Visiting Volunteers
Going to AVC was a vacation in some ways, but when I got back to Mosteiros, I was quite frankly ready for another one, since I was just exhausted from my time in Praia. Between being released in the big city, hanging out with all of the PCVs and dealing with PC, I was ready for a really big nap once I got back.
Being in the big city always has its advantages, and one day when I was in Praia, I did something that I hadn’t done in a long time. I went shopping. I was a consumer. It wasn’t like in Mosteiros, with more limited choices and shopping being more of a necessity. I had some specific items that I wanted to pick up, but I also made a point to go into a lot of the Chinese lojas, because I knew they’d have a broader selection than what is offered in Fogo, so I wanted to see what was new things had been shipped over from the motherland. This led to a hilarious situation where at one store, a Chinese woman refused to tell me the price of something, because she thought I was a spy from another store, trying to undercut their prices. And then, even funnier, when I was in the Sucupiria, at once stall where I was looking for some African clothes, the lady looked at me and said, “you aren’t going to buy this to make copies of it?” which really made me laugh. Some random guy also got pissed at me when I went to his stall and said that I was just looking at stuff, and then he started to smack talk Chinese people. Sucks for his sales strategy, I suppose.
Spending most of the morning and into the afternoon shopping was something I didn’t really think about. I just did it, got it done, and didn’t really pay much attention to it in my mind. But when I got back to Mosteiros, I had this odd urge, this weird desire to go out and buy more things. Because it felt good to do so. This was really unsettling for me, since I am of the view of shopping/consumerism as something you do to relax is sick. It’s amazing that Western society – or at least segments of it – have gotten to the point where they’re convinced that spending money and possessing something you quite possibly don’t need can be considered a good way to pass the time. It’s not like I’ve never gone to a mall or store just because, but every time I do, I always feel a bit dirty, like I should have something better to do than pass time inside of a Best Buy, looking at things I don’t have the money to buy.
But, I didn’t really have much time to dwell on this, since before I could really get back into the rhythm of things, SIDA Ka Ten Kura and Crest Fresh arrived in Mosteiros. They, along with Subi the Vulcão had come back to Fogo with the rest of us, and then spent a few days in Cha before taking the trail down. Though all three are from up in Santo Antão, they are all at very different places in their services. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was in my staging group, Crest Fresh is a newbie, and Subi the Vulcão is doing her third year, after transferring over from Mauritania.
Having SIDA Ka Ten Kura and Crest Fresh around me for a few days was interesting on various levels, since I got to learn a bit more about how the islands differ, and because I also got to see how people in my community responded to them. After their visit, I am slightly more convinced that my attempts at community integration here were doomed from the beginning, due to the Chines factor. Seeing how people here reacted to them made it clearer to me that I am always immediately classified into the category of Chines loja owner, with all the assumptions that come with that. People already think they know everything about me, whereas with them, there was more curiosity and, dare I say it, respect, since they were white (well, SIDA Ka Ten Kura is actually a half one-tone Filipino, but he doesn’t look Asian enough to be thought of as Chinese). They cannot make the conceptual leap that someone who looks Asian can be American as well. Of course, it doesn’t help that I speak Chinese, but whatever. I have gotten to the point where it still grates on me all of the time, but there’s no point in fighting it, since there’s nothing I can say that will cause them to understand.
Seeing the differences in island cultures was also fun. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was very intent on going out on walks around Igreja, just to check things out. Even if we weren’t living in the town center, I tried to explain to him, everything would pretty much be closed once novella was over and everyone went to bed. But not to be deterred, many of the nights, we circled around Igreja, and took in the nothing that was going on. I guess up in his site, there is actually movement and activity in the streets, which I could see making it fun to walk in the streets. However, this is not the case in Mosteiros. Or São Filipe for the matter.
I ended up staying over night in Sâo Filipe and was able to hang out with the SIDA Ka Ten Kura, Crest Fresh, Subi the Vulcão, She Who Runs From Dead Pig, Servant of the Mind and Idealist. We basically drank and ate our way through the day, and it was another very late night. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was still all about walking around, with me trying to explain that nothing happens on this island at night, even if it is a religious holiday. But somehow, I still ended up going to bed at 3am the next morning.
Just exhausting. But now I’m back in Mosteiros, though it looks like I will be going off island again this week, so I’ll have to fill you in on my adventures next time.
Book Reviews:
The Plain Reader: Essays on a Simple Life edited by Scott Savage
I think living in the developing world really gives you a new perspective on Luddites who are all about trying to abandon technology, or at least reduce the usage of it in their lives. In principle, I can agree with some of their critiques of “the modern world” and the bad that comes with the good in terms of technology. But really, I live in a part of the world where women and men slave away all day and everyday just in order to put food on their tables. I think it’s great that Luddites can live in countries where technological advancement already gives them a leg up on matters, then they can cluck their tongues at how much modern society is losing touch with itself. I have a suggestion for these rejectionists, why don’t they move to a really poor country and try out their theories there? They want to be in a place with no electricity and they have to use a pump for water, and they can’t put things in the fridge, and they want to live in a tight knit community? There’re places like that all over Cape Verde and Africa. Why don’t they trade the standard of living they have, the privilege they have, with some villagers over here? I mean, the way many people exist in sub-Saharan Africa is really what Luddites romanticize as the way for them to “reconnect with themselves and communities.” There are plenty of people over here who would be more than happy to trade circumstances. What these rejectionists want is what so many people around the world are rightfully trying to escape. Though these Luddites claim to be doing this for religious reasons and whatnot, and are all high and mighty about how they live their beliefs, I’m still waiting for the day when, en masse, they haul their asses to Africa (perhaps on a sailboat) and make some community over here. Then they’d really be putting their money where their mouths are.
Fire by Sebastian Junger
Good book, quick read, profiled people in professions where risk is a big factor. Made me think a bit more about myself and why, if certain opportunities provided themselves, I would probably leap at it without a second thought.
Being in the big city always has its advantages, and one day when I was in Praia, I did something that I hadn’t done in a long time. I went shopping. I was a consumer. It wasn’t like in Mosteiros, with more limited choices and shopping being more of a necessity. I had some specific items that I wanted to pick up, but I also made a point to go into a lot of the Chinese lojas, because I knew they’d have a broader selection than what is offered in Fogo, so I wanted to see what was new things had been shipped over from the motherland. This led to a hilarious situation where at one store, a Chinese woman refused to tell me the price of something, because she thought I was a spy from another store, trying to undercut their prices. And then, even funnier, when I was in the Sucupiria, at once stall where I was looking for some African clothes, the lady looked at me and said, “you aren’t going to buy this to make copies of it?” which really made me laugh. Some random guy also got pissed at me when I went to his stall and said that I was just looking at stuff, and then he started to smack talk Chinese people. Sucks for his sales strategy, I suppose.
Spending most of the morning and into the afternoon shopping was something I didn’t really think about. I just did it, got it done, and didn’t really pay much attention to it in my mind. But when I got back to Mosteiros, I had this odd urge, this weird desire to go out and buy more things. Because it felt good to do so. This was really unsettling for me, since I am of the view of shopping/consumerism as something you do to relax is sick. It’s amazing that Western society – or at least segments of it – have gotten to the point where they’re convinced that spending money and possessing something you quite possibly don’t need can be considered a good way to pass the time. It’s not like I’ve never gone to a mall or store just because, but every time I do, I always feel a bit dirty, like I should have something better to do than pass time inside of a Best Buy, looking at things I don’t have the money to buy.
But, I didn’t really have much time to dwell on this, since before I could really get back into the rhythm of things, SIDA Ka Ten Kura and Crest Fresh arrived in Mosteiros. They, along with Subi the Vulcão had come back to Fogo with the rest of us, and then spent a few days in Cha before taking the trail down. Though all three are from up in Santo Antão, they are all at very different places in their services. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was in my staging group, Crest Fresh is a newbie, and Subi the Vulcão is doing her third year, after transferring over from Mauritania.
Having SIDA Ka Ten Kura and Crest Fresh around me for a few days was interesting on various levels, since I got to learn a bit more about how the islands differ, and because I also got to see how people in my community responded to them. After their visit, I am slightly more convinced that my attempts at community integration here were doomed from the beginning, due to the Chines factor. Seeing how people here reacted to them made it clearer to me that I am always immediately classified into the category of Chines loja owner, with all the assumptions that come with that. People already think they know everything about me, whereas with them, there was more curiosity and, dare I say it, respect, since they were white (well, SIDA Ka Ten Kura is actually a half one-tone Filipino, but he doesn’t look Asian enough to be thought of as Chinese). They cannot make the conceptual leap that someone who looks Asian can be American as well. Of course, it doesn’t help that I speak Chinese, but whatever. I have gotten to the point where it still grates on me all of the time, but there’s no point in fighting it, since there’s nothing I can say that will cause them to understand.
Seeing the differences in island cultures was also fun. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was very intent on going out on walks around Igreja, just to check things out. Even if we weren’t living in the town center, I tried to explain to him, everything would pretty much be closed once novella was over and everyone went to bed. But not to be deterred, many of the nights, we circled around Igreja, and took in the nothing that was going on. I guess up in his site, there is actually movement and activity in the streets, which I could see making it fun to walk in the streets. However, this is not the case in Mosteiros. Or São Filipe for the matter.
I ended up staying over night in Sâo Filipe and was able to hang out with the SIDA Ka Ten Kura, Crest Fresh, Subi the Vulcão, She Who Runs From Dead Pig, Servant of the Mind and Idealist. We basically drank and ate our way through the day, and it was another very late night. SIDA Ka Ten Kura was still all about walking around, with me trying to explain that nothing happens on this island at night, even if it is a religious holiday. But somehow, I still ended up going to bed at 3am the next morning.
Just exhausting. But now I’m back in Mosteiros, though it looks like I will be going off island again this week, so I’ll have to fill you in on my adventures next time.
Book Reviews:
The Plain Reader: Essays on a Simple Life edited by Scott Savage
I think living in the developing world really gives you a new perspective on Luddites who are all about trying to abandon technology, or at least reduce the usage of it in their lives. In principle, I can agree with some of their critiques of “the modern world” and the bad that comes with the good in terms of technology. But really, I live in a part of the world where women and men slave away all day and everyday just in order to put food on their tables. I think it’s great that Luddites can live in countries where technological advancement already gives them a leg up on matters, then they can cluck their tongues at how much modern society is losing touch with itself. I have a suggestion for these rejectionists, why don’t they move to a really poor country and try out their theories there? They want to be in a place with no electricity and they have to use a pump for water, and they can’t put things in the fridge, and they want to live in a tight knit community? There’re places like that all over Cape Verde and Africa. Why don’t they trade the standard of living they have, the privilege they have, with some villagers over here? I mean, the way many people exist in sub-Saharan Africa is really what Luddites romanticize as the way for them to “reconnect with themselves and communities.” There are plenty of people over here who would be more than happy to trade circumstances. What these rejectionists want is what so many people around the world are rightfully trying to escape. Though these Luddites claim to be doing this for religious reasons and whatnot, and are all high and mighty about how they live their beliefs, I’m still waiting for the day when, en masse, they haul their asses to Africa (perhaps on a sailboat) and make some community over here. Then they’d really be putting their money where their mouths are.
Fire by Sebastian Junger
Good book, quick read, profiled people in professions where risk is a big factor. Made me think a bit more about myself and why, if certain opportunities provided themselves, I would probably leap at it without a second thought.
posted by jende turtle at 4:50 AM
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