Érica Lopes, a young creole in the ranks of the US military navy

Érica Lopes is a Cape Verdean, born 21 years ago in Praia, a member of the US Navy for six months and who joins the team of the military ship USS Bulkeley that is in the country. of a young creole in the most important navy in the world.

Descending from a family originally from the island of Fogo, this cook who preserves her Creole language while mastering English, said that she found an alternative in the navy, since it was difficult to pay for her studies at a private school, admitting, however, , which has been a difficult experience aboard the warship.

“We have a lot of work, it's tiring. In addition to our specific work, we give our collaboration to people from different communities, to those who operate the different machines”, he explained, guaranteeing that it is not an easy life, since he gets used to the constraints of the ship, with little privacy, sharing the changing room with other colleagues.

His coexistence on the ship, as he explained with all his naturalness, is not a big deal, since he practically works in the kitchen with only a sailor, but he intends to pursue a career in the navy, reach higher heights and discover new countries in the world and acquire new ones. knowledge.

After these times of new learning, Érica said that she misses the land and her family, especially her mother and grandmother, despite having left early to emigrate to Uncle Sam's lands, so she plans to return to the country later this year to live and "kill longing".

The military ship USS Bulkeley is currently moored on the island of Sal as part of the first summit of African maritime forces, an event that brought an important US delegation led by the US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, to Cape Verde. , within the framework of strengthening cooperation and maritime and cooperative security.