This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jill Tucker, an education reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. It has been edited for length and clarity.
The two years that I spent teaching in Cape Verde with the Peace Corps have shaped so much about who I am. I taught English in the islands in 1990 and 1991, to students who were between 13 and 15.
At the time, Cape Verde was a difficult place for students. It was a drought-ridden country, and students needed to leave the country to go to college. It was also challenging for me, as a 25-year-old living abroad.
Still, I loved the people, the culture, and the country. It has been so pivotal in my life. I have loved watching Cape Verde be the Cinderella story of this World Cup. Last week I bought a Cape Verde T-shirt, and planned to watch the game on Sunday, June 21.
At the last minute, I decided I didn’t want to watch at home. I wanted to be around other people who love Cape Verde, so I Googled watch parties near my home in the Bay Area. There was one option. My husband and I set out.
I made small talk with a man at the bar
The watch party was at a community center. There were about 20 people there, and I could tell most of them knew each other, but they were all very friendly. My husband and I grabbed a table in the back, and I went to the bar.
I was making conversation, and asked the man next to me if he was from Cape Verde. He said yes, and when I asked what island, he told me Praia. I replied that I lived there for two years while I was teaching.
He froze. He was looking at me, and asked my name. It was an odd question, and I thought maybe he knew someone who knew me on the island — I was sort of an odd duck there. Then, he said, “I was your student.”
I couldn’t process what was happening
I couldn’t believe it. I just kept saying, “Really?” and, “How is this possible?”
I know that it’s been 35 years since I was teaching in Cape Verde, but my students are still boys, in my mind. Now, here was a man, Ivan, with gray in his beard.
The moment was completely surreal. There aren’t many Cape Verdeans in the Bay Area. I couldn’t process that Ivan and I had been brought together, across 35 years and 6,000 miles.
We hugged, and I learned that he is now a librarian in the Bay Area. He plays pickleball just a few blocks from my house. He told me about other students: one who is running the social-security program in Cape Verde, and another who is an engineer in Angola. I can take no credit, but I was so proud.
I feel this was a miracle
Then, the game started, and that took priority. Ivan and I high-fived and celebrated during the game, and exchanged contact information. We’re not watching tonight’s Cape Verde game together because Ivan is lucky enough to be in Houston, cheering his country live. But we’re absolutely going to stay in touch.
The World Cup has brought people together, highlighting joy, happiness, and friendship across cultures. That’s the same thing that time in the Peace Corps did for me. The World Cup, a small country holding off giants, and a teacher bumping into a former student decades later — it’s all enough to restore your faith in humanity.
We’re all so thirsty for proof that things in this world aren’t as bad as some people want us to believe. I don’t believe in miracles, per se, but after being reunited with Ivan, I might need to start.
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