Explaining my Cabo Verdean experience was very much more difficult than I had initially thought. Upon arriving home to the US, I was asked by my friends and family to tell them all about it. Hearing this, all I could say at first is how amazing of an experience it was to go there and spend three weeks with a family, my new family. I didn’t know where to start explaining my experience, there were so many different things that I wanted to say all at once, and at the same time I had no idea how to express it to them in a way that they would understand. There are a couple things that for me, sum up the experience in Cabo Verde. These would be the ideas of: resources, and community, in the United States vs. Cabo Verde. The most pressing issue that exists is by far the lack of potable water for the people of Praia. The Electra energy and distillation center cannot provide enough water to give everyone in the city the UN designated quantity. This is seen every day in Inferno where people not only buy the municipally provided water but break into the water mains, and collect water from other locations in order to live.
On average my household of 3 people would use 25-35 Liters of water per day, which would have to be obtained at either the filling station, the water pipe (illegal), or the barrels that have collected water during the rainy season. Some of these sources are up to 2 kilometers away from the house. The water is carried on the heads of either my mother, or sister, who is only 13 years old. To put this in perspective, I tried to carry one of the 25 Liter containers and only walked about 25 meters before it became too much for my neck to support. (Water in my house is used as described by the chart in my resource pdf).
The trip to Cabo Verde has taught me to be much more conscious of my usage once I returned to the United States. I now only run the water in the shower to get wet and then to rinse the soap off, cutting my water usage by about 66%, I no longer even use water to brush my teeth, and I wash dishes from the filled up sink instead of running the water the whole time. If everyone in the United States did this it would have a profound effect on the water footprint that the United States has on the planet. Upon arriving to my neighborhood I was greeted by many children and adults alike, and even though I had no idea what they were saying, I could understand that they were excited to see me. Everyone had huge smiles on and wanted to shake my hand or give me a hug. In those few minutes, I felt more like part of a community in Inferno than I have ever felt in the United States, and that alone had the most profound effect on me. If these people, who knew nothing about me, and could not communicate with me had this much respect for me, why it could not be this way in the United States. Throughout my stay there, I became close to many people including: the baker, daycare teacher, bar owner, and of course my family and Adam’s family. Everyone wanted to have me over to their house to eat and to talk. If there is one thing that I could change, it would be to have had a longer time there, and to have had time to get to know everyone.
Cabo Verde has changed me in many ways, and I wish that everyone in the United States could have the same enlightenment that I feel I have now. In Cabo Verde everyone is hard working and kind. The sad thing that I realized form this trip is that a country so well off, and considered so well educated, understands far less than the average person in Cabo Verde.
FICA FIXI!
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