Well we just past the climax of our training finishing up Field Based Training (FBT). The last two weeks have been rough, I know sometimes I exaggerate but I can honestly say that I struggled. Living in an aldea (small town) is no joke. During the week we lived and worked in an aldea of Nebaj, a very mountainous region in Guate. I didn't realize how cold it gets in the mountains. I slept with two pairs of socks, thermos, two layers of shirt, a sweeter, and a beanie and I was still cold most of the night. 15 appropriate technology trainees, 2 current peace corps volunteers, 2 technical trainers, and 3 Spanish teachers all slept in an old school house, where everyone got wet when it rained and it rained every night. This picture shows the tent that I decided to build after waking up soaking wet in the middle of the night...this is an example of appropriate technologies. The latrines were outdoors which I had frequent visits to at night...which was an experience all in itself. The purpose of FBT is to have hands on experience in building all of the technologies. We built more efficient stoves for 4 families, we built a latrine/hand washing station for a school, we did water surveys to determine whether or not a natural water spring would be able to provide an adequate water supply to a town, and we built egg shaped water tanks that are capable of holding 2,000 L of rain water, so that families have water during the dry season. All in all it was a mentally and physically challenging experience. I know I will look back at all the great things we accomplished and have some pretty cool memories. It was an experience that brought the 15 of us (appropriate tech. trainees) closer together.
So what is next...well this week we begin construction of our lavamanos project in our aldea. This will occupy the bulk of our time for the next two weeks along with Spanish classes and preparing for a presentation we each have to give in Spanish to our communities. Next week is also a big week because we will find out the towns we will be living in for the next two years...it's pretty exciting. One more month of training left and I will be on my own. Well I know a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll let the pictures do the talking. Hope everyone is doing well. There are so many things I miss right now I don't know where to start...so I'll just say I MISS YOU ALL! Here is a link to more FBT pictures...enjoy
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1 comment:
WOW!!! This sounds exciting Felipe. How well rounded this is making you. Just a year ago you would have never thought (or imagined) you would be eating your cereal with a chicken, using an outhouse, sleeping with a make-shift tent in order to stay dry, documenting your everyday life (maybe there is a movie deal here somewhere), speaking Guatemalan more frequently than english, and don't forget---being miles away from us (family). We are very proud of you and can't wait to give you a noogie when we see you again. We love you Felipe! You can say one thing---your office window has a fabulous view! Talk at you soon. Go Gators!!!!
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