It’s noon and I’ve been working for hours at my kitchen table. It’s a bright table – I purchased the fabric from a market in São Tomé e Príncipe this…
Makeup
Faia comes up behind me, close. You can smell the cologne he’s wearing. It’s an athlete’s cologne, a small spritz and it’s like he’s freshly showered. A cologne of physical…
On Returning
There are three people waiting for me when I get off the plane at the airport in São Tomé e Príncipe: Dany, the driver for Ned (the director of STeP…
A Tourist…by Accident(s) (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from A Tourist…by Accident(s) (September 7, 2010) About two hours later I found myself in a five-star hotel in Lisbon, drinking Super Bock (Portugal’s finest) at the hotel bar…
A Tourist…by Accident(s) (Part 1 of 2)
It’s midnight on the morning of Friday, June 25. I’m in the airport in Lisbon, ready for my 12:15am flight to São Tomé e Príncipe. It took some time (and…
Bridging Worlds
At the hotel, Kevin sits alone at the dinner table for six. He’s from Scotland and he’s never been to São Tomé before. We don’t know this, though, when we…
Bonus Day
Last year, around spring break time, I was getting ready for a trip to the Keys to visit Grandpa and enjoy a vacation away from Boston’s grey skies. Sun, relaxation,…
To Portugal
By Beth It’s about 8:30am and it’s still quite dark. It’s also absolutely freezing. Here I am, laying in bed. I am wearing: Two tank tops, a short-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved…
Saying Goodbye
By Beth December 17, 2009 On my last full day in São Tomé, the sun is blazing. My boyfriend, Kilson, and I spend the day at the beach, swimming off…
35,000 Dobras
By Beth “35,000 dobras????” Kilson looks at me in disgust. “Can you believe that?” I’m out getting beers with Kilson and his cousin and they are in absolute shock over…
Boleia!
By Beth “Boleia!” the men shout to me from the sides of the road as I whiz by on my blue Suzuki motorcycle. This is how you flag down a…
Culturally Illiterate
By Beth I set my notebook down on the table in front of the teachers. Today is our day to review the computer program that we have developed, to look…
Sempre Fixe
By Beth Greetings are important in São Tomé. You cannot enter a room without greeting every single person in it, whether it’s a handshake, a kiss, a hello, whatever. Sometimes…
Your Boyfriend's Calling
By Beth It’s 10pm on a Saturday night in São Tomé and I get a phone call. I don’t recognize the number but I think it might be my boyfriend,…
Kites
My boyfriend Kilson and I are flying kites off of Ned’s dock. It is a perfect day, sunny and, natural to any ocean environment, windy. We found a few kites…