Day 38 & 39

Friday we didn't really do much besides classes and some homework.  But in Spanish class we did watch this cool movie on the animals of Kenya and had to write a summary about it...it would be so cool if Bioko had the big African mammals!! The Drills and other monkeys are still cool though.

Today we had class from 1-5 and gave presentations on the Chester, PA research we did.  Very informative!!  But the best part of the day was when we went to the Equato-guinean cultural center for this hip hop concert they were having. It actually reminded me of the MTV show ABDC...the dance one for anyone who doesn't know...because there were different groups who performed routines.  It was really cool and some of them were very good!!  Wish I could dance without looking like a robot!

But it was kind of intimidating because Sarah, Reed and I were the only Caucasian people there and the first thing that was going on when we got there was this slide show of various pictures of Africa.  I'm not sure why, but they were showing pictures of the emaciated children and then it flashed to a picture of an obese American woman eating a hamburger...then this girl turned around and gave me a dirty look as everyone booed at the screen...I mean, aside from that part of the night it was a very cool experience!!! I'm glad Antonio invited us.

Tomorrow we are off to Moka for two weeks!  I am excited for a little bit cooler weather...and the research of course.

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 37 - Leatherback pictures

Well I have yet to see anyone make any type of changes to the paint on the house...I wonder what is going to happen.

Today Jake, another TA from Philly and the person instructing our FRTE course and overseeing our research, landed in Malabo.  I can't believe we go to Moka on Sunday! I am excited to see some Galagos.  Well, hopefully because I was talking to people who said that it will be hard to Galagos, too. I guess I will see for myself when I get there.

Our Spanish homework for tonight was to talk only in Spanish for an entire hour...it was very hard, but definitely helps!  The best to learn it is to speak it.  Of course I messed up and it wasn't perfect, but everyone here knows that it obviously isn't my first language and especially when I am with the UNGE students they all help me.  I mean, they kind of laugh at me, too, but I laugh at myself sometimes!

I got some pictures from Sarah's camera of the Leatherback she saw at Moraka Playa one morning.  So cool!! She even got a video of the turtle heading back toward the water!  It shows how slow the process really is for them.  But unfortunately, I couldn't upload on here...maybe tomorrow it will work.

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 36 - Pintar La Casa

Today has been a much better day!  We got done with Econ class early...that's always nice...and we kind of got done with Spanish early because Carmen showed us this short 15 minute movie she is in.

The movie is called La Familia and it just demonstrates how EG thinks so highly of family...Spanish culture as a whole does.  Her daughter, also Carmen, was her costar!  Plus two Equato-guineans that I didn't know.  It was good! Weird seeing her on film though.

The funny aspect of the day was when David walked in the door with a letter from the EG police.  In EG if the president or anyone in his political party doesn't like how a building or home is painted or think that the paint job is looking old, they give you a letter that basically tells you how many days you have to paint it a different color.  Actually, while walking through Malabo, there is the word "pintar" with a date spray painted on several buildings and that is from the police.  Low and behold, the president doesn't like how the student house is painted and we have to start painting it a new color by tomorrow...funny if you ask me.

OH! And Lindsay, the one from Spain, sent me a link that translates song lyrics from Spanish to English and vice versa.  While she was here, I was asking her tips on how I can improve my Spanish and she said her favorite thing is to look up Spanish songs on YouTube and then it makes it somewhat fun to learn.  The site is so helpful and I I'm glad she showed me!! For all of you aspiring Spanish speakers out there, check it out!

http://lyricstranslate.com/

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 34 & 35

Ya know,  I have tried to remain positive and not get frustrated while living over here, but it just isn't easy...so I apologize, but this post isn't going to be the happiest.

It's a good day when I wake up and go to brush my teeth or pee and the light in the bathroom works...yep it didn't turn on this morning.  Then I couldn't find my headlamp in my pile of things from the expedition and I was trying not to be too loud because Sarah was asleep.  I finally found it and so I went to brush my teeth, but not even thinking I put the toothbrush under the faucet rather than using my bottle of water...ending up having to use my finger that had a taste of hand sanitizer to it. Great start to the day!

Then the air conditioner stopped working in the living room and we only have two working fans in the house.  So I usually camp out in my bedroom to avoid profusely sweating, but if you keep that air conditioner on too long, it drips condensation all over the top of my bed...plus I am always wearing pants because that is what the women wear here. That or long skirts, which I only brought one of.  UGH!

Not to mention how I keep obtaining bug bites...this is with repeatedly applying bug spray to my legs and arms!! And sleeping with a mosquito net! They are just so damn itchy.

All of the healthy food here is way over priced and when I go to the market for fresh vegetables and fruit, the women over charge me because I'm a "Blanca."  Even when I try to bargain, they just say no and then I give in because man a pineapple or some tomatoes are really nice.

And the internet is beyond frustrating...it never works consistently and it kicks me off of things when I am in the middle of writing something or talking to someone...I miss being able to talk to everyone from home whenever I want!



Okay, I am done venting now.  Moral of this post is that living like an African is not easy.  The culture and living standards are just so different and it has been quite the adjustment.  I can honestly say that I do have a much greater appreciation for everything back home...I also give props to David for living here for over a year!  This is all what I signed up for though...I knew it would be different and I came into this with an open mind and I still have one...somewhat...but everyone has those days where they are just beyond frustrated.  Malabo, you have cracked me for the first time.

One good thing is that yesterday Adama's wife made these flour, sugar and milk things that were fried and they were delicious.  It was so nice of her to give us some!  I also had a good laugh because a taxi driver today said to me "hola morena," which doesn't make any sense at all because morena is referring to a woman with dark skin, dark hair and dark eyes...aka the total opposite of everything about me haha that was funny.  That is definitely one of my high points for the day.  That and when we walked into Carmen's house for Spanish class her son was making something  and when we asked him what it was, he said TNT...only in Malabo.

Tomorrow is going to be a better day.

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 33 - Batate, Ruiche and Arena Blanca

I know that this isn't true for everyone, but some of the people I talked to about studying abroad here back in November before I actually left thought I was going to be  living in the stereotypical huts.  Well, I must say that even though I knew I would be living in an actual house, I didn't really know what to expect before I got here.  Then once I got to Malabo I realized that it has some really nice areas...and by nice I mean with electricity, tiled floors, running water, all of that...not like nice would be considered in the US.  But anyways, today we went to two small Bubi villages near Luba that had some nice houses and buildings, but mainly huts.

The first place we went to was the village called Batate and this reminded me more of Luba than it did of a hut-style village.  There were several huts, but mainly regular buildings there.  It was really cool because the oldest church on the island is located in Batate and so we got to see all of the people heading there and we even got to walk all the way to the top of the steeple.  I was going to wait for the worker to ring the bell once the priest got there, but I am a bit afraid of heights, so I headed back down after a few pictures.  The church had really cool architecture and was build sometime in the late 1800s.  The walls were purposely built on a slant outwards as they go up.  There are only three churches in the whole world built like this and I tried to get a good picture, but it is a bit hard to tell.

There is an all girls school here and they all were sitting in the church waiting for the priest when I walked over to the window.  They all were waving and smiling at me...so cute! All the little kids kept saying "hola amiga!" It was the sweetest thing ever.

Prospero has family in Batate and so after walking around the church, we went to his grandmother's house and ate lunch. She was so kind! She was telling us about the history of the village and about her family.  Prospero's brother Paco lives there with their grandmother and he gave us this fruit called a longthroat...or at least that is what they said...it could be a nickname of some sort.  But it looked like a really big green bean and you crack it open to get to these seeds covered in the fruit pulp...it was good!!

On our way out, they all said we should come back and visit soon.  Prospero's grandmother held my hand all the way to the bus...so precious!  

View of Batate

Batate church steeple

You can kind of see that the walls go outwards

Top of the steeple

View from the church's steeple

Steeple again

Longthroat fruit!

Seeds of the longthroat fruit

Longthroat fruit

David talking with the kids waiting outside of church

Prospero's grandmother and I

After leaving Batate, we went to Ruiche, the village where Prospero grew up.  It was cute and up this long road that is barely paved.  To get to this road, we had to travel through Las Almas, a neighborhood where they are currently building a new road to Ureka...which is very detrimental to the biodiversity on the island.

Prospero and Pastor told us that the reason the Bubi's built their villages very far up the mountains is because when the Spaniards and Fangs started coming to the island, they didn't want to be pillaged or bothered at all.  Prospero has a lot of family living here and he took us around to meet them all.  Everyone is so nice!! I must say that natives living outside of Malabo are a lot more open and nice to people they meet.

His one aunt gave us papayas and pineapples and his grandfather living there has a little bar and he gave us some vive soy!  This village was definitely more poverty stricken than any other area I've seen on the island thus far.  There were some normal houses and they were in the middle of building a new church and they just built a new primary school...but most of the homes had dirt floors, no doors, and a kitchen that was outside of the home with a straw roof and wooden frame.  I can't say this for everyone, but it made me very thankful for what I have at home and what I grew up with.

Before leaving, I saw that some of the kids were playing soccer and so I asked them if I could, too.  They said yes and when I scored a goal they all yelled "GOALLLLLL" and ran around. It was cute...like in the Africa Cup of Nations games they watch! haha It was really cool experiencing this side of the island that I haven't yet.

When we were leaving, all of the kids we made friends with were waving bye...it made me smile.  Prospero said they were excited because not many foreigners come to the village since it isn't the easiest to get to.  I'm glad Prospero was willing to show us around.

Ruiche

The road being built to Ureka from Las Almas, right above Luba

You can see a little bit of the Caldera in the very back if you look closely

There was one bush that had these pretty little flowers growing

Example of a living room.

Prospero's Grandfather's house

The floor of the bar...I thought all the bottle caps looked cool

Prospero's Grandfather's bar

This little boy was building a toy car

Part of the road to Ruiche

There were a lot of goats everywhere...so cute!

Playing soccer!

After leaving Ruiche, we headed to our last destination for the day...Arena Blanca!!  It is the only natural white sand beach on the island and it more of a touristy spot than the beach at Sipopo.  There is even a little residential area right at the beach, which I wasn't expecting.  It was very pretty and relaxing...the biggest waves I've seen so far have been at Muraka Playa and so it was very relaxing to just float around!  The water was very clear, too.

David knew this Argentinian man, Martin whom is a chef at the restaurant called Imagine here in Malabo, who was at the beach.  The restaurant usually serves free paella to anyone who comes to Imagine on Sundays, but today all of the workers came to the beach and had a little picnic with it! They let us have some...it was very delicious.

Although it does suck that I can't watch the Super Bowl, I'd say today was a Sunday Funday for sure.  Plus, last night we got to watch a little bit of the Mali v. South Africa men's soccer game for the Africa Cup of Nations on Adama's TV...Mali won!! What an upset.  Speaking of that, last year the Africa Cup of Nations was here...I know I said that in a previous post, but I am so bummed!! I would have loved to watch a game.  But on the way back to the student house from the beach, I tried to get some pictures of the arena that they were held at last year, but I couldn't get one of the whole complex because it is governmental property and I had to sneak the shots I did get.  Better than nothing!

Tomorrow...back to classes.

Hasta luego,
Lindsey