Finally, a new functioning post...

Believe it or not, its now been 6 months in Sal! Woop woop! I go back and forth between thinking, “6 months already!?” and “its only been 6 months??” Either way, it’s been an unbelievable time filled with lots of highs and lows (I’m definitely riding the Peace Corps rollercoaster we were told so much about during PST). I am still jobless and spend most of my time wandering from one random project to the next, teaching English classes here and there and trying to fight the constant influx of sand and dirt that blows into our apartment. However, the freedom I have (while it sometimes results in a frustrating feeling of lack of direction) allows me to do the things I am interested in and just enjoy life in Cape Verde. I am still learning and experiencing new things all the time; from learning how to control a classroom of unruly kids, to playing the djembe (Leigh and Brian, hope you all are ready for a drum circle when I get home!). However, it’s the smaller and simpler things, like learning how to enjoy just sitting in front of a loja with some friends, taking the time to explore a new part of town, or just striking up a conversation with a new person that I have learned to appreciate the most.

Ok so its been a really long time since I’ve updated this blog and I am too lazy to write about it all so we are going to have a quick photo recap of some of the things that have been happening in my life:

Holly and I (along with 20-something other PCVs) went to Sao Nicolau for Carnaval. It was a 3-day festa with a parade each night down into the town square. The last night Holly and I donned the Team Copa costumes and joined the parade.

Samba-ing our way down to the town square.

After parading for several hours we arrived in the town square to a mass of people, colors, feathers, floats and samba music!

We stayed in Sao Nicolau for a couple days after Carnaval to explore (and recuperate). We visited the national park, Monte Gordo where you can find this awesome tree. Its called a Dragoeira tree and grows only on Sao Nic and parts of Santo Antao.

Sao Nic = the complete opposite of Sal. It was a shock to see green plants. And coming from a completely flat island, those inclines were killer.

In honor of World Water Day I had my students create Water Superheros that had super powers to improve and protect water quality. There were some very creative ideas - including a super hero that would distribute clean water by shooting people with water pistols and, my personal favorite, some yellow, Lochness monster-looking creature that shoots water out of its mouth to water plants.

Happened to be walking out to the pier today and saw that someone had caught and was carving up a shark. You just never know what you'll stumble upon on this island...

Shark heart! It was still beating when they cut it out and threw it on the dock. It was really sad, but also kind of awesome.

Slicin', dicin', and some snoozin'.

Terra Boa - the greenest place on Sal and where all the agriculture happens. It was a little bit depressing. (Please compare with above photos of Sao Nic...)

Birthday pancakes! nom nom nom!

A typical weekend night in front of the loja next to our house. The band consists of guitar, sprite can filled with beans and some sort of metal pipe.

Myself and some friends from the community center.

I will try my best to not let the blog go untouched for so long again...so check back every once in awhile!

Also, a big thanks and hug to everyone who has sent me things in the mail! You have no idea how exciting it is to get mail and it really means a lot to me!

Love and miss you all!