13 May 2010
y más...
I meant to publish this in May when I did the last set of photo updates, but I just realized that I didn't do it! In the end, it's more relevant now because these are photos from Volcan Pacaya, the one that erupted right before tropical storm Agatha. I guess now it's no longer a nice cone -- part of it was blown off! There's a video at the bottom of the explosions we saw (that we thought were big, but were nothing in comparison), but I don't think it uploaded well; I will try another day.
Foto update
My training class at our final conference in January. Almost all of them are gone now, silly me is still here!
My coworkers Don Armando and Martha checking out the progress on our trail. The first half should be inaugurated on May 28th!
View from my park to Volcanes Tajumulco and Tacana -- I've climbed both.
Martha and I relaxing at one of the rest stops along the trail. All of the park infrastructure looks like wood but is made out of recycled plastic.
Doing a trek through the Cuchumatanes mountains -- which transportation would you prefer?
Fresh squeezed orange juice in Agua Caliente. Yum.
Danya heading down the crazy slides in my town... I bruised my bum on this!
Doing an environmental ed particpatory lesson.
Danya came to visit and helped me coach the girls to play basketball at my bottle school. We didn't have much success, they still push, shove and tackle!
18 April 2010
Ooops
As you've noticed, I've been slacking on my blog entries. Well this time I have a good excuse. My mother board died, i.e. I get online about twice a week and just long enough to read emails and not to respond.
So here's a quick update (pictures hopefully will accompany soon).
Bottle classroom -- Columns and beams are up; we will begin the bottle walls on May 4th. After that, we no longer have enough money for the roof, thus will be searching for more funds. If we don't finish up before I leave, my replacement is more than willing to continue the project.
Sanitary Landfill -- Finally we dug it out! Now the albañil is working on building the fence, roof, tank and putting in nylon and tubes! We will hopefully inaugurate April 29th!
Trail -- I have passed most of the work onto my replacement, but I am still going to work with her on an interpretation plan. We will be inaugurating in May right before I leave! (Guatemala is big on inaugurations!)
Life -- Enjoying it :) It's going to be so hard to leave this place in 6 weeks, but at the same time, so hard to stay.
So here's a quick update (pictures hopefully will accompany soon).
Bottle classroom -- Columns and beams are up; we will begin the bottle walls on May 4th. After that, we no longer have enough money for the roof, thus will be searching for more funds. If we don't finish up before I leave, my replacement is more than willing to continue the project.
Sanitary Landfill -- Finally we dug it out! Now the albañil is working on building the fence, roof, tank and putting in nylon and tubes! We will hopefully inaugurate April 29th!
Trail -- I have passed most of the work onto my replacement, but I am still going to work with her on an interpretation plan. We will be inaugurating in May right before I leave! (Guatemala is big on inaugurations!)
Life -- Enjoying it :) It's going to be so hard to leave this place in 6 weeks, but at the same time, so hard to stay.
16 March 2010
Being replaced is a strange feeling
Just over two years ago when I said my goodbyes and headed off to Guatemala for an adventure of a lifetime, I thought I would be returning home in April 2010, i.e. in two weeks. Well, plans have changed, and I am so glad. I'm not quite ready to close this chapter in my life. Having changed sites a year ago (I now have been in Sija for exactly one year), it took awhile to feel like part of the community here. Now I really really do, and so I want to enjoy that for a bit rather than just when I'm feeling integrated, take off. Two years in one site may have seemed like a long time when I began, but now it makes so much sense.
Now, I am here until the end of May. A big reason for the extension was to just be here, but it's also to finish my projects. The construction of the bottle classroom is progressing nicely. The mason told me that by Friday the columns would be done and that we could start putting bottles up. (Which probably means we will begin Monday.) We are going to build the walls before the roof because we don't have enough money yet for the roof, but for the walls we do. Hopefully by the time we finish the walls, more funding will have come in to put the roof up. And ideally we will be able to have the inauguration before I leave. But if not, I am sure my replacement will be capable and willing to see it through.
Speaking of my replacement, she comes on her site visit today. It is a very strange feeling to be replaced, but my time must come to an end at some point. We will have a two month overlap, which will help us collaborate to finish the projects and generate more ideas for her service.
This week we should start excavating the trench for the sanitary landfill in Agua Caliente. I was hoping to have it functioning for Semana Santa since so much trash is generated that week, but that looks improbable. It will be finished before I leave, though. An important part of the project is the follow-up on the usage of the trash management system that we are implementing. We can't just build a landfill and expect them to use it perfectly. It's not simply about the construction, but about the change of habits. I will be leaving quickly after it's completion, thus the responsibility of follow-up on proper usage will fall to my replacement, which I am sure she will do wonderfully.
The trail is looking quite lovely as well. We are almost done building railings and setting up tables and benches. What I hope to collaborate on with my replacement is an interpretation plan, then she can follow through on implementing it.
It all seems to be coming together nicely. My Peace Corps service has been a very positive experience for me and hopefully my projects and my presence will have positive impacts on the community. It really feels fantastic to be in love with this town. I never thought I would be after leaving Chahal so abruptly. But now I have been here in Sija two months longer than I had in Chahal. I'm proud of what I have accomplished/am accomplishing in my work, but more so, I am proud of becoming part of this community. For me, the second and third goals of Peace Corps may be more important than the first (i.e. cultural interchange):
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Now, I am here until the end of May. A big reason for the extension was to just be here, but it's also to finish my projects. The construction of the bottle classroom is progressing nicely. The mason told me that by Friday the columns would be done and that we could start putting bottles up. (Which probably means we will begin Monday.) We are going to build the walls before the roof because we don't have enough money yet for the roof, but for the walls we do. Hopefully by the time we finish the walls, more funding will have come in to put the roof up. And ideally we will be able to have the inauguration before I leave. But if not, I am sure my replacement will be capable and willing to see it through.
Speaking of my replacement, she comes on her site visit today. It is a very strange feeling to be replaced, but my time must come to an end at some point. We will have a two month overlap, which will help us collaborate to finish the projects and generate more ideas for her service.
This week we should start excavating the trench for the sanitary landfill in Agua Caliente. I was hoping to have it functioning for Semana Santa since so much trash is generated that week, but that looks improbable. It will be finished before I leave, though. An important part of the project is the follow-up on the usage of the trash management system that we are implementing. We can't just build a landfill and expect them to use it perfectly. It's not simply about the construction, but about the change of habits. I will be leaving quickly after it's completion, thus the responsibility of follow-up on proper usage will fall to my replacement, which I am sure she will do wonderfully.
The trail is looking quite lovely as well. We are almost done building railings and setting up tables and benches. What I hope to collaborate on with my replacement is an interpretation plan, then she can follow through on implementing it.
It all seems to be coming together nicely. My Peace Corps service has been a very positive experience for me and hopefully my projects and my presence will have positive impacts on the community. It really feels fantastic to be in love with this town. I never thought I would be after leaving Chahal so abruptly. But now I have been here in Sija two months longer than I had in Chahal. I'm proud of what I have accomplished/am accomplishing in my work, but more so, I am proud of becoming part of this community. For me, the second and third goals of Peace Corps may be more important than the first (i.e. cultural interchange):
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
19 February 2010
And Construction Begins!!!
On Wednesday our mason and five community members showed up at the escuelita at 7am to start the process. This week they have focused on building an "aledamia" which is a platform around the edge since we are building on the second floor. On Monday we will begin with the concrete columns. I'm not sure how long that will take, but the following step will be rafters and the roof.
Overall, it's going pleasantly well. I went to a PTA meeting last week where everyone was excited to begin working. However, today one community member (who had not atteded the meeting) decided to raise hell insisting that we have to build the roof with terraza (concrete) instead of lamina (corrugated tin). There are many reasons not to build with terraza including the elevated cost, the plans we have are for lamina, we've already started building, he didn't come to the meeting, and the integrity of the building with the added weight. But the community, teachers and I stood strong and we will continue as planned.
Take a look at my photo album of the project on facebook. I will update it hopefully weekly with the construction process.
ahttp://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048121&id=27500355&l=13251df35e
The bottle project is not the only thing consuming my time at the moment. We are also about to start construction on the sanitary landfill in Agua Caliente and we are nearly done with trail construction on the mountain. But don't worry, it's not all work that's consuming me. I am enjoying spending time with my friends in town and just soaking up the Guatemalan life, like taking 3 hour lunches so that I can make chicken soup from scratch. Tonight I was lucky enough to wash my clothes in a washing machine... I felt guilty!
Last month I checked out where I will be volunteering in June and July (not PC-related). It's called Ak' Tenamit in Rio Dulce, Izabal http://www.aktenamit.org. Back to the jungle for a few months! I'll be helping them with grant writing and living right on the river which flows into the Caribbean. Not bad, eh?
09 February 2010
Bottle Classroom Progress
Sorry for the lack of updates. I've become tired of my computer and internet, thus I don't use it very often. I will, though, at least try to keep you updated on the progress of the bottle classroom, as some of you reading this have contributed to our project and I'm sure would love to know what we're doing with your money!
First off, I'd like to thank those who have donated:
Patricia Varas
Stacey Gunther
Lauren Sherwood
Peggy Squires
Allison Millar
Lynn Olavarri
Bob Heck
Carl Franzblau
Les & Audrey Ayers
Beth Eddy
Dale Dow-Vern Delk
Rexius Forest By-Products
Ralph Satterberg
Thanks to the support of these people and businesses, we have received $793.50 toward our goal of $2865. In addition, we have received in-kind donations from some community members here in San Carlos Sija.
With the funds that we currently have, we will begin building the columns on Monday. After that, we should still have enough money to put the roof on (before the rainy season comes!). For the walls and the finishing details we will have to wait for more funds to come in, be it donations (hint hint) or grants. We wrote a grant proposal to a Guatemalan governmental instituton ProRural to help us with the remainder of the project. They sounded very interested in the project and verbally committed to helping us. Hopefully that verbal commitment will turn into a formal commitment! We should find out within the next month.
I will post photos as we start construction!
First off, I'd like to thank those who have donated:
Patricia Varas
Stacey Gunther
Lauren Sherwood
Peggy Squires
Allison Millar
Lynn Olavarri
Bob Heck
Carl Franzblau
Les & Audrey Ayers
Beth Eddy
Dale Dow-Vern Delk
Rexius Forest By-Products
Ralph Satterberg
Thanks to the support of these people and businesses, we have received $793.50 toward our goal of $2865. In addition, we have received in-kind donations from some community members here in San Carlos Sija.
With the funds that we currently have, we will begin building the columns on Monday. After that, we should still have enough money to put the roof on (before the rainy season comes!). For the walls and the finishing details we will have to wait for more funds to come in, be it donations (hint hint) or grants. We wrote a grant proposal to a Guatemalan governmental instituton ProRural to help us with the remainder of the project. They sounded very interested in the project and verbally committed to helping us. Hopefully that verbal commitment will turn into a formal commitment! We should find out within the next month.
I will post photos as we start construction!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
