Update

Just wanted to give a quick update since it has been so long since I last posted.

Work is going really well and we are moving along a lot faster than I ever expected. We hope to be finished in a few months.

I have to keep this short because I'm writing this on my iPod touch because my computer is currently out of commission. I'm in the city now to hopefully get it fixed if it doesn't cost too much.

Until it is fixed I probably will not be able to post pictures or blog updates as often.

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather while I'm here in my shorts and flip flops.

Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. I know it's not actually the new year yet, but it's close enough. Below is a picture of our view from the balcony where we are at. Notice there is no snow and it's not cold. It's the perfect place to ring in the new year.

Pictures from Christmas

I'm not going to do a whole blog post on Christmas, because it was pretty much the same as last year. If you didn't read my post from last Christmas, go and read it now and you'll know.

On the 23rd we roasted all the pigs that we would be eating on the 24th, La Noche Buena. There were about 17 in total. I couldn't keep track because there were just way too many.

Check out pics from the pig roast here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kebmodee/PigRoastDec232008#

On Christmas day, the 25th, a few friends and I went to Santiago to celebrate. We decided on meatloaf since it's affordable. There was also some Carlo Rossi wine. Nothing but high class for us on Christmas. The food tasted a lot better than it actually looks in the pictures. Even in person it didn't look too appetizing. It kind of looks like food you would get in prison, or in those hot lunches in the foil containers from grade school. But it was way tastier. We even had leftovers on the 26th. We also made a gingerbread house, of which there are way too many pictures. I must have had one too many glasses of wine by that point.

Check out pics from Christmas day here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kebmodee/HubChristmas2008#

First Weeks of Work

My last post that I was going to do has changed from “First Week of Work” to “First Weeks of Work.” Unfortunately I became extremely busy after Thanksgiving and didn’t have time to update about only my first week of work, so I’ll just do a summary of my first three weeks of work.

A typical day goes like this:

6:30-7:00 - Wake up

7:00 – Eat Breakfast which usually consists of oatmeal because it’s easily and quickly prepared.

7:30 – Load the truck up with materials and go to the worksite

8:00 – After rounding up the troops and getting everything ready we’re usually off to work. Depending on where the worksite it at, we sometimes have a half hour hike, which involves crossing a river.

8:30-11:30 – Dig trenches. Fortunately, I don’t have to get involved with this physical labor. I could if I really wanted to, but honestly it’s probably better that I didn’t. There are plenty more capable men than I, and they do a way better job with physical labor than I ever could. If I were needed to do this I certainly would, but the fact is, is that it’s just not necessary. My American family has given me a lot of s*@t for that, but oh well. My role here is really as a technical resource, as an engineer, not as a laborer. Don’t get me wrong, when we’re doing our 30 minute hike, I help out in carrying materials and tools, but as far as the digging goes, I’ll leave that to the experts.

11:30-12:00 – Lunch. Usually a lo crio (rice cooked with meat, usually ham or salami) or moro (rice cooked with beans). We get a big plate piled with the stuff, and usually spaghetti or a salad, and since it is avocado season, a slice of avocado or two.

12:00-2:30 – More trench digging and gluing pipes. After the trenches are dug to an acceptable depth, we begin to glue the pipes. This is the part I am more involved in since it’s more technical, but the Dominicans have begun to take charge of this also, under my supervision. After the pipes are laid in the trench, the trenches are then filled back up with the dirt that was taken out.

2:30-3:00 – Finish up everything. Gather all the tools and extra materials. Hike back down.

I then have another 10 minute walk back to my house where I usually arrive exhausted. A nice, cold glass of juice is usually awaiting me, and if I’m hungry, there are always leftovers.

We work Monday thru Thursday. Each day there are brigades of between 16-18 men. If it is raining a lot one day, we’ll make up the day on Friday. The next numbers are estimates since I have taken an official count yet, but I would guess we have installed around 200 pipes thus far. We are halfway done with the main delivery line to the tank. The only work items left are two river crossings, the tank, and the distribution line. I estimate it will probably take 2-3 more months to complete the project. This is provided that the money promised by the local mayor arrives on time and the motivation of the people continues. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Usually once a week I also make a trip to the hardware store in order to purchase materials for the coming week, and to fix stuff up that was missing in the previous week. So the next couple months I’ll be a little busy and probably will not be able to update often, but I’m not going to forget about you guys.

Also, I’m not sure if I mentioned in a previous post, and since I’m not writing this when I’m on the internet I can’t check, but the grant that was online has filled up. I have the money in the bank and it’s just waiting there for my next materials purchase. Thanks to everyone who donated!

Check out some pics from the first day here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kebmodee/FirstDayOfWork02#

My First Week of Construction

Pictures and story coming soon!

Starting Work

Last Wednesday (which by now it wasn’t actually last Wednesday, but Wednesday, November 12^th…man how time flies) I went to the hardware store to get our first round of materials for the project. It was a rather stressful experience, but everything worked out.

First, I went to the bank to pick up my debit card so I could do the transaction without cash. Unfortunately, the debit card was not ready. There was some miscommunication between the bank and one of my friends who also went there to open up a bank account. Since we are starting work on Monday, I couldn’t wait for the debit card, and had to decide that I would do the transaction in cash. First, I would go to the hardware store to know the amount of money I would have to withdraw.

So, from there I went to the hardware store, without cash, to purchase materials. After finding everything I needed and getting a quote, I went back to the bank to withdraw the money that I needed. Since I was going to have such a large sum of money, I decided to travel from the bank in a taxi; I wasn’t risking public transit.

I then successfully purchased the first bunch of materials, for around RD$107,000, or US$3,060 to get the project going. It would be next day delivery, for about US$25.

Without a flaw, the goods arrived the next day. After a little bit of arguing, we decided where we would store all the materials. I preferred the locked warehouse in a separate part of the community, closer to where we would be working. Other people preferred putting materials out in the open next to a house, where they would be better watched, since stuff had been robbed in the past from the warehouse. Also, a close friend offered the use of his truck for free to transport tubes and materials closer to the worksite every morning. This would come to be a minor problem. I try to let them make most of the decisions themselves, so out in the open next to the house was were we put the materials. Since there are pretty much always people around, and the location next to the house was actually pretty hidden behind shrubs and stuff, I decided it would be ok.

So far, pretty much everything is well and nothing has gotten stolen. We have however decided to begin using the warehouse. This is because the second day of work, the owner of the truck told me that there was no gas, and wanted to know who was going to pay for it. I told him he was because that was what I thought the deal was. I told him I didn’t put money in the budget for it and I couldn’t be using project money for stuff that wasn’t in the budget. I ended up giving a little money, since not only is he transporting pipes, but also helping with some technical masonry and concrete work. I told him in the future I will not pay, and that we would be storing everything the warehouse. Other community members seem to be in agreement with me now. We’ll see what happens. The other day we got a shipment of pipes and it was raining. If the truck went down into the lower part of the community where the warehouse is, it wouldn’t have been able to get back up, so guess where we put them…yep, outside next to someone’s house. Let’s see how long it takes them to get into the warehouse, if ever.

I Love Luxury

So right now I'm staying at the house of a USAID employee for Thanksgiving. They are a lovely couple and are very welcoming and nice, for letting 6 volunteers stay in their home for the better part of a week.

The reason for this is because I'm part of the Thanksgiving committee. I will be baking desserts with some friends for our Peace Corps Thanksgiving celebration for about 200 or so people. My group is in charge of making 25 pecan pies and countless chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The cookies that I eat as we go along are countless as well.

So, just a small list of the luxurious things I love:

• Hot Water - Not only is there hot water in the shower, but also in every sink and faucet in the house. My most frequent encounters with hot water in this country are attachments to the shower head which heaten up the water really quickly as it comes out. Not very efficient, and not very hot. I'm pretty sure I took off a layer of skin in my shower tonight.
• Air Conditioning - This is on my list, but I actually haven't used it yet. Temperatures are pretty comfortable right now, but just knowing that it is there in case it gets hot is very comforting.
• A kitchen with two sinks - When you're cooking 25 pies and a lot of cookies, two sinks come in handy...even when you have a dishwasher (the machine, not a person) as well.
• Reliable electricity - The power never goes out...or at least it hasn't yet.
• Good food - Our dinner the first night were these amazing bean-filled taquito things with salsa...I ate 6. The second night: homemade chicken pot pie. I'm not sure if I have ever actually eaten one of these in my life, but it was amazing. I had three slices. Tomorrow is spaghetti and meatballs. I can't wait.
• Wifi - Last but certainly not least. Wifi is one of my favorite things in the world.
• Security guards - Ok, I must admit I don't think I've ever had this luxury before, and don't know how necessary it really is, but it's nice knowing that if a burglar comes to rob my house and my security system malfunctions, I have a guy with a big gun there to protect me.
  

Also I would like to inform everyone that I now have less than one year left of my Peace Corps service. November 21st of next year is my tentative last day. I hope that I always think of the above items as luxuries, and not just ordinary, as these things will be making their way back into my regular life. I dare you to just go one day without internet, or hot water, or even a shower. You will appreciate it so much more the next day.

Check out a new post below about the elections. It didn't show up at the top and I don't want you guys to miss it.

Also, I think my fundraising grant that I had up the link for finally filled up. I went to check how much money I still had to raise the other night and it didn't show up online. This usually means that it has been filled. I haven't confirmed it with PC staff yet so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks to everyone who made it possible. Your thank you cards will be arriving later, not sooner. I'm going to wait until someone visits me or until I make another visit home since I can't really trust the mail system here. Thanks again and sorry for all the begging!

Hopefully in between my pie baking tomorrow I can get a quick post up about my first week of work.

Sorry for all the grammar mistakes again...I feel like I should proofread this stuff more, but I'm writing it on the fly. It's almost 2 in the morning here and I was shopping for thanksgiving stuff and baking all day.

Peace.

Oh wait...one last thing. I bought myself an early Christmas gift. For our Thanksgiving shopping, we went to this place called Price Mart. Basically like a Sam's Club or Costco. You'll never guess what they had there. Big boxes of goldfish crackers. I bought three. That was the only time I have seen them in this country and I had to take advantage of it. They were US$8.30 a piece, and were worth every peso. Being in the Christmas spirit of giving, I shared one of my boxes with about 10 other volunteers on our way back from the store in the back of the big Jeep. It made me happy knowing that other people were enjoying them just as much as I was. Ok, well probably not as much as I was, but close.