Boa Vista's festival season is upon us. This last weekend was São João, which was (appropriately) in João Galego. Needless to say, the location made it a pain in the ass to get to, but it was still worth it. I went down around 8-ish with Walter and his girlfriend (Walter was a student of mine, but his English was probably too good to be in my class). When we got there, there were a couple hundred people in the Praça, which already pretty much doubles the population of the town. A musician named Tiolino came on around 9 or 10 and was actually really good. I bumped into my friend Shon and we pretty much stuck together all night, drinking beers and wandering around talking to people. At midnight, another live band came on, and by midnight, I mean one-ish (we run on Cape Verde Time). They're called Cabo Verde Show, and have apparently been around since the late 70s. At first I thought they were downright awful, because they sounded pretty much like live zouk. And if you ever want an earful, just ask me how I feel about zouk, a.k.a. the form of music with no actual musical substance whatsoever. Maybe it was the extra beers, maybe I just got used to it, or maybe I was just having too much fun, but after a few songs I started to dig it. So they played three sets and we danced and drank the night away until 5:30 or so. Fortunately, I managed to snag a car with a friend and get back to Vila shortly after 6, because not everyone had the same luck. Tey, one of the surf club guys, told me that none of them were able to get home until 10 or so. Plus there was a rumble. No, seriously. Apparently, João Galego took on Bofareira. This is hilarious, because if João Galego is tiny, Bofareira is less than a speck. It's about 20 houses sitting in the desert. Plus, a fight in Cape Verde usually has very few punches thrown. Instead, everyone throws bottles and rocks. Not kidding. Fully grown men throw rocks at each other like 6 year olds fighting over swings. Anyway, it was a fantastic night. The festa continued on Sunday, but I was too exhausted/hungover to make it the 45 minutes through the desert to get there. I napped a lot though.
What else? I finally set up a date with a Cape Verdean girl last week, only to be stood up, or so I thought. Apparently she stopped by the CEJ when I wasn't here to tell me she couldn't make it, and an anonymous coworker failed to pass on the message. Damn. I'll try again.
I still swim every day. I don't think I am going to like going back to a place without warm ocean water. I'm slowly getting back into respectable shape, though I am still too skinny for my tastes.
I finished my Excel class last night. The tests were pretty decent, with only 3 people failing. I should probably mention that failing means getting less than a 10 out of 20. Yes, being 50% right is considered a good job. But I have a two week break from teaching right now, until the last computer class, plus a chess workshop I set up. Thank god there will be parties next week, because I might get bored otherwise.
No more. Time for a swim.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
I am lazy. Not really, but as far as this blog is concerned, I am a piece of crap. Really I've just been too busy to write anything in it. But right now I have my lesson plans done for English and Excel for the next class, and then it's the glorious weekend. So what have I been doing? Fixing computers, teaching classes, and being generally helpful. None of which makes for good blog writing. But some interesting things are afoot.
Two weeks ago I went to Santiago for a week to prepare for the next Pre Service Training, for the new batch of volunteers due to arrive in a few weeks. I went with the assignment of being a training assistant for the 6 new IT volunteers, the idea being that I would assist a professional trainer. But he flaked out, didn't sign his contract, and guess what? Now I'M the trainer for them. This sucks in some ways. One is that it's a lot of work on top of a pretty good pile of work I have already. Another is that I now have to spend a lot more time in Assomada (where the training center will be), at the expense of my projects in BV. I have already had to delay my technical training course twice, and now I have to push it back yet again to September. Also, I need a fucking VACATION, and it's going to be a lot harder now that I'm already spending 5 weeks away from my site. However, I really actually do want to help out with it, and I weirdly find the training work to be interesting and fulfilling. And it will look good on my resumé. Duh. So overall I'm pleased to do it, so long as I get adequate support from the Peace Corps, considering I can't be there in Assomada before training to organize my component. Fortunately, the new Community Development training coordinator seems really with it, so I should be ok. All the volunteers helping out with PST are going to be living together in one big house. It's going to be The Real World: Assomada, if only we had video cameras. Seriously, half a dozen volunteers, plus two staff members, sharing three bedrooms, one shower, and one kitchen? It's going to get crazy, trust me. Incidentally, if any incoming volunteers are reading this, your training is going to be a LOT better than ours was. I'll see you all at the end of July.
On the way home, I got to stop over on Sal for a night to chill with Kyle and Caryn. We spend a few hours in Santa Maria, which is THE resort town in CV. It was cool, but it sucks when everyone greets you with "Ciao! Come stai?" and you have to constantly assert your nationality and convince people that yes, you can in fact speak Creole. Still, I had possibly the best meal I've had in this country, in a restaurant close enough to the water that waves were splashing onto the seat next to me. (oh come on, am I really in the Peace Corps? I don't even believe it any more) And I bought some swanky stuff from Josh Angulo's surf shop. We also went swimming in the salt pools at Pedra da Lume, where the water is so dense, you practically float on the surface. I got hit with a giggle fit when I first got in, and I just kind of drifted around chuckling for twenty minutes. But the real prize of Sal is Espargos. Seriously. People from Santa Maria talk shit about Espargos like it's lame because it's not a beach town and it doesn't have all the wealth and resorts. But the last part is why it's awesome. In Santa Maria, we were three out of hundreds of white people. In Espargos, we were almost the only ones, and no one tried to speak Italian to us. Kyle and Caryn have tons of friends, and we made more over the course of Saturday night. Kyle and I swilled some coffee at midnight-ish (I was running on under 4 hours of sleep) and stayed out dancing at some disco until 5 am. It was fantastic, despite an ugly incident with a pushy guy and a pretty friend of Kyle's. Plus I met a Brazilian guy who looks like a short version of the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Can't beat that.
My coworker Diva had her baby last Friday. Last night was the Sete, literally just Seven. It's a traditional party one week after the baby's birth where all the friends and family come and hang out, drink a bit, dance, and coo over the newborn. It wasn't the first one I've been to, but was definitely the most fun.
Well. That's all. Oh, almost. I'm going to Morocco in December. Rhett backed out of the Ghana vacation to spend some time with his girlfriend, and I asked my parents to meet up with me somewhere. My mom and I both suggested Morocco. Fes, Marrakesh, Rabat, Casablanca, and a trip to the Atlas Mtns if we can. Sounds nice, não é?
Two weeks ago I went to Santiago for a week to prepare for the next Pre Service Training, for the new batch of volunteers due to arrive in a few weeks. I went with the assignment of being a training assistant for the 6 new IT volunteers, the idea being that I would assist a professional trainer. But he flaked out, didn't sign his contract, and guess what? Now I'M the trainer for them. This sucks in some ways. One is that it's a lot of work on top of a pretty good pile of work I have already. Another is that I now have to spend a lot more time in Assomada (where the training center will be), at the expense of my projects in BV. I have already had to delay my technical training course twice, and now I have to push it back yet again to September. Also, I need a fucking VACATION, and it's going to be a lot harder now that I'm already spending 5 weeks away from my site. However, I really actually do want to help out with it, and I weirdly find the training work to be interesting and fulfilling. And it will look good on my resumé. Duh. So overall I'm pleased to do it, so long as I get adequate support from the Peace Corps, considering I can't be there in Assomada before training to organize my component. Fortunately, the new Community Development training coordinator seems really with it, so I should be ok. All the volunteers helping out with PST are going to be living together in one big house. It's going to be The Real World: Assomada, if only we had video cameras. Seriously, half a dozen volunteers, plus two staff members, sharing three bedrooms, one shower, and one kitchen? It's going to get crazy, trust me. Incidentally, if any incoming volunteers are reading this, your training is going to be a LOT better than ours was. I'll see you all at the end of July.
On the way home, I got to stop over on Sal for a night to chill with Kyle and Caryn. We spend a few hours in Santa Maria, which is THE resort town in CV. It was cool, but it sucks when everyone greets you with "Ciao! Come stai?" and you have to constantly assert your nationality and convince people that yes, you can in fact speak Creole. Still, I had possibly the best meal I've had in this country, in a restaurant close enough to the water that waves were splashing onto the seat next to me. (oh come on, am I really in the Peace Corps? I don't even believe it any more) And I bought some swanky stuff from Josh Angulo's surf shop. We also went swimming in the salt pools at Pedra da Lume, where the water is so dense, you practically float on the surface. I got hit with a giggle fit when I first got in, and I just kind of drifted around chuckling for twenty minutes. But the real prize of Sal is Espargos. Seriously. People from Santa Maria talk shit about Espargos like it's lame because it's not a beach town and it doesn't have all the wealth and resorts. But the last part is why it's awesome. In Santa Maria, we were three out of hundreds of white people. In Espargos, we were almost the only ones, and no one tried to speak Italian to us. Kyle and Caryn have tons of friends, and we made more over the course of Saturday night. Kyle and I swilled some coffee at midnight-ish (I was running on under 4 hours of sleep) and stayed out dancing at some disco until 5 am. It was fantastic, despite an ugly incident with a pushy guy and a pretty friend of Kyle's. Plus I met a Brazilian guy who looks like a short version of the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Can't beat that.
My coworker Diva had her baby last Friday. Last night was the Sete, literally just Seven. It's a traditional party one week after the baby's birth where all the friends and family come and hang out, drink a bit, dance, and coo over the newborn. It wasn't the first one I've been to, but was definitely the most fun.
Well. That's all. Oh, almost. I'm going to Morocco in December. Rhett backed out of the Ghana vacation to spend some time with his girlfriend, and I asked my parents to meet up with me somewhere. My mom and I both suggested Morocco. Fes, Marrakesh, Rabat, Casablanca, and a trip to the Atlas Mtns if we can. Sounds nice, não é?
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