Site Placement! Josh and I are going to Porto Novo, Santa Antao! Most of you know we really wanted to go to Santa Antao, so weºre thrilled. We had hoped to end up in Ponta de Sol, but there was no site there for a Youth Development Volunteer, so we have a site right across the ocean from Mindelo, the perfect spot to enjoy night life, buy supplies and celebrate Carnival. We will both be working at the Kamara, sort of like City Hall, but donºt know our jobs yet because weºre both starting a new site. More to come as we have info.
LPI Results. In order to swear in as volunteers we must pass the language test called the LPI and we must rank at Intermediate Mid. Well, at week 5 we took a practice test...and both Josh and I are already at that level, so all our worries about language have subsided. Now my goal is to reach Advanced Low before taking off for the North.
Weight loss! Yay, I was worried I would gain weight with all the rice, but so far, itºs going fast. Might need new clothes soon!
The rain. Ok, I hate rain, but itºs so needed in Cape Verde that you canºt help but be happy when you have as much as we are this year. Some years and on some islands, there is so little rain that the corn is scarce. Here, it is raining frequently. Itºs a wonderful thing.
Our community project. Itºs slowly coming together and we may even get money from the Kamara here to help with costs of painting the school. Some shops in Asomada gave us donations already, and now weºre just hoping for more. The younger kids are busy practicing their dance routines for the Youth Day, and we couldnºt be happier.
The bad:
The façade. I mentioned this before, but I want to talk about it a bit. From the sounds of my blog and other information out there about Cape Verde, it seems like a little slice of heaven. And in some ways, it truly is. Some of the islands are hot spots for European travelers and resorts are becoming more common on Sal and Boa Vista. You can get a lot of things here that youºd find in America, including spices and meats and Nutella and Cadbury chocolate (thank god). But behind the scenes, in the fora or even in the cities, there is rampant poverty. Social services is...well, I have heard people say at least you HAVE programs for youth and for poor people, but again, itºs a show in many ways. Infrustructure is lacking, bureaucracy is unbelievable and things just donºt get done, nor is there money to get things done. Unemployment is a major problem, especially with youth (here youth are considered ages 16 up to 26). Food is scarce, especially when there is a short rainy season. Water is expensive and limited, electricity is unreliable or non existant in nearly everywhere except large cities. Things are expensive. This is the biggest issue - there is stuff, but it costs basically the same or more than in the US, and given that people here make a tiny fraction of what we make at home...they are frequently unatainable. When you canºt afford to eat because food is too expensive, you canºt afford luxury items, like clothes. I have yet to have a meal without rice because it is filling and cheap.
The strange flipside to this is that status and appearence is very very important in Cape Verde. Many people who canºt afford food have cell phones, yet they donºt have any minutes to use them. Because so many Cape Verdeans live abroad, the clothes many do have are sent from Europe and America, contributing to the need for status. It may not make sense reading this, but it does when you live here, and you start to get a feel for how desperate the situation can really be for so many people. I know many people see this as Posh Corps or Beach Corps, but very soon, the international community is going to start withdrawing aid from CV given itºs move to a middle income country, and itºll take a tremendous amount of work to keep the country afloat.
Social services. We had an opportunity to visit an emergency center in Praia for kids who are in abusive homes, or who are abandoned or have parents who have mental health issues or use drugs. They have the capacity for 14 kids and there are 26 there currently. They only have one staff member on each day, and currently 8 of the residents are babies, including a premature 2 month old and a beautiful girl who has cerably palsey and is blind. She has been in this emergency shelter for three years. There is no intake process, no health care unless someone gets sick there...it was heartbreaking.
The mud. Yes, a lighter note, but all this rain and unpaved dirt roads leads to a ton of mud. Itºs driving me nuts.
The mosquitos. My ankles are a wreck.
The flies. It is...unbelievable the amount of flies here. They are everywhere. The rain brings a lot of things I could do without.
The ugly.
Ok, posh corps my butt. We have had in the last week the latest in a series of bug infestations. And I mean on peoples bodies. One guy and another woman had those wonderful flies that I talked about hatch on their clothes and crawl under their skin. The woman had ten of them. Basically they look like bug bites or boils, but have a little air hole on top. To get them out you have to put vaseline on them and wait for them to come up for air, then pull them out. They are basically maggots living under your skin. Lovely.
And poor Josh...weºre not sure how, but a tiny bug burrowed under his skin on the bottom of a toe. It looked like he had a wort, but when I started playing with it and trying to see what it was, it burst open and a zillion tiny eggs came out. The bug laid an egg sack in his toe. Unbelievable. It was oh so fun to be on the receiving end of that!
Time is short again, so Iºm off to brave the rain and mud. Today Iºm going to make tunafish sandwiches for my family. They are getting used to my food experimentation, though Iºm not sure how much they like it lol. Iºm happy to get a little American food in my system though (not complaining about CV food, I love it, especially the ROOSTER we had for dinner last night - I would have loved to be the one to kill it).
Ti logu,
Dove
3 comments:
Great site assignment! Now you have to learn the northern island language too! I hear Caley is going to help with that.
I know you must be excited to get to your site and get settled in.
Ellie
We have something similar to those burrowing maggot things in the US, too... We used to find them in dogs and cats on occasion at the animal hospital... it was sooo nasty
I'll take the black rock desert dust and playa del fuego horseflies anyday over burrowing maggots in my toe! eeeewwww! Burningman was awesome, though incredibly soft (we could have used your rain on the playa) and everybody from Aoxomoxoa asked about you and sends their love!
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