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The past weekend we had a birthday party for one of my co-workers (it was a “surprise” party that she asked/commanded to be organized for her). We played minisoccer, and the girls lost 6-2 but our mens team whoomped the military team. Yippeee.

My favorite/most scarring moment, was watching these ladies from work get groovy, dancing on top of a chair, seductive arm gestures, and debaucherous humping. At first I wondered why little kids dance so dirty here, but then I thought, “Do I even have to ask?”.

Photo evidence:

Wondering where these kids learn to dance...

this is where they learn it...

So if you think I only dance in a mask and cook all day in Cape Verde, you are only partly right. Heres a plan I elaborated after a meeting for our environmental programs at the high school for the rest of the year:

Programa de Educação Ambiental 2010 –
Uma parceria entre ESOM, Salimpa e a CMSal

Presente até final do corrente ano lectivo
“Projecto Escola mais Verde” em que turmas têm responsabilidade de cuidar de plantas no espaço verde de ESOM e as turmas com plantas mais robustas e grandes receberem prémios no fim de ano escolar.

15 a 19 de Março
“Série de Palestras Ambientais” em comemoração de dia 21, Dia Internacional de Arvore e Floresta; dia 22, Dia Mundial de Água; e dia 23, Dia Internacional de Meteorologia.
Local e publico: ESOM, alunos de 7º
Horário: Neusa – 10 turmas de 7º ano de amanha
Euclides – 6 turmas de 7º ano de tarde
Leah – substituir quando necessário? Ou outras turmas?
Sábado: Sketch de teatro e panfletos informativos?

Abril – Mês de Reciclagem

16 e 23 de Abril
“Visita de Estudos a Aterro Sanitário” para alunos conhecer o sistema de recolha de resíduos sólidos, águas de esgoto e sua reutilização.
Local e publico: Mourinho de Açúcar e alunos de biologia (max. 40 por visita)
Horário: Sábado às 8h30

“Formação de Reciclagem” sobre reciclagem de vidros, plásticos e papel.
Local e publico: a definir, professores de EBI e ES (max. 20)
Data e Horário: a definir

Colocação de Eco-pontos para reforça ideias aprendidos nas visitas de estudo, na formação de reciclagem e para recolha materiais para trabalhos dos alunos na Casa do Ambiente e no Concurso de Biodiversidade.

22 de Maio a 5 de Junho
“EcoConcurso de Biodiversidade” para comemorar o Dia Internacional de Biodiversidade, 22 de Maio e o Dia Internacional de Ambiente, 5 de Junho. O EcoConcurso terá 3 categorias; trabalhos escritos, desenhos e escultura/dramatizações com tema da biodiversidade. Prémios vão ser entregados nos 3 melhores trabalhos em cada categoria.
15 de Abril – Regulamento preparado para socializar e assinar com os responsáveis
1 de Maio – Inscrição aberta na secretaria da ESOM (ate dia 21 de Maio)
22 de Maio a 31 de Maio – Período de entrega de trabalhos na secretaria da ESOM
5 de Junho – Exposição de trabalhos e Presentação de prémios na ESOM

9 de Junho
“Programa radiofónica” na quarta-noite de Moisés para dar uma síntese deste programa geral e para feedback e reflexões sobre a sensibilização de assuntos ambientais na comunidade.

6 a 10 de Julho
“Formação Mudanças Climáticas versus Resíduos”
Local e publico: ESOM e professores de ciências, biologia, homem ambiente (max. 35)
Formadores: Neusa, Dr. Euclides e outros a definir
Horário: 8h a 14h

“Projecto Casa do Ambiente” é uma iniciativa activa durante o ano lectivo para criar um espaço para ensino activo de reciclagem, reutilização de materiais e criação de produtos de terra. Está a procurar financiamento através de UNESCO e construtores locais entre outros.

I´ve helping out at the ludoteca, trying to dinamize the space, and so here are some photos of our kids’ parade for Carnaval. We had everyone made recycled materials outfits, cardboard “shirts”, newspaper skirts, paper plate masks and plant crowns. It went really well except for the what? the rain? rain in Cape Verde? ugh… only at Carnaval!

Kids lining up to take to the streets!

Inside the party - kids here learn some exotic dance moves at a young age...

The last few days have been sleepless, okay I won’t exaggerate, but at least sleeplittle. I have been working on the Carnival commission, so our duties were too run around trying to organize 3 groups of over 100 people as they got in line, dressed in a terrifying quantity of satin, sequins and feathers, and got their bands singing, while finally hosting their kings, queens and damas onto a tall homemade float (that sways precariously under the weight of samba dancing feet).
Here in Sal we had 3 official groups, Samba no Pe, Gaviõnes and Maravilhas do Sul, and then a few groups of animation, especially good were the Mandingas, a bunch of people who painted themselves all black and carried around sticks and metal rods, scaring people and wiping their oil on everyone. They also outfitted motorcycles and quads with neon wigs and broken toys, racing through the crowds to add that extra edge of fear-fun. I thought they totally rocked (though some onlookers complain that they ruin the festivities, I am a fan of the chaos, making it much more lively and exciting). Mandinga groups are known to be more rebellious (Sunday they dressed as terrorists with automatic guns) but the word mandinga means the magical quality that master practitioners of capoeira possess…
So – Carnaval was a success, though tiring, and my co-worker Sheila definitely was pushed to the limit try to organize the groups. Her new moto is that Cape Verdeans have a lack of initiative, their slave-history has taught them to sit around like bumps waiting for directions. I don’t know if this is always true, but they definitely were in need of some more active leaders not hot-headed grog drinkers yesterday. Live and learn, next year we will put the start time at 2 pm so things will get rolling by 4…

Happy Chinese New Years!

I almost forgot until my mom called and told me Happy New Years, I thought she had gone senile and meant to say Happy Valentines Day, but no, she was right and still savy.

Happy Chinese American kids!

All things have an opposite. Yin and the Yang. Stickman's twleve points of community is the science. That is the physical developments of a community. Stickman's lovely counterpart, whom I'll call Stickwoman... she's good-lookin, huh? She meditates in the middle of the twelve points of culture. This is the art. The Yin and the Yang. The art and science of a generic community. It is everywhere.

In the same sense of quantifying work in a generic community, the same can be done for culture. There are a limited number of cultural elements that are present (or could be) in every community. I deduced these elements in the same manner as Stickman's 12 points of community: I thought of a website that put form to culture. I thought of Ten Thousand Villages. Ten Thousand Villages is a successful non-profit company that purchases arts and craftwork from artisans in developing countries and sells them in retail stores in the United States and Canada. I went to www.tenthousandvillages.com and looked at how they organized their merchandise. If you rollover the “shop” button on their main webpage, you can observe the twelve divisions of merchandise they sell. I copied those elements into a WORD document and mulled over how they could align with the Peace Corps experience.

I then reflected on my own Peace Corps service. Having returned from Cape Verde, Africa in September 2009, my experience is still fresh in my mind. I asked myself, what are the things that were present in Cape Verde, that are everywhere? I made a list.

I compared the two and arrived at the twelve points above, coincidentally the same number. The last category, personal, I felt pertained more to people as individuals developing their own personal philosophy… an equally important element of culture that perhaps deserves it’s own category. But for now, I thought it would be best to leave it as part of general culture.

Anyway, these diagrams go for simplicity. Simplicity is the first step toward progress.
oh stick people. you are good people.

Here's another stickman cartoon. These are the 12 essential elements of society that allow individuals to survive and prosper.

I deduced these 12 points from mainly two places: the Federal Government and Peace Corps. First, I analyzed our Federal Government's non-military expenditures from the ever-intriguing "Death and Taxes" poster. This poster can be downloaded or purchased from wallstats.com. 67% of the Federal Government is spent on military. The other 33%, if you think about it, represents what our government is doing to build and sustain our communities. Department of Education, Health, Energy and so on.

Then, while developing the peacecorpsprojects.org site, I pulled the work sector information from each of the Peace Corps host countries from peacecorps.gov. I wrote them all down and simplified them as much as possible.

Comparing the two, I got the list down to twelve. I then sketched simple diagrams for each sector and decided to draw them around a person who looked happy... because if you have all of these elements functioning properly... you should be happy.

Imagine this diagram as a clock. Each sector is loosely prioritized - starting at 12 o'clock with water. Now, the order of these elements are largely subjective - each has to almost develop simultaneously. However, think of this as a start.

This is by all means a work in progress. If you have suggestions or don't agree with something, drop a comment and state your argument. I think establishing a universal foundation for what a community needs to survive and prosper should be first and foremost in... umm, trying to improve upon the system we have going for us now.

Here's another stickman cartoon. These are the 12 essential elements of society that allow individuals to survive and prosper.

I deduced these 12 points from mainly two places: the Federal Government and Peace Corps. First, I analyzed our Federal Government's non-military expenditures from the ever-intriguing "Death and Taxes" poster. This poster can be downloaded or purchased from thebudgetgraph.com. 67% of the Federal Government is spent on military. The other 33%, if you think about it, represents what our government is doing to build and sustain our communities. Department of Education, Health, Energy and so on.

Then, while developing the peacecorpsprojects.org site, I pulled the work sector information from each of the Peace Corps host countries from peacecorps.gov. I wrote them all down and simplified them as much as possible.

Comparing the two, I got the list down to twelve. I then sketched simple diagrams for each sector and decided to draw them around a person who looked happy... because if you have all of these elements functioning properly... you should be happy.

Imagine this diagram as a clock. Each sector is loosely prioritized - starting at 12 o'clock with water. Now, the order of these elements are largely subjective - each has to almost develop simultaneously. However, think of this as a start.

This is by all means a work in progress. If you have suggestions or don't agree with something, drop a comment and state your argument. I think establishing a universal foundation for what a community needs to survive and prosper should be first and foremost in... umm, trying to improve upon the system we have going for us now.

“I’d really like to get something to drink, if you could help me. Euros are fine,” says the nice, cleanly dressed young man who has been “disinterestedly” helping me put my stuff in a cab at Senghor Airport in Dakar, Senegal at 2 Am.

I shake my head.

“Then how bout some kisses.”

I shake my head, and offer my hand out the window.

He shakes it, closes the door and disappears.

“Ugh” says the driver, in visible disgust, starting up the ignition.

“What,” thought I, “an ally in the driver, someone appalled by the opportunistic young man, cooly requesting nookie when money was denied?

“He didn’t shut the door.”

I chuckle, open and close my door again, and regain a little realism.

But everything is right. People are friendly, slow-moving, relaxed. The night air is soft, just barely cool and smells of the sea. The driver never forgives me for getting a bit of a deal (8 bucks for 10 minutes is hardly a deal, but less than the 10 bucks that are the norm for white passengers after midnight) and even tries to charge me another two bucks for the receipt. At no point, do I feel in danger.

I peel off my black clothes, meant to make me fit in during a day’s layover in Madrid, and instantly forget the chagrin at having had no boots like the other girls. I throw on a sundress, with bear arms, uneven seams, ready for sweat, wispy tangled hair and the translucent sunscreen that brings the scent of American drugstores with you everywhere. I pay for my room, head up for my shower. Even the cold water is pleasant, startling and a little harsh like getting clean should be. I’m back in Africa.

Throughout my service, I felt many Peace Corps Volunteers were doing good, important work but had no central place to share this information. Since I returned last September, I drew a brief sketch and contracted the job out to cybernetikz.com, a small programming firm I met on elance.com several years ago, and built www.peacecorpsprojects.org.

Think of this site as the Youtube of Peace Corps Volunteer's projects/newsletter articles. It is designed to collect, organize and display Volunteer project information, direct donors to the Peace Corps Partnerships Program (PCPP) site, a Peace Corps funding program, and allow Volunteers to post articles they write about their experience.

It is intended to improve coordination among volunteers working on similar projects in faraway places, generate more interest in the micro-lending possibilities of PCPP and promote Peace Corps on-the-ground efforts to a broader community.

Note: Peacecorpsprojects.org does not accept project donations. This site transfers donors directly to the PCPP project donation page.

I pitched this website to Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps admin, hoping they will post projects and articles and be willing to collaborate, respectively.

Now, the waiting game.

I would like share www.peacecorpsprojects.org with you. Throughout my service, I felt many Peace Corps Volunteers were doing good, important work but had no central place to share this information. Since I returned last September, I drew a brief sketch and contracted the job out to cybernetikz.com, a small programming firm I met on elance.com several years ago.

Think of this site as the Youtube of Peace Corps Volunteer's projects/newsletter articles. It is designed to collect, organize and display Volunteer project information, direct donors to the Peace Corps Partnerships Program (PCPP) site, a Peace Corps funding program, and allow Volunteers to post articles they write about their experience.

It is intended to improve coordination among volunteers working on similar projects in faraway places, generate more interest in the micro-lending possibilities of PCPP and promote Peace Corps on-the-ground efforts to a broader community.

Note: Peacecorpsprojects.org does not accept project donations. This site transfers donors directly to the PCPP project donation page.

I pitched this website to Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps admin, hoping they will post projects and articles and be willing to collaborate, respectively.

Now, the waiting game.

Another plug for Kiva.org.

http://tongal.com/app/l/1qk0ee_d1cce0633fe60143284f4ea8ff67a179

I thought these sounded good. Very simple, right and wrong are very clear...


1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

—Mahatma Gandhi

I have been having trouble with this blog and have switched to a new blog
CathryninCapeVerde.blogspot.com
So you can continue reading about my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mindelo, Cape Verde

I have officially entered a PCPP (Peace Corps Partnership Project) for funding! Please check it out and if you like it, DONATE!!!

Click here to check it out!

Yes yes, I know it's been months since we've had an update...and this isn't really going to be a good one, but here are some pictues from my mom's trip to visit last month!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doveandjoshua/collections/72157622513474057/

New in Cape Verde:

- Dove and Josh get a new puppy! Her name is Bolacha and she's 6 weeks old
- The rain season has come and pretty much gone, wiping out numerous roads and washing out fields. It was our heaviest rain in 25 years - yikes!
- Dove and Josh "passed" their Mid Service Medical exams with no worms or parasites!
- New Volunteers were sworn in on September 19th; Dove helped with the training and transport back to the northern islands
- A National Geographic expedition ship came into Port Novo last week and Dove and Josh got to hang out with 80 or so American visitors and help with the tour of the island

No promises on our next post, but we'll *try* to be better in the future!

daniellelenz posted a photo:

daniellelenz posted a photo:

daniellelenz posted a photo:

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