I posted a bunch of World AIDS Day pics on Facebook. Here’s the external link: http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016033&l=ad73e&id=4200509

But on to the next project, I suppose. While having dinner with Paulo last week, he mentioned problems he was having getting the library here sorted out and set up. We have a library room here at the CEJ that has a bunch of books in it, even more books still sealed in cardboard boxes, no organization whatsoever, and no way to loan books out or anything. So I offered to do my part and figure out the management software bit of the deal. I did a bunch of searching online, but couldn’t find anything useable. Most software available is for large libraries and costs money. Paulo found a bit of software based on Microsoft Access that looked good, until it didn’t work. But it gave me the idea to just make my own. That way, I can modify it as other needs develop. Unfortunately, I don’t know jack shit about Access. I managed to learn enough about it last week to put together the two database tables for books and library members, but I am a bit lost on how to do the other stuff. I’ve requested a book on Access from the Peace Corps resource library in Praia, but I may have to wait until the conference in January to get it.

This weekend, I did nothing, and it was spectacular. Ok, well not quite nothing, but very little. Saturday, I went for a hike alone north of town, past MarineClub. It is mostly just rocks and sand and hills up there, but there are some interesting things. There are the ruins of an old colonial church and another building right next to it, presumably both from the 1500s. The church is on a rock about 10 ft high and faces the ocean where the sun sets, with steps cut into the rock leading to the door. It looks like someone has at least tried to give a half-assed effort at restoring or maintaining it by strengthening the arch of the door with concrete. There is another bay, and beyond it, a bunch of hills and canyons. I explored one of them, but got tired after a while. Next time, I think I’m going to climb one of the larger hills and try to get an idea of how far away the coast to the north is. There’s a road that goes along the coast past the hills and presumably to the coast there. I’d like to bike it, but my bike remains unusable. I popped a tire and can’t find an inner tube of the proper size to replace it. One store only had 24” tubes and the one that was supposed to have 26” tubes was out of stock. Anyway, the hike was good, and afterwards I just lazed around until late night.

I went to Mazurka at about 12:30, with my buddy Alves again. It was a carbon copy of the last time: same people, same music, same everything. They always start out with techno and Cape Verdean pop music, and then inevitably it leads to the slow songs. I hate them. Seriously. I despise this music. Not only is it awful music, but there is only one dance you can do it, and it involves grabbing a partner and doing this half-waltz, half-dryhump for the duration of the song, or sometimes two or three songs (the norm of releasing your partner at the end of the song isn’t really accepted here). Also, I am a poor dancer when it comes to partnered things, which makes it much easier to dislike the whole scenario. So I stood there and watched everybody dance, waiting until the more interesting music came back on. Then I danced more, until once again, they switched to slow crap. Alves and I were fed up by then, though also pleasantly drunk and tired, so we headed home just after 4. The club was still packed.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse here. It is cold and windy. I say this relatively, as it is in the 60s, but that’s pretty chilly for this neck of the woods. But yesterday, there was a constant strong wind from the north, with gray clouds and not a speck of blue sky. I hope it improves soon, because the São Nicolau crew is coming in less than two weeks, and I’d feel like an asshole if our beachy paradise was cold and windy for their vacation. Last night, we even felt a few drops of misty rain, which is pretty astounding. It hardly rains here during the rainy season, let alone in December. The paltry dozen sprinkles I felt were the first hints of precipitation I’ve felt since September. But of course it didn’t really rain. This is Sahel Belt, what did I expect?

What else? Overall, I am enormously pleased with life. That’s it.