So I though I would be starting my Excel class today, but apparently it starts on Wednesday. Which gives me a slightly longer break from being here all night. But it turns out the class is 2 full hours, and I will be here pretty late, so that kind sucks. Ah well.

I had a pretty satisfying weekend. It was kind of divided between "friendly active Leland getting out and meeting people" and "semi-comatose relaxed Leland who just wants to stay in and watch moves in English." I thought it was a good mixture. The latter personality managed to watch the entire series of the show Firefly, which I apparently missed entirely while it was actually on TV. In any event, it was actually a good show, and now I'm kind crabby that it got cancelled. So that took up about 9 hours spread over 3 or 4 days. I've also been reading Greek history for fun, because apparently the Classics major in me has not yet been fully purged. I am at risk for reinfection. If I try to enroll in grad school for it, somebody put me down.

Nadia invited two of our friends, Tony and Helena, over for dinner on Thursday, along with their kids. We made pizza. This was a breakthrough event. I made the dough, Nadia made the sauce, and we put together a melange of toppings. And I'd have to say that it was some god damn delicious pizza. Friday night... Umm... I don't remember what we did, so clearly it wasn't exciting. On Saturday, we took a walk up north, past MarineClub (the huge Italian resort), because a friend had told us that there was a little protected inlet "like a swimming pool." So we found it, right near the ruins of an old colonial church by the ocean. But the waves were gigantic, so it wasn't particularly swimming pool-like that day. On the way back, I stopped to go for a swim while Nadia continued home. Again, the waves were gigantic, and I gave up after about 15 minutes of playing in them, after I got annoyed with being knocked over by waves above my head. If I knew how to surf, I probably would have shat myself with joy. So Saturday night, Nadia and I made a quick dinner and sat around drinking grog and beer. We ducked in at the small bar across the way, because I made friends with the bartender there earlier in the week. After a few more beers and some ponche (if I haven't explained that before, it's grog mixed with honey, sometimes sweetened condensed milk and various other flavors: coconut, strawberry, lemon, whatever), we returned home. Booze makes Nadia sleepy, so she went to bed. But I was feeling antsy and friendly, so I struck out for nowhere in particular. I head music from the praça so I went over that way. Per usual, there was the standard morna band playing in the café. I grabbed a beer and joined a friend and his brother whom I had spotted. We chatted for a bit, and then he announced that he was headed to a birthday party, and asked if I wanted to come. Of course I accepted, and before too long, I was at a small party for someone I didn't know. But Iva, my counterpart, was there, along with Cecy, a mutual friend. I met a few random people, and more drinks forced on me. Note: It is not really possible to refuse a drink from a Cape Verdean. They will give it to you anyway. Ex: "Leland, would you like another beer?" "No thanks, I'm all set." "Ok. Here." "Umm, thanks." Anyway, I stayed out late and generally had a good time, particularly when I noticed that I was speaking Creole without even noticing anymore.

Sunday, I spent the morning reading and generally combatting a headache caused by the night before. I tried to go for a bike ride in the afternoon, but was thwarted by the pressure valve on the inner tube spontaneously popping off for no particular reason. It is actually physically broken, so I have to find a new inner tube somewhere here. Hmm. So I substituted another swim with gargantuan waves and had a hell of a time, even though the big waves threatened to de-pants me pretty much every time.

So my only fuzzy realization to make here is that I actually feel like this is home now. Sure there are a few things that irritate me, but over all, I really really like it here.

The grad school thing captured my mind for about 4 hours last week. I spent a while looking into programs in the US and Europe, and I am tantalized by all of them. The University of Geneva's Master's in International Affairs still is the forerunner, but I'd have to find substantial aid to afford it. Oxford is another one, but I'd probably be trying for a Fulbright on that front, and both are a long shot. 25 slots for the MPhil (300ish applicants), 3 for the Fulbright. Yikes. On the domestic front, the University of Denver, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard's Kennedy School have all caught my eye. I suppose I should also develop some safety schools instead of a fantasy list... UD and Yale have Peace Corps Fellowships though, which will help a lot. But before any of that becomes really relevant, I need to figure out what to do about another year of work in the interim. I sent an email to my friends the Helseth family, most of whom work or live abroad now, in Afghanistan, Sudan, and Cambodia. I am trying to see what direction they can throw me in, particulary Gary, who has been working with the UN for years. One of my mother's students worked with them for a while and now she is with UNOPS in Sudan, just barely out of undergrad. Now THAT is a hell of an opportunity.

Now off to try and get a fucking phone line installed. This shit is impossible.