Warmest Chirstmas Ever

As I sit here listening to the same four Dean Martin Christmas songs on repeat I think to myself; Oh Christmas… is it really so close? I certainly don’t feel like Christmas is here, especially since the temperature has stayed a consistent 28 degrees Celsius. I always wondered what it would be like to miss all the consumerism, 2 months of Christmas music, and Santa ringing the bell outside of every Wal-Mart. I surely thought that it would be wonderful to not have any of that… and I was right, kind of. I do miss that loud, annoying, bell-ringing Santa, he reminds me of home. But here on Boa Vista, we are not entirely without Christmas celebrations, the largest grocer on the island has decorated the outside of the store with a giant star, and I have helped with the planning and construction of the Christmas tree in the main square.  But something is still missing… probably family and friends… and perhaps the fun-kind of eggnog. I will not be entirely void of friends to spend Christmas with however. Two of my closest friends here on the island, Gilson and Michel, have asked me to “pass” Christmas with them, to which I graciously accepted. There is also a small group of Peace Corps Volunteers coming here, hope they don’t mind me making my rounds during Christmas. I don’t think it would be in good taste to show up to a Cabo Verdi Christmas with 4 other Americans. I’m sure they will understand.  

The Christmas festivals thus far have been really cool! Every weekend there is music and dancing in the plaza. One thing I still haven’t figured out though; how in the world do people know what time things start here? Seriously, there are never announcements or fliers. I just get lucky and know a few people who are generally involved in the events. I have no idea how everyone else figures out, I imagine if they are passing by the plaza and hear and see people, they stop. But this is a mystery that has yet to be solved.  

The most recent basketball practice was not going so smooth, so I introduced a game that I am sure many of you are familiar with; 21. I think the team loved it, because we played it for four hours on both sides of the court. I also learned a new game called “suspensão”. The rules are simple enough; one person starts out by shooting free throws, if he misses, the ball can be touched by the next person in line, but he must shoot while in the air. If the second person in line misses, the third person goes, and so forth until someone makes one or no attempt is made to shoot. The benefit of not shooting is, if you try but don’t touch backboard or rim, you go back to zero points. So, sometimes it is best to not shoot. 

I wish I had more cool stories to tell you but, things move slowly here. I am still jobless, but I am happy. I have found some peace in the tranquil pace of my life. I hope that you all find some peace this holiday season, and drink one more grown-up eggnog for me.

 Feliz Natal- Feliz Navidad- Merry Christmas

from Boa Vista

World Map and Such

Thanksgiving was a hit, we had more food in this house than I ever thought possible. The ladies, Misty and Kate, literally stayed in the kitchen for an entire day and cooked the following wonderful menu; chicken, garlic bread, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake. The company was even better. However, Danny and I didn’t realize how isolated we were until they came to visit. Yes, Danny and I live together, but we are literally the only Americans on the island, and he is the only person that I truly trust at this moment. And so if you imagine the size of my island, and then think about my city, you begin to feel the overwhelming sensation that you’re alone in the Atlantic. It doesn’t help when the people visiting are all second year volunteers and talking about going home already. Somewhat depressing to hear them talking so enthusiastically about leaving and how we don’t have much time to accomplish the things that we want to do.

On a brighter note, my English classes are going well and they asked me to tell my family and friends in America; "Happy Thanksgiving". No, they don’t know exactly what it is, but I gave a quick English class on what it is and what we typically do in American households. It gave me an opportunity to teach some words we needed to learn, but also let me share a little bit of my culture with my students.

Now that I have divided the class into speaking levels, this is the size of my church class. They range from novice low to intermediate low. To put that in perspective that is the level I was during the first two weeks in Cape Verde. Herein lays the problem with the slow pace of English learning, after a lesson they don’t leave speaking English. The students will switch back to their native language and so the practice stops outside of the class. And now, I completely understand how we Peace Corps volunteers “learn” a language as quickly as we do, and how incredibly hard teaching a foreign language actually is. Sorry Mrs. Cryan, you were a really good Spanish teacher. 

The World Map project is going well. We have made great progress and this weekend is the big day where all the children will come and paint the countries.

As far as Danny and my relationship go, we are fine. We have had serious differences, we have tested each other, and resolved many of our differences, and I am confident that there will be nothing that can derail the Boa Vista machine.

Also, I forgot to mention that I have started making these as meals. I have named it Pop's-Meal, after the man who taught me how to make this, and make a difference. Thanks for always being there Pop.