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).

Bienvenidos a Honduras

Thanks for everyone's prayers. I finally made it to Honduras safely. And better yet, I have yet to get sick! Internet is probably going to happen once a week. But for the meantime, I've been keeping notes on what has happened.

Day 1
I can't beleive I'm finally in Honduras! We woke up extra early, stood in a daze at the airport for hours, one 4-hour flight and a 1-hour bus ride later, I'm seeing the gorgeous cool, evergreen-covered hills of Zarabanda. I've unpacked most of my things into my fairly nice room with a desk, chair, clothes-hanger, and a double-size bed (pictures to come later). My parents are Eva Argentina and Daniel, in their 70's, and my brother and sister, Raul and Ana. Ana is a cool gal who is a ceramics artist for the bearby Valle de Angeles (where I am now with the internet). I had a frightening feeling when I first arived - that I had no clue what I got myself into. But now, all is great! I just have to learn how to manuall flush the toilet, and how to properly take a bucket bath (we'll find out in the morning)! Next up is gonna be handwashing my laundry in the pila. But I'm getting ahead of myself. One day at a time. I'm sticking with my new motto: Hakuna Mattata.

Day 2
First run at the bucket bath. It's everything I expected. I laid in bed contemplating my plan while the roosters called for sunlight. Had a nice, 15 minute walk to school with my neighbor, Eric. We live in a small community with just a few families. It's nice and tranquilo. We started with some frightening safety sessions and spent the rest of the day in "survival" Spanish classes. Turns out I know a little more Spanish than I give myself credit for, but we'll settle that tomorrow when I have my language interview to asses my level of proficiency. This is what will determine which class I will be in for the next few weeks. We also received some emergency supplies today: salt tablets, subscreen, bug spray, ibuprofen, a mosquito net, and my favorite, that malicious malaria medication we've all heard so much about. Also, tonight I went to church with my hermana, Ana. It was at a friend's house. Thought I didn't understand everything or talk to that many people, I did understand some. And it was encouraging.

Day 3
Cold shower. Good breakfast. Language interview. Spanish class. Tasty lunch. Walk home. Play fútbol. Very tired. Yummy dinner. Cold shower. Buenas Noches!

Packing List

Tuesday. D-day. I've spent the last week completing all the necessary last steps one does before leaving the country for 2 years. I've spent hours, maybe even days, scouring the internet to glean what useful items a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) might stuff into their duffel bag for a 27-month expedition into the unknown. I can't say I've found the secret, but here's what I decided to take with me for the journey:

Before

Bags:

1 - REI XL Duffel bag

1 - REI backpack

1 - Air Force backpack (special thanks to Andy Yount)

1 - Guitar case + guitar

Clothes:

5 - pants; 3 jeans, 2 khakis

2 - shorts; 1 athletic, 1 cargo

1 - sports jacket

1 - tie

1 - dress shirt

7 - business casual shirts; 3 polo, 4 button-down

14 - underwear

6 - pair socks; 4 REI everyday, 2 ankle

2 - brown belts

2 - light jackets

1 - hooded rain jacket (Seattle-boy had to buy one of these, because it doesn't rain that much/hard here).

Shoes:

1 - Brown dress shoes

1 - Merrell Intercepts - gore-tex hiking shoes

1 - Merrell Galiens - covered sandal

1 - Flip-flops

Miscellaneous:

1 - jungle knife (special thanks to Tim Walker)

1 - pocket knife

1 - clipboard (recommended by John Foss)

1 - 4x6 picture frame with photos
1 - calligraphy pen w/ nibs
1 - stack calligraphy paper

1 - travel sewing kit (special thanks to Kristen Strutner)

1 - passport holder/neckpouch
4 - extra passport photos (I remember reading this was a good idea)

1 - Rick Steves quick-dry towel

1 - Rick Steves silk sleep sack (special thanks to Grandma & Grandpa)

1 - 50ft parachute cord

1 - pair leather work gloves

1 - pair sunglasses

1 - travel coffee filter

1 - small plastic cup (for coffee)

40 - plastic bags, 20 quart, 20 gallon

4 - packs TSP spices; cinnamon, thyme, ginger, chili powder

1 - bottle REI deet bug spray

1 - bottle body wash

2 - sticks deodorant

3 - disposable razors

2 - sticks Burt's Bees

1 - small jar of Nutella + plastic spoon (this goes in the emergency kit)
1 - sport kite

Bandit wanted to come, but he took up too much room.

Electronics:

1 - Laptop + charger

1 - External HD

1 - iPod + headphones

1 - Travel alarm clock

1 - Red Cross solar/crank-powered AM/FM radio/flashlight/USB charger

1 - Free Red Cross emergency flashlight

1 - point-and-shoot digital camera + mini-tripod

1 - large zoom camera

1 - cell phone (unlocked) + charger

1 - set small speakers (why not?)

1 - surge protector

1 - 3-prong adapter

1 - financial calculator (I can still be a nerd, even in Honduras)

Literature:

The Bible (I plan on finding one in Spanish)

Mini Spanish-English Dictionary
Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook

Unofficial Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook

Honduras travel guide, Lonely Planet

"Building Social Business" by Muhammad Yunus

"Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye

"The Age of the Economist" by Daniel Fusfeld

"The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"Open Veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent" by Eduardo Galeano

"The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs (special thanks to Teresa Loucks)

2 latest issues of The Economist + subscriptions mailed weekly to Honduras

After

I realized packing everything is as much an emotional process as a physical one. But finally, all that I'll be taking with me for two years is right there. It's been a long time coming, but tomorrow I walk out the door and set foot into my next adventure. I appreciate everyone's prayers throughout this process. It's such an amazing and humbling feeling to know that people all over the continent have been praying for me. Keep 'em comin'! And I will let everyone know when I make it safely to Honduras.

And if anyone wants to mail me anything, I've posted my address in the right column. And here are some recommendation regarding mail straight from the Peace Corps handbook:

Do not have money or other valuable items sent to you through the mail. Electrical appliances cannot be sent through the mail, as they are prohibited items and could be subject to a custom fine. Letters and packages are sometimes opened by postal workers, and valuable items occasionally disappear. In addition, the process of retrieving a package at the post office can be time consuming, and customs duties may exceed the value of the items sent. If you must have packages sent; we recommend padded envelopes. (I've also heard that drawing crosses and writing 'Jesus te ama' will deter theft).

Estimated Time of Departure

It's getting down to the wire with one week left and I'm trying to wrap up all the loose ends of my life so I can leave with only future worries to occupy my thoughts. There's more to leaving than you might expect, it was certainly more than I expected. After all of the application steps for Peace Corps, there's all of the steps to actually get there. Apply for a passport, file taxes, consolidate bank accounts, schedule flights, measure luggage dimensions, put everything else in storage boxes... the list goes on. In fact, whatever else is on that list is what I'll be doing this next week. Not to mention trying to "pack up" all the relationships I'll be leaving behind. Sure there are phones and facebook, but even those start to fade away when you can't rely on your daily high-speed wifi and constant cell service.

That might be the hardest part about leaving. Saying goodbye to everyone. Putting human affairs on hold for 2 years. The relationships we have are much more difficult to pack into storage boxes. They don't keep well and when you reopen those boxes after some time, it always seems that some of them have disappeared. It's never quite the same. Having left a few different places, I can say that maintaining relationships with friends is hard to do while moving around. Each time feels like practice for the next time, but with this kind of practice it doesn't seem to get easier. However, our stories continue and they change and we meet new friends and remember old ones, hopefully allowing ourselves to continually be called towards adventure and greatness.

Having said all that, the anticipation is starting to build. My excitement started to go numb from the long process and all of the necessary hoops to jump through, but now that my time is growing short, I'm starting to get those pre-trip butterflies. I'm planning and packing and preparing, but there's always that huge void of the unknown. I might forget something, and I'm sure I'll learn how to live without it. I'll probably bring something that's not very useful, but I'll probably find some use for it. Anything could happen in Honduras. You might even say I'm risking my life - not like our military does with people firing weapons at me, but in stepping into an unknown place, being mis- or uninformed, being a misfit. In the end of Don Miller's book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, he talks about how the good, exciting stories are ones where we risk something big. The stories where we lay our lives on the line or others' futures depend on the character - those stories are Epics. Maybe this is something we all aspire to, and who knows if we will, but there's a lot to be risked and a lot of life to be lived!

Next Tuesday is my final day at home. Then I step onto a plane with all that I can carry and start a 2-year adventure, leaving all I've known behind and throwing caution to the wind all in the hopes of a great story. Maybe then my posts can stop being about speculation and rather experience.

A Story

Happily Ever After. The classic ending. You've read a good book, seen a good movie, listened to a good bedtime story, and they all end with "happily ever after." It really is a great ending. It says all it needs to say to end the story. Every conflict is resolved, the protagonist reached their full potential, the villain was defeated, the kingdom is restored, and all is right with the world. Honestly, the rest is boring. So we cut it.

We all love a good story. It's even better when that good story is our own. We tell them with minor embellishments and we're sure to skip any embarrassing or boring parts. Why? Because we'd love it if our life was actually as good as the stories we tell. We want to live a good story. I've recently been reading this book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, it's about how our life would look if we were to put it in a movie. The most important part of any movie is the story. What separates exciting movies from bad ones? Story. What gets our adrenaline pumping or the tears rolling? Story. What makes us want to watch the good ones again and again? Story.

So what is a story? A story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. This is the definition Don's friend gives in the book, after they both returned from a 3-day seminar by Robert McKee about story. Don is working on making a screen adaptation of his life - a much better, edited version of his life. He discusses this idea that a story needs all these key elements to make it interesting, like conflict, passion, goals and obstacles and that for an interesting, satisfying, and fulfilling life we can utilize these same elements. The same elements that make a story compelling make our life compelling.

It got me thinking about my own life. About my own story. What kind of story am I living? How many boring scenes would I edit out? How often am I the character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it? Don writes in his book, "A character is what a character does." I'm reminded of a great storyteller, Shakespeare. In Hamlet, the protagonist is caught up in a decision: to be or not to be. That is the question. One part of him wants to kill his uncle and avenge his father, the other part of him wants to do nothing. Rather than being characterized by one action or the other, Hamlet is defined by his inaction. Despite his thoughts and intentions on doing one thing or the other, he does nothing. A character is what a character does.

So who is my character, what does he want and what conflict does he overcome to get it? I've asked myself this question a lot lately. The answer I'm tempted to give is 'I'm not sure yet.' But then what does that say about the story I'm currently living? That character wants nothing and sure isn't facing any obstacles in getting it. The other answer is 'A lot of things.' I want a lot of things, but my priorities probably change when obstacles arise. I was thinking about the last time I wanted something and overcame an obstacle to get it. I don't know about you,  but I can't recall too many. Honestly, up to this point in my life, I haven't wanted very many things and I haven't encountered very many obstacles, at least not big ones. And it's those big ones that really change a character. I remember reading Huckleberry Finn in high school. I didn't quite understand it at first because I kept trying to figure out the whole point of floating down the Mississippi. They were overcoming obstacles left and right, but what was the goal or purpose? Turns out, sometimes the purpose is the journey itself. Mark Twain seems to have had this down. It's the journey - the overcoming of obstacles, that really affects change in us. In story terms, this is the character development.

With just over two weeks until I leave, I get asked if I'm excited or nervous about going to Honduras and what it's going to be like. It's going to be an adventure. Will I want something? Yes. Will I have to overcome obstacles to get it? Yes. Is it going to be hard? Yes. I wouldn't expect anything less from something so many people have claimed to be life-changing. I think maybe I'm like Huck Finn. Maybe my goal right now is simply the journey; to overcome obstacles just to see if I can. And in the end, hopefully I'm richer for the experience.

Let me summarize with this clip:

A story is a character who wants something and overcomes obstacles to get it.

And if it makes a good story, it makes a good life.