It´s gettin´ hot in here...

Nothing new going on here...the weather has been rainy the last couple weeks and cold, but now the last couple days it´s been sunny and hot. Around March, April, and May it gets the hottest here in Dulce Nombre, and dryer - the water supply decreases and we only get water in the pipes every few days. I was talking to my friend Lauren Dickson yesterday, and I mentioned I hadn´t been very productive the last few weeks because it had been raining, and she laughed, saying "only someone who has lived down here would understand that statement." It´s true though, when it rains plans just go out the window. I couldn´t supervise stoves because of the mud, and people don´t go to meetings when it´s raining. People just stay inside. So that´s my excuse. Today though I went out, in the hot sun and dust, to go see stoves in two neighborhoods, and tomorrow I´m hopefully gonna finish supervision in Dulce Nombre. I am still waiting on word to go out to Oromilaca, the remote little town where 36 stoves will be made, to do the demonstrations.

This week I am planning to continue helping with preparations for the University of Maine group that comes on Saturday, March 3. We´ve been having extra meetings and also lots and lots of arts and crafts to give them gifts and also things to take back home to sell, and to decorate for a public event we are having while they are here. Other than the supervision, I also am going to give a talk in the schools about dental hygiene and start going to the kindergarten again for our weekly English classes. It´s time to get serious about working - I only have 4 months left! It´s easy to get sucked into a good book here...no one is on your back making sure you are getting things done, but I really wanna tie up loose ends and fulfill any promises I have made while I am here. Sometimes I can´t believe that the time is coming to an end, and it makes me sad. Other times I am really excited about going back and being in a university environment again. So far I have only heard from UGA and Indiana and am waiting on the others. We will see! For me it´s back to sushi, the gym, schedules and stress, and no more leisurely cups of coffee with my neighbor or a nice rainy day where all that stuff I had to do is no longer necessary....