Monday, October 19, 2009

Picture Time!!!

October 19, 2009

Ok, so as I had said, with the death of the computer, things have become more difficult on the communication end, but no worries.... lots of photos to come. Also, I lost pretty much my whole documented lifes work the other day when my reserve external harddrive died. Now all I have, lucky for you guys, are my pictures that I had stored up on the camera. I feel like the harddrive dying was worse that the computer dying, because all my pictures since... well forever, all my college and other types of papers, all the information on my Peace Corps projects, everything I had accrued in life is gone unless I can recover info off it. Sigh, such is life....at least I dont have to worry about protecting anything now like I was doing with that external drive since the computer went downhill, haha. FREEDOM :(

Also before starting the projects, I got a chance to go camping up on the Santa Ana Volcano over looking the another crater lake Coatepeque with a group of volunteers. Our volcanologist volunteer had to spend 24 hours watching a portable GPS seismometer (which is in some of the pictures), so we accompanied :)......Super View.... here are some pics.

Group on the volcano
breakfast the next morning
early morning over looking the crater lake
hahahaha.
the seismometer and a nice view in the clouds

Now the fun stuff. Since the last post there have been lots of photo opportunities-projects etc. We have been working with the development committee (ADESCO) to repair a few parts of the street that were washing away. Well, actually we just prevented them from washing away until the rains go away and they can actually be fixed.

fun in the sun

Also, all of the different active committees and group off my community got together with me and we put into action a plan to build a communication system for the canton. In the middle of the community is a hermitage deal and the best place to put a PA system type deal. I used some donated funds on my end to cover half, we borrowed the other half, and got a 10% discount from the company for the materials and put it all into action. Also, we are going to be putting up some Event boards as well to help everyone keep track of the events. Check out the pics.

the finished product
puttin her in place
too many people?
hoisting her up
hanging out
getting ready

Oh yeah, so remember the community house that we were trying to put a roof on and all? Well we got all of that hammered out and started that project. At the moment, we have put the new roof on, painted it, put in the new lights, and bought the new chairs and tables and a dry erase board. In the next few weeks we will be finishing that up by fixing up the latrines and reinforcing some windows that in the medical dispensary that weve had some problems with. SO, the corollary to this project is also the "cultural beautification" hahaha, my terms, of the community. We are one of the communitys in which the area is pushing to develop an ecological tourism presence. So when we painted the Community House, we painted the base coat for a young artist in from La Comunidad to paint different local scenery of cultural heritage ideas on several different walls inside and out. Including a Community Map at the entrance of our Canton. Right now Im negotiating with various groups to see if by some miracle we get the other $700 needed to finish this "dream project".

the new roof
the neighbor mauricio sweeping the beams
the new boards
tearing down the old

The president of the development committee by the new board and with the walls prepped in the background for the murals that we are trying to get funds for

Another project is the potable water and bathroom project that we have started by winning two grants, one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast. We are finishing up this week putting a mens and womens bathroom, a drain and two sinks, and a 1,100 liter water tank in the parish medical clinic in the main town. More pics:

the sand and gravel awaiting the work to commence
pre work
pre work
Jorge starting the bathrooms
laying the groundwork
getting there
putting in the lights
making a mess of everything
the main black waters junction
Me and the engineer checking over things
I just barely fit.
more revisions
Preparing to plan out the water tank

This past week, the Development Committee ADESCO and I had a small ceremony before the board meeting to two local soccer teams who are entering into their respective tournaments this month. We won a Kids to Kids grant for balls, nets, and cleats among other things. Also this past week we turned in the final materials for the stove project in the last two communities... FINALLY. Now we just have to build the last 15.


the fun part.... this are representatives of the school of football
my soccer team representatives
the school of soccer from the main town

The biggest project, and to date only, that has remained out of reach for me is the fixing of the Potable Water System in my home community. You might remember that this was the project that we were soliciting from certain groups in Spain, but was close, but didnt work out. So, the mayors office is supposedly offering support for part of the project, but not all of it. I sent out an email to part of you guys asking for Rotary contacts, that is my next group to contact.

That brings me to talking about my future, because for those who keep track of time, you know that my time here will be up the end of November of this year. Well the Development committee, as I mentioned in the last post, solicited six more months for me here and in September I went to my COS (close of service) Conference to see how it was all going to work out. There I realized that the earlier time I could take the GRE would be in February, meaning that if I were to want to continue studying January 2011 would be the earliest time to do so. LEAVING all of 2010 open (not just the six months requested by my counterpart agency). Also, Peace Corps El Salvador opened up six slots for Regional Leaders around the country, each one with a different section of the country. So I applied and ended up getting the South region (go figure haha) which is actually pretty big.... it includes La Paz, Usulutan, and San Miguel (http://www.mapsofworld.com/el-salvador/maps/el-salvador-map.jpg). At the end of the day, Peace Corps extended my time here until Dec of 2010 as Regional Leader. The job entails basically helping the volunteers in my zone to better contact different governmental and non governmental agencies, execute projects, and have better communication with Peace Corps. Also we will be helping develop new sites for future volunteers among other things.

The only down side to this, is that I might have to relocate to a town more central to my zone, which means I will be in my community much less than I am now. However, I will be in and out a lot and will hopefully make more contacts to try and get the water project on the move.

So there ya have it, thats a small portion of whats going on in my life right now, enjoy the pics.


The TEFL (teaching english as a foreign language).... different volunteers from all over the country brought their english teachers to a Peace Corps hosted TEFL workshop
TEFL in action
The oiled up pig that everyone was trying to grab during the festivals here. If you can grab it... its yours.... they were chasing it all over for half and hour.
The judges at the costume deal
me in a fuzzy pic
The front of the procession with a mini Saint Dominic
ahahahahahaha

"...a true development is that which is conservative of its original, and a corruption is that which tends to its destruction."

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine
p. 419