my so called life

This is a letter I wrote to a group of students in the states in response to their questions about my experience. I realized that I always send really detailed letters that describe aspects of my experience that I leave out in emails and blog entries. My roommate had the brilliant idea of typing it up to share, so here it is. I took out some direct comments to students, but for the most part I kept the letter form, so try not to be distracted by the direct address.


I received many questions about language. The spoken language here is Kriolu (pronounced “Creole”), but the official language is Portuguese. School is taught in Portuguese, meetings are run in Portuguese (depending on how official they are…), textbooks are written in Portuguese, etc. However, everyone just speaks Kriolu. Kriolu is a mixture of Portuguese and the African dialects that passed through the island during the times of the slave trade. (Because of the location of Cape Verde, it was a valuable midway point between Africa and the Americas for the trafficking of slaves.) If you are interested in language, maybe you will be interested to know that the Kriolu varies from island to island depending on influences (i.e. European, African, American, etc.) and their isolation. Fogo, as I have mentioned, has strong ties with America and there are certain English words that have found their way into daily dialog, such as big, hello, ok, fine, etc. as well as many technological terms.

Speaking of technology, there were a lot of questions about technology here in Cape Verde. I cannot tell you about all of Cape Verde because I only know Fogo well, but I will try to tell you as much as possible. First of all, as of Christmas, Ponta Verde has electricity from 8am-midnight. Before it was only in the afternoon/evening. They also just wired a few zones up at a higher elevation to have electricity for the first time. However, this does not mean that everyone has electricity in their houses. People that do not have electricity use candles and oil lamps to light their houses early in the morning and in the evening. One of my best students does not have electricity. I visited her house one evening to find six of the eight children huddled around a low burning lamp reading about Bill Gates.

Most people that do have electricity have televisions. Like many of you, they love to watch TV. Most of the programs are from Brazil or Portugal and there is one Cape Verdean channel. They mainly watch “telenovelas” which are the equivalent of soap operas, but silly in different ways. I’m sure my students could tell you a lot more about them than I can. We do also have radios here, although Cape Verde itself has only a few stations. One is broadcasted from Fogo, but reaches only Fogo and Praia. There are a couple other major national stations. I like listening because it helps me practice Portuguese and Kriolu, though I wish I could understand more Portuguese when they announce the news. The music that they play on the radio is very different from American music, but a lot of Cape Verdeans like to listen to 50 cent, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton and reggaeton. Oh, and they love Bob Marley. As far as computers are concerned, very few people in Ponta Verde have computers in their houses. The main high school in São Filipe (the “capital” of Fogo) has a computer lab and there are 4-5 Internet cafes scattered throughout the city. Ponta Verde is in the process of opening a computer lab where I will be working for a bit to help out. They have all the computers and equipment but are waiting for the Internet. They are also using the only currently available space but are in the process of collecting money to build an actual location for the specific purpose of being a computer lab, but money is not easy here. Most of my students probably do not know how to use a computer well, if at all. I only use the Internet once a week (mais ou menos) when I go into the city.

In order to go into the city it is necessary to catch a car. Sometimes you can get a “boleia” (free ride), but if not, you have to pay for a Hiace (pronounced yaas) or truck. Hiace’s are 15 seat vans that normally carry about 20. The trucks have benches and covers over the back and you would be surprised how many people and how much stuff you can fit into them. They are not too expensive, but the majority of people have little money and cannot often go to the city. Ponta Verde has a bunch of “lojas” (stores) that have basic necessities for food, stuff like eggs, onions, potatoes, oil, rice, flour, sugar, powdered milk, etc. Also they have candles, matches, laundry and dish soap and other household necessities. Most people keep varied livestock for meat. There are always millions of chickens running around and people keep pigs to eat leftovers and then become leftovers. Cows and goats are kept for milk and meat and fish vendors come through everyday with a fresh catch. A few people can afford irrigation systems so they grow vegetables year round, mainly cabbage, “kove” (collard greens), tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, onions, carrots, potatoes, squash and manioc. (It sounds like a lot, but they are not really all ever available at the same time… and my god do I miss broccoli and spinach and eggplant. L) There are also many banana, papaya and mango trees. Closer to the volcano they grow oranges, grapes and apples, but they, similar to mango, are not available year round. Vegetables and fruit are more expensive, rare and of lesser quality during the dry season so I go into the city to try to get the more fresh vegetables. Most of the fruit I eat is canned or imported.

I do not do any farming here so I cannot tell you what it is like, but I will try to explain what I do know. During the rainy season the main crop is corn. Before the rains come, many people spend a lot of time preparing the soil and planting. Once the rain comes and the crops begin to grow, the days are spent weeding. For many people (especially here in Ponta Verde where there is little work besides agricultural) most of the day is passed tending to crops. When the corn is ready, and other crops, it is harvested. They do not have machines to help them. The work is done by hand with basic farming tools, hoes, scythes, etc. When it is harvested, it is carried back home either on top of the head, over the shoulder, or, by the beast of burden, the donkey. Donkeys are also used to transport water for houses that do not have wells. Women also carry water on their heads up the ridiculously steep hills. (I will try to get a picture. My roommate and I joke that it is the morning rush hour as the donkeys come barreling down the hill carrying rambunctious youth while the women begin yet another climb.) Once the dry season comes, the corn is allowed to dry on the stalks in the sun and is then picked to be stored and eaten throughout the winter. It is ground or mashed to make many different types of food that my students could explain much better than I. (Off hand I can think of 7 different corn based dishes. Perhaps I should devote an entire entry to the different dishes of corn.) The dried stalks are also eventually cut to be fed to livestock. This is a very brief description, but I hope it gives a better look into the lives of my students and neighbors.

Many people asked about parties, holidays and religion. The majority of people here are catholic, so they celebrate catholic holidays. They also have “festas” parties for a multitude of reasons, one among them just being for something to do. Saint’s days are celebrated nationally as well as by zone and even by house (see last mass email). Today (2/20) is actually a day of celebration, carnival. It is similar to carnival in Brazil and Mardi Gras. I will be going into the city later and will try to get some photos. I do not yet know all the national holidays well (I have not yet been here a year), but I can tell you that Cape Verde’s Independence Day is the 5th of July, one day after that of America, though Cape Verde’s independence from Portugal came much later and was much less bloody.

As far as sports are concerned, my students, as well as many other people nationwide, love sports. The major national sport is soccer, though there is also basketball and volleyball that I know of. I am sure there are others that are played in other areas, but my students do not even have a place to play soccer right now, never mind other sports.

I would also like to respond to the questions that many of you asked about me and my life here. If I miss a few, I apologize, but feel free to always ask. I joined Peace Corps because I did not know what to do after college. I know that I wanted to learn more about the world and different people and how they lived in different parts of the world. I also wanted to try to help and make a difference in people’s lives through teaching or just working side by side. One student asked if this was my first time volunteering. When I was in the states I would volunteer my time to help out at events or with some organizations. I helped at the DYS center in Lowell for a while and other various activities, but this is my first major volunteering role. If anything, it makes me wish I had spent more time volunteering in the past. I have learned so much and gained so much perspective. Do you spend time volunteering? If not, maybe you would like to try it.

Many of you asked if I chose to come to Cape Verde. The answer is no, but I am happy to be here. When you apply for Peace Corps, you can choose what region you would like to go to (i.e. Africa, South America, Eastern Europe, etc.), but Peace Corps ultimately decides based on what skills and experience you have and where they think you will most successfully adapt and help the most (and when you can leave). If you are interested, you can check out their website. I think it is www.peacecorps.gov, but I’m sure you can Google it. (Since when did Google become a verb and a noun? Am I really teaching English?) Peace Corps has been placing volunteers for a long time and I think they are pretty good at it.

A lot of you also asked if I missed home. The answer is a bit complicated I guess. It is yes and no. I do miss my family and my friends a lot, but I hear from them through email and phone calls and letters (though never enough!), so I know they are safe and happy and healthy. I also have many wonderful friends here who have essentially adopted me into their families. Sometimes when I get frustrated with things, I miss being at home, but I remember being frustrated at home too. In the end, life here is just life, just like it is in the states, it’s just the scenery and activities that change.

A few of you asked if I missed American food and gave examples like McDonalds, Wendy’s or Burger King. The answer again is yes and no. I almost never ate fast food in the states because it does not taste good and is even worse for you. Also, since I was 16 or 17, I rarely ate meat. In the US there are many meat alternatives, like tofu, tempeh, beans and nuts that make a vegetarian lifestyle easy, healthy and more than possible. The variety of food here is so limited and sporadic that I cannot guarantee that I will remain healthy as a vegetarian, so, for that reason, I eat chicken and fish here. There is also no “meat industry” here. I have witnessed the killing of a pig, my roommate witnessed the killing of a cow and I have heard many things being killed to be dinner. It’s a little different. I have learned how much of a luxury and lifestyle choice being a vegetarian/vegan is. The US has lots of everything always available. Cape Verde does not. Just last week there was no bread for a while because Fogo never received flour. I miss the variety of food in the states as well as the availability. I also miss the Mambo Grill, the Southeast Asian Restaurant and Bombay Mahal in Lowell. Next time you go to Mambo Grill, get some extra guacamole for me… it’s going to be a while…

My roommate and I do not have running water, so we wash our dishes, our clothes and ourselves differently than in the states. We wash our dishes by hand with water that we bring in from our well. We also wash our clothes by hard with a washboard and well water. It is hung up to dry on the roof. We shower with a bucket and a cup into a shower stall with a faucet and knob that act as decoration. We do have some plumbing (for the water that leaves the house) so we have a toilet that we flush with our used laundry water. It is not really difficult to live like this, just different. It takes a little while longer to wash clothes and hurts your back a bit more, but we use much less water. We also use less water bathing. I do not really miss the machines that we have in the US, but I think I will appreciate them more when I return. Every now and then I miss taking a hot shower, but it is always possible to heat up water to bathe with.

Anyways, this is all a lot to read and I can’t remember any other questions, so if you think of some I miss or new questions, please ask!

Take care and stay warm.

callie