Home, Finally.

You haven’t heard from me, due to some Self-Induced Writer’s Block (do not try this at home). I spent months overcoming it, and here’s what has passed since.

Panic and nausea, fear and self-loathing, confusion and despair. Today, I finally take up the pen (keyboard?) again, and I am paying dearly with my feelings for a mistake I made. My trip was completed back in May, and for over half a year, I’ve left faithful readers hanging with the story unfinished. Upon returning to the U.S., there seemed to be too much to do! Besides, I convinced myself, writing a dazzling and accurate conclusion meant time was needed to organize my notes. So I deliberately induced writer’s block, and put off writing for reasons that seemed permissible at the time:

Part 3 - How the Day was Saved (by a drowning fly)

 “Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended.” – Poor Richard

When tested against all other vendors, the water from our system is the safest to drink. And at 25 cents for 20 liters (approx. 5 gallons), it is by far the most affordable. Money earned goes back into maintaining the system, and nobody makes a profit. Though these are facts, they are easily trumped by stubborn ignorance, which puts our reputation in peril. The reputation of Agua Muisne is something to be guarded with constant vigilance, especially in small towns where gossip is the only thing that travels quickly. A simple scare story could deal a significant blow to public health. In one instance, the day was saved by a drowning fly:

Part 2 – Men of Estero! Where are You?!

One problem we faced was getting the local men to volunteer. Interestingly, this was never a problem in China. I tried to get to the bottom of this.

The Foundations of Agua Muisne and Yanapuma were determined to partner in building a water treatment system in the town of Estero de Plátano. This determination was a mistake. The decision to build should have been conditional on the townspeople’s understanding and commitment to the project. On Day 2 of construction, I noticed these were both lacking in the community. But it was already too late: materials had been purchased and work had begun. Nik and Allie were long term North American volunteers established in the community, and together we hastily created a presentation and held a village-wide meeting to remedy the problem. I cannot say we were successful. We may have called to attention the importance of clean water and garnered a few volunteers, but if we could have halted the project right then, we would have. The money was there, the ball was rolling, and we could only forge ahead and deal with the fallout later, sure to come.

Social ChallengesPart 1 - Grappling with a Colonial Animal

Please excuse my one month hiatus. I trust you'll believe me when I say it was for good reason.

To understand the challenges of working in Estero de Plátano, you must first understand something about small towns. The following two paragraphs come from Steinbeck’s The Pearl:

A town is a thing like a colonial animal. A town has a nervous system and a head and shoulders and feet. A town is a thing separate from all other towns, so that there are no two towns alike. And a town has a whole emotion. How news travels through a town is a mystery not easily to be solved. News seems to move faster than small boys can scramble and dart to tell it, faster than women can call it over the fences.

In Four Weeks

In four weeks, we built this water purification system for the town of Estero de Plátano.

I made the design and was in charge of all construction, testing, and promotion. Workers included the two maestros we hired, volunteers from other organizations, surfers, my visiting fiancé, and various men, women, and children of Estero. Funding came from Fundación Agua Muisne and Fundación Yanapuma.

Enjoy the photo report below; I'd be happy to answer your questions!

You Know You Love Your Work When...

Due to a hard to come by internet connection today, this post and the previous one combine for a first time ever DOUBLE POST!

Tucked away in a little cove is a small town called Estero de Platano, population 400, where  I am charged with the task of implementing the first water treatment system.

I spent a week and a half planning and designing the system, and have since worn many hats. On site, I am the design engineer and construction manager. From there, I frequently switch between plumber, construction worker, community organizer, and educator. I saw a lengthy YouTube video (which I can't find right now) that hits the nail on the head: "beyond simple tasks, for work to be enjoyable and productive, money ceases to be a motivator. Interestingly, it has been shown that an increase in money earned results in a decrease in productivity. People are actually motivated by 1. Being Challenged, 2. Feeling Useful, and 3. Having Self Direction."

Those factors are quite general, so to be more specific: You know you love your work when… 

New Settings: Time, Place, Etc.

Filling jugs of water at Agua Muisne in Cabo San Francisco

I had loose plans to work in Guatemala for my 3^rd and final leg of this hydrophilic mission, but the project wasn’t right – too short and not sustainable. I respectfully declined, and trusted something better would turn up. Turn up it did in no time at all, with help from my observant girlfriend and a stroke of luck. Following a chance sighting at a bulletin board posting and a few emails, a volunteer placement for me was devised. It is with a foundation called Agua Muisne and turning out to be a perfect fit

We learned in English class to lead with the setting.

6 Ways to Deal with Shock

Long distance travel by flight is a relatively recent phenomenon. Certainly the human being never evolved to deal with the changes that happen when he or she magically spans three continents within a week. All sorts of shock can happen in such a week, so I’ve prepared this guide for you.

Tale of Two Villages - Part 5 (Final)

If you've made it this far in the series, I'm thoroughly impressed. Posting weeks later from Ecuador about China (and America), it’s definitely time to wrap this puppy up.

Where Yuan Jiang is dark and in a cloud, Mo Jiang is warm and bathed in light. One place is foolish and full of despair; the other wise and full of hope. Where one is incredulous, the other believes.

So what accounts for the obvious disparities between the two villages? Again, causes of observed effects can be difficult things to pinpoint, and impossible to say with certainty. But we can hypothesize!

Tale of Two Villages – Part 4

For the second time, Mo Jiang was a wonderful change. I first noticed that the drive up the mountain was quick and smooth - roads had been filled in and flattened since our last visit. The villagers had been hard at work.

 

Our moods lightened immediately. Jokes flowed again, and the way we were received let us be ourselves. It seemed every villager we spoke to trusted that we had their best interests in mind, so discussions never became arguments. At some point on our trip, my guys made me their leader, and the villagers treated me as such. The nights we stayed, Village Leader Zhou gave me his bed and I felt honored.

Tale of Two Villages – Part 3

After returning from my visa run, a week of snow and ice kept us grounded. I busied myself around the office, and prepared for a new project by studying hydrogeology, aquifers, cones of depression, and well physics. By midweek, I was really itching to get back to the two villages.

I organized and led a full day's worth of training for the entire organization, and by the end of it, we had factory workers wanting to make village trips. When the freeze let up, we went down to Yuan Jiang, and I brought along four others – two from the factory so they could put what they learned into practice. Mok was unable come with us, so all the driving fell to me. The trip was full jokes and laughter, and of course some game planning.

Intermission: Thailand, and Getting There

Don't ask me who the guy is

A quick 15-minute break from my Tale of Two Villages. 

There really is nothing like an American passport. Just a simple looking book with U.S.A. stamped on the front, it acts as gate key to most of the planet. Leaving for Thailand was as easy as leaving for the bathroom, and required about as much planning. 

Okay enough italicized text for one post! To Thailand!

Tale of Two Villages – Part 2

continued from Part 1

Following Village Leader Zhou up to his village

After leaving the village in Yuan Jiang, we were spent. To avoid middle-of-the-night driving on terrible mountain roads in a terrible Chinese vehicle, we slept (terribly) in the car.  But I was rejuvenated during the next day’s drive. The temperature became warmer, and banana and mango trees began to appear. We passed countless Hani rice terraces, which are famed in their beauty. The landscape started to become what I had always imagined Thailand to be like. This made sense, being halfway down to Xishuangbanna, which is like a mini-Chinese-Thailand. We paid our respects to a couple smokey Mo Jiang country government officials before taking the country roads up to the village in the hills.

Tale of Two Villages – Part 1

Yuan Jiang, above the clouds

Still playing catch-up, this tale begins a month ago. My heart, mind, and fitness were put to the test as I traveled south to work on two village projects: the first in 邓耳下寨 in Yuan Jiang county (元江), and the second in 密切地村各界组in Mo Jiang county (墨江). I have just returned from the second of two trips - each was about a week in length, and I visited both villages each time. 

Clay Run (And a Sincere Apology)

Three weeks without a post and I’m sure I’ve lost some of you.  It really is bad form for a blogger to write nothing for so long. I sincerely apologize for the hiatus and for leaving you hanging. I must backtrack about a month to catch you up – but what a month it’s been!

A combination of becoming suddenly very busy, passing the holidays, and making a visa run to Thailand had put me into some kind of writing slump. Writing requires digestion. When a person is too distracted to reflect, nothing of value can be written. It’s as if I’ve been eating and eating, but never digesting. Now that I have had some time to digest and write, you can read the crap that comes out!