Ok, so it’s been about a week and change since I updated so, here goes for all you (5) people that just come rushing to this page every day to see if I have updated :). Also, I've kind of been slack about taking pictures at events these past few weeks, and I have forgotten the pics of the kids at the fiesta, but I will post those later... .words will have to suffice.
I went about a week ago to the cap to price our scholarship student trip out to the western part of the country where they have the Mayan ruins. There are two places that we have interest in taking the students. The first is called Joya de Cerén and is acclaimed to be the Pompeii of Latin America. They say that because they (archaeologists) were able to fill some of the holes left by the incinerated bodies and animals and dig down to even the rows of corn that were left covered in ash. Unfortunately though, I have been to Pompeii and there really isn’t much of a comparison. The scale to which we are talking is so much bigger in Pompeii as well as the fact that the site of Pompeii preserved an older and more sophisticated civilization that is more fun to check out. They are rebuilding the museum and I think that’s where they have all the nifty stuff from here at the Joya, so whenever they get that done it should improve the site a lot.
ANYWAYS, the next spot we are planning to visit is San Andrés, this place is a little more established and has a museum where they will take the kids on a tour, they have an indigo “device” from the Maya/Colonial era and they have a large main plaza with some of the bigger ruins intact. Apparently San Andrés (well not it’s named that at least, I doubt it was named St. Andrew at the time) was the center of the civilization in the valley and Joya de Cerén was one of the many outlying farming village.
The plan is then to eat lunch and then go by the Termos del Rio, a water park that seems pretty cool that they have out in Santa Ana. It’s more expensive, but we are getting some discounts and stuff since its school related, but that part still has to be finalized.
The morning of the last day I was in the capital my body started to hate me and I think I am just now pulling out of all that mess. So that factor plays in the background of all the rest to come. This same day I had to head out early because I had a meeting in the cantón of Roble. Roble is the Cantón farthest away from San Pedro Nonualco, but we had set the meeting for the fuel efficient stoves in the middle of it so I didn’t have to go as far though, and so that people would actually come, haha. They ended up bringing me a horse that I rode half the way up on, and then switched with my guide who went the rest of the way. The meeting actually went really well, even though I pretty much wanted to keel over for most of it….we had the shindig in the middle of the street, and I answered all the questions, etc etc, and then I got on the horse and headed back. This time I didn’t get off, haha. An hour and change later I got back to San Pedro where I had left my stuff at Alex and Niña Delfina’s house, where I do all my internet work. My stomach gave them a few surprises there, but eventually I made it back.
The majority of that has passed now and most of my work has been working in the different cantons organizing the powers to give presentations on everything in each community and then seeing how many families are going to be interested. We met in a school a few days ago in the last community and twenty five families signed up right afterwards. Yesterday, I brought representatives from all the ADESCOs to our Community building here in our canton to see and answer questions about the stoves, and thank God now that all that is over. We are looking right now at about 132 confirmed interested families and we haven’t even built the models in each community. That’s our next step, hopefully by the beginning of November we can start. From what we have priced, it’s looking like its going to be about $25 a family from start to finish and they all know that and still there is lots of interest, so we’ll see. I’m trying to find a way to lower that price still because there are some families that can’t afford it, but we’ll see what comes through.
In other non-stove news, I visited with the other medical dispensary that we have restarted up in one of the “kid days” and it seems to be moving along really well. Every Wednesday that invite mom’s (or dad’s, but they are usually working) and their kids to come and receive a talk on a certain health related topic, and in the process they weigh all the kids and give them a little nutritious meal. This time the health promoter from the main town had come in to give the talk and a Japanese nutrionist (from a program similar to Peace Corps…but Japanese…JICA) did consultations with the moms.
The health promoter talking with the moms
The JICA nutritionist giving consultations
Finally, today I went with the kids of the CBI, basically a daycare for kids who aren’t of age for kinder that the government has here and that is administered by my ADESCO, to a gathering for the whole department that the government put on. It was nifty, there are only two CBIs in San Pedro Nonualco, one in the main town, and one in my community. So it was about 50 kids under the age of 5, haha, craziness. It was held at another “complejo” school, one like that school that I went with Juan for the math competition, but this time government and not parish run. It was actually interesting because it was a Sports Complejo….they focus on development through sports…..anyways, there were a ton of kids there and now I have blisters on my hands from pulling the string on too many piñatas up and down all morning.
This week coming up proves to be a long one. I will be heading out to Santa Ana to prepare for our year anniversary party on the lake that we are throwing, haha (yes our group is crazy) and then when I get back there will be a volunteer in training that is going to come out to my site to stay from Thursday to Sunday. Should prove interesting.
My health promoter ladies in La Comunidad cleaning up the wound of a neighbor who chopped off part of his big toe with a machete.
“Evaluating Pope Benedict
The author of ‘Why this Pope Doesn’t Connect’ (April 21/April 28) states that Benedict pales in comparison with his predecessor in a number of respect including ‘looks, vitality, charisma, showmanship, tenure and popular appeal.’ Is she referring to the head of the Roman Catholic Church or the lead in a high-school rock band? Surely these specific characteristics are of scant importance in a person leading the largest Christian denomination on the planet. She goes on to state that certain other elements make him unsuitable or unpopular as an ideal pope, including his unfortunate visage, his predilection for traditional papal fashion and the fact that he served as John Paul’s theological ‘enforcer.’ Again, one can only wonder why anyone would deem these features important in determining Benedict’s acceptance among Roman Catholic Christians. Surely his religious devotion, intelligence and peculiar application of church dogma would be of far greater interest. The article further opines that the Roman Church operates in a “chaotic world” and then ends by saying that American Catholics understand that they will not be satisfied in their desire for the church to change. It does leave one wondering whether the world would not be less chaotic if it was less American and more in line with church teaching.
Johan Marnewick
Johannesburg, South Africa”
Published in Newsweek, July 21, 2008, page 10.
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