1. As previously stated, the food.
2. That EVERYONE greets you with a kiss on either side of the cheek
3. That there are no drying machines here and everyone has a colorful array of clothing hanging up outside to dry
4. How fashion and style hold no importance. If you clothes don´t match, who cares! No one knows or cares about designer jeans, expensive shoes, and looking the best.
5. No one wears makeup.
6. In general, everyone is incredibly kind.
7. Everyone is humble.
8. The students in my classes have a strong desire to learn. They write down everything I say and write on the board.
9. It is required in the public schools that everyone learns French AND English. These kids come out of highschool being fluent in Portuguese and Creole, and also knowing some French and English. That is incredible to me.
10. That James and Karina consider me family.
11. That most of the students stay after class to joke around with each other.
12. That taxi´s always only cost 150 (about 2 dollars) escudos no matter where you go (as long as it´s in the main city) and 180 escudos at night.
13. The bus system. I don´t know why, but I love it.
14. That the other night a random young man gave up his seat on the bus to me so that I wouldn´t have to stand.
15. That there are breath taking views no matter where you are.
16. The COLORS! Everyone paints their house or building a vibrant color. It is beautiful! Bright blues, purples, oranges, greens, pinks, and reds everywhere!
17. The importance people place on healthy life style. I go to the city beach 95 percent of the people are either swimming laps in the ocean or playing soccer on the beach. I go out in the evening and 50 percent of the people are on a walk or on a run. You look at the soccer fields and there is either a game, practice, or people doing their own exercise on the field. It´s very motivating.
18. That James and Karina are related to about 60 percent of the city and they aren´t actually related to half of them by blood. Just by love or respect.
more to come.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Catfish bay
On Saturday Karina, Anastacio, Anastacio´s little sister, Jodi (she is in my english class and is awesome), Sharonly, and I ventured down to Catfish bay. It was BEAUTIFUL.
People here don´t like to to swim in the waves with the currents and everything, so they put a ton of rocks down to kind of block it and create an amazing huge natural swimming pool.
We only got to stay for about three hours because we had to head back for Karina´s sister´s baptism--which probably saved my skin. It was discovered that I failed to bring WATER PROOF sunscreen, I only brought the normal daily kind (am I an idiot or what?). Seriously, I have never been so sunburned in my LIFE. If we had stayed any longer I think my skin would have caught on fire. So for the past three days my skin has been in an incredible amount of pain. It´s just starting to kind of go away and the peeling is about to begin. Yikes.
The crew
Haha. For some reason my jumps always look this this...arms spread over head, legs spread open behind, and mouth open.
The water is so freaking crystal clear
:) How beautiful, huh? There is also a beachy sand part where people can hang out, but we like being at the end of this dock (I dont really know what else to call it) so that we could jump in and already be in the deep end!
All of the sudden a helicopter and plane appeared out of nowhere. Anastacio said that sometimes Nato runs some tests over here. It was so cool. The helicopter did about three rounds and then came down really low to us and they all were waving and did some tricks for us! If you enlarge the picture you can see the pilot waving!
People here don´t like to to swim in the waves with the currents and everything, so they put a ton of rocks down to kind of block it and create an amazing huge natural swimming pool.
We only got to stay for about three hours because we had to head back for Karina´s sister´s baptism--which probably saved my skin. It was discovered that I failed to bring WATER PROOF sunscreen, I only brought the normal daily kind (am I an idiot or what?). Seriously, I have never been so sunburned in my LIFE. If we had stayed any longer I think my skin would have caught on fire. So for the past three days my skin has been in an incredible amount of pain. It´s just starting to kind of go away and the peeling is about to begin. Yikes.
The crew
Haha. For some reason my jumps always look this this...arms spread over head, legs spread open behind, and mouth open.
The water is so freaking crystal clear
:) How beautiful, huh? There is also a beachy sand part where people can hang out, but we like being at the end of this dock (I dont really know what else to call it) so that we could jump in and already be in the deep end!
All of the sudden a helicopter and plane appeared out of nowhere. Anastacio said that sometimes Nato runs some tests over here. It was so cool. The helicopter did about three rounds and then came down really low to us and they all were waving and did some tricks for us! If you enlarge the picture you can see the pilot waving!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
COOL
Today Karina, James, Sharonly, and I ventured down to the city beach in hopes of some good swimming. When we got down to the beach, it was apparent that a whole school was down there on a field trip of some sort and they were ALL looking at something and oohing and ahing. So hurried on to the beach and saw that Three HUGE turtles were being released into the ocean! James said that they are endangered and so they were raised out of the ocean and when they have matured, they release them back into the ocean. We got to see each one enter the ocean and begin his life there. It was SO COOL. Unfortunately I didn´t bring my camera with me--I really wish I had!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Food
Have I mentioned the food here yet? I thought I was going to lose weight. FALSE. I am gaining by the day. Let me list of a few of the great foods I have encountered
1. Kit Kats. Kit Kats here are infinitely better than in the states. So much more creamy.
2. Apple Fanta. Who would have thought there are other flavors than orange? Well, there are, and the apple flavor is BY FAR the BEST. I drink almost a liter a day.
3. The rice. The rice is softer, bigger, and very tasty. I could eat the rice all day.
4. Home made yogurt. Karina makes home freaking made YOGURT. DElicious.
5. Maria Cookies. I don´t really know how to explain them. It tastes like a graham cracker, in the form of a cookie. I eat a package a day.
6. The chicken. It´s legit chicken guys. There are a lot of bones, but it is good. It might just be the way that Karina makes it. Karina´s cooking is awesome.
There´s so much more. Believe me, I will be adding on to the list.
1. Kit Kats. Kit Kats here are infinitely better than in the states. So much more creamy.
2. Apple Fanta. Who would have thought there are other flavors than orange? Well, there are, and the apple flavor is BY FAR the BEST. I drink almost a liter a day.
3. The rice. The rice is softer, bigger, and very tasty. I could eat the rice all day.
4. Home made yogurt. Karina makes home freaking made YOGURT. DElicious.
5. Maria Cookies. I don´t really know how to explain them. It tastes like a graham cracker, in the form of a cookie. I eat a package a day.
6. The chicken. It´s legit chicken guys. There are a lot of bones, but it is good. It might just be the way that Karina makes it. Karina´s cooking is awesome.
There´s so much more. Believe me, I will be adding on to the list.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Enzo
On Sunday we got a puppy. We all kinda came up with names-- bobby, joey, chichi, etc but I started calling him Enzo and it has stuck. I´m not exactly sure if we are keeping the dog or not, but we have had him for three days now and he is SO cute. I have absolutely no idea what kind of dog it is, probably a mix of a million of types. Enzo is adorable. Except when he is crying...then it´s a tid annoying. He LOVES to play. but he also loves to pee in the house. One time he peed in the house four times, WITHIN the hour.
Karina and I gave Enzo his first bath yesterday, cause he really really stank. He didn´t enjoy the bath very much, but when we finished, we wrapped him up in a towel and he slept for hours on my lap. A D O R A B L E.
And here is a pic from one of the first days of class :)Twice as many people are in the class now. More people keep showing up every night.
Karina and I gave Enzo his first bath yesterday, cause he really really stank. He didn´t enjoy the bath very much, but when we finished, we wrapped him up in a towel and he slept for hours on my lap. A D O R A B L E.
And here is a pic from one of the first days of class :)Twice as many people are in the class now. More people keep showing up every night.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Classes
I started teaching! I teach a night class and a morning class. The night class has about 15 people and the morning class only has about 5. I have found that it is going to be very difficult to teach because EVERYONE is on a different level. Some are very advanced and some hardly know anything. But I´ll make do I guess.
So the other day, I had the night class write a letter to a friend inviting them to spend their vacation in Mindelo. They were supposed to talk about the attractions here, where they could stay, and what type of transportation is available for their use. After they had finished, I went around and corrected everyone and EVERY single person made the SAME mistake in ALL of their letters. It was too funny. They all had written this in their letter:
´Have many beaches here.´
Haha, anyway I explained to them that they needed to put who or what has many beaches or else the sentence doesn´t make sense. But it was so funny to me that they had all made the same mistake.
Pictures to come.
So the other day, I had the night class write a letter to a friend inviting them to spend their vacation in Mindelo. They were supposed to talk about the attractions here, where they could stay, and what type of transportation is available for their use. After they had finished, I went around and corrected everyone and EVERY single person made the SAME mistake in ALL of their letters. It was too funny. They all had written this in their letter:
´Have many beaches here.´
Haha, anyway I explained to them that they needed to put who or what has many beaches or else the sentence doesn´t make sense. But it was so funny to me that they had all made the same mistake.
Pictures to come.
I hate spiders
Remember how I was very concerned about the spiders here? Yeah, well I had a little incident last night. Let me start by explaining that I have have a severe case of arachnophobia. I am not kidding. Let it be known that spiders have made me cry on more than one occassion. When I see a spider, I go into a state of panic and I no longer have control over my body.
Sooo, last night we went to a member´s home for young adult FHE (and when I say home, I mean pieces of wood and scraps of metal put together to form two small rooms). So we all were sitting in a circle playing games and such, and I look up to see two spiders coming down at me. I freaked out a little, but Anastacio saved the day and killed them. And then about two minutes later I look up and there are two more, coming straight at me. Before I even know it, I had BOLTED out of my seat and sprawled myself on three members on the other side of the circle, whimpering. Luckily Karina was scared as well, so it wasn´t just me, but it was SO EMBARRASSING. I really was mortified that everyone saw me freak out like that, but honeslty, I see a spider and that is what happens. Everyone made fun of me for the rest of the night. I need to see a therapist or something.
I hate spiders.
Sooo, last night we went to a member´s home for young adult FHE (and when I say home, I mean pieces of wood and scraps of metal put together to form two small rooms). So we all were sitting in a circle playing games and such, and I look up to see two spiders coming down at me. I freaked out a little, but Anastacio saved the day and killed them. And then about two minutes later I look up and there are two more, coming straight at me. Before I even know it, I had BOLTED out of my seat and sprawled myself on three members on the other side of the circle, whimpering. Luckily Karina was scared as well, so it wasn´t just me, but it was SO EMBARRASSING. I really was mortified that everyone saw me freak out like that, but honeslty, I see a spider and that is what happens. Everyone made fun of me for the rest of the night. I need to see a therapist or something.
I hate spiders.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Views
On Saturday, we all went to visit the extended family of the Tavares. They live way out in the country and we spent the whole afternoon there. James´half brother took me on a hike up the mountain behind where they live and the views were simply spectacular. I felt like I could see the whole island. But, man, it was insanley windy at the top. So windy that I felt like it was going to push me over. Oh, and I saw some nasty spiders, but Anastacio (the half brother) was so nice and would check for spiders and make sure my path was clear. He speaks pretty good english. In school here, all of the kids are required to learn english and french. WOW. I was in a french class for two days and hated it. Anyway, the three pictures below are from the hike
These next two pictures have the view from the neighborhood where I live. So pretty!
These next two pictures have the view from the neighborhood where I live. So pretty!
Corn row pics
On saturday, Carina gave me corn rows. I have always wanted them-- my dream finally came true :)
Before
After (sorry, I dont know how to rotate the picture)
With Carina
Before
After (sorry, I dont know how to rotate the picture)
With Carina
Friday, May 7, 2010
p.s.
Good news. I have only seen one spider since I have been here and it was fairly small and not even in the house I live in. Phew!
I gotchu
I am here!
It has been quite the experience so far, even though I have only been gone for, what, three or four days? On the plane ride to Praia from Boston, I was sitting next to a woman named Ana. She was sooooo funny. She is Cape Verdian, but was born and raised in Boston. She had the craziest accent. It was this intense Boston accent mixed with a portuguese accent and she would mix english and portuguese. We talked a bit and I found out that she was getting married on Friday (today!) which was amusing to me because she was flirting up a STORM with the cute flight attendant. She asked me if anyone was meeting me in Praia and if I was nervous because it was my first time coming. I told her of course I am nervous! and I was not quite sure if someone was going to be there to meet me. And she would respond with, "dont worry, I gotchu. I gotchu." Haha, she was so sweet. Once we got off the plane, we found that the missionaries who were supposed to meet me, were not there, and she helped me find my way around and get my next airline ticket until the missionaries came. What a life saver, seriously.
Well, the sister neves and sister palmer eventually showed up and I went with them to the mission home where we ate and I slept for a long time. They were so nice. Later that night they took me back to the airport to fly to Mindelo. My flight ended up being delayed for two hours, but none of the airline workers would tell us that it was delayed--they just told us to be ready to leave. I finally arrived in Mindelo to a warm greeting from James, his wife Carina, and their daughter Sharonlee. James speaks almost perfect english, but his wife only knows a few words, and his three year old daughter only speaks creole (no portuguese). I have a hard time understanding everyone here--if they arent speaking Creole, then they are speaking Portuguese REALLY REALLY fast and with the european accent. All I could hear for the first day was "sh sh sh sh" (ex. como estas=como eshtash). Hopefully I will get the hang of everything.
What else...Well, there are a million stray dogs EVERYWHERE. I just want to pet and love them all, but thats probably not the best idea. I found out today that used toilet paper does NOT go in the toilet, but in the trash can next to the toilet. All taxis cost the same amount when they are driving in the city, 150 escuros everytime. We save the water while doing the dishes and put it in the toilet after to give the toilet more pressure.
I have spent a lot of time with Carina´s younger sister katy, who is 17. She showed me around the city the first day. We walked down to the beach and to the marina and then to the office, where the english classes are taught. There are so many breath taking views here. For the past day I have been putting the english program together. I am teaching a level one and level two english class just about every day. James showed me the daily schedule he had put together for me, I cant wait. Each day includes studying the scriptures, teaching english, exercising, doing humanitarian work or teaching with the sister missionaries, studying portuguese, institute, food, and rest. Sounds great to me! We start on Monday :)
Speaking of institute, I went last night! A returned missionary named Hernani sat next to me to help me understand what was going on. He speaks pretty good english because he had some American companions. Afterwards, some of the guys came up to talk to me (they spoke a little english) to tell me that they know my brother, Sam! Two of them were his mission companions, back in the day. It was pretty exciting and I was so happy to meet them.
Ha, I have a story from this morning. Ivana is a woman who lives with the tavares family and this morning she was asking what I was going to eat for breakfast (i think) so I said cereal. After my shower I went to the kitchen and there was my bowl, a spoon, cereal, and a pitcher of very hot milk. I thought I was making my own breakfast this morning, but I think ivana was trying to help me out--or maybe she thinks I don´t know how. Who knows. I thought the hot milk was a little strange, but I put it in my cereal anyway. I asked james about it once I got to the office and he said that she uses a different kind of milk--Its a powder milk that you mix with water, and that she generally uses the tap water instead of the bottled water. And we both just looked at each other like "uh oh" cause we both realized that she probably used that for the milk she layed out for me this morning! Oh well, it was hot, so maybe she boiled it for a little and the germs went away.
Also, took my first shower since being here this morning. James said if I want hot water then I can boil the water on the stove and use that, but that is way to much effort for a shower. I dont even really like showering. I told him I had prepared for the cold showers! The water was a little brisk but thats all. I think all went well.
There is a soccer stadium right across the street from the office--it is pretty cool cause I can look out the window and see everyone practicing! Oh and one more thing, it is SO windy here. I love it because the sun is always out so without the wind it would be terribly hot.
Well, back to the program. Bom dia!
It has been quite the experience so far, even though I have only been gone for, what, three or four days? On the plane ride to Praia from Boston, I was sitting next to a woman named Ana. She was sooooo funny. She is Cape Verdian, but was born and raised in Boston. She had the craziest accent. It was this intense Boston accent mixed with a portuguese accent and she would mix english and portuguese. We talked a bit and I found out that she was getting married on Friday (today!) which was amusing to me because she was flirting up a STORM with the cute flight attendant. She asked me if anyone was meeting me in Praia and if I was nervous because it was my first time coming. I told her of course I am nervous! and I was not quite sure if someone was going to be there to meet me. And she would respond with, "dont worry, I gotchu. I gotchu." Haha, she was so sweet. Once we got off the plane, we found that the missionaries who were supposed to meet me, were not there, and she helped me find my way around and get my next airline ticket until the missionaries came. What a life saver, seriously.
Well, the sister neves and sister palmer eventually showed up and I went with them to the mission home where we ate and I slept for a long time. They were so nice. Later that night they took me back to the airport to fly to Mindelo. My flight ended up being delayed for two hours, but none of the airline workers would tell us that it was delayed--they just told us to be ready to leave. I finally arrived in Mindelo to a warm greeting from James, his wife Carina, and their daughter Sharonlee. James speaks almost perfect english, but his wife only knows a few words, and his three year old daughter only speaks creole (no portuguese). I have a hard time understanding everyone here--if they arent speaking Creole, then they are speaking Portuguese REALLY REALLY fast and with the european accent. All I could hear for the first day was "sh sh sh sh" (ex. como estas=como eshtash). Hopefully I will get the hang of everything.
What else...Well, there are a million stray dogs EVERYWHERE. I just want to pet and love them all, but thats probably not the best idea. I found out today that used toilet paper does NOT go in the toilet, but in the trash can next to the toilet. All taxis cost the same amount when they are driving in the city, 150 escuros everytime. We save the water while doing the dishes and put it in the toilet after to give the toilet more pressure.
I have spent a lot of time with Carina´s younger sister katy, who is 17. She showed me around the city the first day. We walked down to the beach and to the marina and then to the office, where the english classes are taught. There are so many breath taking views here. For the past day I have been putting the english program together. I am teaching a level one and level two english class just about every day. James showed me the daily schedule he had put together for me, I cant wait. Each day includes studying the scriptures, teaching english, exercising, doing humanitarian work or teaching with the sister missionaries, studying portuguese, institute, food, and rest. Sounds great to me! We start on Monday :)
Speaking of institute, I went last night! A returned missionary named Hernani sat next to me to help me understand what was going on. He speaks pretty good english because he had some American companions. Afterwards, some of the guys came up to talk to me (they spoke a little english) to tell me that they know my brother, Sam! Two of them were his mission companions, back in the day. It was pretty exciting and I was so happy to meet them.
Ha, I have a story from this morning. Ivana is a woman who lives with the tavares family and this morning she was asking what I was going to eat for breakfast (i think) so I said cereal. After my shower I went to the kitchen and there was my bowl, a spoon, cereal, and a pitcher of very hot milk. I thought I was making my own breakfast this morning, but I think ivana was trying to help me out--or maybe she thinks I don´t know how. Who knows. I thought the hot milk was a little strange, but I put it in my cereal anyway. I asked james about it once I got to the office and he said that she uses a different kind of milk--Its a powder milk that you mix with water, and that she generally uses the tap water instead of the bottled water. And we both just looked at each other like "uh oh" cause we both realized that she probably used that for the milk she layed out for me this morning! Oh well, it was hot, so maybe she boiled it for a little and the germs went away.
Also, took my first shower since being here this morning. James said if I want hot water then I can boil the water on the stove and use that, but that is way to much effort for a shower. I dont even really like showering. I told him I had prepared for the cold showers! The water was a little brisk but thats all. I think all went well.
There is a soccer stadium right across the street from the office--it is pretty cool cause I can look out the window and see everyone practicing! Oh and one more thing, it is SO windy here. I love it because the sun is always out so without the wind it would be terribly hot.
Well, back to the program. Bom dia!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
T-3 days
3 days left in America.
For everyone who does not know, let me give the down low on what I am doing this summer
On May 4th I am flying to Mindelo, Cape Verde. I will be teaching english Monday through Friday to two groups of young adults. One group will be specifically for people who work in the service and tourist industries and the other group will be a basic english class. I will also get to go and teach with the sister missionaries and help out with a lot of church activities. Many wonderful and generous friends helped me to fundraise enough money to get out there and do all this : ) Thank you Thank you Thank you
I chose to go to Cape Verde for a few reasons: (1) My brother, Sam, served his mission there, (2) Our good friends the Bingham's have spent a good amount of time out there doing humanitarian work, (3) Cape Verde is a Portuguese speaking country, and I've been learning the language this past year (although most of the cape verdians speak creole, apparently speaking Portuguese is formal).
I will be living with the branch president out in Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente. His name is James Tavares, and both Sam and the Bingham's speak very highly of him (I attached a picture of the family).
What else... Well, there is no hot water--three months of cold showers should do me well. I have to purify every spec of water that I put into my mouth or else I will get pretty sick. Odds are fairly high that I will get worms. I can't eat any pre-peeled fruit or vegetable and absolutely no undercooked meat. I have to be careful with lettuce and foods with crevices. I am not supposed to go anywhere without a male once the sun starts to set. The only perfume I'll be wearing is bug spray or deet. And let's just pray that I don't run into any nasty spiders--ah, but who am I kidding. It's an African island, OF COURSE there will be spiders. Is it terrible that I am most worried about the spiders there? Oh well. Maybe by the end of this trip spiders wont bother me at all!
Anyway, my mom and I just finished purchasing everything I should need today. Now it's just time to pack it all up : )
For everyone who does not know, let me give the down low on what I am doing this summer
On May 4th I am flying to Mindelo, Cape Verde. I will be teaching english Monday through Friday to two groups of young adults. One group will be specifically for people who work in the service and tourist industries and the other group will be a basic english class. I will also get to go and teach with the sister missionaries and help out with a lot of church activities. Many wonderful and generous friends helped me to fundraise enough money to get out there and do all this : ) Thank you Thank you Thank you
I chose to go to Cape Verde for a few reasons: (1) My brother, Sam, served his mission there, (2) Our good friends the Bingham's have spent a good amount of time out there doing humanitarian work, (3) Cape Verde is a Portuguese speaking country, and I've been learning the language this past year (although most of the cape verdians speak creole, apparently speaking Portuguese is formal).
I will be living with the branch president out in Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente. His name is James Tavares, and both Sam and the Bingham's speak very highly of him (I attached a picture of the family).
What else... Well, there is no hot water--three months of cold showers should do me well. I have to purify every spec of water that I put into my mouth or else I will get pretty sick. Odds are fairly high that I will get worms. I can't eat any pre-peeled fruit or vegetable and absolutely no undercooked meat. I have to be careful with lettuce and foods with crevices. I am not supposed to go anywhere without a male once the sun starts to set. The only perfume I'll be wearing is bug spray or deet. And let's just pray that I don't run into any nasty spiders--ah, but who am I kidding. It's an African island, OF COURSE there will be spiders. Is it terrible that I am most worried about the spiders there? Oh well. Maybe by the end of this trip spiders wont bother me at all!
Anyway, my mom and I just finished purchasing everything I should need today. Now it's just time to pack it all up : )
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