Taken Tuesday in the kid's corner.
I Spy Joys
Taken Tuesday in the kid's corner.
Taken Tuesday in the kid's corner.
The Wonder of New
Today we kicked off Summer Session Two in true MPIE style; a big morning meeting, freshly baked banana bread, and a detailed run-through of the next 4 weeks. After getting the logistical stuff out of the way (typical greetings, safety guidelines, dress code, how to work the water filter, toilet paper rules, etc.) Dana, Eliah and Dunc led the summer vols on a tour of 'downtown' (term used lightly) Conocoto. Mark, Jos and I met the crew for lunch at Sazon de la Abuela, the nicest almuerzo restaurant we can walk to, before heading out to the library space together.
After walking through the different parts of the library and giving them a crash course in it's day to day functioning, we moved couches, beanbags, and office chairs into a small circle in the teen center and got comfortable for another, less formal talk.
As led by Bibi (our new country director who arrived Monday, did I forget to mention that? Don't worry, she'll get her own SERIES of posts she's that amazing), we started digging into some big topics: the reasons we participate in service, our motivations and intentions, hang-ups and successes, and overarching feelings on the entire concept of "community development". I found myself looking around at our group, made up of students from Brown, Middlebury, Vanderbilt and Georgetown (and a few in between which I've currently forgotten) with such a sense of pride and excitement. Here we were, having just met last night, all engaged in a discussion about grass-roots community organizing, the current Ecuadorian economic situation, and different stages of development. It's exciting to have new voices to add to the dialogue. New perspectives. New ideas. New Challenges.
Good things are going to happen with this group, I can feel it in my bones.
~Holly
After walking through the different parts of the library and giving them a crash course in it's day to day functioning, we moved couches, beanbags, and office chairs into a small circle in the teen center and got comfortable for another, less formal talk.
As led by Bibi (our new country director who arrived Monday, did I forget to mention that? Don't worry, she'll get her own SERIES of posts she's that amazing), we started digging into some big topics: the reasons we participate in service, our motivations and intentions, hang-ups and successes, and overarching feelings on the entire concept of "community development". I found myself looking around at our group, made up of students from Brown, Middlebury, Vanderbilt and Georgetown (and a few in between which I've currently forgotten) with such a sense of pride and excitement. Here we were, having just met last night, all engaged in a discussion about grass-roots community organizing, the current Ecuadorian economic situation, and different stages of development. It's exciting to have new voices to add to the dialogue. New perspectives. New ideas. New Challenges.
Good things are going to happen with this group, I can feel it in my bones.
~Holly
Wait, what day is it...
Ahh!
Summer!
Summer Two!
Summer Two is!
Summer Two is, is, is COMING!!
TODAY?!?
Quick! Strip the beds in the apartment, wash the towels, mop the kitchen, print out the welcome booklets, find the lost apartment keys, refill the gas, sweep the upstairs, restock the firewood, draft an email for nervous parents, buy new water jugs, wipe down the showers, empty the recycling, print out flight schedules, shop for the cook, sweep the front steps, get the parasite medication, re-hang the hammocks!!!
Shower. Must remember to shower.
Summer!
Summer Two!
Summer Two is!
Summer Two is, is, is COMING!!
TODAY?!?
Quick! Strip the beds in the apartment, wash the towels, mop the kitchen, print out the welcome booklets, find the lost apartment keys, refill the gas, sweep the upstairs, restock the firewood, draft an email for nervous parents, buy new water jugs, wipe down the showers, empty the recycling, print out flight schedules, shop for the cook, sweep the front steps, get the parasite medication, re-hang the hammocks!!!
Shower. Must remember to shower.
Interviews: In Summation
A few wrap-ups:
1. Of course, 20 minutes after making fun of Dana for having pink eye, guess who was smote for her mockery...that's right. We both will be wearing our glasses from here on out of abject fear of recurrence.
2. Yes, I realize I spelled chef incorrectly in my interview video (thanks for pointing that one out, Craig)... what can I say, other than I will never win any awards when it comes to spelling.
3. Want to know what happened to the extra footage from all the interviews? Oh, I have plans (besides using some of it as future blackmail for any of our politically-interested PDs, cough cough Eliah), and these plans involve putting together random segments each week. Live in fear, other PDs, live in fear.
That's all :)
(oh, and Happy Sunday, too!)
~Holly
1. Of course, 20 minutes after making fun of Dana for having pink eye, guess who was smote for her mockery...that's right. We both will be wearing our glasses from here on out of abject fear of recurrence.
2. Yes, I realize I spelled chef incorrectly in my interview video (thanks for pointing that one out, Craig)... what can I say, other than I will never win any awards when it comes to spelling.
3. Want to know what happened to the extra footage from all the interviews? Oh, I have plans (besides using some of it as future blackmail for any of our politically-interested PDs, cough cough Eliah), and these plans involve putting together random segments each week. Live in fear, other PDs, live in fear.
That's all :)
(oh, and Happy Sunday, too!)
~Holly
Interview a PD: Holly Ward
Hey all!
Here it is, the final installment of the Interview a PD series we started over 2 months ago. I was overwhelmed by how many questions we received this time around; poor Dana and Jos had to spend a long evening behind the camera as I blabbered my way through them all, imitating animal mating calls and discussing White Castle.
These have been so fun to do, mostly because I've gotten some hysterical questions catered perfectly to each interview-ee. Case in point: out of all the questions I was asked, 12 were about art and 10 about food... you all just know me so well :)
So here you have it: the Holly Ward interview. Thanks for watching!
Here it is, the final installment of the Interview a PD series we started over 2 months ago. I was overwhelmed by how many questions we received this time around; poor Dana and Jos had to spend a long evening behind the camera as I blabbered my way through them all, imitating animal mating calls and discussing White Castle.
These have been so fun to do, mostly because I've gotten some hysterical questions catered perfectly to each interview-ee. Case in point: out of all the questions I was asked, 12 were about art and 10 about food... you all just know me so well :)
So here you have it: the Holly Ward interview. Thanks for watching!