Giving Thanks

This year at Thanksgiving, I have a host of new things to be thankful for. As always, I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. I am thankful that I can call some of the most amazing people I have ever met “friends.” I am thankful for my husband, and that we can share this amazing opportunity together. I am thankful for our happiness.

But I am also thankful for many new, different things that wouldn't have crossed my mind four months ago. Brownies, for example. You know, the chocolate dessert. Yep, I’m super thankful for those - there is something special about their chocolatly goodness that puts a smile on my face every time I eat one (plus it's one of the few desserts we have all the ingredients to make on a regular basis). Spice packets too. That little invention is something we should all be thankful for (thank you McCormicks). I’m really thankful for the Internet, and that is has allowed us to stay in touch with our friends and family, and also to keep a pulse on the world, what’s going on, to watch the election (which, btw, I’m also super thankful for). I’m thankful that bucket baths really aren’t that hard to take, that electricity isn’t as important as once thought it was, and that your hands get used to washing your clothes on a wash board. I am thankful that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I am thankful that it was 78 degrees here on Thanksgiving Day. I’m super thankful for Hank, our Country Director, sending us a turkey this weekend, and for being able to share a real Thanksgiving meal with our American and Cape Verdean friends, complete with mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, gravy, key lime pie and apple crisp. I’m thankful for the fish ladies on the corner that call me over every day to buy the catch of hte day and have forced me to learn how to cook fish in numerous ways. I am thankful for how quickly humans can adapt to new environments, to doing without, to grow. And (sorry guys) I’m pretty thankful that we’re not home right now dealing with this whole economic crisis business. Watching it from afar has been painful enough.

There are too many things to name this year, too many things to be happy about, to be thankful for. But most of all, I am thankful for all of your emails, your blog comments, your messages through our parents, your chats, your letters and your phone calls. Yesterday, to make it a true day to give thanks, Josh was able to talk to his parents and his sister, we got a letter from both my mom and Josh’s parents, and a package from Claude and Ollie – amazing. I know no one planned on all these things arriving in one day, and especially not on Thanksgiving, but what a great surprise. I am very, very thankful that we are in your thoughts, just as you are all in ours.

On the job (Josh)

Ok so when dealing with computers around here things rarely come in small doses. What I’ve been spending most of my time with at work is slaying viruses. I have yet to find a computer that has come out completely clean and it’s not uncommon to find hundreds of infections. For those of you out there running one of the flavors of free anti-virus programs I strongly recommend Avira (http://www.free-av.com); it may even best your purchased anti-virus. I had one of those other programs and I might as well have had nothing at all, at least for the viruses that are most common around here. No anti-virus program is perfect but this one I’ve found to be one of the best, especially for free.

The next task that was handed to me just a few days ago is even bigger; really I can’t imagine it being much bigger. The Camara is building a big shinny new three story office building to consolidate all of the different offices they are working in now. They are currently in buildings scattered throughout Alto Peixene (an area like Armazem) with what seems to be rented space for all but the main building, which is a very nice old house with the best view in Porto Novo over looking the port; I’m going to miss that one. So, a few days ago they approached me with the schematics for the new place and asked if I could tell them what they needed for a network. That one took a little while to really sink in, but bottom line is that I get my own very large play area. Anything technological that you could imagine in an office building I get to recommend and help setup, from computers to servers to copy machines to projectors. What an opportunity!

Now before I get too excited, I still can’t see too far into the future as to when this will get to the implementation stage. They are still in the process of building the new building, though they seem to be on pace to finish within the next 6 – 7 months. You never know how long things are going to take around here. In addition to that they don’t have a budget yet for the equipment they’ll need. I have a hunch that they will be creating the budget from what I recommend. Should be a busy, fun and interesting next few months!

Still more...

Okay so a couple things we thought of. Carolyn and Aunt Shirley, Dove says "Remember when you guys bought me that spray can that you put olive oil in and then pump full of air so it acts like a cooking spray? I don't know if they still make those, but it would be quite handy." Olive oil is really expensive but we like to cook with it; the spray bottle would help our wallets (and Dove's thighs).

We're also thinking about a small CD booklet, like the ones you use to store CD's in the car or take with you. We have lots of CD's that we transport from time to time (I use them at work a lot) but they have been getting scratched up. It'd be helpful to have if anyone's got one laying around they don't use (but don't go out of your way to buy one, we can wrap them in paper if we really need to).

We promise a real update later today...we've been running out of bandwidth!

More!

Oh yeah, we could use one of those waterbottles for a guinea pig cage too...

All I Want For Christmas Is...

My mom called the other day and said she'd been asked by some of you fine folks for some ideas for Christmas, since it's coming up and since packages take 4 weeks to get here. So I thought I'd post some ideas!

First, on the left hand side of our blog, you will see a section that says "Send us stuff!" along with our address. Under that are two buttons for our Amazon wish lists. Basically, we picked out a bunch of stuff on Amazon.com we'd like, so if you click on the button it'll take you to those lists. Also, there is an option at the top of the list to sort by different criteria. If you sort by "priority" you'll see what we'd like most.

Okay, other stuff...

Candy - Josh is craving Sour Patch Kids or the bulk sour fruit salad. I'm craving Starburst, Skittles and Reese's Pieces. Go figure.

Conditioner - that's just for me :o) Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioning Balm or Fortetherapie Strengthening Conditioner. Cape Verde is DRY. My hair thanks you in advance.

Costumes - Ok all you Burners out there, a great Christmas gift would be to send us a set of costumes to wear for Carnival in February! Heck, you can send us our own costumes for all I care, we just want to have costumes!

Mary Kay face wash - I'm sure my Mary Kay lady Michelle would love to hear that you're shipping me something! There are two kinds - Normal/Dry and Combination/Oily. I could probably use one of each as the "seasons" change here. I could handle some decent eye cream too...man, I'm gettin' old...

Guinea Pig Shampoo - So we still haven't decided on a name for #2 yet, but that doesn't make them smell any better. Bunny Bath by Four Paws is a good one and is pretty cheap.

Guinea Pig Pellets - Since they EAT the piggies here, they don't care too much about what they feed them, so we can't find piggie food for our girls. There are two kinds that are supposed to be best for them:
http://www.kmshayloft.com/pellets.html#timothy - Kleenmama's Hayloft Timothy's Choice
or
Cavy Cuisine by Oxbow (I think this one is sold in Petco or Petsmart, not sure about the other)

Movies/TV shows - We'd love to have some "series" tv shows, like The Office or Grey's Anatomy (not necessarily those, but whatever is supposed to be good - like we know), that the rest of the world seems to love but which we never got into. Law and Order is always welcome of course. These are great for nights when we're too tired to watch a whole movie but too awake to go to sleep right away. And sick of reading.

Lotion - this is actually for Josh...they don't have any decent lotion here really and it's really dry here; his hands aren't happy. So nothing smelly.

Sunglasses - also for Josh, his broke. Nothing too girly. I still have all three pairs I came with.

Music - Can you say "mix tape?" Just stick some of your new fav mp3's on a cd or dvd and send it out already!

A McDonald's Cheeseburger - Do you think that would ship well?

VISITORS - this means YOU! Come see us!!!

More to come...

What's in a name?

Well, we have a lot to post, but are short on time. It's amazing how slow things seem to go, and then another week is down! But for this post, we have a purpose.
After a mis-step or two, including the arrival of a little boy piggy, we finally have a girlfriend for Miss Muffin-head. She is unbelievably cute, as cute little Muffin, maybe cuter! Definately younger. But we can't seem to come up with a name cute enough for her. We have a long list we've been debating: Peanut, Cupcake, Puddin', Sundae, Parfait, Bailey, Kaluha, Cookie, Snickerdoodle, Reeses Pieces, Buttercup, Beanie, Button, Lucy...but none of them seem to say YES! That's IT!
So here are some pics to inspire you all and hopefully you can come up with a better name than us!



The newest of the Russo clan



Playing with mom



Our two cuties!

Meep

Hanging out together

The Morning After

As we woke up this morning, after a long night of refreshing screens and live CNN video, of reading blogs and polls, of exhaustion and cautious elation, we were greeted by the news that yes, indeed, Barack Obama was (still) the next President of the United States of America. We had tried to stay up (given the four hour time difference) to wait out the final results of both Virginia and Florida, but as stations and websites began reporting (and even the McCain camp admitted) there was no path whatsoever to victory for the Republican candidate, we called it a night. When we woke three hours later, we raced again to the screen to confirm there was no repeat of 2000, that the the results of the night before remained the same. And we exhaled.

Being abroad during what is most likely the most important, significant and historic (although I am loathe to use that word as it was used so frequently last night I couldn't help but roll my eyes) election is a mixed blessing. There are very few people to share in your bliss, just your fellow PCV's, though again given the time difference and the lateness of the results you are typically alone for the duration and unable to celebrate until the following day and although most of the world was anxiously awaiting Obamas victory, there is no substitute for the joy shared among fellow citizens.

But there is great pride in being an American in a foreign country today. We, as PCVs have dedicated two years of our lives to not only help to improve the lives of people in need, but also to share in a cultural exchange. The past eight years, no, the past 200 years in American history have given a strong impression to the rest of the world about the certain aspects of our nation, and no matter how much greatness we have achieved, the cloud of slavery and of racial injustice have colored the world view of America. And today, we can hold our heads high in the knowledge that, while the election of a Black president (although I find it even more significant that our next President is of mixed race) may not signify an end to discrimination or racism or a system of privilege and disadvantage, it signifies our demand for change, our willingness to progress, and our belief in the fundamentals that our country was built on: that anyone can achieve greatness.

TUNA!!!

So here is what 300$00 (Cape Verdean Escudos), or about $4.20, can buy you in terms of tuna, assuming you know the guy who knows the guy that catches the fish. Pay no attention to how horrible I look - I was cleaning a fish! So what exactly is a girl to do with all this fish? Especially now that we're going to be getting a package like this once a week? First things first - ceviche! Ok, MAYBE it's not the greatest idea to eat fish raw, especially when it comes to you in a plastic grocery bag in the back of a truck, but isn't that what the lime is for? To cook it a little? Well, if I do get sick and die from some strange food poisoning, at least I will die with a happy grin on my face. Plus its a great way to use the butt end of the tuna and still save the middle for steaks! My ceviche recipe:

4 limes, squeezed
1/2 an onion, diced
1/4 c olive oil
2 hot peppers, diced
salt and pepper
- combine well, add about a cup of fresh tuna, cut up in a mish mash of sizes and shapes, stick in the fridge for about 20 min, gobble up, repeat.

Sexy Zebras Sited on Santa Antao!

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever...

Another week down, and so much to write about! I'm not sure where to start, so maybe I'll start at the end...


Yesterda Josh and I were invited to go into the fora near Cova to eat corn. That's all the info we got on the outing, except to be at Josh's counterparts house at 10am. We'd been out at the opening of a new club the night before, so it was a struggle to get out of bed to make it there on time...and then in true Cape Verdean fashion we didn't leave until 11:45. Cova is right at the top of the old volcano, and yesterday was a particularly cloudy day so we spent the whole afternoon sitting inside a cloud. If you've never sat inside a cloud before, its a very cool experience. It's cool, much cooler than life outside the clouds, and misty, like it's raining in all directions. We were dressed in sweatshirts and pants and were still cold after about 3 hours. Another aspect of the coolness was the drive up...it was a clear day outside of the mountains, so we had a great view of not only Sao Vincent but also of two of the three islands that make up Sao Lucia. It was the first time we'd seen them. Living on an island is soooo cool.


We did exactly what they told us we'd be doing - we went to Cova and we ate corn all day. A couple of guys (oh did I mention it was all men there? Mostly those that work at the Camara, but still majorly akward for me!) were inside boiling salted fish and corn, so the corn had a salty fishy taste but was still good. Then another couple of guys built a small fire and roasted the corn right in it. Corn here is quite different from the corn we're used to in New York; the kernels are larger and it's tougher and not so sweet. But when you roast it right in the fire it gets chewy and tastes sort of like roasted popcorn, and you can pull the kernels off one by one and pop them in your mouth. I think we each ate 5 ears of corn. It was really good. We tried to show them how we roast corn in America, leaving the husks on, but they were confused and thought we were idiots, though they did roast two ears like that for us but wouldn't eat it that way themselves. When we left they gave us a huge bag of corn to make at home and kept repeating that we were supposed to take the husks off before boiling them. It was pretty funny.


There are two political parties in Cape Verde: PACV and MPD. The Camara in Porto Novo is MPD controlled so most of the people there were MPD, but one of the guys was PACV. It was pretty funny, they spent the whole afternoon drinking and arguing and arguing louder and more as they drank more. It reminded me of guys getting together in the states to watch sports on Sunday - no women around (except me), making "manly" food, enjoying some beers with the guys. I think next time I'll let Josh go on without me.


At the end, they piled up all the leftover corn husks and Josh's counterpart put them in his car. I asked him what they were for and he kept saying "something something pig" and I said "huh?" and he said "something something small pig" so I said "OH! Liton?" which means baby pig in Kriolu, and he said "No no, you want me to show you?" and I said "Of course!" So back in Port we stopped at his fathers house, which is right around the corner from us, and went in to see these small pig like creatures. As we walked into the back, there was this strange purring-squeeking-chirping noise that completely freaked me out. Then they opened this large pen and inside were about 100 guinea pigs!!! They were so cute, running around and purring, and I started to chase after them and squeeling myself and saying "M KRE! M KRE!!" which means "I want I want!" They thought it was hilarious and gave me one to take home; we insisted on paying for it but they refused. We're still not sure if they raise them for fun or for food...but in any event...


Josh and I got a pet! Her name is Miss Muffinhead Pettagonia Fofanu, II, but we call her Muffin. I think we're going to adopt a second one so she dosen't get lonely (guinea pigs are very social creatures). She is currently living in our laundry wash basin, but we're going to build her a cage. She's so cute! Pictures are below :o)


In other news...Halloween was out first celebrated holiday in Cape Verde; here it's called Dia di Brudja, or Day of the Devil. There is no trick or treating or costumes really; people that go out usually dress in all black and it's like most other nights at the clubs. My friend Meredith recently sent us a care package (with totally awesome stuff! Thanks Meredith!!!) and had wrapped this cool dragonfly magnet in a scrap of zebra patterned cloth. It was just enough to make four ears and a tail for me, so Josh and I brought "sexy" to Cape Verde and went as sexy zebras. Other CV's were wearing costumes too actually, but most people were in black. We had a great time dancing until 4am and talking and laughing with everyone.


Saturday we went out to the opening of another club. The atmosphere itself was cool but they played the same type of music the whole night, this slooooow couple dancing music that is popular up here. They seriously played it for two hours straight, it was painful. We left around 3 30 I think.


In work related news...Josh has been helping all sorts of folks with virus control and other assorted issues that come from having a computer in the land of sea, salt and sand. I spent the majority of the week translating some documents about MORABI, a microcredit institution in Cape Verde, from Portuguese to English, which was MUCH harder than I thought it would be, but now I have a better idea of the organization, which I believe I'll be working with. I also spent a ton of time compiling resources on micro finance in general and reading as many websites as I can. I'm glad that I have a) a computer with internet access at home, b) free time to learn as much as I can about this stuff and c) something to do finally!

Another sort of odd thing I'll mention, because it kind of threw me off. Last night, after our adoption proceedings (but before we went out to dinner for Megans b-day), we stopped at our friend N's house because it was his birthday as well (21, though not so big of a deal in CV). He told us to come at 6, so, like good Cape Verdeans, we got there at 7 with a plate of fresh and hot sugar cookies (he told us to come by for a "lantxi" which is a snack here). So we get there and told them we only had an hour, we had to go to dinner with some friends, and immediatly everyone rushes into action. His brother and father leave the house, as does he, to go to the store, his mother and these two girls that are there go into the kitchen and start cookign and leave me and Josh in the living room with his 6 year old cousin. So for about 30 minutes it's just us and this kid hanging out. Then N comes back and has some cookies and brings us a snack. Then...here's the part that threw me...I ask him who the girls are in the kitchen and he says they are his and his brothers girlfriends. I was suprised because I'd asked him before if he has a girlfriend and he said "Not really." So I started making small talk about her and why she never came out, what she was doing etc, and she says that she's 4 months pregnant. I didn't know what to say. And I'm not sure why it threw me off so much, except that I would have thought he would have mentioned having a girlfriend that was pregnant with his child sooner than this, and he was just really flip about it, though looking back I think it was more embarassment than being flippant. Anyway, then I kept thinking about how things like this happen, what happened to birth control, why was she keeping the child, how would they support it (N doesn't work; the unemployment rate in CV for youth is very very high...he's and his brother are both still living at home). Granted, it's not that different from a lot of situtations in America, so I'm not sure it WHY it threw me off so much, other than it just seemed like he was spending a lot of time with us and when we asked him about his life and what he does all day he never mentioned her...so we tried to say congradulations and then insisted that they both come over to our house for dinner this week. We'll see what happens!

I guess that's all for now...enjoy the photos below of Halloween and Muffin! We'll post more of our other new friend when we bring her home!

Our new arrival!

Josh and Muffin hard at work


Smile!



Little Miss Muffinhead

EEK! Don't squeeze so tight!