Guatemala, la proxima aventura

Hola todos!

Today I finished my academic career and I am officially a Chemical Engineer. Waaa! How exciting. The reason I am posting about it is that I can now completely and totally think about my trip to Comitancillo! All semester I have been struggling because I could not fully think about my ETHOS experience, but now that classes are over, it is my top priority. Just wanted to share in my happiness. Thank you for reading :)

albondigas son mis favoritos,
Laura

Mi primer "post"

Hola todos! I am very excited to be writing my very first blog post. I have never had one of these before because I am not much of a writer but I'm excited to use it as a way to update you on my Guatemala adventures!

Guatemala is approaching quickly, leaving on May 25th. For those of you who don't know, I am doing a program at UD called ETHOS (Engineers in Technical Humanitarian Opportunities for Service-Learning). It is essentially an engineering service immersion, and students travel all over the world to develop sustainable technologies in developing countries. This year students are traveling to Guatemala, India, several countries in Africa, Bolivia and Nicaragua (oh, and one student will be in Ohio). I have been wanting to participate in this program since I can remember learning about ETHOS when I first started school at UD. I am excited to work on my Spanish, learn about Guatemalan culture, share myself with Guatemalans, and be an engineer! Here is a link to the UD ETHOS website: http://ethos.udayton.edu/

Where will I be going in Guatemala? I will be in Comitancillo (hence the title of my blog) which is about 7-ish hours west of Guatemala City. We are close-ish to Xela which is a city that UD sends students to from other programs they have. Here's a map! http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

I have been to Guatemala City once before with my Grandpa and uncle and absolutely loved it, so I couldn't have been more excited when I heard that I was going back to the country! I love how green the nature is and how beautiful the people are.

Who will I be going with? Two other UD students, Kevin (who went to Guatemala for ETHOS last year) and Franz (another chemical engineer like me).

What will I be doing down there? Still yet to be determined, but we have a list of different things we have in mind. Something we will most likely be helping with is the development of colloidal silver-impregnated ceramic filters. They are clay pot water filters and the colloidal silver is a natural antiseptic to help clean the water. Another UD student is making some a few weeks before we go down and we will hopefully be helping with water testing and talking with the community to see how they like drinking the water. Other technologies on our list: biodigesters that convert pig manure into energy to power a stove, wood burning stoves that are cleaner and healthier for the homes, hand washing stations at schools for hygiene, solar dehydrators for food preservation, and composting. We will be working with Peace Corps workers and a non-profit, called AMMID and you can view their website here: www.sharingthedream.org

I am so excited to share these 8 weeks with you, so I hope you check this website periodically throughout the summer to hear what I am up to!

Chao for now y muchos abrazos :)