Arc GIS Training and Fotos

Hey guys,
In training and thought I'd send out a little message. Things are good here, but man I miss the heat, it is cold and rainy here. ArcGIS is giving me a headache, man I never knew how complicated a map could be but I do think this training is going to be awesome for mapping the census data for Barrio Nuevo. Lately project wise my work has been returning to the world of Architecture. I am redesigning the only childrens park in Jocotan and I am trying to make it as cost-efficient, evironmentaly friendly, educational, and beautiful as possible. I think I have a month, haha. So that is a lot of work to do, and finishing the census so that I can find the homes in Barrio Nuevo that need the most help and coordinate them with Habitat for Humanity, and events with the Womens office and community comissions. The visit with my PC hefe really helped straighten out my priorities and relationships in the office. The Library project has been put on a back-burner because of all the other work, but I am still very interested in any ideas anyone might have for obtaining more books in Spanish and/or computers.

Heres a good pic of the Folklore Festival, where kids are taunting a bull. I have a good video on webshots and more photos uploaded now.

And something else killed my hampster...

So aparently I'm just not good with the pets. I dunno how Spiderham died, except that possibly he climbed up to the roof of his cage and jumped off one too many times (hence the name)...
So a LOT has gone by since my last post. We had a security meeting for the East that took me 4 hours to get to but is suppose to be a "fast" consolidation point, haha. Then I went to a resort in El Salvador with all the workers in my Muni. Never thought that would be a part of my peace-corps job description, but to be honest I did feel like I was working the whole time. It is really different when you go to the beach with your friends than when you go with your co-workers. I did have a great time though, and when we got back it was the beginning of the Folklore Festival in Jocotan! This festival includes dances, skits, and customs from different cultures throughout guatemala with a focus on the Chorti traditions here in my area. They crowned a Queen Chorti, and we ate typical food and homemade drinks. I bought a t-shirt with a bunch of Guatemalan sayings on it and they think it´s hilarious when I wear it. What else...
The next week I was just working a lot here, as my PC Project Director is coming to visit tomorrow. We´ll see what comes out of this meeting but I just met with Habitat for Humanity last week and I hope to start on a project with them soon, possibly with the Barrio Nuevo community I have previously mentioned.
And finally this last weekend I saw the new X-Men movie (in spanish of course) at the Mall in Chiquimula with some other volunteers and Octavio. It was awesome, and even more awesome to even go to a movie theater at all. This is now the 2nd movie I've seen there, the first being Monsters vs. Aliens which I might really want to see in english since I think I only understood the jokes for ages 5 and below.

This week after the boss comes by I'm going to the PC center for ArcGIS training and think I'll be there through the weekend. Check out my webshots as soon as I get the pics uploaded!

Peace, Love,
- Robin