After the Big Check… the Weighty Certificate

I like coming up with witty titles too much to not in this case, but actually it was quite an honor to attend and receive a plaque in recognition of the work we having been doing with the solar ovens during the solar oven festival today. The real shame was that Sarah couldn’t be there […]

Goal 4

To be present and assist where ever there is dessert to be found.

Niños y Niñas BIG CHECK day

Micha and I write emails back and forth in Spanish most often, but we kept referring to the BIG CHECK as just that. It doesn’t translate well into Spanish, and is more amusing this way. While neither of us are much for ceremony, it felt like the right thing to do in this case, especially […]

Planta Madre

Planta Madre is a group committed the conservation, cultivation, replanting of cactus and medicinal plants in the Bernal area of the state of Querétaro. The work in the protected area of the Peña de Bernal and have a large production greenhouse in San Antonio de la Cal. The group has been in existence for 6-7 […]

From the other side

From the other side of the Swearing-In. Congrats to the new group of volunteers in PCM-12.

The problem when it’s not your camera…

… is that you don’t have any of the pictures to work with after the trip is over. Instead, I’m at the whim of my guy to choose and send me some. Still, what is worse is arriving home at 11:30pm to an apartment where the power has been cut because the power bill did […]

Coming Soon…

…irresistibly cute children for whom I have a grant application pending. My friend Micha and I are going to be raising money for school scholarships through a Peace Corps Partnership grant. These kids from marginalized, indigenous families receive scholarships to attend school through the civil association Niños y Niñas de México, A.C. These kids would […]

Ingenuity inspiration

I looked up the definition of ingenuity to make sure I was thinking about it properly. in·ge·nu·i·ty (n): the quality of being clever, original, and inventive. (from googling “definition ingenuity”) Turns out I knew the definition. Knowing the definition doesn’t change why I was thinking about it. I can believe that sometimes I am each […]

Working… Expocyteq and Cinvestav

I don’t write a lot about work for a variety of reasons, but yesterday was a good primary project day. I worked at my site’s booth in a science and technology exposition for kids. The focus of our booth was alternative energy, and there was a hands-on activity where the kids got to see wind, […]

Out of the fire and into something…

This week is Early In-Service Training. That’s all I can say about that right now, except that tomorrow is my “presentation” on my center and how the first 3 months have gone. I’ve been feeling a bit prickly about it, but hopefully I don’t come away too burned. Enough with the semi-puns now and I had […]

The questions not asked – an essay on service (#1)

I browse a lot of other blogs by Peace Corps volunteers and applicants. What has struck me recently is the misdirection of the rhetoric surrounding the questions to consider when applying or as you are applying. I’m writing this over a period of time to ensure that this is not just a long series of complaints, […]