Saying goodbye, and Ode to Wegmans

This week we received some sad (tristi) news. Two of our trainees area leaving post. It’s sad any time that a trainee leaves, because you have made connections with them, but this was especially hard for us because they were volunteers in our village and also happen to be the only other married couple in our group. I have been speaking with them via email for about a month before arriving in Cape Verde and was looking forward to spending my time here with a fellow married couple to share experiences with. I really miss them already…it was such a sad situation, and my heart goes out to them. They will be in our thoughts.

Although I am sure after we finish training, Josh and I will be extremely grateful to have each others support in (what is hopefully) our remote site, during training being a married couple has been very difficult, particularly because we are in the same village. While other trainees are forming bonds between each other because of their shared experiences (being alone without any other support in a foreign country), it seems that others feel that because Josh and I are together, we are a “unit” and thus we aren’t really able to get to know and make friends with people one on one. We are trying to spend time apart when we are in big groups, but (I can only speak for myself) I have felt very isolated from other volunteers at those times and find myself sitting alone when I am not with Josh. I had hoped to make friends and get support from others here, but it feels like the only support I am getting is from Josh. Obviously that is a wonderful thing, but I feel that I need other people to share with as well.

Sorry, not meaning to whine, it’s just something that has been building and I think it’s important to relate to other married couples that might be joining PC that this has been my experience, and one I was prepared for. Other than this, Cape Verde is amazing, the other trainees are great, just distant, and this is easily the best thing I’ve ever done in my life (well, except for marrying Josh of course).

Yesterday was another field trip, this time to INIDA, an agricultural research center. Although not exactly my cup of tea, it was interesting to see what is going on to promote sustainable agriculture in Cape Verde. Drip irrigation is becoming more popular and supported by the government, and research on hydroponics is taking off. It reminded me of my days working at the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. I wasn’t a big fan of that job either :o) But it is important to see what’s going on environmentally here.

I’ve been attempting to cook (kuzinha) an American meal for my family. At home, I frequently whipped up a baked macaroni dish with veggies, ground beef, pasta, tons of cheese and sauce. So I asked some Cape Verdeans where I might find some of these things and was directed to a “Super Mercado.” After arriving, I thought I had made a mistake and tried to walk around and find the “real” store. Come to find out, Asomada doesn’t have any sort of supermarket, only small markets like convenience stores (or the bulk section at Wegmans...side note: if you don´t know what Wegmans, think of the biggest, coolest supermakert ever, and then multiply that) that do sell some items…but not much of what I was looking for! I did manage to find sauce (un seasoned, and I can’t find spices), onions, garlic, peppers and pasta. I also found gouda lol, so I’m hoping to keep looking and find mozzarella. We’ll see. And apparently they don’t have ground beef in Asomada, only in Praia. However, one of our LCF’s (Language and Cultural Facilitator) offered to bring me some back from Praia, and some cheese if she could find it. There is hope! What is interesting is that Asomada is either the second or third largest city in Cape Verde, so if the selection is this limited here, I can only imagine what it will be like when we get to our site…

Last night we went to our LCF’s house and made garlic bread and lasagna. Sort of. I mean it was lasagna, but just with different ingredients. Who cares, it was delicious! It was made with a red sauce with ground beef (from Praia), sausage, peppers and onions, then topped with a white sauce, and the whole thing topped with gouda. Not what I would consider lasagna, but soooo good! And the garlic bread was fantastic too (complements of another volunteer). It was nice to relax with our LCF instead of always being in class, and hopefully we’ll continue to have dinners together!

A note about Josh: He apologizes that I have been doing most of the writing, however we are so busy that he’s having a hard time getting anything written for the blog. So he’s still here and alive and well (although he had a bad day last week; we call it “the mango incident” and quickly learned the importance of bleaching out fresh food for at least 20 minutes before eating it). When we’re at site, we should have more time to get write individually. Until then, you’re all stuck with me.

Ti logu!