Two Tanks and a Learning Curve

I have officially completed the first two tanks of 2010! These two tanks were my “training” tanks and Greg came along to show me the ropes. For the first tank, (funded by everyone’s generous contributions at home!) we hired a highly qualified and experienced mason, Nicolas, to help out and give us lots of good tips. The first tank we made with a group of volunteers and friends from CasaSito. The dynamics were good and I think we all had a fun and stimulating experience. On the first tank we changed up the design a bit and made a dome top made completely out of rebar. It was intense and pushed our work back half a day---but well worth it! It’s a beautiful, strong, and sturdy dome that we are all very proud of---though we aren’t sure we’ll be making any more of them because of time and costs. The family was also very appreciative of our time and efforts as well as put in quite a bit of work themselves! Check out the pictures!







The second tank was made and funded by the first volunteer tour group of El Camino VolunTours. I had the pleasure to get to know two single moms from Canada who were escaping the chaos of the Olympics and cold Canadian winter. These ladies were extremely hard workers who had some great ideas about the construction of the tank that we will use on future tanks as well. For this tank we did the old design which included making the dome out of a huge sawdust filled bag. In one month we will have to come back and take all that sawdust out! We are still trying to figure out new designs that will be economical, time-efficient, and sturdy. All suggestions welcome! Check out these pictures from tank two!







I was invited by another group who makes water tanks to come help out and learn a thing or two about above ground tanks. I’ll be helping out with that the week of March 8th. Then we have selected our next in-ground tank recipients in Chocantariy. I will be going back to Momos around March 18th to do the third tank of 2010! We are also trying to implement a system where one family member has to help out with another tank before receiving one for themselves---similar to Habitat for Humanity. Hopefully we can get something running, though this is more difficult than it sounds.

Thank you all for your abundant support and if anyone has suggestions on how to make a dome, feel free to share!

J

'cause there's a million ways to go...

Where do I begin? With the weekend of course!

Friday we had a lovely presentation and dinner at a donor’s home to report what happened in 2009 and a vision for 2010. Their home was lovely as was the presentation, meal, and company. It was nice to meet other supporters of CasaSito along with the board members. It was also nice to curl up on their big comfy couches at the end of the night, sip wine and laugh. (For those of you who know PGL meetings; this had a very similar feel.)

Saturday I met up with Giovanni in the park. I met Giovanni when I was apartment searching. I decided not to live with him and his roommates mainly for distance reasons. Giovanni is learning English so he inquired if I would be interested exchanging conversation to improve my Spanish and his English. I jumped on board. Saturday we sipped drinks from Café Condesa and talked for two hours. He’s an artist who recently painted a huge mural at his old elementary school with a friend. They even wrote an article about it in a local magazine, which he showed me. We planned to meet again Monday.

That evening I volunteered at a Venetian Ball fund-raiser. It was held in the ruins of an old monastery. It was completely lit by candle light and the dirt paths were covered in pine needles and rose petals. It was all open air and one of the most GEORGIOUS events I have ever been a part of. There was an orchestra and for painters painting in the main grassy field. The paintings were auctioned off at the end of the night. Everyone who attended wore lavish costumes (even wigs and hoop skirts!) and masks. We left tired but quite impressed by the beauty of the evening.

Sunday I woke up from a text message of a girl I met last weekend. Her name is Diana and she’s a missionary here. She invited me to lunch and since host families don’t cook on Sundays I quickly took her up on the offer. We ate at Mono Loco, a popular sports bar here. I had a burrito with sweet potatoes in it. It was delicious. The conversation, however, was just as great and I really feel like I have made yet another great friend! We went back to her beautiful home and went swimming in the community’s pool. It was nice to swim laps again and it reminded me of swimming with Shea in college. Then to offset our workout we made brownies and cookies to take to a Super Bowl party. A group of missionaries at her church were celebrating the Super Bowl together. About 40 of us crowded together to support our respective teams and eat and eat and eat. Oh my goodness it was so delicious it gave me a stomach ache! There were wings, veggie chili, Asian coleslaw, mac&cheese, buckeyes, guacamole, pineapple, sooo much delicious food. I asked where the Saints and Colts are from and some one (I’m pretty sure a Guatemalan) told me the Saints were from New Jersey (New Jersey, New Orleans…whatever?). Anyways, I think if I would have known I would have really gotten into the game. Oh well it was a good game and met lots of neat people- including another woman named Jackie Sue and born in May….

When I got home after the Bowl I was exhausted but Stijn, the guy who also lives here, wanted to go salsa dancing so I gave in. When we got there I realized this was no place for me to dance, just watch. It was very impressive and I wanted to try but when I did I realized I was way too tired to get into it. Very sad

Monday I was given the day off because we volunteered Saturday night. I rested for a majority of it then went to the library to get a tour from a guy I met at the Super Bowl party who works there and get my library card! Then Giovanni and I met and had a really great Spanish/English exchange.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I’m going to a sculpture exhibit and then to a free movie at the library with Fabiola a wonderful fun girl from Guatemala who is doing her college internship in graphic design with CasaSito. I’m excited to get to know her better and watch a free Argentine love film---since it’s the month of love here!

Then Thursday I pack up and say goodbye to Antigua for a few weeks. I’m headed north to the land of Momos two help coordinate the construction of the first two water tanks of 2010! I’m excited to get my hands dirty and (hopefully) find my inner engineer? We’ll see!

Later, I’ll hopefully post pictures from friends of the Venetian Ball!

never felt better

I've officially been living in Guatemala for over a week! It's been one of the most exciting and "right" experiences of my life. The minute I stepped off the plane I felt at home---the colors, tastes, sounds, etc. I can't begin to describe how well put together CasaSito (the ngo I'm working for) is. It's a family and I instantly felt like one of them. Greg has been slowly showing me the ropes of the water project and we have our first group coming Feb. 16th! Since we have the volunteers and means to do so, we are going to install two tanks back to back! Which means I'll be in Momos for two straight weeks working and learning. I'm very excited!!!

On the shuttle bus coming into Antigua I met Dave who works for Delta and traveled down here for a long weekend to visit some friends of his who work with a direct trade coffee project. We exchanged emails and he was kind enough to let me tag along and meet some of the people he knows who live here. Made lots of great contacts that way as well as got to hike Volcan Picaya---one of the only volcanoes in the world where you can see lava flowing at the top. It was a much harder hike than we all anticipated but somehow we made it despite the 80+ mph winds! Unfortunately, when we reached the top there was no lava in sight. Dave is determined to come back and see lava. I have a feeling I wont leave this country without climbing it again as well.

Here are some photos of the hike (of course I didnt charge my camera so this is all I could get) and one of the room I'm currently inhabiting. I'll be moving at the end of this month to my own mini-apartment/room.