Noviembre

That picture above is of the ruins in Copan, Honduras. We went for Halloween. . .and to see some new sites. . . It was gorgeous. We met some cool people, ate some good food, and I spent way too much money (haha). Those ruins were great, but can't compare to the ruins of Tikal, which i went to in June with all the teachers from my school district. I hope to post pictures of that later.

Sooo. .. November begins. I've actually been fairly busy considering there's no school right now. Last weekend I went to a friend's site to help with a stove project. The stoves in the homes and schools here are generally open fires that use a LOT of wood, create a lot of smoke, and really have effects on the lungs of the women and children that are around the cooking fires. There is not much ventilation, so the rooms fill with smoke to the extent that your eyes water and you cough when entering a room. Peace Corps has a design for a stove built with cement, cement blocks, bricks, a metal plate, and chimney that conserves the heat using less wood and allows smoke to escape the home, reducing respiratory sicknesses and diseases. For a school to be certified, they must have one of these stoves, so I went to Katie's site to learn how to build them. Also, it was about time to get my hands dirty and see some immediate results. It was a great experience. It was fun to work with the Guatemalans who were recieving the stoves. The kids were running around gophering, spreading out cement, wiring the cages we use to reinforce the cement, etc. Also, we got to work with a great group from the states who donated the money and came down to help with the actual construction. We had a great time with them, eating together, joking, talking about out lives in the Peace Corps. I'm going back this weekend to help finish with the tops of the stoves, you can only do one part at a time so the cement has time to dry.

In site I've been pretty busy as well. I have a graduation to go to today for the son of my host family here in Santa Apolonia. I have my girl's group that meets every week to bake, make crafts, and talk about career stuff, life stuff, etc. I'm mostly working right now to gain their trust, then will talk about real issues later. Also I have an English student Odely. She studied to be a bilingual secretary in school but they don't really practice English so I'm helping her out. Also, I'm dying to plant a garden on my roof. I have the pots and the soil, I just need to get the seeds and plants. We're beginning Kachiquel classes soon, which is the Native Mayan language around here. So, although there is no school, I've been keeping pretty busy.

I always think of things I want to remember to post on my blog, then ALWAYS forget! So frustrating. . . hope to think of more soon!