Cape Verde Reflection

Coming back from Cape Verde left me with a very weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew I wanted to be back, to hang out with friends, and to get back into the swing of school, but I could not help but feel as if I was leaving a part of myself behind. The people that I met, from the Island and from our school group, have become an important part of my life in such a short period of time. The experiences from Cape Verde will always be in the back of my mind, influencing my decisions and approach to design in the future.

Things that I Noticed When Coming Back

Transportation

We are completely addicted to vehicular transportation. Immediately on my return I noticed: the prominent placement of gas stations on our transportation routes, an excess of cars, and a huge distance to travel between destinations.

Since being back at school I have also noticed how much faster I could get from place to place on public transit in Cape Verde. The extremely high ridership rate among citizens seemed to contribute to a much larger number of buses per route and a much shorter wait time.

Social

The neighborhood that I am living in at school is completely different from the neighborhood that I lived in in Cape Verde. At UWM, the neighborhood is in a constant state of change. People are always moving back and forth from school, and every year a new generation of student’s moves in. In Cape Verde, there seemed to be a greater sense of connection to where people lived. In many cases, many generations grew up less than a few feet from each other.

I found this to be refreshing, and much like the family cottage that my family has grown around. It seems like ecological design could have huge potential in this space taking advantage of the enduring connection that these families have with the land.

Infrastructure

Access to running water and the modern bathroom are a highly underrated aspect of modern American life. I never quite realized the importance of this until I got sick in Cape Verde and craved running water.

Since returning, I have realized even more the importance of good plumbing in everyday life as I have had to get the toilet in my apartment fixed.

Highs and Lows of the Trip

Highs: For me, this trip was a predominantly good experience. It allowed me to experience the culture from a much different perspective than I normally would have been able to. The level of connection to the area, to the families that we stayed with, and the degree to which we started to blend into everyday tasks was surprising to me. I have gone on three week trips touring different areas and never realized how little time it took to connect into an area.

I like how this trip combined home stays with occasional trips throughout Santiago. I thought that this allowed members of our studio to get familiar with different aspects of the Island of Santiago and connect with each other, as well as get connected to a specific spot on the island.

It was great to go on the previously mentioned trips throughout the island, but my favorite and the most interesting experiences for me happened during the unplanned time in between. The value of taking the bus back in the middle of the night, finding our way down dark streets, splitting a beer with the local construction workers, and struggling to speak to people on the street is unarguable. It is where I truly experienced the culture, and is where most of my learning occurred.

Lows: I had a couple of bad experiences, but I can even chalk them up to a greater learning experience.

One of the first things that I wish I could have improved upon for the trip was a greater knowledge of Portuguese/Creole. I was able to hold conversations with some of my family members, but I would have greatly enjoyed having long conversations, without the occasional need for a dictionary. On the bright side, this experience helped me to realize how helpful people’s expressions are in everyday communications.

Getting sick in Cape Verde was one of those experiences that I wish I could forget. However, it left me with some vivid memories and a lesson on the importance of paying attention to details. Who would have thought that something as small as an ice cube could have such a powerful impact on your life?

One of the last experiences that I had on the Island of Santiago was of getting conned out of my money at the main market in Praia. This was not my brightest moment, and was definitely a low spot for me on my trip, but turned out to be a fairly cheap lesson in street smarts. It was one of those times in which in retrospect I should have seen it coming, but at the time seemed like a very normal set of circumstances.

Lee Eckert