10:30am – I wake up and run to the loja at the Shell station
to pick up some eggs for breakfast. I
pick up a bag of bolaxas too because
I’m starving and want something to snack on while I make breakfast.
11am – I teach Txilite how to make French toast, and we come
up with quite a breakfast spread made of what’s left in my refrigerator. I enjoy some café de terra from Santo Antão.
Txilite assures me that their cafe in Canto de Fajã is much sabe-er and promises to bring me some
next time he comes to visit since it’s in-season now. I spend the rest of the day practicing
English and Portuguese with Txilite, listening to music, napping, and just
recuperating before heading to the big teacher activity tonight. This Monday is Dia de Professores, so we don’t have class and the Ministry of
Education organizes a huge party for all the teachers. Tonight will be dinner and a dance, and
tomorrow will be breakfast, a tour, lunch, cultural activities, and a grill.
5:30pm – Alexandra and I head down to the town center to
wait for the bus to take us to Fajã.
We’re running half an hour late, but there are only 2 or 3 other
teachers there anyway. We talk to a
German sport fisherman who’s looking for an internet café. He asks us how long we have to stay in São Nicolau, and as always I’m surprised when
outsiders suggest that living here is a chore or difficulty. Clearly they can’t see all the wonders this
little island beholds!
7pm – Everyone is finally ready and the bus leaves for Fajã. We put all our things in the sleeping rooms
and go to check out the rest of the place.
The women are cooking over open flames outside and the men are already
drinking grogue. They’ve set up one
classroom for eating, one as a bar, and another as the sala de bodje (dance floor).
The music is already blaring and the food smells delicious.
8pm – We eat dinner, hang out, and talk to all the
teachers. After a few hours, it becomes
clear that the bodje (dance) is far
from getting started, so we walk down to Mi-Mi’s house to make margaritas and
rest for a little bit.
12:15am – We head back to the school to find that people are
in the sala de bodje, but no one is
really dancing. We decide it’s too late
for the bodje not to be starting and
we start dancing. Before you know it,
everyone is inside and the party has begun!
I spend the next 4 hours dancing rebeka,
mazurka, zouk, and then just your typical discoteca music. It’s so fun to see all the professors relaxed
and having a good time. I also get to
meet a lot of Vila and Fajã professors that I didn’t know yet.
4:15am – We decide we’re exhausted and too sick to stay out
any later. We debate staying and
sleeping in the women’s sleeping quarters, but rumor has it people dump water
on you as soon as you fall asleep! It’s like a middle school slumber
party. Not to mention a lot of the
teachers brought their kids, who are already sleeping there but will likely not
stay still and quiet all night. We get a
ride down to Mi-Mi’s and crash in her and Averie’s beds.
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