them too much to leave under any circumstances. But I have sort of figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life which is more than I can say for myself six months ago when I got on the plane to get here. I was going to place myself in a temporary lifestyle until I figured out what to do with myself the rest of my life. Well I figured it out a little quicker than I thought, so now the waiting comes. Luckily, we do a LOT of that here, so I'm used to it. But coming here became about the people here as well as me. So now the lifestyle becomes richer and the day to day routine becomes bearable and even somewhat comfortable.

Speaking of patience, it no longer bothers me when I have to wait at the post office for 45 minutes for apparently no reason. Or at the airline office when there is one person in front of me, and I have been waiting for 20 minutes. Leland commented that we have learned to simply space out really well in situations that call for it. It doesn't even bother me anymore when the little girl sitting behind me kicks my chair for an hour straight. Or when the sketchy video we rent from the slightly sketchy video store skips and freezes right at the climax of the movie. I have finally been given the gift of patience. Amazing.

So I will be patient and I will get through this and when something else unexpected happens (like the gas running out at exactly the worst moment in time...hasn't happened yet, but we expect it to at any wrong moment), then we will expect it, as we have learned to expect the unexpected. And if something does catch us by surprise we always have patience and adaptation on hand to help us out. Plus where else in the world could you be sitting in an auditorium full of people cheering on a group of 8 year old girls dancing like they're simply missing the pole and we should be holding a fistful of $1? Yes, Leland and I were quite horrified, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it (there were even glimpses of pride), so we clapped right along wide-eyed and slightly stunned. So, in conclusion, I will see you all in 19 months :)

Hello everyone. Yes, it's been a while since I blogged. Actually just a week or so, but to me it feels like a lot longer. I hope all your Christmas and New years holidays were nice and well-spent. Ours were good here as well. It's not often that you get to lounge on the beach in the month of January. The New Years passed for me fairly quietly, as Leland and I got back from dinner around 10pm and discovered the water had come back on (count it: 8 days without water). So naturally, I freaked out and immediately began doing the laundry. Don't worry, I have a photo. Here, actually counting down to the New Year isn't as big of a deal as the all night party that immediately follows it. So Leland went out and tried to find this all-night party. I stayed home and did the laundry and actually had a great time doing it. I'm not sure I could have stayed up all night dancing and partying. Plus it ended up costing about $35 for the party, and money is a little tight right now, to say the least.

Well the day after New Years, our friend Caryn came down from Sal to hang with us for a few days. A couple days after her, Mel and Courntey came in from Santiago. It's funny, because out of 45 or so of us Cape Verde volunteers, 9 or 10 of us are Capricorns. Courtney commences the month, and I am the last. Caryn, Mel, and Leland are all Capricorns as well. So we had a mini-Capricorn celebration while they were here. Our plan was also to chill on the beach and just take a relaxing vacation before what we thought was going to be an All-Volunteer Conference. The five of us were supposed to fly back to Santiago together last Sunday and meet all the rest of the volunteers on all the islands for a big large conference. But, of course, in true Peace Corps style, they cancelled it two days before we were supposed to fly out, leaving Caryn a little stranded on our island. The Saharan desert tends to have these really large dust storms that blow all the way over here to the islands and end up grounding a bunch of flights all around the islands. So it appeared as though some of the volunteers weren't going to make it, so the conference has been postponed until March. Needless to say, we are all very dissappointed. We were all looking forward to getting off our respective islands and seeing everyone again. It just makes me even happier that people came out to visit us over the winter break, even though we had water problems.

So now we have all been unexpectedly thrown back into our jobs, and to the dismay of my students, I won't be missing any classes any time soon. It was just such an upset to all of our schedules. Leland was planning all his projects around the conference; I hadn't prepared lessons or anything because I wasn't prepared to come back to school yet. And mentally we were all in vacation mode still. So this week has been a little rough, and it's only Wednesday. I just was not prepared to be working this week.

Time passes quickly here, only because you look forward to the next activity. The conference was the activity that everyone was looking forward to. Now Leland and I have planned to go to another island in the middle of February for a large festival. It's kind of like the Cape Verde version of Mardi Gras. So that will have to suffice as the next large event, even though it is 5 weeks away. But time will pass, as it always does and before I know it, it will be summer (something I also am looking forward to imensely). But we are back to work, back to the daily grind, and back to the daily minor struggles that are our lives. I know you are all feeling the same thing. But another year begins, and here we go.

Me cooking the mashed potatoes. Yummy.

yay our little baby hilal chickens. so cute.
this was our pathetic christmas tree.
Me in our kitchen with the cooking all finished.
The group of us at Christmas dinner. Brady, me, Jocelyn, Daniel (jocelyn's boyfriend from the States), Yasmine, Leland. Jon is taking the picture (so obviously you can't see him).