So today we have an excellent update...starting tomorrow, we should have DSL in our house! Weºre going to try it out for a while, see if itºs worth it, but weºre feeling very isolated news wise, and itºs expensive to go to internet cafes all the time, plus rather irritating if you want to do things like chat with friends and family, so weºll see if this works!
We also uploaded some new pics of our place, and hopefully shortly weºll get a video on line. Right now itºs too big to upload. Things here are all excellent, we had visitors over the weekend and it was nice to hang out with other PCVºs. We had a mini birthday party for Josh (his birthday was on Thursday) and I tried out some of the Peace Corps Cookbook recipes...the macaroons came out great, the chocolate pudding cake was only so-so.
Iºve become quite adept at cooking with what weºve got here, but I have one major complaint. Bugs. Not bugs crawling around or outside or in the shower with you, but bugs in my food, and namely bugs in my flour. In the States, I rarely used flour at all, especially white flour. Here, thatºs all we have, and itºs a staple, so Iºve become the queen of mexican food with all the tortillas I make. However, there are these little black bugs and little whiteish worms in the flour here...so sifting your flour takes on a whole different meaning and necessity. Of course the only sifter I can find is a little tiny one that you would use for tea, so I guess I should add that to my list! Its odd, I think in America if I had bugs in my flour, Iºd squeal a bit and then throw the whole thing out. But here...thatºs just wasteful, and besides, I have yet to buy a bag of flour that dosenºt have bugs or worms in it, so even if I did toss it, the next bag would be the same. Its just something you have to shrug and accept. Grudgingly.
Work wise, Josh and I have been coming up with lots of questions to ask people at the Camara and at different organizations around town, and weºve been introducing ourselves and finding out exactly whatºs what in Porto Novo and Santa Antao. Or trying to. The language is still a struggle, as Iºm sure it will be for probably the first year; this is why the Peace Corps lasts for two years. I personally am feeling shy (yes me, shy) about going out and meeting people, which of course would help with language, but itºs probably our biggest challenge (if you donºt count the bugs in the flour. Kidding.).
Once we have internet up and running, weºll let you know what chat program you can catch us on, and when. Until then...weºd love some emails about the upcoming elections, the economy, or anything else of interest! We visit the Times regularly, but frequently the articles change quickly so we donºt actually see whatºs going on in the world. So if you see something you think weºd like to know about, tell us!! Or just send us the link.
Ti logu,
Dove
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2 comments:
Your apartment looks nice. A good view from the picture window and larger than most you had in Rochester. ;- )
Love
Dad
Heck, your apartment is nicer than mine in NY!! It sounds like a great investment if you can have DSL at home. When I was a volunteer, it was a big deal to have dial-up!! Okay, so it's been a few years.
I wanted to ask you about the continuation of your language learning. Have you found a teacher? That was key for me when I was learning Slovak. The volunteers who didn't continue with their language had a much different experience. PC used to give us extra money for that--and then we'd give that money to our language teacher. Is that the same way it's done in Cape Verde? Just wondering.
I also wanted to share with both of you the Google Money give away--
Here's more information:
$10 Million in Social Enterprise Awards from Google
Thu, 09/25/2008 - 1:37pm ? Robert Weiner
Google will be giving out $10 million in awards through what it's calling Project 10^100 ("Project 10 to the 100th"). They are calling for "ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible" in the following categories:
Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don't fit into any category at all.
It looks like these do not have to be technology-based projects. The San Francisco Chronicle's tech blog says that Google provided them with "an example of an existing project that it likes: A team that designed 24 gallon water jugs that people without access to running water can wheel home instead of carrying smaller jugs on their heads."
A detailed description and submission form is at http://www.project10tothe100.com/index.html and the deadline for submissions is October 20, 2008
Take care of yourselves--and go out there and continue to make a difference!!
Happy cooking and happy life-ing!!
with love...
Claudette and Ollie
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