Keepin on

     Things are going pretty well this week.  It's summer vacation and there is a group of 6 kids that come to the library every morning for a few hours to read, and they come because they actually want to sit quietly and read.  It's amazing.  With those kids as a base of users and the occasional other person that wanders in to check it out, it's looking like a success.  Promolibro has been pleased with our library management and is going to send another loan of books to augment our selection in a few weeks.     

Last November I started working on an International Art Exchange with OneWorld Classrooms.  I sent artwork from local high school students to the organization in mid-december, and I got news today that the organization loved the art.  They are based in Massachusetts, and are putting our artwork on display in a few high schools before sending it off to the final recipient school.  We were also awarded a grant of $50 for art supplies for the school, which is fantastic.  While that may not be an overwhelming sum in the states, it will go far to help the students here. We'll be receiving artwork from other students in april I think, so it will be fun to set up a 'gallery show' at the school to show it off.  

     Another highlight is that today I met 2 hydraulic engineers who are creating a project plan for a new water system in my community.  Our water is terrible, and is the cause of a lot of malnutrition because of the parasites and bacterial infections that the kids get when their water isn't treated properly.  To go to the source and fix the water will help the health of this community immensely.  The engineers were very interested in my job with Peace Corps and said they would love help with the organization and creation of a feasible project proposal.  I'm really excited about working on this project.

A New Year

   They past few months have been busy, and full of travels.  For Thanksgiving I went to visit some volunteers in Ancash, just above Lima.  Hiking in the Cordillera Blanca was gorgeous, and it was great to celebrate the day of thanks with some good friends.

   In December we had medical checks and year-in program meetings in Lima, which was fun because we got to see all the volunteers from our training group; it had been since March when we were all together last.  Thankfully I'm healthy and had fun presenting about my projects, most notably the Library progress.  It's summer here, and there are a lot of kids who come to the library to read everyday during their summer vacations - it's a lot of fun recommending books and encouraging them to keep it up.  I'll be back in site for a solid period of time, now, and am looking forward to some interesting projects, such as a youth group of health promoters to teach about healthy sexual practices with the goal of AIDS prevention.  My parents are coming to visit in April, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and traveling around a little.