My life in Fogo

Sorry for the long delay in blog entries folks, but every time I sit down to write something, I feel like I have nothing to say; which is definitely not true because so many things have changed since the last entry. So I will try to hammer out everything new because, frankly, dinner is in the oven and will take a while so there is nothing better to do. First of all, you have seen the pictures of Fogo, my beautiful volcanic island and some randoms of some of the other volunteers and me, so I hope I have satisfied one of your hungers…

…Now for the other. I have been in São Felipe now for almost 3 weeks and am still trying to settle in and feel “at home” here. Although I was nervous about living by myself, I shouldn’t have been because I think I have only spent 4 nights by myself in those three weeks. My house, since it is in the major town, tends to be the transit house. The volunteers that live in the rural areas have to come in to buy produce and use the internet, so they end up staying the night because transport around the island is shifty. I think that once the school year gets under way things will settle down. Luckily I enjoy the company and the two volunteers that live in the volcano are real foodies so whenever they are here they make me a superb meal as their fee for staying. Speaking of cooking, I have learned that cooking from scratch takes quite awhile, and when dinner preparation takes more than an hour and it is only me, I tend to have a lot of food left over. I am trying to adapt recipes for one, but the guessing of measurements can sometimes lead to disaster. But I have found I love to cook and experiment with all of the recipes I have, and even the hour of preparation passes the time and is fun because I turn on my music and dance around while I chop. The main produce that goes into everything that I make (partially because it is all I can get here) is garlic, green pepper, tomato and onion…yes I said onion. I willingly put onion in everything now. I even put raw onion in my tuna salad sandwiches. For those of you who don’t know, my disgust for onion in the states was one of the great hatreds of this world, but I guess my palate is changing. I also have willingly bought and cooked fish and I make myself a cup of tea before I go to bed so I guess already Peace Corps has changed me for the better. Let’s see, other food…I eat a lot of beans because there is not a whole lot of other protein that I like to fumble with. I do get chicken and of course fish and I make my own tortillas and pizza dough so I have already had a Mexican night and an Italian night!! I do make everything spicy because all I brought with me is crushed red pepper and the wonderful dried peppers of Jim Nelson (which before too long I will be needing a refill of!). Other types of spices are hard to find here so the Italian spices are in the mail (hopefully soon) and if anyone has anything that I have to have feel free to send it!

I have not been doing much in the way of “work” because as a community development volunteer, part of my initial job description is to integrate into the community and assess its needs. So, there is no daily 9-5 work schedule set up for me as of yet. I have been in contact with the two main institutions that I will be working with; the Centro de Juventude (youth center) and the OMCV, which is the national woman’s organization in Cape Verde. One of the projects the OMCV is doing right now is working with the youth of Fogo, holding information sessions on HIV/AIDS and related health topics. I have already attended a three day seminar and am excited to see how I can help with this project even more. So, since I don’t go into work all day, what do I do?? Well, Sunday and Monday, were basically spent washing my clothes. Man that takes a long time!!! And along with the duration of the activity, it is a massive arm work out as well! The ringing out of the clothes is the hardest part, especially the sheets and towels. I also spend a lot of time just walking around the town so that people get used to seeing me. But the walking here is crazy because my town 1) is hot as hell, and coming from Arizona I am qualified to say that…I literally think I sweat out about a gallon of water a day. I wish that I had brought more airy dresses, shorts and comfortable shirts because that is literally all that I wear. And my house isn’t much better for the heat, there is no ventilation so I sweat my ass off inside too, especially in the kitchen!! Ok, so not only is it hot here, but 2)the town of São Felipe is all hill. Every time I leave my house for something I have to go DOWN to the center of town, and getting back UP is unlike any exercise I have ever done. I know this might sound like an exaggeration, but as soon as I have my first visitor from the states you will see that it’s not. It’s hard, and it’s hot so maybe soon I will actually be in good shape!

Ok, dinner is done so that is all for now…I promise to try and be better with the entries!
Oh and if you wanted to know, dinner is a casserole with chicken, potatoes, peas and cream of mushroom soup (homemade of course)!