Internet is kind of back, but electricity has been coming and going in the CEJ's zona. Enjoy a couple entries:

4/23

I’ll start this out the same way I started the other one (below): My whole body is sore. I was windsurfing all day Saturday and Sunday, in high winds and on choppy water. Yesterday in particular was really gusty and tricky to work with. I had to wake up and stretch every muscle in my body this morning. And I really didn’t want to get out of bed. Not because I am particularly tired today (I got about 9 hours of sleep), or that I was dreading work today, but just because bed was nice.

Anyway, the internet is back, finally. My friend on Sal says it’s been back since Friday, but it’s been coming and going. The full story is that some ship dropped their anchor on a fiber optic cable, which happened to be THE cable in Praia that connects us to the rest of the world. Do not even ask me why a) there was only one cable, with no redundant system b) the cable was unprotected c) it was not buried d) it was placed underneath a harbor e) any other questions where the answer would be that CVTelecom is a bunch of morons. But it happened. As it is, right now there is a temporary satellite system set up until they fix the cable. You may or may not know that satellite internet is a LOT slower than a fiber optic cable. So my connection is constantly coming and going, and isn’t much faster than dial up. Oh well. I shouldn’t complain. I’m lucky I even have it.

I’ve mostly just been working this past week. Uninteresting, I know. But with all the classes, plus all the broken computers, I’ve been mostly just planning and teaching, with the odd repair work in between. In the early afternoon, I usually end up going for a swim and reading for a bit. That’s another new thing, the swimming. I’ve only managed to go a couple times, and it’s rough going. I wanted to start doing it in the morning, at 7, but I can’t get myself to get up. The mind is so irrational when it’s half asleep, I manage to convince myself that it’s not worth getting out of bed just to swim. Plus, my swimming form sucks, so I end up tired really quickly, and taking the occasional gulp of saltwater. Well, I will improve.

I went to a baby shower last night, for Diva, the girl I work with. I’d never been to one before, but I’m pretty sure they’re not usually like this. When the time came to give the gifts, Diva had to guess each one individually. She got four tries, and every time she missed a guess, she had to do something that the other person said. For most of it, we just drew on her with lipstick, but she also had to dance around a lot (awkward when you’re 8 months pregnant). Plus there was wine and pontche, which seemed odd for a baby shower. Good times. Doing things with my coworkers is always fun.

Time to correct some tests. Introduction to computers is done, thank all that is holy, and I get a short break from computer classes.

4/16

My whole body is sore. I’ve spent 3 of the last 4 days windsurfing and I am feeling it. On Thursday, I had a meeting with François, which was followed by lunch and surfing. Then I spent basically all day Saturday and Sunday at the wind club. I’ve started using a 125 liter board, which is not tiny, but small enough. I’ve gotten used it to it though, so the next time we have a good strong wind, I’ll try a 115 or so. Unfortunately, the wind is beginning to die down, and it’ll stay calm until the end of the rainy season in October or November. Sad. But the weak wind gave me an excuse to take out a 6.5 sq m sail (I’ve been using a 5.2) yesterday, and I was FLYING. It was awesome. I’d love to be out there again today actually, but there is just too much to do. I think I’ll go for a swim in the afternoon though, so maybe I won’t feel like I got hit by a bus tomorrow.

So I’ve been busy. I started teaching all my new classes last Monday, so I now teach 18 hours a week, which is more or less on par with a high school teacher. Every day I teach a computer class from 10:30 am to noon, then again (same class, different students) from 7:30 to 9 at night. And Mon/Wed/Fri I teach English from 6 to 7. I don’t mind the teaching in and of itself, but the constant stream of requests for computer repairs hasn’t stopped at all, so I feel like I am doing the work of two people right now. Or rather I would be, except that I’ve just been ignoring all repair stuff, except for things I know I can do in 10 minutes or less. People look at me like “What do you mean you don’t have time? I want this FIXED.” But let’s be serious, it’s been broken for months, if not years, because no one else knows how to do it, so why are you pushing it on me today? Hopefully I’ll get my plans a couple weeks ahead on classes this week and have time to step back and do it. Granted, I do in fact have all afternoon I could use to fix computers. But if I did that, I would be working 12 hour days, and they don’t pay me for that. They don’t pay me at all. Ha! I already have to be here from 9 am to 9 pm, so I’ll be damned if I don’t take a 4 hour break in the day to keep my sanity, get some exercise, and run some errands.

But on the plus side, all my classes are going really well. This English class is going a thousand times better than the previous one. Everyone is one the same level, which is basically nothing, so I know what I should be teaching. It’s weird teaching basic English. I never thought about how one would go about doing that, until about two months ago when I decided to offer the class. And the computer classes are going even better. Because I already taught the class once last year, I just use the same lesson plans, but with some improvements. Now that I know what people have a hard time with and what is easy, it’s been going more smoothly. I’m even becoming a decent teacher. Too bad I’ll probably never teach again after Peace Corps.

Speaking of “after Peace Corps,” my friend Kyle threw out a pretty great idea for a COS trip (COS = Close Of Service, i.e. where I’ll go for a nice vacation when this is all done). He really wants to see Brazil. Since I obviously love Brazil, I am all about going. But our friend Caryn is Chilean by birth and studied abroad there, so she might want in on it, too, so we can visit there. And then who knows, throw in Argentina or Peru, plus maybe a stopover somewhere in Central America, and that sounds like a pretty fantastic trip. Now we’ll see how many times we change our minds in between now and then.

Enough writing. Time to try and get something done in the morning so my afternoon will be more relaxed. I’ve also just been informed by François that the reason we have no internet (I’m writing in Word) is because the whole country has been cut off. Apparently a ship dropped anchor right on a fiber optic cable in Praia and bye bye internet for the whole country. That’s what we get for living on islands. And having only one ISP. Who has only one cable

An interesting last week or so. Well, maybe not for you, but I'm going to write about it anyway.

We went to Tarrafal for IST last week. Tarrafal is on the northern part of Santiago, and it's definitely the best beach on that island. We stayed in a hotel that consists mostly of little huts among some palm trees right along the bay (yeah, sometimes this feels like a really nice vacation). Oh yes, and there were monkeys. If I haven't recently expressed my hatred for monkeys, here it is: I hate monkeys. One morning, they all hung around outside the breakfast room and started stealing food from people as they left. Our training director got mugged for a banana, and another monkey went for Nadia's loaf of bread. I smacked it with my folder. Note: smacking a hungry monkey makes it a hungry, angry monkey. (There was one really cute baby monkey at a bar one night that I actually did like a lot. He was kind of a biter, but really fun to play with.) Where was I? Right, IST. I won't kill you with the details, but I'd have to say that it was more or less what I expected. There were some sessions on administrative policy and whatnot that were boring, but probably necessary. The rest was mostly on project design and management, classroom strategies, etc. Some parts were actually quite useful, and just hanging out and talking with other volunteers puts your own work in good perspective.

But of course, there was partying. Lots of it. All night. Every night. Guess what happens when you put 45 Americans who haven't seen each other in 6 months on a nice beach with access to lots of beer? Madness. On the last night, we had a bonfire on the beach, and a few of us walked up into town at around 10 to get some beer. Well, we ended up clearing two (count 'em, 2) grocery stores out of everything they had in their refridgerators. I also forgot how amazingly entertaining some of the other volunteers are. It was like a non-stop comedy show for 5 days. With booze added. There was also a bit of swimming, of the naked-at-midnight variety. And by a bit, I mean a lot. So the point is that it was awesome, and a really good break from Boa Vista. Although, it's worth pointing out that I started missing this place by day 2, and I was immensely pleased to come back on Friday. I've realized just how much I like it here.

I got a couple days of peace and quiet at home, because Nadia stayed on Santiago for a bit longer. I caught up on some sleep, and had a pretty great night out alone on Saturday. It's amazing what happens when you live in a small town and you just go sit on a bar stool for a night. You see everyone. It's awesome. Now, Nadia is back, and we've got a few visitors. Catalina, Michelle, and Adam are all here right now, and Alli and Natawnee will be arriving later today. The plan is lots of beach relaxation, which so far has worked out well. I've been catching up on a lot of work, too.

One nasty little incident is that Catalina and Michelle got robbed on our beach the other day. They were walking together and two guys stepped out of nowhere and took everything they had. I was floored, because I had never heard of anything like this, but apparently these two guys have gotten like ten people in the last month or so. I don't think of the beaches here as dangerous, but I guess there is a price to be paid for rapid development.

Diva is listening to absolutely horrible music right now. Worse than usual. It might be Celine Dion, if I knew anything she's done other than that Titanic song.

Spela, my Slovenian friend, is leaving today, and I am sad. She had a little going away party last night at the wind club, and it was awesome. Every windsurfer around came for it, and we ended up hanging out there with Tey, Moises, and Yohann until almost 1 am. Damn this place is great.

Oh god, it IS Celine Dion. The fucking Titanic song is on now! I am about to stab myself in the heart with the nearest sharp object.

Ok, enough for now.