The OLPCNEWS wiki has proven to be a great resource in prepping for this trip . If you haven't been following the link I posted in the Update post a week ago then you, my friend, need to catch up. This article is especially interesting as it details the obvious challenges that exist within the one laptop, one student program. It highlights what the author calls "The Miracle Transformation Fallacy"
In a nutshell: OLPC hasn't saved the world yet.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
To Ucayali!
Some exciting things about Ucayali:
-Three Toed Sloths can be found in trees!
-River Manatees and River Dolphins!
-Pucallpa, the Capital of Ucayali, is one of the most progressive cities of the Peruvian Amazon
-A festival celebrating Saint John the Baptist will take place during the week of my arrival (more info here)
After finding an English Language Brochure created by Prom Peru I've discovered I may be lucky enough to snack on some baked Amazonian Rat during my time in Ucayali....other tasty treats include:
- Patarashca (fish wrapped in banana leaves and roasted over a fire)
- La Sarapatera.
- Inchicapi (chicken soup with peanuts, coriander and cassava).
- Juane (mushy rice cooked with Peruvian saffron and chunks of chicken wrapped
and cooked in bijao leaves)
- Picadillo de Paiche (Cured paiche fish, shredded with onions, tomatoes and hot
chili peppers).
The Ucayali Tourism Brochure can be read here.
Finally, it's worth noting that there has been some conflict between the Peruvian government and the Indigenous populations regarding land rights and socio-economic equality in the Amazon. You can find a link to that story below:
Saturday, May 30, 2009
XO- Thirsty for some more?
So I've heard the XO is rugged. Turns out it takes a little rain, but you probably shouldn't put it under the tap and let it run. Here's the video, and check out the link at the bottom of the page for the full story as to what happen to the ole XO after a little water play.
http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/keyboard/olpc_keyboard_water_test.html
http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/keyboard/olpc_keyboard_water_test.html
Visa Situation
I've sent out my passport and other identity nabbing documents (including a nice letter from the Peruvian Ministry of Education saying I'm working on their behalf from the 1st of June through the 15th of August) to a visa company in Washington D.C. Let's hope I get my Visa back before my June 14th departure.
In other news, anyone who checks or stamps my passport will still be fortunate enough to see a picture of 15 year old Lee pouting with a Beatles style mop top combed to the side to show off his rather expansive forehead. Anyone interested in a further laugh can refer to my lazy eye, documented nicely on my Oregon drivers license.
I'm heading down to the Eugene Saturday Market here in an hour or two, could be my last chance to inhale the sweet smell of armpit and patchouli oil for a few months.
In other news, anyone who checks or stamps my passport will still be fortunate enough to see a picture of 15 year old Lee pouting with a Beatles style mop top combed to the side to show off his rather expansive forehead. Anyone interested in a further laugh can refer to my lazy eye, documented nicely on my Oregon drivers license.
I'm heading down to the Eugene Saturday Market here in an hour or two, could be my last chance to inhale the sweet smell of armpit and patchouli oil for a few months.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
UPDATE:
Where did the year go? I graduate in just over 2 weeks and a day later will be flying down to Peru to participate in an internship with One Laptop Per Child. To learn more about the organization check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtZLbTR29WM
and check out their mission statement here:
http://laptop.org/en/vision/index.shtml
I've found out that the areas of deployment have been narrowed down to 3: San Martin (cold and way up in the Andes), Pasco (less cold, still up high) and finally Ucayali (deep in the Amazon jungle). I'm hoping for the jungle, but will be happy anywhere I end up, so long as the elevation doesn't make my head fill with water and my brain explode.
I'm interviewing for an Americorps position today in Eugene. Keep your fingers crossed, it sure would be nice to have a job lined up when I return from Peru in August. Thanks for reading and keep checking out the blog. I've ordered a lightweight collapsible keyboard that is a little larger than the XO keyboard. Hoping to keep everyone updated a litte more frequently than last summer in Mexico and Guatemala.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Paradise Found
Greetings from San Pedro,
We are on the shores of Lago Atitlan, once called by Aldous Huxley the most beautiful lake in the world. The past few days have been very busy but I wouldnt have it any other way, because I can-t figure out this keyboard dont expect gramatical excellence! This morning Claire and I woke up to quite the amazing sight, the sunrise from hundreds of feet above the valley that Antigua lies in. Last night we stayed in a treehouse that overlooked a small grove of avocadoes. We had a delicious full vegan meal for dinner, that I actually ENJOYED, and sat amongst others who were enjoying the Earth Lodge. The place is owned by a Canadian and American couple but to Claire and my surprise there was a girl volunteering there from Cottage Grove, Oregon! The place was amazing, and some of the children of the caretaker came down and we played with a deflated volleyball as I tried to explain the theory of spiking. This morning on our way back to Antigua, to catch the shuttle here, two more children came up and we played with a bicycle tire for 30 minutes waiting for our late shuttle. OUR shuttle, just so happened to be a pick up truck with a bar across the top that we held on to with dear life as our driver manuevered over a dirt/mud road. At many points you could see where the last storm had washed another couple feet off the road into the embankement below and Im pretty positive I watched Claires grip tighten on the overhead bar with each close embakement we passed.
We hung around Antigua for an hour or two and then caught a real shuttle, full of other tourists, to the town of Panajachel, the gateway city to Lago Atitlan. The drive from Antigua to Panajachel was almost surreal watching the famous Guatemalan Chicken Bus swerving in and out of lanes of traffic and passing on double yellows heading up hills. They are essentially the old yellow school bus I rode to 3rd grade, converted to look badass with multiple flames and possibly the national bird, the Quetzal. At one point during the ride I watched a younger boy jump from the moving bus and then do a bow to his friends, showing off how brave/stupid, that he was. Anyways, if I thought the grip Claire had on the bar in the truck earlier this morning was white knuckled the fingers she dug into my thighs on a few of the turns this afternoon proved she had anything but a wet noodled grip.
We arrived at Panajachel and were quickly stormed by locals asking whether or not we needed a hotel, a boat ride, or one gentleman in particular was very foward in annoucing that he knew where I could smoke some weed. I attempted to kindly disregard all of them but one gentleman was especially pushy and after much discussion we lowered the price of a lancha, boat, from 300 quetzals down to 175 quetzals for 3 of us. The ride across the lake was MISERABLE, it was pouring rain and at least once I feel like Claire gave me the much missed during our 10 weeks apart look...did you really take me on this boat into the middle of a hurricane? Anyways, we made it safely and now she is facebooking while I type this message. I hope to swim tomorrow in the lake and then if all pans out we will catch an 8 hour shuttle to Semuc Champey in the waining days of our trip. Hope all is well back home, I have been especially jonesing from some home cooked pasta lately and cant wait to italian sausage and meatballs back home. I would post pictures, but unfortunately I did not bring my cord....they will have to wait until the trip is over, but they are most definitely worth the wait.
We are on the shores of Lago Atitlan, once called by Aldous Huxley the most beautiful lake in the world. The past few days have been very busy but I wouldnt have it any other way, because I can-t figure out this keyboard dont expect gramatical excellence! This morning Claire and I woke up to quite the amazing sight, the sunrise from hundreds of feet above the valley that Antigua lies in. Last night we stayed in a treehouse that overlooked a small grove of avocadoes. We had a delicious full vegan meal for dinner, that I actually ENJOYED, and sat amongst others who were enjoying the Earth Lodge. The place is owned by a Canadian and American couple but to Claire and my surprise there was a girl volunteering there from Cottage Grove, Oregon! The place was amazing, and some of the children of the caretaker came down and we played with a deflated volleyball as I tried to explain the theory of spiking. This morning on our way back to Antigua, to catch the shuttle here, two more children came up and we played with a bicycle tire for 30 minutes waiting for our late shuttle. OUR shuttle, just so happened to be a pick up truck with a bar across the top that we held on to with dear life as our driver manuevered over a dirt/mud road. At many points you could see where the last storm had washed another couple feet off the road into the embankement below and Im pretty positive I watched Claires grip tighten on the overhead bar with each close embakement we passed.
We hung around Antigua for an hour or two and then caught a real shuttle, full of other tourists, to the town of Panajachel, the gateway city to Lago Atitlan. The drive from Antigua to Panajachel was almost surreal watching the famous Guatemalan Chicken Bus swerving in and out of lanes of traffic and passing on double yellows heading up hills. They are essentially the old yellow school bus I rode to 3rd grade, converted to look badass with multiple flames and possibly the national bird, the Quetzal. At one point during the ride I watched a younger boy jump from the moving bus and then do a bow to his friends, showing off how brave/stupid, that he was. Anyways, if I thought the grip Claire had on the bar in the truck earlier this morning was white knuckled the fingers she dug into my thighs on a few of the turns this afternoon proved she had anything but a wet noodled grip.
We arrived at Panajachel and were quickly stormed by locals asking whether or not we needed a hotel, a boat ride, or one gentleman in particular was very foward in annoucing that he knew where I could smoke some weed. I attempted to kindly disregard all of them but one gentleman was especially pushy and after much discussion we lowered the price of a lancha, boat, from 300 quetzals down to 175 quetzals for 3 of us. The ride across the lake was MISERABLE, it was pouring rain and at least once I feel like Claire gave me the much missed during our 10 weeks apart look...did you really take me on this boat into the middle of a hurricane? Anyways, we made it safely and now she is facebooking while I type this message. I hope to swim tomorrow in the lake and then if all pans out we will catch an 8 hour shuttle to Semuc Champey in the waining days of our trip. Hope all is well back home, I have been especially jonesing from some home cooked pasta lately and cant wait to italian sausage and meatballs back home. I would post pictures, but unfortunately I did not bring my cord....they will have to wait until the trip is over, but they are most definitely worth the wait.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Off to Guatemala
I haven't updated in awhile, sorry! Tomorrow I leave for Guatemala for 11 days of rain in paradise! Check the link in the earlier post for newer pictures, including last night where I drank entirely too much but had a great time hanging out with some amazing Mexicans I met while taking classes here.
I'll try to update at least once or twice from Guatemala, more later foks. Now I must try to go to sleep so I can catch my bus to Mexico City at 6am tomorrow.
I'll try to update at least once or twice from Guatemala, more later foks. Now I must try to go to sleep so I can catch my bus to Mexico City at 6am tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)