Blending...becoming

I come from exotic Philippines, land of seven thousand, seven hundred islands lying in close proximity to Indonesia and Malaysia in the Pacific ocean. That was many moons ago. Today, I am in Cape Verde - home of some half a million Creoles scattered in ten islands. It is situated on an archipelago in the northern Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Africa. It is the land of Amilcar Cabral, the freedom fighter and of Evora Cesaria, the barefoot diva who lives on with her famous music, the "mornas".

I am in the process of "blending...and becoming", what I would describe the metamorphosis of being outside and coming inside a new community. I blended in many communities before and almost became a part of. The local language helps the way to "becoming" because unless you try to learn the local tongue, you will always be an outsider. Yet, understanding the nuances of a foreign tongue takes time.

In Cape Verde, they speak Creole - a dialect they developed under Portuguese tutelage in order not to be understood by the conquerors. They understand Portuguese and Spanish and few speak English as well as Italian. I learned Portuguese during five years of diplomatic residence in Mozambique - former colony of Portugal until the fall of the Salazar govenment and the Frelimo freedom fighters took over the government.

After three years of straddling between two continents, that is to say, half-year living in Sal island or rather three winter seasons of five months from November to May since 2010, I visited four Cape Verdean islands, all distinctly different from each other. Praia, Santiago is the seat of government - an old capital that linked East and West, North and South via the slave trade. Walking around the city on a plateau and then visiting Cidade Velha - where Christianity and slavery co-existed, transported me to the bygone days of abductions, auctions and transport of slaves to America and Europe.

Mindelo, capital of Sao Vicente is the maritime centre - home to sailors and ships needing anchor for rest and supply. Mindelo has problems with a growing criminality - house break-ins and street holdups. It seems that many menfolk who can work don't like work. It is a daily sport to spot and follow foreigners and beg for money.

Then we came to San Antao, Cape Verde's second biggest island that is famous for its "rebeiras" that become raging rivers during the rainy months from August to September. Hence the thriving agriculture on man-made terraces by the mountain sides. San Antao boasts of an almost 100 percent Creole population.

If Sal island is looking like a lunar landscape of volcanic rocks, sorrounded by the ocean- where the Sahara sand-carrying wind blows hard from the East, and where waves come as high as 4 to 5 meters high, San Antao offers a lush tropical vegetation of terraced agriculture and deep "rebeiras". The contrasts of landscapes between islands offer a myriad of environments to experience.

Sta. Maria, the town centre of Sal has become a miniature melting pot of many cultures - both transients and residents. Senegalese curio vendors accoust you with " Hello, how are you today? Come and visit my shop! No stress." Some go after certain women and asks : " What's your name? Are you married?" It seems that these West African men have learned a new livelihood as sex partners for lonely single women on holiday, much like the "ladies of the night" solicit sexual favours from tourists as well as local men.

In these different places of the same people and history, one cannot say that "blending...and becoming" is easy and that there is reciprocity of friendship and purpose. I have the feeling that friendship varies from person to person and that there is that guarded distance between the insider and the outsider. The outsider, like we who have our second home in this island are not really accepted as being part of "them". We are "those" that the local population - at least here in Sta. Maria, can dole out small monies for beer and food. We are "those" who have enough food, water and money for things to buy. There are two separate prices here: the Cape Verdean price and the tourist's price. This is particulartly true with for instance the WiFi vouchers of Cabocom. It is also true when you want to buy a small boat. Yes, two prices in most areas of transaction.

"Blending" is a delightful social experience, yet the "blending" that has offered interesting friendships have not been with the locals. Instead, we found friends and kinship with Europeans those who like us have second homes here in Cape Verde.#