Home Sweet Home

This past week has been a whirlwind of excitement and movement, although I guess that could be used to describe all of our adventure thus far! First, the boring details…obviously both Josh and I were invited to swear in and therefore passed our language tests (I scored Advanced Low, woohoo!) and completed our portfolios well enough to meet PC expectations (which I think were a lot lower than I had realized, and although we busted our butts to make everything look professional and well put together, and probably spent too much time fretting about it, I’m glad that we made the effort), and here we are, finally Volunteers instead of Trainees. It’s a relief to be through PST, though our swearing in ceremony was somewhat anti-climatic and very, very teary. It’s hard to say goodbye to all your new friends and family that have helped you through some of the hardest weeks of your life, and knowing that you will be spread out over 9 islands and won’t see each other for the next three months is intimidating. We both cried a lot last Saturday as we said goodbye to our families…it’s a strange feeling, because for 9 weeks you are under a lot of strict rules and curfews and all you want is to get out there on your own, and when you are finally able to, all you want is to go back to the safety and security of what you have known. Regardless of how you test on language, communication is still a challenge, and with those of us leaving Santiago and going to the northern islands, the challenge is that much greater.

After swearing in, we were whisked away to Praia, the capital, with hundreds of bags in tow (or at least it felt like it). Our hotel had both AC AND hot water, which was a blessing, and we spent our last moments together with our fellow volunteers (the ones that were leaving Santiago – the others who were staying on that island went straight to site so we had to say goodbye after swearing in). Sunday, our flight to Sao Vincent was uneventful, which we are extremely grateful for as we have heard horror stories about lost luggage, 12 hour flight delays and a host of other fun stuff. Our flight was delayed maybe 45 minutes, which is about right for air travel these days anyway, and our bags arrived safe and sound. The coolest part about the flight was looking down and seeing Sao Vincent and then looking to the left and seeing Santa Antao. It’s hard to explain how you can be on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for 9 weeks and not feel like you are…where we were in Santiago didn’t feel especially island like, although I’m not sure what exactly that means anyway.

Off the plane and onto a hiace, where we were not crammed in like sardines and where I didn’t fear for my life…we were definitely on a different island. The drive to the Port of Mindelo was short and our hotel was gorgeous. Apparently it’s one the PC uses a lot and the woman waiting for us welcomed us with open arms, yet another mother for us on another island. Again we had AC and hot water and a view that was worth a million dollars. Here I truly felt like I had arrived on a tropical island.

We helped Lindsay to her new place and then went out for pizza and schwarma and ice cream (all available in Mindelo, the second largest city in Cape Verde and the second most perfect port in the world, or so I have been told, and after turning around on the ferry and watching us leave, I don’t doubt it’s true), and then to bed as we had an 8am ferry to catch.

I woke up with my stomach in knots on Monday, knowing this was the last day with our “guide” who had helped us navigate our way to the north, and knowing that today we would be own our own. After some initial trouble at the port (being the clueless volunteers that we were, we let some guys at the pier “help” us with our bags after being harassed for 10 minutes, only to have our bags held hostage until we gave them some money) we were ready to go and set off for Santa Antao. En route, a group of young Mormons approached us and asked us what a group of Americans were doing here, and we explained Peace Corps and they explained their work; an interesting exchange and a nice break from Kriolu as we approached our new home. (So apparently there are a bunch of Mormons on the islands, they come and stay for a couple of years and move around to a few of the islands as part of their service. We’d been told about this back in the states but we had yet to see anyone until the boat ride, and I think there was maybe a group of 30 on the boat that day, all living in Mindelo).

By 9am, we had arrived at our new home – Porto Novo. Off the boat and on to another hiace we went, having been met by three other volunteers who live in Santa Antao, one who is fortunately living about 8 minutes from us in Porto Novo. They dropped us off at our apartment and took off to drop off the other two volunteers at their posts. And there we were.

Our apartment…what to say…well first, let me explain that everyone lives at different levels here in Cape Verde. Some people have a small house, many live in apartments with varying levels of comfort, some live in palace like apartments that put to shame anything we could afford at home, but given safety and security concerns, it’s what works best in those cities. Our apartment is nice, large enough, clean and very well ventilated. We had running water, sort of, meaning our toilet flushes and the sink in the kitchen has fairly good pressure, but that our shower is but a trickle so we take bucket baths. When you walk in, the kitchen is to your left and living area to the right. The kitchen has a small dorm fridge and another even smaller dorm “fridge” (ie those ones you use for beer storage only, which I think one of the last volunteers living here had sent to him from the states for the sole purpose of storing beer), a small stove, a low table/desk to help cook on and a sink, plus a balcony off of it, but we can’t get that door open yet. The living area was empty except for a small end table, though there was a closet near the entryway that had some broken chairs which we had replaced (PC pays for that). There is also a large picture window here which provides great ventilation (yes, I keep mentioning ventilation, because Porto Novo is HOT and having a breezy apartment is vital). Straight ahead from the entryway is the bathroom sink. Contrary to what PC thinks, there is only one bathroom. In the middle outside of the doors is the sink, on the right is the toilet and on the left is the shower. All this is fine, we were just expecting a first floor, two bedroom two bathroom apartment, and what we have is a second floor, two bedroom one bathroom apartment. In reality, this makes me feel better anyway, because it seems sort of weird to be living in a really really nice place when you’re serving in the PC.

In between the toilet room and the living room is our bedroom, which has a pretty comfortable bed and another balcony, this one we were able to open, and which allows you a view of the ocean, which is maybe a 2 minute walk away (the actual beaches are about a 20 min walk away, we’ll be checking those out tomorrow). There was also a large closet and some sheets and pillows already there, though we did get more sheets and pillows since they were a little…worn. Opposite, between the kitchen and the shower room, is the second bedroom, which also has a mattress on the floor (for guests!) and a large closet and another short table/desk (really we don’t have tables, they are desks, and PC guarantees you 4 chairs and a table, so I’m not sure if we should ask about getting a table or not…we did purchase a table and 4 chairs, and they did reimburse us for the chairs; I just don’t know if they are counting the two desk type things as tables or not, but in any event we had plenty of money to pay for the things we had to buy so it’s really a moot point).

So…we purchased a few shelving units (for the kitchen so we had room for food storage, for the bathroom, for the bedroom for clothes and for the second bedroom which is now the “peace room,” kind of like a “war room” but well, this is the PC, so…where we have all of our development materials and are starting to make maps and such of our community and books etc.), a bunch of kitchen stuff, cleaning supplies…and here we are! Oh. The best part. I believe that there is one woman living below us and no one living in the rest of the building. Two flights of stairs up is a door that leads to the roof and a fantastic view of the ocean. There isn’t much on the roof except some building materials and the lines to hang our clothes on, and it doesn’t appear anyone goes up there, so it’s a wonderful place to spend sunrise or sunset or any time when you want to just hang out and remember you’re on an island or reflect on how blessed you are or hoop the day in.

Our job now, for the first three months, is to continue to learn the language, IRB (intentional relationship building) and conduct PACA (participatory analysis for community action) – basically, learn the community, the language and figure out what we’ll be doing for the next two years. We’ve both been in to work to meet our counterparts and co-workers, and I got to go into the “field” one day, basically about 45 minutes outside of the city up into the mountains (and above the clouds…it was so beautiful) to talk to a small community about housing problems they are having (their homes are built from material they find around them and thus don’t keep the rain out) and see what the local government can do to help. It was definitely a fun afternoon and helped with both understanding local issues and language.

We hope all is well at home…we now have a permanent address, which you can write us at or send packages to.

Corpo de Pas/Dove and Josh Russo
Armazem Porto Novo
Santo Antao
Republic of Cape Verde
Western Africa

Yes, that is the entire address – the guy at the post office knows who we are (in a town of 5000 we sort of stick out) and apparently just holds the mail for us or will call us when we get a package. Pretty sweet! “Armazem” is the side of town we are on; the other side is “Albufador.” The other volunteers have had no issues getting mail and packages, so hopefully we will be the same.

And…some photos! A few are included below, but Iºll try to catch up over the next few days...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/sets/72157607548403336/
I know it’s been a while, but finally here are the pics from our Dia di Jovem, (or at least the first batch of them...this internet connection is awful so Iºm going to try again tomorrow) held on September 14. It was a great day with tons of hooping and dancing and music and eating.

More tomorrow of Dia di Jovem, swearing in, Helenaºs suprise party, Mindelo and at last Porto Novo!

Ti logu,
Dove