weddings and funerals

We went to Ciudad Viela one day last week. It’s the oldest city in the country, More appropriately, it’s the cornerstone of Cape Verdean history. It was the main city of the slave trade. A traditional dance in Cape Verde is the ‘batuk’. As I understand it, the Portuguese would starve the slaves for three days. Whoever survived, had proven themselves worthy of being sold. There is a small platform in the center of the town where Nilza, our outspoken tour guide, told us they would chain up the slaves after the three day test. When it was the women’s turn on the platform, they would snap their hips back and forth to show their men in the crowd they still had it. They called this motion the batuk. Nowadays, women (or men) tie a scarf (called something I can’t remember) midway down their butt to excentuate the snap. You can’t go a day here without seeing someone snap their hips.

The other day, I got a haircut. I sat down and asked for ‘cualquer’ (whatever). The barber ran a comb through my hair and got it stuck because my hair was so dirty. He pulled out comb and shaved it all off. So I now have a buzz... again. It cost US$2.50.

My clothes stunk. It was to the point that other people might have started noticing. I had to handwash them on a concrete washboard. My knuckles were raw and my clothes were all stretched out. Duz’anjuz, our maid/cook, thinks I’m a sissy because I’ve never washed my clothes by hand before.

This past week was demystification week. We all split up around the country to learn more about what we would be doing. I went to Praia to hang out with Rhett, another voc ed guy. We ended up having a bunch of people crash at our house. Dave, Peter and Jenny showed up at the airport and their plane decided to leave two hours early. Another girl, Laurie, was overbooked for the flight so they told her to take the ferry. It just so happened that they just started using a new ferry. She showed up to catch the boat, and it didn’t fit the pier. Go figure.

One night, we spoke with two volunteers at length about the job, what to expect and so on. They said their biggest frustration is that “you can’t argue with ‘some people.’” For example, these two people live together and their electric bill was high one month. One volunteer arranged to meet with the president of the electric company. The president. They sat down, each with a calculator, and did the math.
‘So you see, the bill is this, but we owe this.’
‘Yes, but we got the same number,’ says the president.
‘Yes and that number is different than what’s on our bill. What do you think we should pay?’
‘I think you should pay what it says on your bill.’

They said you can either fight it or go with it. If you fight it, you’ll wear yourself out and go crazy. If you relax and go with it, you’ll cruise. We come from a country where things happen on time and the customer is always right. It’s not like that here, but their way works. We’ve been told we have to be flexible. I guess this is what they mean.

Back in the hood, Sean, Justin, Katie and I are getting to know our neighbors pretty well. Jose and Joao are two guys who live across the street from our schoolhouse. Well, Joao lives there. Jose and some other cronies are always around. These guys like to drink grog and get many other people involved. They’re very... gregarious. One night I shared, without option, a glass of grog that came from a yellow container that looked like an old gas can. From the taste, it might have been. Justin made his way over there once and was offered ‘Cape Verdean Viagra’ as he interpreted it from Joao: a raw egg dropped in a glass of red wine.

Question: Have we ever regarded time as a natural resource? We sure have had alot of it and it is a part of everything.

Oh yeah, day two of this whole experience we had the US Ambassador of Cape Verde visit us and give us the low down of what .gov is up to over here. They’re doing lots of work with MCC (Millenium Challenge Corporation) building a port and expanding the airport. Also doing stuff with eco-tourism on other islands. Basically trying to create jobs. Sounds interesting. Also, I guess this is common sense when you think about the job of an ambassador, but I just learned that every ambassador has to adapt everything he says publicly to follow the President’s agenda. So if the next President says something totally different than what this President says, overnight he’ll change his words to fit the mantra.

You know who else has serious influence? Jean Claude Van Damme. Saw one last night about his wife who got killed then he had to get his revenge against the Chinese heroin smugglers. Aww, awwwessome. I’m glad they made that movie.

Gas prices: 85$00/liter ($00 is the sign for escudos, CV currency. US$1 = 80$00). Is it something like four liters to the gallon? US$4.25/gallon.

Nelson took me to town the other night. We drank lots of grog and I met many of his friends. The night was shaping out pretty good, I was almost at the point of dancing by myself in a crowd of brown faces. Then Fernando, his dad, walks in the bar. A silent hush went over the table. You know that look you got from your parents when you know you screwed up. We sulked out of the bar. It was a quiet ride home. I found out later he was upset because he didn’t know where I was. Guess that was my fault more than anything. Sorry bro.

Peace Corps recommends we drink 3 liters of water a day. Or pee 5 times a day. I don’t know how many times it counts if you hold it.

All the pictures are random in case you didnºt figure it out. This one to the right is of a HIACE. Its what we take everywhere. They try to cram as many people in there as they can so its not uncommon to have an old ladies armpit in your face.

Last summer my Aunt Julie passed away after long battle against cancer. At her funeral, I met alot of family I’d never met before. Our whole family agreed that it’s really only weddings and funerals families ever get together. One thing I’ve noticed in Cape Verde in the first few weeks is that weddings and funerals are the only two things worthy of a public caravan. Of course, most everyone here lives within earshot of their cousins, but still, what is it about these two things that bring people together? All we know is it marks the end, and the beginning, of something important. At least that’s what our families think.

The only familiar corporation I’ve seen over here has been Shell. They do pretty smart marketing over here. They give out little hangers to put on the rearview mirror of your car. As if they need to compete with anyone, they’re the freakin only ones. The hangers smell like strawberries. American flag hangers are also popular. They smell more like grapes.

Speaking of corporations. McDonald’s came up in class the other day. Carlos, our Portuguese teacher, didn’t know what we were talking about. He had never heard of McDonald’s. I’ve heard of people being isolated, but this takes the cake.

Question: How efficient are our bodies in terms of what percentage of vitamins are used/wasted? And how much control do we have over that efficiency?

How arid is it over here? The local Kriolu dictionary doesn’t have a word for ‘grass’.

The first thing I read about Cape Verde in the newspaper once I heard of this place was that they are a big hard drug distribution point for Europe and the Americas. 35% cocaine in Western Europe passes through Cape Verde, so I’m told. Noting that, I’ve yet to be offered any drugs at all or even hear about anyone who does drugs. Course, I’m still a newb, so I don’t really know the whole story.

After almost a month, I can count the number of smokers I’ve seen on two hands. People have lots of free time, but they don’t seem to be passing the time smoking cigarettes. Maybe it’s because it’s expensive, a 20-ciggie pack costs just under $2.

Nelson leaned over at dinner one night and pointed at my food. “100% natural.” True. Everything on our plates was completely fresh from the ground or water. Rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and a fish that had probably been caught that morning. Can’t say that too often at home.

When Cape Verdeans build something, West Africans come over to build it. When Americans build something, chances are a Mexican will get his hands dirty. Western Europe has got Morrocco or Eastern Europe. Economies are like a tipping scale, they’ll always balance out. Building walls on the borders of countries? I couldn’t call myself a man if I chose to put up a wall between my problems and myself. I’d rather learn from people in Cape Verde who welcome those people who want to do the work they don’t have to.