Microfinance... Finally?

Internet cafés aren't always the most reliable, so I'm attempting the email-post. This might be a new favored method in the future because I don't have to load a java application to type an entry.

 

We started getting intot he details of what we might be doing at our sites. We had an entire session, several actually, devoted to microfinance. I thought I wanted to devote my life to this and consider myself to have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But I've always been a little confused on exactly what people who are involved in microfinance actually do. Well, I'm finding out first-hand from some other volunteers.

 

This type of microfinance involves 3-hour hikes to surrounding villages, aldeas, and teaching basic math skills so people can calcuate interest and savings rates. If there is electricity, then it usually involves setting up complex Excel spreadsheets and training someone to use them. The "micro" picture of microfinance is certainly a lot smaller than I had anticipated. From the "macro" perspective, having read books like Banker to the Poor, it sounds awesome and inspiring and everyone wants to do it. But I've had some moments of reckoning with myself: Is this really what I want to devote myself to? It's a harsh reality for a lot of people, and probably not so harsh for me. But still, having my passions and desires faced with the long dirt road of reality has caused me pause.

 

Then I remind myself, none of us showed up to Peace Corps because we thought it would be easy. I know I certainly didn't. So what does it take - referring back to my previous post on how to live a good story - to finish a difficult task. I am a character. Who wants something. And I have to overcome an obstacle (or several) to get it. That's what makes a good story. However, I'm still determined that the price is worth it, so I'm going to continue to learn what I can and see how I can get involved with this industry at the grass-roots level. (Does that analogy still apply if there isn't very much grass around?). Despite the obstacles, the reality is that people need opportunities - not American apparrel, nor Nabisco Oreos, nor free food or aid money. Some people feel that America has all the solutions, or all the problems, depending on who you talk to. I am of the persuasion, however, that people hold these abilities within themselves and merely need the opportunities to realize them. We'll see how my opinion changes over the course of these 2 years, but as for now, that's the story.

 

Next week we move to a different site for another 7 weeks, so internet access will change. No telling what will happen, but I'll be sure to update when I can! Thanks for reading, and don't forget I love reading the comments perhaps more than you love reading my posts!

 

¡Nos Vemos!

--
Adam Dittemore
adamdare@gmail.com
adamdare.blogspot.com

Peace Corps Volunteer, Honduras 2011-
International MBA Candidate,
Monterey Institute of International Studies

Feels Like Forever

I decided to make a collage of my past couple weeks here. It's barely been two weeks, but it feels like we've been here for an eternity. I guess that's a good sign in a lot of ways, not that I'm getting into a rut or a routine, but things are feeling more natural. Two weeks of language school has gotten me back to par. I realized this when I did language school in Spain/Guatemala previously. I'm just about using all of the Spanish I've learned at this point. I'm even starting to forget what language I'm speaking. Sometimes I just think I'm extra skilled in Spanish when I start translating English into English!

Bucket showers have become the norm, but thank God my family doesn't mind brining me plenty of hot water in the mornings! I took a cold "shower" the first several days, then the topic came up and I mentioned I prefer warm water, but really I'd be OK with whatever. Let me tell you, that first morning of waking up to the sound of my mom opening the door and sloshing around a bucket of recently-boiled water... words cannot describe. You know that feeling you used to get on Christmas morning when you were a kid? This was better. I made sure to thank my mom a million times to encourage her, telling her that having warm water was like Heaven! And only using one bucket of water is SO water efficient, especially when that water is freezing (trust me, you use as little water as possible)! And for those of you who think it's a scorching desert outside and a cold shower feels nice to cool down... wrong. I think it's maybe 50F outside when I wake up (at 5:30).

You can see a couple shots of my quaint little room and the bigger picture is the view out my window at sunrise. The top left is the pila where I wash my clothes; it's a little hard to tell, but it's basically a cement basin of water with a permanent cement washboard on one side. We only get water once a week, so that's the storage facility, and then we fill up a big barrel inside the house. The other picture is the kitchen where my madre is cleaning some dishes and has the woodfire stove going. The other two are of the volunteers at the training facility on one of our many coffee breaks, and the other of us eating out at a local Pupusería.

No more information on what or where my assignment will be, but I'm not worried about it too much. Our staff are old pros at placing people and they are very good at what they do, so I'm just enjoying the training and trying to learn as much as possible. We head out to Feild Based Training (FBT) in another week in Yuscarán for 7 weeks. After that we'll return for the final week and swearing-in and I'll have my assignment by then. Trust me, I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

Now I'm off to thumb down a bus for the ride back to my house, which costs about 35 cents. ¡Nos Vemos!

It's Only Just Begun

Hey people,

Internet cafe #2 since I arrived over a week ago. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to access the internet this week, but last minute things worked out alright. Basically, if you stand on the side of the road long enough, you can get a ride to anywhere.

So I'm going to share with you some of what I've learned so far. Yes, I've learend a lot about the Peace Corps and what I might be doing, but I'll share with you the important things.

How to flush the toilet
First, there are 3 sizes of buckets. The tank (I think this is the tanco), the balde (bucket), and the paila (scooper thing). So flushing the toilet does not really work with the paila (it holds about half a gallon). Trust me, I learned this one from experience. Maybe when I'm more experienced I'll go with the low-flow method, but for now, let's work on flushing it. Get about half the bucket (the size of those hardware store ones) and aim well right into the bottom of the toilet, make sure you get a good stream going and move that water fast! Then if you're lucky, you'll have some water left to refill the bowl.

How to take a bucket bath
This one has an incredibly fast learning curve. Especially if the water is cold, as it was the first few days I did it. However, I made mention that some of the other volunteers were not taking baths because they didn't like cold water. Fortunately, my sister then asked me if I prefer cold water or "warm" water. Warm water is about the temperature of a swimming pool. But let me assure you, it is much warmer than plain cold water. The first day I was fortunate enough to catch the recently-boiled water before they mixed it and I put it at a nice steaming temperature, but since then I don't complain.

I asked one of the staff at school if he had any advice on taking this bucket bath, since he was probably more experience than I. Here are the steps:
1. Exercise. Do 20 pushups or something to get warmed up first.
2. Do NOT think about it! Don't underestimate the importance of this step.
3. Just do it! Nike's words ring ever true in this occasion.
4. Dump it once from up high, and then splash those other dirty areas.
5. Soap up.
6. Yes, do it again. And don't forget the necessary splashing.
7. Rinse and repeat daily.

Next time I'll try to prepare my posts on a flash drive along with pictures so I can get some more length. But my sister is currently waiting on me to go to church tonight, so I'll keep it breif. Thanks again for all the prayers and thoughts. So far, I've kept a runny nose, but that's it. I can hardly complain. Otherwise, eveything else is cheque (it's all good).