A Week In My Life: The Finale- SATURDAY!

Hello! WOW, the week has flown by! I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts and getting a week-long peak into my Peace Corps life in Cape Verde. I have sure enjoyed writing them and receiving all your kind words, love, and support. Please keep me updated on your lives as well! Any news about what you all are up to on the home front always makes my day! SO here’s how SATUDAY of A Week in My Life went:

The start of the hike 

6am- I wake up early to make food for a hike some kids are taking me on today. We are going to climb a little mountain , laaa bashu (below my house), and it really isn’t far, but we are making an adventure out of the day and bringing a breakfast picnic. I make a batch of banana pancakes, wrap them up, and toss them in a bag with the biscuits I made yesterday, a few papayas, and a bottle of sumu (juice).  I am ready just in time, and am just lacing up my shoes when the neighbor kids come by ready to go.

The slide!

8 a.m.- We leave my house, stopping along the way to chat with people we meet in the path and at people’s houses to say hello. The last time, I was on this path was during the rainy season, and the contrast is vast. Where there was once endless fields of interwoven bean bushes, weeds, and flowers, there is now only scorched earth, dried grass, and the occasional tree or karapati plant. As we drop down into the rock-filled ribeira (canyon), the kids get excited and explain that they are going to show me something really awesome. Soon, we txiga on what is essentially a natural slide. The water which flows forcefully through the canyon during the rains had formed a smooth, well sculpted slide into the rock, and the kids rush to play on it. I test it out as well, and sure enough, the water has formed a slide that could rival that of most playgrounds in America, and as we walk in the rebaira, we find several more of these natural play structures along the way.

9:30- 11 After playing in the rebaira, stopping at several houses, picking tamarinds, and lots of walking and laughing, we arrive at the base of the hill and the kids race to the top. The view from the top is amazing and we look out at the path we have taken, the surrounding zones, and the ocean.  The kids point out different zones to me and excitedly talk over each other to point-out different houses, churches, gardens, and roads. At the top of the mountain, we find some shade, and sit down to have breakfast. The banana pancakes are a hit, and the group is in high spirits as we eat, rest, and laugh. Then they juga pedras (play rocks), a game which seems to be kind of like jacks, but with only rocks. I am constantly amazed with Cape Verdean children’s ingenuity when it comes to creating their toys.  After a while we get up, have a fun photo-shoot on top of the mountain, and start to head home.

Running to the top!

Eating banana pancakes and playing games at the top! 

11-12:30 The journey home is a hot, yet hilarious time. Along the way, the kids ask me if my camera can make movies, and since it can, they excitedly ask me to film them. Without any directing on my part, they come up with the idea to showcase some of the plants and foods we pass, and make up little songs and dances to end the clips. As we continue on our way, the kids sing songs and joke around.  When I show the kids the movies they have just created, they can’t stop laughing, and we hurry home to show their parents and the neighbors. 

12:30- We arrive at my house and immediately show or neighbor the videos and the kids excitedly tell them about the hike, the picnic, and everything we saw along the way. As I show the neighborhood women the clips, the room explodes in laughter and the kids are very proud of their newfound stardom.  Then, they all come over for some cold water and cookies before going their separate ways.

1p.m.-3 p.m. I wash my sheets and sleeping bag. Although I have gotten used to and much better at at washing my clothes by hand with the washboard, whenever I have to wash sheets, I inevitably have sodadi  for a washing machine. Sheets and down sleeping bags get very heavy and overwhelming on a washboard, but I’m improving every time!

3-5 p.m. I head across the street to hang out with my neighbor and play with the baby.

5 p.m.-6pm - I use my laundry water to water my plants, sweep the patio, and talk to the neighborhood kids as they pass on their way to their church youth group meeting.

6 p.m. I head up to the roof to collect my freshly laundered and sun-dried sheets, mattress cover, and sleeping bag. There is really nothing like fresh, clean sheets, and as I make my bed, I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight!

My gross ringworm 

7 p.m.- 7:30 I go back up to the roof to check out the sunset and relax. Today it is a bit hazy and clouds cover the neighboring island but the view is non-the-less spectacular, and as the sun sets on what was a very fun day, I am excited to feel a cool breeze blow in. Then I go down stairs to put more cream on my arm fungus. Oh and for all of you who were curious about the rash, it is almost gone. It turned out to be ring-worm, a highly contagious skin fungus. A bunch of kids in my community had the same thing, so I probably caught it from one of them, but apparently it is also common for cats to have, so I’ve been trying to stay away from cute little street kitties. After I got some strong anti-fungus and hydrocortisone cream, it started clearing up immediately, but it was pretty gross there for a while.

8 pm. Dinner time! Tonight is leftovers from yesterday, a sliced tomato, and an egg.

9-10 p.m.- I head across the street to watch TV and visit with the neighbors. They are still laughing about the kids’ videos and as we chat about the day, my neighbor and good friend sighs and says “pasensea, todu algien ta teni sodadi di bo quando bu bai bu camino”(what a pity, everyone will miss you when you go on your path/ go on your way), and I reply, that I too will fika ku sodadi, as I have come to truly love the community I am a part of.

10 pm. - Bed time! I take a quick bucket bath, brush my teeth, put on the cleanest pajamas I can find, and hop into my freshly washed sheets! For some reason, I am much more appreciative of their cleanliness since I spent two sweaty hours getting them that way. Every night, no matter how hot, I sleep under the quilt that my family made for me before I left. Each square was made by friends of family, and no matter how good or bad my day  is, when I go to sleep under that quilt, I can't help but think of you guys, how much you mean to me, and all the fun adventures we have had together. It never fails to cheer me up! So thanks so much to all of you who made a square- Mommy, Gwyndolyn, Nochella, Karen, Whitney, Katie, Lindsay, Josh, Jenna, and Karen! I love you guys so much and I think of you all the time!   

My beautiful quilt!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Szasha