tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88802891328309898342024-02-07T11:07:11.673-08:00SMC DominicaWhen our plans to work in disaster-affected Haiti were thwarted by ongoing uncertainty there, we turned our attention to a nearby Caribbean island called Dominica. Often confused with the Dominican Republic, Dominica is a relatively unexploited paradise in the Lesser Antilles. On the island is an area called the Carib Territory, home to many of the remaining Carib people, for whom the region is named. The SMC Dominica group has the privilege of living and working in the Carib Territory.SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-68899216933191047692011-02-13T21:51:00.000-08:002011-02-14T00:44:52.803-08:00Multimedia ProjectsHere are some of our final projects from our trip to Dominica in January 2011:<br />
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A video about our changing views of poverty and need based on the abundance of food and water in Dominica from Team Danje:<br />
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A video about our Hopes and Expectations going into our trip from Team Arretao:<br />
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A video about the water project that was our primary job in Dominica from Team Mountain Chicken:<br />
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A video about the pulley system we designed from Team Danje:<br />
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A video about our daily lives in Dominica from Team Arretao:<br />
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A video about food in Dominica from Team Sisserou:<br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-45343442433498385892011-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:002011-02-15T13:41:47.283-08:00Day Nineteen: Hitting the WhaleSpecial Note: Our public presentation of our final multimedia projects will be on Thursday, February 10, at 7:00 p.m. in Hagerty Lounge on the Saint Mary's campus. Please join us there and bring friends!<br />
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We rousted out early this morning and found that we were more ready to finish packing than we had first guessed. By the time our vans arrived this morning, we were packed, had eaten, and were ready to head out for our long journey home. <br />
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We made our boat in plenty of time, with a few extra minutes to pursue a couple of final souvenirs. Our boat left the port in choppy waters and within a few minutes we heard a loud "thump" that made us wonder what had happened. The public address system told us (in French) that everything was okay, but that we had actually hit a WHALE! We followed up on the info and found out that it was true, then realized that this may be the only time in our lives that we will have the chance to speak those words: "I was in a boat that ran over a whale." <br />
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As far as we know, the whale was fine, as was the boat. We, however, had to deal with the consequences of a choppy sea as a few of us struggled with motion sickness. We bought some Dramamine in town, which only comes in the "drowsy" version over here. That drowsy factor paid off for us as we essentially sedated ourselves to survive the pitching and yawing that might have made us throw up like many of the people around us were doing. We all survived the trip without puking, which counted as a big accomplishment today.<br />
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We are back at the hotel where we stayed at the front end of our trip, so we revisited the beach where we swam and sunbathed almost three weeks ago. It was odd to realize how differently we felt about the town, the Caribbean, our comfort in both of those places, and ourselves as a result of all that we have experienced in the last few weeks. <br />
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We hope to take it easy tomorrow to get as far as we can at finishing our coursework. That way we will all get real breaks as we prepare for the spring semester. We'll write again and let you know how things have gone in St. Lucia, then we will be back in California late Friday night. We look forward to reconnecting with all of you in person soon thereafter . . .<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_vXue4avfjhn_JVcf-N1yhyqomBOYiTBfhbDNOTKn0IWJASq4tUalAWZpV_R1ZH29IZd1m5Zel04KvWlnDZyGdHIUV-GTKzpAxpDoB4R9mVd8p33FPysNAwhtHEhHk0hRqECHtWAkFs/s1600/Waves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_vXue4avfjhn_JVcf-N1yhyqomBOYiTBfhbDNOTKn0IWJASq4tUalAWZpV_R1ZH29IZd1m5Zel04KvWlnDZyGdHIUV-GTKzpAxpDoB4R9mVd8p33FPysNAwhtHEhHk0hRqECHtWAkFs/s320/Waves.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-62246028568022472892011-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:002011-01-27T19:29:57.965-08:00Day Eighteen: Farewell to the SiteStrangely, our last day of work at the site was a somewhat slow one. We got to work as quickly as we could, prepared to make our last big push, but the main work to be done was the construction of a very complicated set of forms to cast the three main walls of the tank. Thus, our Dominican worker friends had to do most of the labor of the day, while the rest of us either transported more cement down via zipline or transported extra rocks and sand to the site via wheelbarrow (from a new location in a different direction from our current ziplines). <br />
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We also focused on our interviews and other video work for the projects that we will complete for our final work in this course. We are doing a public presentation of some of our final work on campus during the first week of the spring semester, but we are waiting for confirmation on the time and location of that event.<br />
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Near the end of the workday, the slowness stopped and we cranked into high gear to pour the concrete for the first four feet of the walls around the tank. Mr. Sparkle came back to help us think through the revised plan and it seemed clear that we should pour only four feet at a time to prevent the wooden forms from spreading and throwing off the shape of the new walls. <br />
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We bucketed, bucketed, and bucketed some more to get the concrete mixture into the three walls. Our task went well past the end of daylight, so much of it was done by flashlight and headlamp. We finally brought our participation in the project to an end and climbed up the hill to the opening between the fence and the breadfruit tree for the last time.<br />
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Charles and the workers were all in cahoots to throw a big party for us tonight and they did a great job of pulling things together. They had food and music (a DJ!) and lots of gratitude and we had our general happiness and Luke's brilliant contribution to the plan: a portable photo printer that allowed us to take and print pictures on the spot. We had a blast.<br />
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Charles gave a big speech to commemorate us. Claude gave a big speech to talk about all that we have done together. Shawny gave a big speech about the greatness of Charles. And Julius gave a big speech about the beauty of Dominica and the fact that Dominica "loves its friends in California." <br />
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Of course, we wish that we had finished a functioning tank and that we could watch the locals walk up and turn the tap to get fresh water in the containers that they carry back over the hills to their homes. Sadly, we did not get that far. Still, all of our friends at the party talked about the level at which they and others are inspired to see this project to its end. We really think they will continue to plug away and that they will expand the system as time goes by. Eventual pumps and piping might make it even more convenient than what we have worked on so far. <br />
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Charles told us that our presence had awakened a will in the locals to work together for their collective benefit. He said that the long-standing spirit of unity that the Kalinago (Carib) people had long enjoyed has grown weaker in recent years. He hopes and believes that this project will be one of many that will help that spirit to reawaken. He and all the rest of our friends expressed a strong desire for us to return and work in the Territory again. We haven't made plans for next January Term yet, so we shall see . . .<br />
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We had to knock off from our fabulous party a bit early to get as far as we could in packing, as we have to get up at 6:00 a.m. to make our boat in the morning. We will once again travel through St. Lucia to make our way back to San Francisco. We will write briefly from there and we will try to catch up on photos and videos. And also, we will see you SOON!SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-31155731928925309722011-01-25T05:36:00.003-08:002011-01-27T08:11:03.216-08:00Day Seventeen: Pouring the Floor and the SAD Office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Today was supposed to be an early start, as it turns out the Dominican workers who wouldn’t let us work on Sunday actually decided to work on Sunday themselves. In doing so, they got close enough to finishing the steel work on the floor that we could almost show up and pour it. There was still a bit of work to do to complete the prepwork so we got right in there and moved everything around to make it possible to lay the floor. It was our biggest load of concrete mixing and moving so far, but we held on and got it done.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Just as we began to pour the floor, Charles took Shawny and Scott into town to chase down some camera lenses that our beloved support colleague Renee had sent from California. They have been held up in Customs for a week or so now, so we finally just drove down there to try to get them out. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The port where freight deliveries land is entirely confusing and the process for claiming your own possessions is even more so. After multiple stops through various levels of Customs officers, our retrieval crew finally got to walk into the actual warehouse where the packages wait. There another circuitous process started up, beginning at the window labeled “S.A.D. Office.” S.A.D. stands for “Simplification of Administrative Documents,” which turns out to be an entirely incorrect description of what goes on there. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Instead of simplifying anything, the office produces a range of incomprehensible documents, asks for verification of totally irrelevant pieces of information, then charges $4 EC (about $1.60 USD). From there, the team went to another window under the instruction of the S.A.D Office but still didn’t come in contact with our package. More paperwork emerged and the team was sent to a table by the door, from which a new form emerged that established another charge to be paid.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After a conversation about that piece of paper the group proceeded to another window right next to the first window, then carried the new paperwork they acquired from one person to another on adjoining tables near the door. Though the staffers at those tables were sitting elbow-to-elbow at adjoining tables, the process involved handing all the papers to one guy, getting them back, taking one step to the right and handing them to the next guy, getting them back again, then taking one step to the right and handing them to the next guy. Somehow that strange ritual completed the task and the package was freed. “Simplification,” though, was out the window. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Happily, the folks at the worksite had a less complicated day and they even got a chance to explore the area around the site, mainly because they had to cut a trail to an already-existing pile of rocks and sand that will supplement the materials we are using at our current site. They found some beautiful seeds and a coffee tree, and some other weird fruits and stuff that we hadn’t seen yet. Of course, they found more breadfruit trees and the accompanying fruits, which we might have maxed out on consuming. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the evening, we followed up on a special invitation from the Kalinago Council (including the current chief), who wanted to welcome us officially to the territory. We did some mutual information sharing then explored the possibility of other projects we might have done or might do in the future. We learned about some of the priorities that the council is pursuing, including health issues (diabetes and high blood pressure primarily), cultural issues (including reclaiming their native language), water and sanitation issues (for the residents who are not yet on “pipe water”), and education issues (including health and sex education). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We came home for dinner and realized that we need to get serious about packing for our return home, but instead of doing that we sat together and laughed for a long time. Surely we will get our things packed somehow . . .<br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-18939609973035990832011-01-24T14:04:00.001-08:002011-01-27T18:45:35.864-08:00Day Sixteen: Rigorous, Arduous, and Slippery<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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The Dominicans take Sunday off from manual labor and even though we proposed the idea of working instead, they convinced us that we HAD to visit another of the island’s natural beauties, this one called Boiling Lake. As far as we can tell, this path is the island’s most challenging hike (at least one that is halfway marked) and it leads to the crater of a formerly active volcano. In the center of the crater is a huge lake that actually, truly boils (almost) nonstop.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The hike is about eight miles long and it involves climbing about 2000 vertical feet then dropping down 1000 or more before going up again to get to a huge overlook above the lake. The trail is apparently always muddy – really really really muddy – so hikers get a one-inch or so platform on the bottoms of their boots to complicate things a bit more. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The beginning of the hike goes to the last clear-running stream that isn’t full of sulphur; that stopping point about an hour into the hike is called Breakfast River. We were already feeling the rigors of the hike at that point, knowing that another five or more hours of walking were still ahead of us. Additionally, our guides warned us that the hour we had just spent was the easy part and the next couple of hours were going to really kick our butts. They were right.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Speaking of our guides, it is probably important to introduce them, as they have each hiked this monster dozens of times. Our lead guide was Jonathan, otherwise known as Skippy. Watching the video from today will help you to understand why he has that nickname. His partner for the day was Philbert, who was assigned to bring up the rear and deal with the slow group, whoever that might be. (Actually, determining the slowest member of our team is not difficult; it was Shawny for sure. We are granting her special dispensation for this hike because last year at this time she was on crutches in the Brazilian Amazon with a broken leg so this doesn’t seem so bad.)<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The post-Breakfast River slog was a never-ending upward climb and when there finally was some relief in the downward direction, it was so thick with mud (and so vertical) that at certain points the only way down was for strings of us to hold hands and support each other step by step. The symbolism of all of those collective efforts definitely made the struggle worth it. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our main way of coping with the slog was to have Scott tell us complicated synopses of movies that not everyone had seen. He did multi-hour renditions of the movies “Taken” and “In Brouges,” which kept us all laughing and clinging to his pace so that we wouldn’t miss anything. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The struggle of the vertical mudslope got us to a place that might not sound “worth it” – the Valley of Desolation. Visually, the name is pretty accurate but as in most volcanic areas, there was a lot going on in that apparently desolate place. Hot streams poured all through sulphur deposits, some of which were claylike and smushy, some of which were rocklike and crunchy, and all of which smell like rotten eggs. We took some of the smushy kind and spread it on our faces to declare ourselves some kind of unified tribe. We certainly have an identifiable unique culture, so why not add facepaint?<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We ate lunch there in the Valley, consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Clif Bars, some canned chicken, a few sardines and our usual mountain of Ritz crackers. We also had a very special treat for a lucky few: Luke carried up two raw eggs and hardboiled them in the volcanic water. It was fascinating even if there wasn’t much to watch. Those who tasted them said that they were excellent but most of us didn’t have the guts to even try. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After lunch we continued to hike up and up and up, occasionally having to climb a rock wall of eight feet or so and sometimes having to ford a hot stream. We got to the top and found a cliff overlooking the enormous crater lake. Sometimes steam consumed the entire atmosphere, keeping us from seeing the lake; other times the steam would lift and the whole place looked like a big boiling drain, swirling in the middle. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Some of us ventured down the rocky trail to get right to the lake but most of us just observed from above, resting our aching legs without getting so comfortable that we couldn’t walk back out. A couple of people started back toward the trailhead because they knew there was a workable mineral pool on the way back to Desolation Valley. The rest followed soon thereafter but skipped the pool to get ourselves to the cooling pool (with one hot mineral spring showering into the side) at the bottom. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The pool at the bottom brought great relief, especially because it turned out to be attached to a cavernous canyon that had a waterfall at one end. We could swim the length of the canyon, brace ourselves under the waterfall for a few seconds, then get shot out into the canyon again by the force of the water. We were almost too exhausted to enjoy it, but we found a way. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We grabbed some pizza on our way through town (the locals actually recommended Pizza Hut as the best to be had), along with some cold drinks. We ate four large pizzas in about two minutes, then got in the car and headed back to the territory. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We were too crowded in the van to get the sleep that most of us needed so we entertained ourselves by having Scotchy and Matt “Pappy” Beutner recite almost the whole move “The Big Lebowski” from memory. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We rejoined Hilary and Christina back at home, as they both opted to skip the hike and get some much-needed rest. We were jealous of their state of rest though they also put in quite a bit of work sorting and condensing our piles of stuff to help us fast forward our upcoming packing push.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We leave here on Wednesday morning early to start another boat odyssey back to St. Lucia that will get us to SFO by Friday night. After that, we will camp out in the computer labs on campus finishing our media projects. The next you will hear from us is at our public presentation on campus during the second week of February. We think it is on Wednesday or so of the first week of the spring semester, but we will confirm and post the date and time in the next couple of day. Please join us there to see the final presentation of our work.<br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-59746737531569087662011-01-23T19:02:00.000-08:002011-01-27T07:00:14.611-08:00Day Fifteen: Of Rasta Jellies and Cutlasses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TUMIPziJPAI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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We cranked things up early today to make a very important run into town: for shopping! We haven't focused on souvenirs (other than pictures and memories) at all so today we set aside the morning to go to Roseauto buy some (for ourselves and no doubt for some of YOU!). There are some open air market options and also shops on the streets that sell various items like flags, keychains, etc. Many of the vendors were calling out to us to get us to check out their wares. <br />
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We, however, had different ideas about souvenirs than most visitors to Dominica. Instead of keychains and coconut hulls, we were more jazzed by acquiring some of the plastic "jelly" shoes that we have seen our Dominican co-workers wear and the cutlasses (machetes) that we have learned to use on the worksite. We got advice about just where to find what we wanted and made pretty quick work of our purchasing. We stopped by the grocery store and got a few replacement items for our pantry. The two most important, of course, were Ritz crackers (we're almost out! we won't survive!) and Nutella (our newest addition to the staples that we carry with us every day. (The other two main staples are Tapatio hot sauce and an assortment of Clif Bars.)<br />
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From there we went to a local art gallery run by a Canadian woman who focuses primarily on Dominican art. A few of us fell in love with pieces that we saw there and two of us (to remain unnamed) actually made purchases that will become part of our permanent collections.<br />
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We tried to hurry back to our worksite, but because we needed to eat lunch, we stopped to grab something in town. We were a pretty big group to show up unannounced, but a place called Cocorica took us in and fed us really well. It took quite a while for them to process all of our orders, though, so we didn't get back to the guesthouse until almost 3.<br />
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We hustled right down to the site and saw that there had been a cave-in on one of our walls; our Dominican friends had spent the whole day so far trying to fix that situation. Once it got cleared, we started prepping to pour at least one of the "teeth" that will hold the tank in to the wall where the water falls.<br />
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It sounds like Charles wants to find a way to continue to pursue the old plan of having a huge 24-foot tank instead of a smaller 12-foot one. We will have to see how things unfold over the next few days to understand what is going on now. We will be sure to pass the info along just as soon as we manage to grasp it . . .SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-14765374105935694442011-01-22T03:08:00.000-08:002011-01-22T19:08:15.293-08:00Day Fourteen: Mr. Sparkle and the Dance of the Plywood<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/EwpzvCXLVqE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Day Fourteen: Mr. Sparkle and The Dance of the Plywood</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our meeting with the engineer, Mr. Trotter, finally came. It helped. A ton. He explained what he was thinking in his original plan, helped us organize our thoughts around the conditions we now face, and answered all of our questions about how to proceed. So now we have a plan that we hope we can pull off in the next four days. (He also had a friendly sparkle in his eye, so we are more likely to call him “Mr. Sparkle” than Mr. Trotter.) </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The general idea is to reduce the overall size of the tank we are currently building, with an eye to establishing an even bigger containment tank later, perhaps close to the intake tank but maybe not. So, where we have a 24-foot trench for an undersupport for whatever project we build, we are now going to lay down a 16-foot support that will help to prevent erosion from underneath the floor of the tank. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On that support, we will lay a concrete pad that will underlie the tank. We think right now that the pad will be 16 feet long to match the support but we want it to extend wider than the tank. So, we think the tank will be 12 feet long and about six or eight feet wide, but the pad will have a little “sidewalk” on two sides for a couple of feet so that people can stand on it rather than on the wet riverbank. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Because we were focused on concrete work today, most of us didn’t have the expertise to do much work of consequence. So whenever someone wasn’t working, different bunches of us would tackle different muddy slopes and try to reduce the slipping hazards on them. Luke and Jared could start a professional eco-stair company, Scott and Christina added a few that became bleachers from which to watch the tank action, and Lindsey, Iris, Morgan, and Dani took control of the slope right by our tarp tents. (It turns out that Iris is a natural with a machete, which surprised even her.) As an added bonus, we used all natural materials for our landscaping work, including everything that had been cut down or chopped off in the clearing of the space. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Just before lunch, we finally made enough progress in the trench to set an 8-foot form and pour concrete into it. The process of prepping the space, bailing the water, mixing the concrete, moving the mixture to the form, getting the empty buckets back up the short hill, and mixing the concrete in the form took everyone we had. They were using a “dry mix” approach, which means that they were pouring the combination of dry cement, sand, and gravel right into the space where water already stood and mixing it as they went. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Scott came up with an ingenious use of our battery-powered drills when he rigged a piece of bent rebar into it to use as a mechanical stirrer. It made all of the difference in the world to be able to really mix the concrete properly with something other than a shovel, pick, or pitchfork. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We realized that the first batch of concrete was setting up pretty fast so we went ahead and fast-forwarded the prep work on the second batch. Though we had planned to remove and reuse the first form in pouring the second batch, we instead decided to make a whole new form and butt it up against the one we had already poured. We were hurrying because it was getting late. At one point, three people went to retrieve a piece of the heavy-duty plywood that we are using, which was a pretty heavy load for three people to carry. It was especially challenging on the muddy slopes that we face at our site. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The three people (to remain unnamed) started down the hill and at one point or another, each one of them slid and started to fall. Without fail, though, that person would recover and regain footing, but the momentary lapse would throw off one of the other two, who would trigger a similar reaction. They were jerking and jumping and the plywood was teetering all over the place but somehow they all managed to stay upright and get to the bottom of the hill intact. One of them never even stopped talking, no matter how out of control his footing became. It seemed almost choreographed, perhaps as a dance routine, perhaps as a comedy routine. In either case, for us it became “The Dance of the Plywood” and any of us who witnessed it just fell silent and watched dumbfounded as it all unfolded. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Near the end of the afternoon, we decided to go for it and pour the second form. Goose ran up the hill to grab all of the headlamps he could find “just in case,” and we started the process of pouring during what we knew was our last hour of daylight. Like Scott’s power tool ingenuity, the headlamps paid off enormously as dusk began to fall, stars came out, fireflies twinkled, and our pails of concrete mix made their way down our bucket brigade lines and into the trench. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It felt like a fabulous achievement to have finished that whole support, especially because that means we will very likely manage to shape and pour most of the floor when we get back from a brief souvenir hunt in the morning tomorrow. Then we can pour walls in the remaining days and hopefully have a completed intake tank before we leave. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We have gotten pretty convinced that this project is something that the community wants and will appreciate. We get lots of support as we are walking the hill from the worksite to our guesthouse and we have learned from Mr. Sparkle and others that this kind of water work is normal and much-needed throughout the island. In fact, he says that one of the fancy bottled water companies in the area uses almost the same kind of tank that we are building as its primary intake for spring water. It helped us immensely to get all of this information (and support for our project). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Along with all of this positive reinforcement, we got one bit of bad news, which is that Hilary seems to have sprained her finger. She was a catcher at the bottom of a pulley a few days ago and the load caught her by the pinkie in a strange way. It was a bit misshapen right away and it hurt her, but it didn’t turn black and blue and she could still move it. We’ve been icing it and taping it to her ring finger but she can’t wear her work gloves and is a bit limited in the range of jobs she can do. She is a total workhorse, though, which means she is still out there full time (even if she is wearing only one glove) and she is still sometimes a one-handed catcher of empty buckets on the line. She’s a trooper, but she (and we) would still appreciate your sympathy, good wishes, prayers, and other positive thoughts as she continues to plug away.<br />
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Oh, and by the way, almost all of us have had our first big run-ins with mosquitoes in the last day or two. We have been pretty safe from bites until now and we have been attributing our success to an Avon product called Skin-So-Soft, which most of us use in massive quantities daily. We still think it is a miracle repellant, but we have gotten ourselves in situations where we wash it off then forget to reapply (like when we swam in the Caribbean Sea a few nights ago) and we believe that's why we got nailed. No matter what, the bugs in general here are nothing like this summer's Haiti trip or last January's Amazon trip. Now on to the Benadryl spray . . .<br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-35399884440570283362011-01-20T19:21:00.000-08:002011-01-20T21:19:18.844-08:00Day Thirteen: "Let's rethink this and come back to it later."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Well, well, well. Development work is very rewarding but also very maddening and very frustrating. Perhaps that is our lesson for the day. We ate our oatmeal and headed down to the worksite where we found that almost all of the sand was at the very bottom of the hill, having been transported there by our Dominican co-workers using our pulley system. We had a moment of disappointment that we didn't get to play with the pulleys today but then we got very excited when we realized that our attempt at labor-saving technology was actually paying off for our hosts. We have said that we will leave the ropes in place if our friends would like for us to do so, and now we have every reason to believe that they will want them. Of course, big yellow and white nylon lines might not be the best aesthetic contribution we can make to the landscape, but if they are helpful then we will gladly keep them in place.<br />
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One set of us got right to work on cutting "teeth" into the wall of our worksite where we thought supports for the tank would rest. As we dug them out, though, we realized that there wasn't solid enough rock on the wall to use as an anchor for anything. So, right away the overall plan changed. This level of change at this stage in our trip is a pretty big deal. That is, the engineer's plans are based on the belief that the wall from which the springs come is solid rock. It's not. <br />
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So, where the plans involved a 3-sided structure sunk into the wall, we now have to convert to a 4-sided structure and solve a number of problems about the interface between the springs and the tank. There was frantic mind-changing going on all day, with Shawny consulting our team then reporting to Charles about our thoughts, then returning with Charles' responses, etc., etc., etc. It went on and on. And on.<br />
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So, suddenly we were re-engineering this whole project on the fly in the rain on the muddy slopes of the riverbank. We called the actual engineer who designed the project and ran our ideas by him. (He liked the Tarp Diaper!) He gave us some immediate tips then agreed to come out (from more than an hour away) and join us at the site tomorrow morning to help us solve our problems. We look forward to getting absolute clarity first thing in the morning.<br />
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Perhaps it is obvious, but the shifting and changing of the day was quite frustrating. We were fried as we felt unsure about where the project was going and whether we can even finish in the days we have left. We struggled as we huddled under the tarps during one of many cloudbursts. We snapped at each other a bit as we tried to process what was happening around us. But we made it through.<br />
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One of our secrets to surviving today was that we had fabulous letters of encouragement from our penpals at Happy Hollow Elementary in West Lafayette, Indiana! They have written to us three times so far and we actually owe them answers to some questions that they sent by email. We also have some correspondence from Southwestern Elementary in Hanover, Indiana, so we have lots of shoutouts ahead of us. Thanks to all of the Hoosier schoolfolks who are helping to boost our spirits!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have a lot to tell you, but we went to town for Iris' birthday tonight and we are too tired to make videos, choose pictures, or post stories. For now, though, we will tell you that Iris' birthday was a happy one, with a lovely meal, a homemade cake, and a warm late night swim in the Caribbean Sea. Ahhh.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And from there we need to tell you that the phrase of the day is "Tarp Diaper." More on this later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">_____ <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Okay, it's later. So, we spent a huge chunk of the morning strategizing about how to control the flow of water into the trench that will house the main support of the concrete water tank. The first four of us who were up talked about it for an hour or more, then when more people got up it turned into a full group discussion. We kept doing a great job of tearing ideas apart, but we had all kinds of trouble finding an idea that seemed like it might work. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Finally, Luke proposed that we drop a tarp into the trench in such a way that the water would not get inside. We would weight the tarp with rocks, then pour the concrete base right into it, sealing in the tarp for all time, but getting a shot at a solid block that did not get washed downstream before it could set. When people were having trouble getting the concept, someone finally said, “Like a tarp diaper?” Once we realized that the metaphor almost worked, we used that phrase all day as our shorthand version of the new option. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We proposed the tarp diaper idea to Charles, who wasn’t sure it sounded like a good idea, but who also had no better idea about how to control the flow of water into the trench. We started exploring the idea of a portable pump, but that’s not an easy item to find in the area where we are working (or in this whole country, apparently). We bailed the trench just to see how fast it would fill up again and learned that we could get the water level pretty low pretty fast without it rising again too quickly for us to pour concrete into the trench (if we time it just right). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">While some of us were hypothesizing about how to control the water down below, others of us started to address the enormous pile of sand that got delivered last night. As you may recall, it was not delivered to our normal trailhead, meaning that we had to carry it much farther down the steep slope than all of the other piles we’ve managed. Our usual method of delivery is wheelbarrows but this path was REALLY daunting for a wheelbarrow (and even more so for its driver). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A few brave souls still wrestled with the barrows (a new word for some of our teammates here, who were always convinced the word was “wheelbarrel”) and the rest of us started carrying sand bucket by bucket down the hill. Some hugged their buckets close to their bodies, some carried them on their heads (using rolled-up t-shirts for balance) and others made yokes out of shovels to help them carry two buckets at once (probably totaling about 80 pounds or so). No workout in any gym could possibly compare.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We took a lunch break and enjoyed food cooked for us by our Dominican co-workers. They intended to make breadfruit, green bananas, and fish with coconut milk, but we were slow acquiring fish so they made a run for chicken wings instead. They built a fire between three rocks that they used as a tripod for their big round pot and then started bringing things down from the trees all around. Their machetes (which they call “cutlasses”) were their main cooking instruments. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Once they finished cooking, they piled huge loads of food into our bowls and served up Kool-aid as a special drink. Obviously the food was fabulous and surprisingly the Kool-aid was too. We couldn’t possibly eat all that they made, but the broth and the breadfruit at the bottom of the pot were both so good that we could barely stop. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There was more sand to be moved, though, so we headed back up the hill again to keep it rolling down the hill in whatever ways we could. We also had to do a small bucket brigade at the bottom of the hill because Charles decided to knock some more of the loose dirt down from the hillside to prevent it from falling in to the tank later. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The bucket brigade made good use of a game idea proposed in our comments section by Luke’s dad Russ, in which the group starts with a sentence and then with each pass of the bucket the sentence changes by one word. The new word has to start with the same letter as the old word, so we got from combinations like “The avalanche scared the chief” to “Ten archaeologists Skyped Thai children.” It is admittedly a bit stupid, but anything that can distract us from the monotony of moving more buckets is a welcome diversion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We knocked off early so that we could drive all along the coast to get to a beachfront restaurant on the Caribbean Sea. Where we are staying, we overlook the Atlantic, so we decided we needed at least one night on the Caribbean itself. The water was warm and calm with soft sand underfoot and gently sloping drops to ease us into the water. After dinner we took a moonlight swim, then headed back to the vans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We started our hour or so drive home and suddenly saw that the headlights went out on one of the two vans in which we were riding. The other van stopped to help and all of us did what we could to help locate and change the fuse for the lights. Nothing worked. Then it did. So we drove. Then the lights went out again. We strategized for awhile then decided to caravan as closely together as we could with flashers flashing so that we could get home at a survivable hour. Fortunately, the moon was almost full (and very bright) and there were only about three other cars on the road for the whole drive. Also, we learned that the roads were strangely well-lit for the area where we are. Things feel pretty underdeveloped here, but as far as streetlights go, the situation is better than we might have guessed. We, of course, won't count on that driver/van again, but we are happy that we got home safely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We didn’t get home until almost 1:00 a.m., which counts as a VERY late night for us. Either way, we need to get a lot done at the worksite on Thursday to get the project anywhere near completion before we leave. Let’s hope . . .</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-41068052309359951192011-01-18T18:42:00.000-08:002011-01-27T07:01:46.073-08:00Day Eleven: In the TrenchesMore rain, more buckets. The new angle on things today was the beginning of digging on a huge trench that will serve as the prime support for the concrete tank at the core of our project. As of today, we all realize that we don’t really know what we are building, as we can’t quite picture it even though we have seen drawings, talked about it for days on end now, and imagined what it should look like. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">No matter what this thing is supposed to be, our job for today was to dig a three-foot deep trench inside which we will build plywood forms that will provide the shape for the concrete supports of the tank. To dig a trench that deep that is 22 feet long means that a whole lot of dirt needs to be diverted somewhere else. Thousands of pounds of dirt. And lots of water. And a few rocks. Some of them really really big. When those things land together in a full bucket, they weigh about 50 pounds. We needed to move bucket after bucket after bucket.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">So we got back into bucket brigade mode and created a whole new set of roles, including dumpers (who may or may not use the “hip ninja” move from yesterday), catchers (who help the empty buckets travel back down the line by leapfrogging over most of the people who are passing full buckets), and poppers (who knock the clinging clay and mud out of the bottom of an already-dumped bucket). We’ve been playing all of these roles for a week or so now, but we have finally figured out a shorthand way to announce what is going on. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The trench situation turned quite complicated right away, as we were digging right in front of a wall with multiple springs running out of it. Of course, that water immediately started pooling into our trench, which meant that we had to bail water at the same time that we were digging, just to see what we were doing. Our strategy, then, was to dig another set of lesser trenches all around our support trench so that we could divert the water around the trench (like a little moat). Different ones of us would go around and watch for where water was getting in and move dirt and rocks to block the flow. We couldn’t cut it off entirely, but we managed to redirect it pretty substantially. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">As it turns out, even with really strong workers and lots of them, digging a 22-foot trench takes a very long time. We got to the end of the workday and had just completed the entire trench, meaning that we didn’t have enough daylight left to build the plywood box that would bolster it. Thus, when we return tomorrow we expect to encounter a partially collapsed trench that is overflowing with water but at least we will have an easier time re-establishing it now that we have gotten it to the right dimensions once. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">At the very end of the time at the site, a delivery truck arrived with our last shipment of sand. Because of all of the rain today, the driver could not get all the way down to the breadfruit tree, so he had to leave the load partway up the hill instead. That decision means that we will have to wheelbarrow it much farther to get it to our pulleys tomorrow, but there was no choice so that is what we will have to do. We look forward to getting back to our fabulous pulleys, so getting to use them again will help ease the pain of the strenuous overland haul. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The other silver lining of the arrival of a new load of materials was that we got to hitch a ride in the delivery truck to get ourselves and our equipment (including wheelbarrows) up the steep hill. It is always a little difficult to load everything back out of the valley where the springs are (“where the two trees stand alone”), especially after a day of trench-digging and bucket-dumping. We even let Matt H. get in the truck from the beginning this time, instead of making him run behind it. The truck is by no means glorious, but the ride certainly was. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We ventured back home and had an excellent dinner of chicken with mangoes and raisins, some tater tot like things made from a local root vegetable called “daishen,” beans, and fancy macaroni and cheese. We eat very well here, including last night’s meal that had two especially fabulous components: cornbread and rice pie. We’ve eaten a lot of fish and chicken, some beef, some pork, and lots of fruit. The main vegetables we eat are tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as roots like manioc and daishen. We often have freshly-squeezed juices and incredible local fruits. We even have fresh-ground cocoa from a tree in the yard. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We have a birthday coming up tomorrow, which means we will have a short work day so we can go to dinner and have a celebration. We’ll wait until then to tell you whose age is increasing . . .</div><br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-70684152018745209442011-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:002011-01-18T06:20:02.868-08:00Day Ten: Hip Ninja<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PautwWmXpTI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We went back and filled in lots of missing pieces on the blog, so please click back to catch up on videos and pictures (though not all of the captions have been posted yet). Also, thanks for the comments! We are much happier now . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rain, rain, rain, and more rain POURED down just before most of us woke up this morning and it kept falling in sheets all the way until the time that we just needed to get to work. So we bundled up in our rain gear and went to work anyway. We hoofed it down the hill with water just pouring down the streets and pouring down from the sky. By the time we settled into the job, though, the rain abated and we got to get into a rhythm that lasted until the end of the day (for better or worse).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charles let us know that we had to scrape even more dirt out of the space where the water tank will soon sit, so we were back on bucket brigades for (literally) tons of redirected soil and rocks. Some of us stood in the exact same place all day long, just turning one way and then another to pass a muddy bucket down the line. We started coming up with ways to break the monotony, including having each person say something as the bucket passed by, like a color, an animal, a state capital, a world leader, a funny noise, a line NOT to say on a first date, or whatever. At least once, we just said the name of the next person in the line, but it had to be in a funny voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">People learned some fancy techniques today, including Trevor's incredible reverse push press (no-peeky) as he lifted the bucket backward over his head uphill to Iris, Iris's squat pump to retrieve it from Trevor, and the inspiration for our title today: Goose's "hip ninja." On this last one, Goose (Jon) would be the dumper at the end of the line, which meant he had to stand on a hill and clear it to get the mud out onto the pile we were creating. He had some hip flex that he did that made the mud fly out of the bucket in just the direction that he intended without needing to lean out over the pit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We broke for lunch when Matt H. and Morgan delivered our homemade fish stew (made mostly by Matt, with assists from Trevor, Dani, Jared, Shawny, Luke, Morgan and Scott), which made great use of our fresh catch (well, some fisherman’s fresh catch, anyway) from yesterday. Several of us (but mostly Matt) stayed up late into the night trying to figure out exactly how to scale and fillet all of the different fish we acquired, even though few of us really felt like we knew what we were doing. Somehow, despite our collective ignorance, the stew was really good. We had taken some backup foods just in case it was awful, but there was no need to resort to crackers or Clif bars today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">After lunch the buckets started moving again. No matter what anyone’s job was, we all were deeply immersed in the world of repetitive motion, which might leave us very sore in the morning. Despite our relative pain, w</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">e stayed all the way to the edge of darkness to get the job finished today, as we hope to start pouring the foundation of the tanks in the next day or two. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once we got home and cleaned up, we immediately found our state of cleanliness interrupted by the after-dark arrival of a truckload of cement bags. 75 bags weighing somewhere between 85 and 95 pounds arrived, so we all jumped up on the truck, rode it to a house close to the worksite, and unloaded it with headlamps in the dark. Somehow, it was really exhilarating. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We came back, ate dinner, then had a little meeting where we decided to reduce our overall computer usage due to overexertion of our bandwidth and our collective belief that we are hurting our unity here if we are too tied to places far away. We aren’t cutting ourselves off completely, but we are reducing overall usage so that we are more in the moment here. We hope that we will post the blog in a more reliable (and timely) fashion if we do this and we also hope that we will find ourselves laughing even more, either in our teams or in other random clusters. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyol2mSTuvYraPpMS9jxYgEUjqhXuxnco_nyOIfOcxGn-n-Ap4-KV3OsiVmvIfB-9JvQTb86JuoIy0zLxQLM_o6mWovRqlkNcNJmzbH5mgrLRNTr4qLI_MANwGF3sc4I80cw_UorI59uw/s1600/Hillery+playing+guard+dog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyol2mSTuvYraPpMS9jxYgEUjqhXuxnco_nyOIfOcxGn-n-Ap4-KV3OsiVmvIfB-9JvQTb86JuoIy0zLxQLM_o6mWovRqlkNcNJmzbH5mgrLRNTr4qLI_MANwGF3sc4I80cw_UorI59uw/s320/Hillery+playing+guard+dog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Hilary playing guard dog</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNf_rIlKHq24C8lZTSdeHmktSPRFLL-LmN-vhof4ija54pRHrpE44F4KAP51Mkefv0SsqTQGK3j4OCC0iwPh5vLl3CO0tFnsnTjwxmMHEr7n01_pHULSbEXRBi7foQimj7d9zcVlJvEgM/s1600/Justinian+taking+the+cutless+to+the+hill.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNf_rIlKHq24C8lZTSdeHmktSPRFLL-LmN-vhof4ija54pRHrpE44F4KAP51Mkefv0SsqTQGK3j4OCC0iwPh5vLl3CO0tFnsnTjwxmMHEr7n01_pHULSbEXRBi7foQimj7d9zcVlJvEgM/s320/Justinian+taking+the+cutless+to+the+hill.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Justinian taking the cutlass to the hill</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_EZxir8pAjv5JPRFmlfh3dBcqXsWv4viO-O4K1sz2NP8td-GzI5Jew0yGtVV5CANsEeUiKpuz0ztoKRgMKqN3ZapEeLyGSjZaZyQtttQIaCCN0BNvm1z3F41HGQ8FF-GkCsXIQaekfM/s1600/Leaving+a+mark+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_EZxir8pAjv5JPRFmlfh3dBcqXsWv4viO-O4K1sz2NP8td-GzI5Jew0yGtVV5CANsEeUiKpuz0ztoKRgMKqN3ZapEeLyGSjZaZyQtttQIaCCN0BNvm1z3F41HGQ8FF-GkCsXIQaekfM/s320/Leaving+a+mark+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Leaving a mark </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw_6BJYuYep-xqVZXoeYxVtnyGHRVN8p4LRHFkfgpPtG8T20YQqADowKZK03_oDZOnVzH8NeStk_Ac0f_8A4uzFfh3Y9vm-orDOCnpMHCD8mdanjTyhc75bL8HxhVvowKiaDMCNDChKM/s1600/Scott+trying+to+keep+it+claen+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw_6BJYuYep-xqVZXoeYxVtnyGHRVN8p4LRHFkfgpPtG8T20YQqADowKZK03_oDZOnVzH8NeStk_Ac0f_8A4uzFfh3Y9vm-orDOCnpMHCD8mdanjTyhc75bL8HxhVvowKiaDMCNDChKM/s320/Scott+trying+to+keep+it+claen+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Scott trying to keep it clean </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEqlBZ00Ae0WrDb7c93B-8P1zX3hRjyhcOBs4Id48YFfTIKdhSoqJW3HXk1N7h-nUmSDwv6DvoHJuJk44rJxomQ1EetP6_b7cCUWV3zsjy5wMeg4gC8_gWWixZrjzHWuGLXgGeLZrvf8/s1600/The+Mt.+Man.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEqlBZ00Ae0WrDb7c93B-8P1zX3hRjyhcOBs4Id48YFfTIKdhSoqJW3HXk1N7h-nUmSDwv6DvoHJuJk44rJxomQ1EetP6_b7cCUWV3zsjy5wMeg4gC8_gWWixZrjzHWuGLXgGeLZrvf8/s320/The+Mt.+Man.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Mt. Man</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpU4dgr4qr37bvdxK-HLBpSodEpLP8NJWNfWBK9me4JuhFHAB-O1SZ9yLTVSqAU5ToqKrDWCrs59Lhbu6AwTWVCnG2XLTltxAc_8oOdIpjnt1jZM4MJn0EAfce195gqc1I6GWuD-O1S8/s1600/Yea+we+walk+this+hill+at+least+once+a+day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpU4dgr4qr37bvdxK-HLBpSodEpLP8NJWNfWBK9me4JuhFHAB-O1SZ9yLTVSqAU5ToqKrDWCrs59Lhbu6AwTWVCnG2XLTltxAc_8oOdIpjnt1jZM4MJn0EAfce195gqc1I6GWuD-O1S8/s320/Yea+we+walk+this+hill+at+least+once+a+day.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yeah, we walk this hill at least once a day</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwEOwM6s2r7fBjpSSmTpUZivJM18iEOpZPlyV7i34vfx0rFo9NyAE6emmYkeT6XejA3XkgT4kp6yjDzRdaUsIOFcDU54tartpWo4010MKXLyFNTE5TKM_QbKcCSp6x5tVbzNIRi_wSbo/s1600/DSC01143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwEOwM6s2r7fBjpSSmTpUZivJM18iEOpZPlyV7i34vfx0rFo9NyAE6emmYkeT6XejA3XkgT4kp6yjDzRdaUsIOFcDU54tartpWo4010MKXLyFNTE5TKM_QbKcCSp6x5tVbzNIRi_wSbo/s320/DSC01143.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8DLEtXBzQNzSpoV5TfsRLFx8vpUJf1PmNTzt4zQzo-jCWF0ryLDu9WL6L4AafEa_RrJ6adjIwqOVA2CF6eBriOFECnCiYNj0fc3Gh15URqHGKu0TuO1nL6jSROOcwlhaPvQD5Lw60FY/s1600/Crab.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8DLEtXBzQNzSpoV5TfsRLFx8vpUJf1PmNTzt4zQzo-jCWF0ryLDu9WL6L4AafEa_RrJ6adjIwqOVA2CF6eBriOFECnCiYNj0fc3Gh15URqHGKu0TuO1nL6jSROOcwlhaPvQD5Lw60FY/s320/Crab.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While excavating dirt from around the spring today, we unearthed this crab, the largest of the trip so far. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIINoFQeFxgySDwcGaoJsBHO3NanaW7uM8OsLDyASmmxAb4leNI-SDSYPidr5lNWDXT8pX08uWD5DSB5feF8hO4kJYIsuHQX0Wjq775eX1zQZJNe_yn79-qOqp18aJLPHLuE8oYW28hq8/s1600/Group%252C+mud+line.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIINoFQeFxgySDwcGaoJsBHO3NanaW7uM8OsLDyASmmxAb4leNI-SDSYPidr5lNWDXT8pX08uWD5DSB5feF8hO4kJYIsuHQX0Wjq775eX1zQZJNe_yn79-qOqp18aJLPHLuE8oYW28hq8/s320/Group%252C+mud+line.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The group and some locals remove dirt from around the spring, then move the dirt away via a bucket line. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdx65E_EG-MSCCc1CKs7_0wsNV0xsvnBQV7pRH_2LUgKPyrlo-zQqm_5NEi1OL_rVYllto1PsRIBmVH4KhTTSOhXRHRtqtgvuyBVxhUtv9nZquTJaWsyfCt40dt0ERfZWd3jyO053XCN8/s1600/Pile+of+shit+in+foreground+group+mudline.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdx65E_EG-MSCCc1CKs7_0wsNV0xsvnBQV7pRH_2LUgKPyrlo-zQqm_5NEi1OL_rVYllto1PsRIBmVH4KhTTSOhXRHRtqtgvuyBVxhUtv9nZquTJaWsyfCt40dt0ERfZWd3jyO053XCN8/s320/Pile+of+shit+in+foreground+group+mudline.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The bucket line and a pile of debris that was moved in previous days. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqgLPDEkHrFp5HB0LcQI3S9-CvLocMtWrIcVaxEK6Q9WPg7l9c8Gdo1rvXLtEvNO4Wu1d4rxIMme2wZqrgu7kBYOnoXFTRTlUszYk5zIFNSVQDm4RTMoBBJN8brYXYdK-BRbGtdziEso/s1600/Working+together+to+end+poverty+and+injustice+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqgLPDEkHrFp5HB0LcQI3S9-CvLocMtWrIcVaxEK6Q9WPg7l9c8Gdo1rvXLtEvNO4Wu1d4rxIMme2wZqrgu7kBYOnoXFTRTlUszYk5zIFNSVQDm4RTMoBBJN8brYXYdK-BRbGtdziEso/s320/Working+together+to+end+poverty+and+injustice+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The muddy bucket line; take note of Iris' shirt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-75132742374833807702011-01-16T19:10:00.001-08:002011-01-17T17:41:11.416-08:00Day Nine: Water, Water, and More Water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Perhaps you can tell that we've been having internet problems. We post when we can get a few minutes of connection, then wait and wait until it happens again. Please keep checking. And maybe send us a comment or two to motivate us to get things to work!<br />
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Anyway, today we took the day off to do some sightseeing in Dominica. We acted like regular old tourists for the most part, riding around in two vans to some of the hot tourist sites. Our first stop was a pool that looked like a lovely river swimming hole, but we knew that a more famous tourist spot was close by so we opted to check it out instead. <br />
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We therefore started our water day at the Emerald Pool, which is a fabulous small waterfall in a wooded cove that is really sweet for swimming. The water really does seem to be a deep emerald green color, but not because it is full of algae or other slime. It's easy to reach, refreshing as a swimming spot, and just an all around good time. We lounged a bit and frolicked a bit, some swam while others took in the sights, and then we headed toward our next site all the way on the other side of Roseau, where we arrived by boat. <br />
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We stopped in Roseau to get Dominican currency (EC dollars, which have an exchange rate of 2.6 or so with one U.S. dollar) and were surprised to learn that there was actually a grocery store open on Sunday afternoon. We all swarmed in and got cold Cokes for the first time in Dominica. We also picked up a bunch of lunch meat, cheese, and apples for today's lunch, along with lots of canned meat for future lunches at our worksite.<br />
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We then moved on to our big adventure of the day, which was a hike into Trafalgar Falls, another national park area. The trails to the vista spot were easy to walk, but to get right up to the falls takes some serious bouldering on slippery rocks. When you get really close to the falls, the offspray is so thick that you can barely open your eyes as you continue forward. <br />
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Trafalgar actually is comprised of two falls, one of which is long and narrow and runs HOT. It collects in little mineral pools at the bottom that would kick the pants of Napa Valley spas. The other runs colder (but not freezing) and is the safest one to reach. Thus, we went along the edge of the warm one to get to the cold one and we frolicked quite a bit more before hiking back to the top.<br />
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All along the roads we saw lots of water because we skimmed the coast of the Atlantic Ocean then moved around to the coast of the Caribbean Sea. We also crossed river after river after river and we saw lots of springs that were being tapped in a variety of ways, the most common apparently being bamboo chunks that were either "half pipes" or full stalks that were hollowed out. We therefore had lots of conversations about water with our drivers and learned some interesting things that relate to our own current project. <br />
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As we mentioned in an earlier post (or two), we have been struggling with a bit of guilt about our feeling that we are walking into an unspoiled natural paradise, scraping and paving part of it, then walking away leaving it looking worse than when we started. We just learned, however, that this plan has been in the works for more than ten years and it was actually a campaign promise of the election two administrations ago that this project would be completed in the Carib Territory. <br />
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Based on this knowledge, we now have a renewed sense of pride in what we are doing. We always thought it was the thing to do because it was the thing we were asked to do, but now we see it as an unfulfilled wish that we can finally help to become a reality. We are very happy about that shift in our perspective. <br />
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We learned a lot in the car(s) today as we talked about history, music, and literature in the Carib Territory and in Dominica at large. We hope that we are getting a better handle and where we are and what we are doing. At the end of our excursion today, we ran into a spear fisherman who was walking with his fresh catch. He sold us everything he had (some of which we have never seen before, some of which looked familiar, and some of which were lobsters and an octopus). We hauled them home and got advice from our driver about how to use fresh coconut water (the liquid inside the coconut) and coconut meat to make a traditional fish stew. If all goes well, we will have it for lunch tomorrow. <br />
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We also got invitations to go fishing for crayfish and to go to the meadows where a certain kind of grass grows that figures into traditional basket-weaving. We really hope that we can fit in everything that we are being offered. We are getting very familiar with what it means to be a Dominican and what it means to be a Carib. We know that we will never really know either of those things, but we are happy to be getting insights that we never would have gotten from our rooms in Moraga. We miss home, but we are happy about what is happening for us (and for our hosts) here. We would still love to hear from you, though, so comment on this blog or write individual emails to the people you know on this trip. They are all working very hard and could use some encouragement. Thanks for following!<br />
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We weren’t quick to hit the worksite today, but we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> quick to finish today’s job nonetheless. We got to the site to find a new pile of gravel awaiting our wheelbarrows and buckets and we were happy to start scooting it from place to place as soon as we could. We finally had both pulleys operational, along with the new platform that can service both destinations at the same time. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">People just cranked into jobs and we managed to reduce the numbers at each point of the process so we could spread ourselves across two pulleys at the same time. We’ve gotten somewhat artistic about the various positions, enough that we can actually compare notes on strategies that help us “stick the landing” of the buckets at the bottom. We have really developed a feel for the ropes, ideas for how to make the buckets roll at the right speed, a sense of the proper weight of the contents for each bucket, and signals and codes to keep each other on top of what is going on (“fire in the hole!” and “incoming!” are our two favorite ways to give each other the heads up). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve created our own language of pulley-ness, as we have the main rope, the “leash,” and the “tail” on our short line. The long rope has all of that plus “pigtails” that are part of its stabilizing mechanism. We have different descriptions for the loads we favor and the ways to pack them onto the carabiner. All in all, we function like a little ant farm up and down the hill, but we are pretty sure that we laugh harder than ants tend to laugh. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After all of our ingenuity and practice on the pulley systems, we managed to move a whole pile of stone that equaled 6 cubic yards (otherwise known as roughly 18,000 pounds) in about two hours. In case you missed that stat, we moved 9 TONS of stone in two hours with 16 of us and about four or five Dominican friends. Now add on the two same-sized loads that we had already moved and we are at 27 tons of sand and stone, with one more 18,000 pound pile in our near future. Our total on sand and stone will be about 72,000 pounds (36 tons). We also have to move 75 bags of cement that weigh 94 pounds each (totaling over 7000 pounds). With other miscellaneous items (not even including our own tools) we will be hovering just under 100,000 pounds of materials that we will have transported down the slope from the trailhead between the fence and the breadfruit tree. Wow. And ouch. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This afternoon, then, we took a break from hauling and bucket brigading and visited a local falls that Charles calls Massage Falls (which he pronounces as MASS-ahj Falls). We had to slip and slide over boulders full of algae to gain access to the entry to the falls, and we all did it with pretty good attitudes and general success. As today’s theme implies, though, every one of us was much wetter than we intended to be when we reached the falls itself. Most of us had dowsed our backpacks or the clothes we were wearing long before we got to the point of actually swimming on purpose. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Our destination, though, definitely lived up to its name, as most of us backed ourselves up into a space where whitewater was gushing fast over the rocks (in a pretty controlled way) and providing a lovely massage for anyone who could get his or her body to properly align with the current. We used spotters and guards (mostly Jared) to keep our footing as we did the falls thing and everyone that entered the “massage” part of the riverbed had a blast. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We hauled our soggy butts home for dinner and spent the evening catching up on pictures and videos (at least on our hard drives, not on our blog yet – sorry!). We’ll spend part of Sunday setting those things into place here so that you can catch up with our adventures too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK6vJIVMkD1S78IpuLB6J0IIqNekodBRYzJxoDNXiNiW4DIdoylJY71XK8Edjnl08iKUUWws6PerXF7wfWvAwP7INuU9uFhGVWi_tcIAh6WFpsmXlzRunL_bEFmH40zbfTLgFtIo4o3A/s1600/DSC01069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK6vJIVMkD1S78IpuLB6J0IIqNekodBRYzJxoDNXiNiW4DIdoylJY71XK8Edjnl08iKUUWws6PerXF7wfWvAwP7INuU9uFhGVWi_tcIAh6WFpsmXlzRunL_bEFmH40zbfTLgFtIo4o3A/s320/DSC01069.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Ashton checking out Scotchy's camera</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5a-hLFEYBrYQrRmzhMBCPuFkJ_RpGVLgt5GUXSjTzuEHoVIuVcbxj4XIypaoGJPoSZ-g2ytbSFvzLJRelA6kFiCRyTjt9pqzkF2HFBOWNufM7xBwRQZKEnwXO8XORP4-qYX70uS4wzFU/s1600/DSC01079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5a-hLFEYBrYQrRmzhMBCPuFkJ_RpGVLgt5GUXSjTzuEHoVIuVcbxj4XIypaoGJPoSZ-g2ytbSFvzLJRelA6kFiCRyTjt9pqzkF2HFBOWNufM7xBwRQZKEnwXO8XORP4-qYX70uS4wzFU/s320/DSC01079.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Ashton tapping a newly-uncovered spring with a leave</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_C5miOIzJUvkT7JPjDe0KHTf7zGt8ilN_aLfPG2QSexfyKpFc60wn72RtV-egumJW4TNsgFRz4s9olBQGXOi66Rfk28z6UJhuZbWrg3e1scZWrJIrDgYYapxNmsv4AWj1Vxv2iB2t8Q/s1600/DSC01086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_C5miOIzJUvkT7JPjDe0KHTf7zGt8ilN_aLfPG2QSexfyKpFc60wn72RtV-egumJW4TNsgFRz4s9olBQGXOi66Rfk28z6UJhuZbWrg3e1scZWrJIrDgYYapxNmsv4AWj1Vxv2iB2t8Q/s320/DSC01086.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The group braves the slips and slides of the Massage Falls</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oC0nWZJ593f0iRfeGdDjzBFC4pbzcxEOz9YwkXtXOpwJgDxScI_mhzWw65xmo0vn-AbS1L4DUAnK1cfIViFTI_1eA373s4_952in2Vo0NRMIUmCT1zxuj5tn34k5QuBYu8sDQn6Jcck/s1600/DSC01091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oC0nWZJ593f0iRfeGdDjzBFC4pbzcxEOz9YwkXtXOpwJgDxScI_mhzWw65xmo0vn-AbS1L4DUAnK1cfIViFTI_1eA373s4_952in2Vo0NRMIUmCT1zxuj5tn34k5QuBYu8sDQn6Jcck/s320/DSC01091.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Team Sisserou got a kick out of seeing this sign</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8pBxPOaGeXjIEZANKS4ERUODblVXsYGt7A88E68ZIH4EfCnxMLs8KnHte6TVWHjoYs4o9xKeO9KZNOZ0kHXme58mU90oL5dgjRhtNc6SJ7ocS54JYz2dIxOmiuoOm0z0kdXSWrJIBVo/s1600/DSC01094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8pBxPOaGeXjIEZANKS4ERUODblVXsYGt7A88E68ZIH4EfCnxMLs8KnHte6TVWHjoYs4o9xKeO9KZNOZ0kHXme58mU90oL5dgjRhtNc6SJ7ocS54JYz2dIxOmiuoOm0z0kdXSWrJIBVo/s320/DSC01094.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The way to the falls</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhz0lxttMeoPxryjkYNb8RS_LJLlXSUmM2NOYlnLpORfKQ_oKs-BWpZdc2VAtfNtOYJYS_WP_r0MuM1qupKTZVfGlnWw1OsKZl0wF8glOU5sehwjtqnF48ztYfdaRENuqPJTmoUwcdvo/s1600/Claude+and+Scotch+Chillin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhz0lxttMeoPxryjkYNb8RS_LJLlXSUmM2NOYlnLpORfKQ_oKs-BWpZdc2VAtfNtOYJYS_WP_r0MuM1qupKTZVfGlnWw1OsKZl0wF8glOU5sehwjtqnF48ztYfdaRENuqPJTmoUwcdvo/s320/Claude+and+Scotch+Chillin.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pushing against the current to get to the massage</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiygDisXtYMI4LG4JJbOFgcJAI1OdgPph8An0h59MSg1nx5LAi3APFBgbCTUmFqGPlM4sTW70-wUC5cAEEFrk0KUQ8hWmSkmdoU0O4C0Ezca0T_d8_eKp-8zPLBQSPTgbuKcP4zlttG1w/s1600/River+and+Rocks3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiygDisXtYMI4LG4JJbOFgcJAI1OdgPph8An0h59MSg1nx5LAi3APFBgbCTUmFqGPlM4sTW70-wUC5cAEEFrk0KUQ8hWmSkmdoU0O4C0Ezca0T_d8_eKp-8zPLBQSPTgbuKcP4zlttG1w/s320/River+and+Rocks3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We got to go on an excursion today!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIJyzRMfbw7MJI_8ZTkRlq2EoZsyFyzmn6sQwxSFZocZTMU-EDrHRCjMkrO7s_0gvfmeww0YFQp6yju_TlWHKA2xYigl9A1FA9kjf8z1LI-s6Fn_3eFt2kgDX37toHZm73ZaN2IKMe_8/s1600/Waterfall3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIJyzRMfbw7MJI_8ZTkRlq2EoZsyFyzmn6sQwxSFZocZTMU-EDrHRCjMkrO7s_0gvfmeww0YFQp6yju_TlWHKA2xYigl9A1FA9kjf8z1LI-s6Fn_3eFt2kgDX37toHZm73ZaN2IKMe_8/s320/Waterfall3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We told you it was pretty</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3T8CghsH9Qk6lWmJIrJ0h40wsl9OJSfIAROMUathpkpNv0qVctNsqCm4RyvqREpm2CFfZirkObv-gqjEk3RHaIAqNXYnrBRd8QBXSGE0Y09byYzIwz98xlAmB2TiLMsAH-_BEe3P4BKE/s1600/ashton+watching+work.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3T8CghsH9Qk6lWmJIrJ0h40wsl9OJSfIAROMUathpkpNv0qVctNsqCm4RyvqREpm2CFfZirkObv-gqjEk3RHaIAqNXYnrBRd8QBXSGE0Y09byYzIwz98xlAmB2TiLMsAH-_BEe3P4BKE/s320/ashton+watching+work.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ashton keeps things going while Luke and Matt H. invent something new</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWrFwoI6VhwUl2OoJI41To2fyY0K2g5_0zCHSJ6DStzJnvo3EYKZQY-JbCxxqJ1YjN2wUUwKtqAk-jwaACS_pQ_OhG0EZghTnPEEY1E9gc5Xuo-sz4plQQWThLeB_OPoaLXKkOfUpBJk/s1600/hi-five.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWrFwoI6VhwUl2OoJI41To2fyY0K2g5_0zCHSJ6DStzJnvo3EYKZQY-JbCxxqJ1YjN2wUUwKtqAk-jwaACS_pQ_OhG0EZghTnPEEY1E9gc5Xuo-sz4plQQWThLeB_OPoaLXKkOfUpBJk/s320/hi-five.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">High five</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsKrYo8YDFGIaETD48Zy-6vqCmDMByGh819dkuX6tCe9jSmRHCBMgGYkrdIl7BhK7rxSBNsfIoem1t6mklaLuXwfov6Py28x4hvWMVyqseLgPt7DXYJQG3UrE8_zgXW19ymdvB8PQh_4/s1600/massaging+falls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsKrYo8YDFGIaETD48Zy-6vqCmDMByGh819dkuX6tCe9jSmRHCBMgGYkrdIl7BhK7rxSBNsfIoem1t6mklaLuXwfov6Py28x4hvWMVyqseLgPt7DXYJQG3UrE8_zgXW19ymdvB8PQh_4/s320/massaging+falls.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wow.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOK05S4a_nVqzjo32JClqsuRbB6ztK4WwEgbMPZchZGb_j6YG4CrEQJz2GFSAO4Y5pabQbSCxCXaw14YZ_9BTSFRoK6NN7l2nzFUlwEoJuNa9VoMWcTdm-XMiAGfba0eDR1rAXF1gdwHY/s1600/matt+in+the+water+falls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOK05S4a_nVqzjo32JClqsuRbB6ztK4WwEgbMPZchZGb_j6YG4CrEQJz2GFSAO4Y5pabQbSCxCXaw14YZ_9BTSFRoK6NN7l2nzFUlwEoJuNa9VoMWcTdm-XMiAGfba0eDR1rAXF1gdwHY/s320/matt+in+the+water+falls.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Matt H. gets his massage</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_hHsKov6x3q0DSbnTUhDpqmoTZ1uXRaNHxH4pEfTGwpgZtLBmT5_unMjvwBkg2OMTGhAhVf2JNey6rUku-3eis0YFIKHLkRKcAffgEjZpV6HnfEewyqVYL-AqAQPjdmnUM0b8fgIs1A/s1600/water+falls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_hHsKov6x3q0DSbnTUhDpqmoTZ1uXRaNHxH4pEfTGwpgZtLBmT5_unMjvwBkg2OMTGhAhVf2JNey6rUku-3eis0YFIKHLkRKcAffgEjZpV6HnfEewyqVYL-AqAQPjdmnUM0b8fgIs1A/s320/water+falls.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A long shot of the falls</div><br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-57599647065411381482011-01-14T20:38:00.000-08:002011-01-17T16:21:43.250-08:00Day Seven: Happy Birthday, Trevor!<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZrWWnHbW7A4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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Day Seven: Happy Birthday, Trevor! (or Jared, or whichever one you are!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">More big work today at the site, as new huge piles of stuff showed up, including steel rods to support our concrete walls, a monster pile of sand, some new rope and other pulley parts, and another wheelbarrow. We needed another wheelbarrow because we took apart one of the first three that we bought to use its axle to fashion an even bigger, even cooler pulley that (we hope) will carry even heavier loads. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luke was the mastermind of the new pulley, though, as usual, all of us joined in at some point in the development of it to weigh in with ideas. We got fatter rope and strung it between trees that are even farther apart than our second zipline (the first one was MUCH less ambitious than we have now become). It took some metal drilling, some blacksmithing, some improvising, and a whole lot of patience, but we finally got the thing running pretty smoothly. Having done so, we noticed the flaw in the plan: in order for the pulley to run smoothly, the top of the rope needed to be so high that we could barely reach it to put loads onto it. When we get to even bigger loads (like 94 pound bags of cement), it would be almost impossible to lift them to where they need to be. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, a set of people (all guys this time) kicked into solving the height problem by building a platform on which to stand to connect the loads. As you can no doubt imagine, they spent quite a bit of time trying to make this thing without any of the usual materials that one might use to build such a platform. They got so involved in the project that we started to wonder if they were spending more labor trying to save labor than the labor that it would have taken to just carry the loads down the steps with no pulleys. We are rather convinced that it will all pay off in the end, so we plugged away and let them get close to finishing before we left the site for the day. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We intended (but failed) to leave early because we had a birthday to celebrate. Our team member Trevor turned 22 today so we wanted to make sure to stop and acknowledge how much we appreciate his presence in our group. We went to a local restaurant that overlooks the ocean (at least during daylight hours) and we had the place almost to ourselves. We mingled a bit, ate quite a lot, and listened to Charles tell us about the Carib people and their history. It took us awhile to realize that none of us had ever been to dinner with a recent head of state before. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And important though he is, Charles knocked himself out on our behalf and made sure that two cakes were delivered to us from the “big city” of Roseau about and hour and a half away. There was a chocolate cake and what they call a “butter” cake, each of which bore the message “Happy Birthday, Trevor,” spelled correctly. (And with the correct name! We don’t know why, but we all keep reversing Trevor’s and Jared’s names, which is maddening to them and to us. They are great friends, so that status might be one reason that we could get them mixed up, but mostly, it’s just a fluke every time it happens. Anyway, back to the cake.) Because birthday cakes aren’t part of the tradition in the Carib Territory, this whole undertaking was quite daunting; still, Charles wanted Trevor’s birthday to be as happy as it could be and he decided that such happiness could be achieved only in the presence of cake. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Charles sang and danced for us a bit and then several of us joined in. The restaurant owner was playing U.S. American pop songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s, some of which were “not by the original artist.” For whatever reason, hearing this music from some other era just made the whole thing feel more festive. Even so, we gathered our things at around 10:15, as we still have work tomorrow. We are also planning a little excursion, which we will tell you all about later. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are signing off for tonight because it’s been a long day, but we urge you to send Trevor good birthday wishes if you are his Facebook friend or a friend from school. And watch for our next birthday to hit in just a few days . . .<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggShv77tOCbd2YwTwuDIJtnh-L5wbWMX1b5UR_H4rXS4j1Kmi3tn1pMkPtRtA4QLZDZDrphtfetGpLcyVMp1_uydX49oxCbnARF_22AaQEKBD1FienveVhpFl8cCoA9u8y2HkqKhH5i9s/s1600/Ashton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggShv77tOCbd2YwTwuDIJtnh-L5wbWMX1b5UR_H4rXS4j1Kmi3tn1pMkPtRtA4QLZDZDrphtfetGpLcyVMp1_uydX49oxCbnARF_22AaQEKBD1FienveVhpFl8cCoA9u8y2HkqKhH5i9s/s320/Ashton.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Our new friend Ashton</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0qqGh46VN2JeanSTUtQuhsSOqlzXVxNl2nsqINcRlRr6o7XBb91eRdbQEoq_w9TsDP8pw48kIF8u_2C58OV5FAsMvczzIhPlG0tMgm4is0ndT6cWd_ZHg4dYmtdCTtduTSLsSalbCjo/s1600/Begining+of+day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0qqGh46VN2JeanSTUtQuhsSOqlzXVxNl2nsqINcRlRr6o7XBb91eRdbQEoq_w9TsDP8pw48kIF8u_2C58OV5FAsMvczzIhPlG0tMgm4is0ndT6cWd_ZHg4dYmtdCTtduTSLsSalbCjo/s320/Begining+of+day.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The spring at the beginning of the day</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_t2lDgE5eunjf4JDnvXthcQDP43E393CJyUI7Eynjo2vRnzkYnJQ8pUIIp6s7UGuKSbUFSAXag8CeGXuTKzYrxJW0xPsLQ1y2LX3CrUOjBuAj3gMd6Y3FmuPeKppNAGBHpgBrG5WTn4/s1600/End+of+day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_t2lDgE5eunjf4JDnvXthcQDP43E393CJyUI7Eynjo2vRnzkYnJQ8pUIIp6s7UGuKSbUFSAXag8CeGXuTKzYrxJW0xPsLQ1y2LX3CrUOjBuAj3gMd6Y3FmuPeKppNAGBHpgBrG5WTn4/s320/End+of+day.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The spring at the end of the day</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeWAhrHRydVc3h2FC27afjTRWPqbeagZ-XJkmuXZf3tfzYQMSXh4pjAJ8PmBNZLwIZPFLpurWWFcWYJHjAsVze09nLFLb53DQ5M6l_mvU_LchKzQqicGt1V8rTTeudslIxXkjIiJs3s4/s1600/Improved+pully.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeWAhrHRydVc3h2FC27afjTRWPqbeagZ-XJkmuXZf3tfzYQMSXh4pjAJ8PmBNZLwIZPFLpurWWFcWYJHjAsVze09nLFLb53DQ5M6l_mvU_LchKzQqicGt1V8rTTeudslIxXkjIiJs3s4/s320/Improved+pully.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Our new heavy-duty pulley system (version 1)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47vTDL7iJJ4tgJm88YpYweGuS3OtZDOlzIb-h6uvKClCnCHsjhkoTmGTr_55CMB2M-0Ydsmd_cOUXwauIMAhPjYcQGYHofwT7WVAf4oW2feuud7D4lSMM_emc8H5iIsovPmHhTtA6Bco/s1600/Pully%252C+Piles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47vTDL7iJJ4tgJm88YpYweGuS3OtZDOlzIb-h6uvKClCnCHsjhkoTmGTr_55CMB2M-0Ydsmd_cOUXwauIMAhPjYcQGYHofwT7WVAf4oW2feuud7D4lSMM_emc8H5iIsovPmHhTtA6Bco/s320/Pully%252C+Piles.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The piles of rock and sand that we've moved by pulley (so far)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCJB1X3vQh9pLyeXQqhlYjBm3yfuTxNtKzXdq4OqRk_KcDI4K3viqbqQuHtaW_64eXVWqlNmZV8IcF7PH7xf3h-jksKapOE9YXIsjW53_mcx_APQsAUcfKrkU7WubirTBjSQ8BG7sNU0/s1600/Christina%252C+Goose%252C+Justinian+Shoveling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCJB1X3vQh9pLyeXQqhlYjBm3yfuTxNtKzXdq4OqRk_KcDI4K3viqbqQuHtaW_64eXVWqlNmZV8IcF7PH7xf3h-jksKapOE9YXIsjW53_mcx_APQsAUcfKrkU7WubirTBjSQ8BG7sNU0/s320/Christina%252C+Goose%252C+Justinian+Shoveling.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ton being a beast on the shovel</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGPmtI4zlJK_gIE5p-3N9WVa13-HQJ3k4sbMpSxbL2vbjL_oXeIPuG2dg0OVZDJXqnl376XNcIJB2J9Em1CoaLv9nQrF2Y2v0bRlwS4PPVidbXFQgwPxcKSAggMP38XfJmSrbEXcOqqg/s1600/Helpin+Pull+the+Bucket+Up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGPmtI4zlJK_gIE5p-3N9WVa13-HQJ3k4sbMpSxbL2vbjL_oXeIPuG2dg0OVZDJXqnl376XNcIJB2J9Em1CoaLv9nQrF2Y2v0bRlwS4PPVidbXFQgwPxcKSAggMP38XfJmSrbEXcOqqg/s320/Helpin+Pull+the+Bucket+Up.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Christina and Ashton helping pull the bucket up</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4_P5ASUw_3tl2lOxYeDRDVJmPSlD4tHRdyFcgDtjzVPWNRhudmKCA8g8VjTUznpZvo7EeBdGo0E3WCAgHKdwNTV0oeTpO2krsQjU7838Kk2UwkkqsSBbItnxndhfcO-dq5MpkXYc9pE/s1600/Lil+Carrib+Shoveling3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4_P5ASUw_3tl2lOxYeDRDVJmPSlD4tHRdyFcgDtjzVPWNRhudmKCA8g8VjTUznpZvo7EeBdGo0E3WCAgHKdwNTV0oeTpO2krsQjU7838Kk2UwkkqsSBbItnxndhfcO-dq5MpkXYc9pE/s320/Lil+Carrib+Shoveling3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Little Carib shoveling</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQkH8ywvTYvGhXxx_LVQemiuDvWaItUYzG_80qfIg4s2XHN74AcB5IxdyX7vpvie1NwPksO2ToKAdd-eGqLqkvS7p9uYgWiMnutOhCmTHzQry9x9Rmj5hKVKOPRQWDNq-edjgpWNem9A/s1600/Testin+the+2nd+Pully.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQkH8ywvTYvGhXxx_LVQemiuDvWaItUYzG_80qfIg4s2XHN74AcB5IxdyX7vpvie1NwPksO2ToKAdd-eGqLqkvS7p9uYgWiMnutOhCmTHzQry9x9Rmj5hKVKOPRQWDNq-edjgpWNem9A/s320/Testin+the+2nd+Pully.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Trying to get the second pulley into play</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHJqLU-viqtF-R9I-x7Wh-hHE2JxmaWwBHhLY7xkrKVhDdT8ZMHFvbpDTroe4tG2OcmhNfA0b656luRtmMAWQ8gAV1MYIMkBAzflb0_W9LeZldopzcelDAddxYvSpY6Ut5hnsyE0xuPo/s1600/Admiring+the+Bod.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHJqLU-viqtF-R9I-x7Wh-hHE2JxmaWwBHhLY7xkrKVhDdT8ZMHFvbpDTroe4tG2OcmhNfA0b656luRtmMAWQ8gAV1MYIMkBAzflb0_W9LeZldopzcelDAddxYvSpY6Ut5hnsyE0xuPo/s320/Admiring+the+Bod.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Admiring the bod</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-COFlmWPzXF8K7DXeOnPPDP0GV5dvLJxn_SdXXKaU5IFwGTs-p9Z3Uxu37mRpZT2caxkBK9EcYlA67WnmMsPckfQMXCH3XUXu3GoR8IcTQqRieItqrly1j397sY3xkZJPl75kCndgb6Q/s1600/Ashton+checking+out+the+worksite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-COFlmWPzXF8K7DXeOnPPDP0GV5dvLJxn_SdXXKaU5IFwGTs-p9Z3Uxu37mRpZT2caxkBK9EcYlA67WnmMsPckfQMXCH3XUXu3GoR8IcTQqRieItqrly1j397sY3xkZJPl75kCndgb6Q/s320/Ashton+checking+out+the+worksite.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ashton checking out the worksite</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN6Vicg4Ql0yyrWJNSi1_-mpE_2hJIdRAiRvUfFJe6K_U-T5Np3WgB_QXbHe_GeaJuMj0374-GTgXA2yjP98KHm5RW7asvXirA0y5YElZzPqSc6NFkf5tN0JtkTh7cRrHfoJ8JngllRg/s1600/Crack+the+whip.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN6Vicg4Ql0yyrWJNSi1_-mpE_2hJIdRAiRvUfFJe6K_U-T5Np3WgB_QXbHe_GeaJuMj0374-GTgXA2yjP98KHm5RW7asvXirA0y5YElZzPqSc6NFkf5tN0JtkTh7cRrHfoJ8JngllRg/s320/Crack+the+whip.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crack the whip</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzVi-EaoEhziGMzyxzUF1LMSHMxz1qB_xinrJiPIt951T4iZmyXCNFlOy6ypfntpDub605EwgBt35RUYnqUOxEEepqLwwz1mhcCa0vf4hKoULUCjXtvCByfvP1fhDc3H8b2A5qpIy7A0/s1600/Do+it+Scott%2521%2521%2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzVi-EaoEhziGMzyxzUF1LMSHMxz1qB_xinrJiPIt951T4iZmyXCNFlOy6ypfntpDub605EwgBt35RUYnqUOxEEepqLwwz1mhcCa0vf4hKoULUCjXtvCByfvP1fhDc3H8b2A5qpIy7A0/s320/Do+it+Scott%2521%2521%2521.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Do it, Scott!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNrKCoDfdWqzYSZmj8sXrk8a1u5U5zBOvBspuObyizW_H1a6n8kps_7e0lauJ8oIjXWtDp7P7Yna-j4Aa27jbFhcbMHjIVUnb6-R-cZCm8kcSxS7UQ3Exj_Xb2bj73T4puTh3DqWyY5M/s1600/Sand+Bagging+It.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNrKCoDfdWqzYSZmj8sXrk8a1u5U5zBOvBspuObyizW_H1a6n8kps_7e0lauJ8oIjXWtDp7P7Yna-j4Aa27jbFhcbMHjIVUnb6-R-cZCm8kcSxS7UQ3Exj_Xb2bj73T4puTh3DqWyY5M/s320/Sand+Bagging+It.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sandbagging it</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2ZIA11BL7JMuQ8uhTiHJ7cz8I80NyzUs6BaEIWAvHCypWnUXsuMw4L4Mg0NH-IrBtU2aJHsJL5IlJmvB4spkuFRiCAnLkl56uPu3rzf53q_9fY5uvSozPOwOIGlZ1uDA2KJopYbyfJA/s1600/The+long+walk+home.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2ZIA11BL7JMuQ8uhTiHJ7cz8I80NyzUs6BaEIWAvHCypWnUXsuMw4L4Mg0NH-IrBtU2aJHsJL5IlJmvB4spkuFRiCAnLkl56uPu3rzf53q_9fY5uvSozPOwOIGlZ1uDA2KJopYbyfJA/s320/The+long+walk+home.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The long walk home</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhgYAFFFdSAKCh52m1jB2RaRTXVUEFtk-LzBQFqpWTO8Gc5dEE6iRVUDMvzG4W8PgNMdCsCQwaFtsnx4qRxUjg3jyWLFYluCTKBBMM-Ny0PvvYWN7kdQLjGhATHoNON1riaZ4LymswS4/s1600/Um...how+do+I+use+this+thing%253F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhgYAFFFdSAKCh52m1jB2RaRTXVUEFtk-LzBQFqpWTO8Gc5dEE6iRVUDMvzG4W8PgNMdCsCQwaFtsnx4qRxUjg3jyWLFYluCTKBBMM-Ny0PvvYWN7kdQLjGhATHoNON1riaZ4LymswS4/s320/Um...how+do+I+use+this+thing%253F.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Um . . . how do I use this thing?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZIUp9SBKQGn4PfFiUEfBIuhyphenhyphen0DITDiUbOT0A_vN6snFBrAvIfRg2NFYGATOzI0vkmLMSXu7iN2Q3Ge1KX3iplPJbLXWre2-viFvvGu7LXb5HBOCekokSMD3qudOp8NiOSJWSYz1Jxfg/s1600/Matt+Kills+a+Crab.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZIUp9SBKQGn4PfFiUEfBIuhyphenhyphen0DITDiUbOT0A_vN6snFBrAvIfRg2NFYGATOzI0vkmLMSXu7iN2Q3Ge1KX3iplPJbLXWre2-viFvvGu7LXb5HBOCekokSMD3qudOp8NiOSJWSYz1Jxfg/s320/Matt+Kills+a+Crab.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Matt accidentally killed a crab. With a shovel. Ew. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckbLetB9lyb4Y8SrMTI-Jt4kX5AazEDH_EWyKdFwavFgxEPPF5QPXi-yvytN83M7WPNkTImytq1gZhCwLLNr2dHM5vnhl8CialmvdljoUmT5SfqSpL_xQUaaKmhwYjVtOxqcY-L_TXCY/s1600/The+Second+Pully-Operational.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckbLetB9lyb4Y8SrMTI-Jt4kX5AazEDH_EWyKdFwavFgxEPPF5QPXi-yvytN83M7WPNkTImytq1gZhCwLLNr2dHM5vnhl8CialmvdljoUmT5SfqSpL_xQUaaKmhwYjVtOxqcY-L_TXCY/s320/The+Second+Pully-Operational.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Look! Two fully operational pulley systems that work!</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The birthday boy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-86563862232436429342011-01-14T04:33:00.000-08:002011-01-15T14:06:55.443-08:00Day Six: "Women Power!"<div class="MsoNormal">Today's video was made by Team Danje:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Woman Power!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Based on our standing Jan Term rule that “jobs have no gender,” we have no trouble recognizing the strength and skill that our female team members possess. Some of the places that we travel don’t always share our perspective. Today, though, our Dominican friends got to see just how gung-ho our women really are. Actually, everyone on our team is really kicking it up into gears that they never knew existed.</div><div class="MsoNormal">When we got to the worksite after an excellent oatmeal breakfast, we decided to give our pulley system a try on the newly-arrived pile of ¾ inch gravel. We strategized about who needed to be where and what safety strategies we needed to be sure that nothing would go wrong. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One set of people went to the rockpile (just past the end of the fence by the breadfruit tree) and shoveled the rocks into wheelbarrows. Some shoveled the whole pile, others ran the very heavy barrows through the muddy woods on a narrow path and others took the pile of rocks at the staging area and shoveled it into buckets. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From there, different ones of us would push press the 50-ish pound buckets up to the carabiner attached to the pulley on the zipline. With a signal to the folks at the bottom, they would give it a healthy push, then watch it float down the line while holding it back with a secondary “leash.” Along with the leash, a strap hangs from the carabiner so that if the catchers can’t catch the bucket itself, they can catch it by the tail. At the same time, someone at the far end of the rope would pull it down and back just a bit so that the bucket would land just at the right place for the catchers to catch it. The system worked almost flawlessly most of the day and the times that it didn’t, we did not face the worst case scenarios that we had imagined. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In fact, we managed to move the whole first batch of stone all the way from the trailhead to the spring before lunch. We still have three more deliveries of gravel and sand to transport down the hill, so we will continue to improve our systems as we go. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After lunch, we jumped back into mud transfer, with bucket brigades once again the order of the day. We also had to move some HUGE stones, which usually involved having most of our strongest team members on one rock at once and rolling and pushing and grunting and straining until it went where it belonged. When a few women tried to join onto the rock-rolling job, Charles at first turned them away, afraid that they would get hurt. Hearing that, the women joined forces and started moving huge rocks on their own. When Charles saw it happen, he let out our title line: “Women Power!” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We walked back up the slope (which is still a bear but seems shorter than it felt at first) carrying all of our tools and equipment. We happened upon cricket practice, which gave us a great reason to take a breather on the slope. We learned that there will be a big cricket game on Sunday, so maybe we will stop by and try to get a sense of what that game is all about. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve talked to many of the locals along the roadway and all of them are excited to see us and are thanking us for the water work that we will leave behind. The completion of this project still seems far away, but we are starting to get a better feel for its importance in this community. And we are also starting to get to know our co-workers better, both from within our group and from the Carib Territory. We’re happy (if tired) and laughing almost all day long. Our water is also working again, so things have gotten pretty easy for us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">p.s. We forgot to tell you that one of our highlights from yesterday was finding a crab in the water that was actually in the process of birthing little crab babies. We’ll post a picture today . . .<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIiwfQmVc3tYI2Kx-l4x_iTo0K6JuB6V7biXj5Bd-J32rUDJ6ehh6tHPAYoVWTCDmzEGeMhd1xk-K8BV7FtaPjmtHC6VMwJhhW8Se9__InFz-Jb1C8DZOb2ln11MKjjVOTIOyj_Qs1PM/s1600/DSC01032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIiwfQmVc3tYI2Kx-l4x_iTo0K6JuB6V7biXj5Bd-J32rUDJ6ehh6tHPAYoVWTCDmzEGeMhd1xk-K8BV7FtaPjmtHC6VMwJhhW8Se9__InFz-Jb1C8DZOb2ln11MKjjVOTIOyj_Qs1PM/s320/DSC01032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkgdsCy4YHJiGpbVcaxNUfoXUKM21Njh-i5hCb3LcnDNOOgWNn6qI1NhrANanY8ZIMZJDzEd9e5iyQE8mI9fXtQVTpMRSHtbfT6QnhS2k3xHRWmG0w3qqNxibzyOv2RGhk-cDVbIU3bA/s1600/Bucket+Brigade+Bash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkgdsCy4YHJiGpbVcaxNUfoXUKM21Njh-i5hCb3LcnDNOOgWNn6qI1NhrANanY8ZIMZJDzEd9e5iyQE8mI9fXtQVTpMRSHtbfT6QnhS2k3xHRWmG0w3qqNxibzyOv2RGhk-cDVbIU3bA/s320/Bucket+Brigade+Bash.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bucket Brigade Bash</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnAGqgLuIDEvX-KZBf8gn48smjX52AyZEt_aMU5gtlMOVxuSILg-XUv6FkXX-uTPlmssH8-ZO6vXqqRty8LwGngdktX3xwuwHDQu7kViarw-IcjKmT0OUqhzywiR4gn3LekmVJfZe0jk/s1600/Can+you+get+that+itch+for+me%253F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnAGqgLuIDEvX-KZBf8gn48smjX52AyZEt_aMU5gtlMOVxuSILg-XUv6FkXX-uTPlmssH8-ZO6vXqqRty8LwGngdktX3xwuwHDQu7kViarw-IcjKmT0OUqhzywiR4gn3LekmVJfZe0jk/s320/Can+you+get+that+itch+for+me%253F.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Can you scratch that itch for me?</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0KvEFvcicq6GFCuiey5LXS1pvepZk2_rU_9TDi0SRIgmuby6ANoGFmikERQ6b7drBkyBJc6pk0kmGp_BU1nXLpCelJDnZpats4gHmNmeoau6zBgumVXerouvLFPqC3bksXkkkhgPb-4/s1600/Goose+hiding+from+the+rain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0KvEFvcicq6GFCuiey5LXS1pvepZk2_rU_9TDi0SRIgmuby6ANoGFmikERQ6b7drBkyBJc6pk0kmGp_BU1nXLpCelJDnZpats4gHmNmeoau6zBgumVXerouvLFPqC3bksXkkkhgPb-4/s320/Goose+hiding+from+the+rain.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Goose hiding from the rain</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPW3Z0zwHTZHA0_rj4trsrxG9m7leTx5ozFGslbFK1dZNjqmICRBBKmtO38I5hwvuxMosAJRKeRbGYUPZO3H1v5eTWOo57dN1yEXO208bZkCVYZwoXaYd3mJwNMSdf6UosfqsHCuxJBc/s1600/Iris+doing+a+better+job+than+Goose+hiding+from+the+rain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPW3Z0zwHTZHA0_rj4trsrxG9m7leTx5ozFGslbFK1dZNjqmICRBBKmtO38I5hwvuxMosAJRKeRbGYUPZO3H1v5eTWOo57dN1yEXO208bZkCVYZwoXaYd3mJwNMSdf6UosfqsHCuxJBc/s320/Iris+doing+a+better+job+than+Goose+hiding+from+the+rain.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Iris doing a better job than Goose hiding from the rain</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5V1FkuEUo953xEtyzhrwutPD3vJxfRLAj2ewFOjPViPYdDbSQEooIlPc1AoCBgVmGad94jVcOF7-PROSglBz5ZTegHxgenrxhAaE0UcSXs-DOj1Vvk0wYQHDcq0zzyDrIZ-480AzckY/s1600/Pulling+back+the+bucks+on+the+zipline.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5V1FkuEUo953xEtyzhrwutPD3vJxfRLAj2ewFOjPViPYdDbSQEooIlPc1AoCBgVmGad94jVcOF7-PROSglBz5ZTegHxgenrxhAaE0UcSXs-DOj1Vvk0wYQHDcq0zzyDrIZ-480AzckY/s320/Pulling+back+the+bucks+on+the+zipline.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pulling back the bucks on the zipline</div><br />
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</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-68213188381811971652011-01-12T20:53:00.000-08:002011-01-14T05:02:25.489-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"><div class="MsoNormal">Today's video was made by Team Mountain Chicken:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our hearts in Haiti, Haiti in our hearts.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We all took note at different times during the day that if all had gone as planned, we would be in Haiti right now, observing the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake of January 2010. The vets who went to Haiti have had lots of mixed feelings all day, thinking about what our lives would be like right now if we were sleeping in tents and doing a different version of water purification work with much more dire consequences if not done right.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The son of one of our friends from Haiti wrote us on behalf of his father today talking about our time there and about how much they appreciate what happened for them and for all of us this summer. We wrote back saying that we were equally grateful to them (if not moreso) for welcoming us into their lives. We let them know that we think about them often, but that today they rarely left our minds. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We assume that this is the son that we did not meet, as his father told us that he could afford to educate only one of his ten children. To receive an email from that family means that only he could be the one to send it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are sure that lots of people’s thoughts turned to Haiti today, so we won’t belabor the point. But we did spend time tonight talking through what we had lost and gained due to our change in plans. Either way, we are here and we are working hard to be sure that we are making a meaningful contribution to improving the quality of life of the Carib people. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And so today we hit the worksite ready to move as much debris, vegetation, mud and rocks as we possibly could to make the space ready to install our very complex water tank. When we arrived, some of our new Dominican friends were already there clearing ground with machetes and hacking into the rock/dirt wall from which the springs emerge. All of the work that they were doing left huge loads of stuff to be moved out of the way of the flow of the water. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our job was to move all of that stuff. We divided into three teams instead of our usual four, with one team finishing the trailwork on the hillside, another moving piles of newly-cut vegetation into a huge stack that – once it dries – will be burned, and the other chipping away at the rock wall and moving the debris along the creekbed to get it out of the way. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At a few points, several of us got distracted by our crazy plan to develop a pulley system by which to drop the materials down the hill to the site. We did a short one in one direction that worked really well then did another longer one that had a few problems functioning just as we had hoped. Different ones of us shimmied up palm trees at different times to place the ropes, some of us tugged to tighten things over and over again, and all of us weighed in on what would and wouldn’t work. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The prime team of that job included our local physicist, (Jon/“Goose”); our chemistry major/Eagle Scout (Luke), our most skilled survivalist-type (Matt H.), our “what if?”/worst-case scenario expert (Shawny), our budding Marine officer (Jared), and one of our most dedicated strongmen (Trevor). That combination of people meant that we solved a lot of problems just as they arose, though we are still not sure that we have created a workable system. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another show of excellent unity came when massive loads of dirt and rocks needed to be transported down the banks of the creek. We formed one of our famous bucket brigades and sent full buckets of debris one way down the line, then crossed over and sent the empty buckets back by hopscotching them around the full bucket line. (Maybe the video will make this point more clearly.) In any case, the job involved literally TONS of work but also helped us have TONS of fun. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another interesting wrinkle in our day is that there was a water main break somewhere down the hill from where we are staying, meaning that our toilets don’t fill, we can’t take showers in any “normal” way, and none of our faucets work. We have one spigot that is attached to a backup water tank on the property, so at least for now we still have water that we can carry to the toilets to make them flush and we can still filter water to drink. When we brought our mud-caked bodies home from work today, we put on swimsuits and had all of the women gather round and wash ourselves as fast as we could, then all the men eventually did the same. We expect the main to be fixed tomorrow, so we hope that means that our facilities will all come back online at that time. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">No matter what happens with our water supply tomorrow, we realized that we are yet again getting a unique look at the importance of safe water for people all over the world. Right now, we know what we will do if the water does not return: take our two large heavy-duty filters down to the spring where we are working, filter as much water as we can based on the containers we have, and carry them back up the wicked hill just like all of the residents around that area are doing. A couple of us are actually rooting for that outcome, while the rest of us see the impact of the absence of water on our lives even if we are eager for the problem to be fixed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today our hearts were in Haiti, but from now on we see that the world needs us to be tied less to any one place than to the bigger issues and questions that might fall under the general (but difficult to define) category of “human rights.” We doubt if we are going to be the ones who solve the enormous issues we are facing and absorbing, but we know that the first step we can take is to try to understand. That’s why we are here. We hope that we can help you to understand a few things that you didn’t know about as we continue to report out from the Carib Territory. Please stay with us . . .<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypzVeahnTdQsu4eLf1aIde7o-102AcVMUu7MmCy0Z1dyqOOpkkGegCMK7jNcWLBOm1evxngAxIyJjAASfkA9na07eqVJeEgbGc694ne12kQ6oliWSrXf3JE2eF4UWTYNRBALMClrms7U/s1600/julius+digging+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypzVeahnTdQsu4eLf1aIde7o-102AcVMUu7MmCy0Z1dyqOOpkkGegCMK7jNcWLBOm1evxngAxIyJjAASfkA9na07eqVJeEgbGc694ne12kQ6oliWSrXf3JE2eF4UWTYNRBALMClrms7U/s320/julius+digging+3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;">Julius, one of our fellow workers, handles a machete to clear away some brush. </div></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_iQtNC9Ulrtsietdgx16YYylpJIB8SYX-RfFioFu8-pzaucUVgOR78icNs2lRZSVa8oBnh-WRPWab4aCxhnd8gEJQkHhYEHGgvSh85oODTXRFsis1m_nPYvqA2wV6fH1jw_tk1nOUmOg/s1600/matt+climbing+tree+slioette.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_iQtNC9Ulrtsietdgx16YYylpJIB8SYX-RfFioFu8-pzaucUVgOR78icNs2lRZSVa8oBnh-WRPWab4aCxhnd8gEJQkHhYEHGgvSh85oODTXRFsis1m_nPYvqA2wV6fH1jw_tk1nOUmOg/s320/matt+climbing+tree+slioette.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">Matt successfully imitating “Mowgli.” </span> </div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotix_cK2nS7jXwQfcSD6nlk46Fik5hkIAQccUpECLx0VWV5r-pGelTNh0B6Vt8mvxaJe9n1Q2Z1p54nebam8r0pstunHqL2XefCbZarqJJwSD_TeO_eIn403K1VLyC0PvznUBBF-0D4I/s1600/More+Island+Love.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotix_cK2nS7jXwQfcSD6nlk46Fik5hkIAQccUpECLx0VWV5r-pGelTNh0B6Vt8mvxaJe9n1Q2Z1p54nebam8r0pstunHqL2XefCbZarqJJwSD_TeO_eIn403K1VLyC0PvznUBBF-0D4I/s320/More+Island+Love.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;">Love…island style. </div></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuAof2rahP7U7YOz8jhjpQOPzbnGPCORBzNXXkR44Ex0osbMp5TcChFcu-Uenkdb3VHsCuUdeqIlvcfYikxg5HzWtFVgqnCawyqHOXC5dNsrcrrs15Bcjf8xx9WEzcFvA_Fn_aKkCdSk/s1600/Pick+Axe+at+Spring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuAof2rahP7U7YOz8jhjpQOPzbnGPCORBzNXXkR44Ex0osbMp5TcChFcu-Uenkdb3VHsCuUdeqIlvcfYikxg5HzWtFVgqnCawyqHOXC5dNsrcrrs15Bcjf8xx9WEzcFvA_Fn_aKkCdSk/s320/Pick+Axe+at+Spring.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;">No gold yet, more rocks and mud.</div></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySBq5fWUAMVME6FawpfOh757wAGWsZGWyC1K1YFGk8s2XA-gAynVAbR1_CIMJQT6DEF_fF0EA3ekrSgGd4Qx1BksZQ1OlMhIupTIE_V0q-GOZIbOySY2lGi91GO_9mauv1RJzFpNM6Io/s1600/Cocunut+Man.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySBq5fWUAMVME6FawpfOh757wAGWsZGWyC1K1YFGk8s2XA-gAynVAbR1_CIMJQT6DEF_fF0EA3ekrSgGd4Qx1BksZQ1OlMhIupTIE_V0q-GOZIbOySY2lGi91GO_9mauv1RJzFpNM6Io/s320/Cocunut+Man.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;">You put the puppy in the coconut and….wait a minute.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjMuHEdIPFW5nrmLX004FohuS0tQi2umPG4uEXed2Stm4b28KpvVo-CU7BLhRkHdvJ7QLvKfJduq0_fw5syW6cQd181OO23opcYsG-cK5zBFgK3yPDwWI0BfWfuTiqSpV9tW5C4IEWbc/s1600/Bolton+resting+his+muscles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjMuHEdIPFW5nrmLX004FohuS0tQi2umPG4uEXed2Stm4b28KpvVo-CU7BLhRkHdvJ7QLvKfJduq0_fw5syW6cQd181OO23opcYsG-cK5zBFgK3yPDwWI0BfWfuTiqSpV9tW5C4IEWbc/s320/Bolton+resting+his+muscles.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Bolton resting his muscles.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6TBZXU_SVsyOO_slucCoOJS4fRbIjXWhIxP5OWbr3HK9Cn1xZcF51GyqC-sF-b4DhkwNXJ9pyO6k2d-ueD0RK6672qRyC_AjtmJamlhaV8NjFsbaFd1DrZyIaVdxgoJWIoKTdqZaK1g/s1600/Dani+taking+a+break+to+practice+some+yoga.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6TBZXU_SVsyOO_slucCoOJS4fRbIjXWhIxP5OWbr3HK9Cn1xZcF51GyqC-sF-b4DhkwNXJ9pyO6k2d-ueD0RK6672qRyC_AjtmJamlhaV8NjFsbaFd1DrZyIaVdxgoJWIoKTdqZaK1g/s320/Dani+taking+a+break+to+practice+some+yoga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Dani taking a break to practice some yoga.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjMRMsDRB1XIdbwo7dnTzwPqd9o2cn1gMLSYibH9yUvI6zXJatCIB0cl673mYqxRMplLRKUhYYuspTpkgfsLXGVwcCt2yn-tnalfPBNhbD_saTFZF8GpUt2bonPWe47418aK5cgUVgH0/s1600/Goose+redirecting+the+river.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjMRMsDRB1XIdbwo7dnTzwPqd9o2cn1gMLSYibH9yUvI6zXJatCIB0cl673mYqxRMplLRKUhYYuspTpkgfsLXGVwcCt2yn-tnalfPBNhbD_saTFZF8GpUt2bonPWe47418aK5cgUVgH0/s320/Goose+redirecting+the+river.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Goose redirecting the river.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJj1BVboX4HMgWdshsw6_98g7ZvwKdJKzk42Z31TXLY_HCgA3nsgMH2u0q0L7NVC7-S2-xkFQ4xV9edXwEUnXQ8p1XagXfQVHdn3oXTrNhXvCDGCeT2kO8bF-vLlzvJEcexLFSocpcmzc/s1600/Julius+getting+his+chop+on.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJj1BVboX4HMgWdshsw6_98g7ZvwKdJKzk42Z31TXLY_HCgA3nsgMH2u0q0L7NVC7-S2-xkFQ4xV9edXwEUnXQ8p1XagXfQVHdn3oXTrNhXvCDGCeT2kO8bF-vLlzvJEcexLFSocpcmzc/s320/Julius+getting+his+chop+on.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Julius getting his chop on.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPJimjnyAhyphenhyphenhdFun7P_KIqZgiX4bwM-nlE68VNpammlfNwEtBm98B3Ofa2wvm9uG97HGVawvAs3S4fV4eZzG6U1FZmQHcV6WiC_QBIeC9PXAvJ4nTYb9f2PSNTmMlUnQkRpXbxng_360/s1600/Morgan+and+Jared+hard+at+work.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPJimjnyAhyphenhyphenhdFun7P_KIqZgiX4bwM-nlE68VNpammlfNwEtBm98B3Ofa2wvm9uG97HGVawvAs3S4fV4eZzG6U1FZmQHcV6WiC_QBIeC9PXAvJ4nTYb9f2PSNTmMlUnQkRpXbxng_360/s320/Morgan+and+Jared+hard+at+work.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Morgan and Jared hard at work<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrwjVouAR_Pj66w9yYgi_zPkOdINmTcfr7jBU60WbRwF9QA1i3-7BOJdUci5TYVBtnXXn99SKDNMPB1gqN-f0sXnmoegqTLLS3DXBacTPF3lmSMcoqf33zg-C9CRbRhD-au0coc0PaKc/s1600/The+mud-bucket+brigade...Mud+everywhere%2521%2521%2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrwjVouAR_Pj66w9yYgi_zPkOdINmTcfr7jBU60WbRwF9QA1i3-7BOJdUci5TYVBtnXXn99SKDNMPB1gqN-f0sXnmoegqTLLS3DXBacTPF3lmSMcoqf33zg-C9CRbRhD-au0coc0PaKc/s320/The+mud-bucket+brigade...Mud+everywhere%2521%2521%2521.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The mud-bucket brigade...Mud everywhere!!!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></span>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-49203476680064709352011-01-11T21:02:00.000-08:002011-01-14T05:39:09.500-08:00Day Four: Between the Fence and the Breadfruit Tree<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Today's video is by Team Arretao:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"Between the fence and the breadfruit tree </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>. . . where the two trees stand alone." </i></span></div><br />
Okay folks, if you haven't caught up with our blogs so far, today is the day to really get a feel for what we are doing. The quote above is some of the beautiful accidental poetry spoken by our host, Charles Williams. Charles is quite a celebrity here (the respected kind, not the spectacle kind) and the more we talk with him, the more we see why. As he helped us get our bearings about our very complicated job, we got a whole new feel for where we are and what it means to be here. <br />
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Our day began with our first walk down a steep, STEEP, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">STEEP</span> hill (with immediate anticipatory agony about the eventual walk back up) to the end of the paved road. From there, Charles sent us a bit farther until we turned left "between the fence and the breadfruit tree." As he pointed to where we were headed -- down another slope and into a ravine -- he gestured out to two tall trees in the near distance, indicating that we would find our worksite there "where the two trees stand alone." <br />
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Before we even got to our site, then, we were completely blown away by all that was wrapped up in those two simple and beautiful phrases. We were swept into a different way of finding one's place, a set of priorities that seem different from our own (but to which we might aspire), and a culture that is based in nature, surrounded by nature, and guided by nature. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Strangely, our task at the bottom of this climb seemed intuitively counter to everything the last sentence implies. That is, our job here is to tame and control some of the beauty that we encountered. More specifically, we came upon a volcanic rock wall with little springs bursting from it, rolling down the rock, then joining into a creek that runs by below. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">It’s hard to spot sometimes, but actually, views like this one are <i>all over</i> this island. Really all over it. All along the roadsides are little bursts of water coming out of the rock walls, spilling filtered spring water out onto the land below. In fact, those springs are the source of most drinking water here and much ingenuity goes into methods by which to capture it for use. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">The place we encountered today is one of the ones used by surrounding residents to collect drinking water. Just below, they also bathe and do laundry in the area. Sometimes, though, they bathe and do laundry above the area, then collect water from the pools that collect underneath the springs. As we can all guess, the water that one collects downstream from a bathing site is at least slightly less desirable than water collected before it has connected with soap, detergent, and dirty clothes/people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Thus, Charles wants to build a tank that will collect the flow just before it hits the creek, then let the runoff continue into the creek. The neighbors can tap the water from the tank instead of putting jugs in the pools and then they can bathe anywhere along the span without changing the composition of the drinking water. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Our job, then, is to take this idyllic remote water source and surround it in concrete. Of course, we are already struggling with thoughts of the “before and after” pictures that will accompany this endeavor, but we also clearly see that finding a way to secure and contain safe drinking water must be a top priority for people all over the world. </span>Dominica is fortunate that it has this particular resource in such plenty, but its residents (particularly those in the Carib Territory) need help making things work in a way that will protect their health and safety. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">And so, we spent today doing some serious hard labor as we cleared a path over which we can carry materials to dam this spring for the benefit of the people living around it. It’s a difficult concept to express, especially because the process of clearing a trail is initially quite destructive, involving shovels, machetes, pickaxes, pitchforks, and all manner of scraping devices. Add huge whopping loads of rain forest rain on top of all of this labor and perhaps you can get close to understanding the intensity of our experience today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">As one part of our trail strategy, we harvested rocks from all along the creek to become the steps down from the road to the spring. This might all seem very sweet and serene, but when you walk downhill in a slippery creekbed, then walk back up carrying a really big rock, you will find that even though the end of the situation is rewarding, the middle part is pretty strenuous. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">We did, though, get to see the first signs of the power of unity, as each of our hard-won stones found its way to a pile at the bottom of the trail, then got relocated up the hillside to become stairsteps. Occasionally, then, as some team member returned from a rock foray, he or she would glance up the hill and let out a big fat “wow” in seeing all that had happened in just the few moments that the person had been away. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Now that we have seen this site, we are beginning to think that completion of this job in the time frame available to us will be daunting, meaning this might be our one and only job here. The logistics of getting the materials that we need down the trail that we hiked are mind-boggling and produce no end of conversation about brilliant ideas that might make the job a little less laborious. We will soon see. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Enjoy the video posted above and watch for pictures to emerge below in the coming days. We especially hope you enjoy them if you are Renee Egan, or a sixth-grader at Happy Hollow Elementary School in West Lafayette, Indiana, or a third grader at Southwestern Elementary in Hanover, Indiana. We hope you’ll let us know if you do . . .</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOtagAps6ENC_Cq2NMpCUOBH4PmjAjszs4Tb2l-yukueDefgMKrmHYVJNa5wfkoNWRId3yyW_xnC7dCX2vVCXaoALhz3RAbIgp7wGARbXcwcexW6bYplzzyE_dw-ujJCSRAbWaYqfBfg/s1600/clean+the+muddy+river.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOtagAps6ENC_Cq2NMpCUOBH4PmjAjszs4Tb2l-yukueDefgMKrmHYVJNa5wfkoNWRId3yyW_xnC7dCX2vVCXaoALhz3RAbIgp7wGARbXcwcexW6bYplzzyE_dw-ujJCSRAbWaYqfBfg/s320/clean+the+muddy+river.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">Another man from Dominica was helping us move the scraps that were cut down out of the way.</span> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5TEBTiQ4sPX4LFo2UJpw5Cd5cwJ-3OmrNJSeoc6qNNmksYODUw4QKWftBls1ZvSm8qM_ErFrbyBHJhNaINdYBIkB8W58_HUnZ-eD8hymOsHjrDyk3G_7YNUmZr5m_A4vd1KzOz8HlrI/s1600/guys+pushin+a+log.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5TEBTiQ4sPX4LFo2UJpw5Cd5cwJ-3OmrNJSeoc6qNNmksYODUw4QKWftBls1ZvSm8qM_ErFrbyBHJhNaINdYBIkB8W58_HUnZ-eD8hymOsHjrDyk3G_7YNUmZr5m_A4vd1KzOz8HlrI/s320/guys+pushin+a+log.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">We join the Caribs in a successful effort to clear a log from their future water storage site.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8VlU4Q2__8gNshn9OvIDFla4AK2e-M__dGid7JnuMZaBeQjCElpQuDOZMbpbpzo3BO0cqGuP69CQ6MeKv36XkFXAYgbSdFeKOAetAx-UXE8pRa2yRg0cBpE3twJONjCxM3dD4ujpQFI/s1600/machete+action+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8VlU4Q2__8gNshn9OvIDFla4AK2e-M__dGid7JnuMZaBeQjCElpQuDOZMbpbpzo3BO0cqGuP69CQ6MeKv36XkFXAYgbSdFeKOAetAx-UXE8pRa2yRg0cBpE3twJONjCxM3dD4ujpQFI/s320/machete+action+3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the men who lives in Dominica was assisting us in our project today. He was using the machete to cut a tree in half in order for us to be able to move it out of the way. </span></span> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqzBjYwrtVCYNeQyJ1qz-S0rwVro1yvTd_hC90D9Wx6zE0b45XTa3nWbXcY_lrzJ_lmMB_Ile5S1f1NjZKFLjKh1tspGLE-ZR-0oS7yWa2iPXk5_QwQiHMeLw6yvRVsJxnETWDHyRB0Q/s1600/sick+shoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqzBjYwrtVCYNeQyJ1qz-S0rwVro1yvTd_hC90D9Wx6zE0b45XTa3nWbXcY_lrzJ_lmMB_Ile5S1f1NjZKFLjKh1tspGLE-ZR-0oS7yWa2iPXk5_QwQiHMeLw6yvRVsJxnETWDHyRB0Q/s320/sick+shoes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Ahh I really want a pair of those shoes!”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfaVwNm0eAYlEUcdWyzbVctYZHEAS0SQ4mIEwMdDay9yh9HPf-SPi1jzzl415uUo9Jt_MDoi4yCg3ndcuA2y-Wl7pp-esNIHLS4hvl4Ds6nEZI0n7N6htpEiNr5sUpeM_f8CCvIo-idQ/s1600/water+from+spring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfaVwNm0eAYlEUcdWyzbVctYZHEAS0SQ4mIEwMdDay9yh9HPf-SPi1jzzl415uUo9Jt_MDoi4yCg3ndcuA2y-Wl7pp-esNIHLS4hvl4Ds6nEZI0n7N6htpEiNr5sUpeM_f8CCvIo-idQ/s320/water+from+spring.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">In this picture is the, as local Carib, Julius says, “The purest water there is, very tasty.” Over the next 15 days we will manipulate nature using Carib and college student ingenuity in order to collect enough water for all thirsts to be quenched.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NMY_V50fFuWPvECUAgmoN1GbvKuhZhbyK17jbtPZvFUDItQOpBwKzOQj1VKnC5-3Y4SfYqw717R_0HxAKITnvT35rdnlfjzmxSyZk8tnnoG16lfGCoWINVniD5Xz53IjN0_StnjiHa4/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NMY_V50fFuWPvECUAgmoN1GbvKuhZhbyK17jbtPZvFUDItQOpBwKzOQj1VKnC5-3Y4SfYqw717R_0HxAKITnvT35rdnlfjzmxSyZk8tnnoG16lfGCoWINVniD5Xz53IjN0_StnjiHa4/s320/2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Everyone pushing to move a fallen tree in our way.</span></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHE_Y-La4abxMYezlSSm3GaLqKpSqGfwtSB1iQQKZKtlk3HLGr4JS29Oe9SDvsZJ3xWP2UNeOffEbPsLgaJthYU5zP7hqXWj0XV9fsiSTNcBjXcwcGbxJeB9WpZqvEIHSsKJc1QdA0OE/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHE_Y-La4abxMYezlSSm3GaLqKpSqGfwtSB1iQQKZKtlk3HLGr4JS29Oe9SDvsZJ3xWP2UNeOffEbPsLgaJthYU5zP7hqXWj0XV9fsiSTNcBjXcwcGbxJeB9WpZqvEIHSsKJc1QdA0OE/s320/1.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Matt H. clearing away vegetation so we can cut down this tree.</span></span></div><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Vl1HWe0hKNnhApziPoz1GTqi3NpVdy07MvNbdJ0BWYdghqqcLweANuQs5kvx3akCbwa3gJA6pSYwCtiOFzSSCiFes94ciy7RHDGZf0IU1D9V3Nb03J0Rj6CFTmLQK0JF9E-4CAF3xQE/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Vl1HWe0hKNnhApziPoz1GTqi3NpVdy07MvNbdJ0BWYdghqqcLweANuQs5kvx3akCbwa3gJA6pSYwCtiOFzSSCiFes94ciy7RHDGZf0IU1D9V3Nb03J0Rj6CFTmLQK0JF9E-4CAF3xQE/s320/3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A frog on Scott's shoulder.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSq-i-bHCbE4dPeSgRuag_uZCJ-425t4EgQCutgrMm5BD8uAFjrd8Z0UEpi_T3PosCSg4joOhFYTO0f3LyfIhylUs7T1PQQQy7yBLFHgw1-yGgGgvE5wr3MogGIPJK5fdjQeOOCaViaBE/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSq-i-bHCbE4dPeSgRuag_uZCJ-425t4EgQCutgrMm5BD8uAFjrd8Z0UEpi_T3PosCSg4joOhFYTO0f3LyfIhylUs7T1PQQQy7yBLFHgw1-yGgGgvE5wr3MogGIPJK5fdjQeOOCaViaBE/s320/4.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A local boy peeking out of his door to take a look.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Times; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></span></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><div style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="font-family: Times; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The site of our water capture project.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></span></span></div></span></div><br />
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</span></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-67740355466186421322011-01-11T19:22:00.000-08:002011-01-13T14:08:37.392-08:00Day Three: Dominica, Finally!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Today's video by team Sisserou:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6AorHnfy9q8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Day Three: Dominica, Finally!<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We arrived! Our stay in Martinique was far too short, as it truly only involved a night of sleep, breakfast, and a fast hustle to the boat dock to catch our next catamaran. This trip was much rougher than the rest, but only one of us really suffered any motion sickness. Perhaps the fact that we decided to eat lunch on the boat contributed to the suffering of our teammate . . .?<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">In any case, we arrived into Dominica in bright sun combined with a light mist that meant we got to see a lovely double rainbow over the port as we arrived. Wow. Seems like a good omen.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We wrestled our enormous luggage load for the last time (it will be much reduced the next time we move it from place to place), and were pleased to meet our host Charles Williams, the immediate past chief of the Kalinago (Caribs). We learned two very important things on the way up to the Territory: 1) the pronunciation of the country itself IS, in fact “dom-ih-NEE-kuh” and the pronunciation of the people/Territory is “CAR-reeb.” We think. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Make that three important things that we learned as we drove up the hills, as we also discovered that the land here is beautiful, just as we had heard. The landscape is full of volcanic mountains that are covered with lush rain forest, so every corner brings a new combination of deep and bright greens occasionally speckled with bright orange flowers or ripening mangoes. Green is certainly the predominant color that surrounds us no matter where we are. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a lovely dinner from Charles’ wife Margaret, we caught up on our backlog of daily video projects, though we are experiencing trouble trying to post them. (presumably by the time you are reading this note, that problem will have been solved).<br />
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We are in a hillside inn that looks out over the ocean, with sea breezes wafting through continuously. We each have our own bed, we have toilets that flush (more often than not), and we have so far had electricity whenever we wanted it. We have agreed to go scan our new worksite first thing tomorrow, so we hope that the blogs will start to get more interesting from there. <br />
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Also, check back in a day or two and we should have had time to backfill some of the highlight pics from the day so far. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaS_-b2Jg-H-ip7xGfh8eUSFnoOSkIA7m0Bak3iVuMXBpb9tNlYu5mNKY9ulqT69WdJ5a3O6isMOK6lPMOlG7HNnOv-qh7_WCfkdFr9g3JPsWNrPPxP1fYuXtbRpqptriKgjY43c-5hY/s1600/CoastalHomesOfMartenique.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaS_-b2Jg-H-ip7xGfh8eUSFnoOSkIA7m0Bak3iVuMXBpb9tNlYu5mNKY9ulqT69WdJ5a3O6isMOK6lPMOlG7HNnOv-qh7_WCfkdFr9g3JPsWNrPPxP1fYuXtbRpqptriKgjY43c-5hY/s320/CoastalHomesOfMartenique.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Coastal homes of Martinique</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgva4FZcTvuJfUz1Vt35QNQ-gry3rgZRdIgO6KISRSd2IVf6haP1tho0aCHxyPAAk9YKnH9Ri_DAuFl8yRyHMOFsmngebVQj69FtPSlNHtFh9_RSvplkr0ESRUxKrJ6MdGPEjky5rO4U/s1600/Cocunuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgva4FZcTvuJfUz1Vt35QNQ-gry3rgZRdIgO6KISRSd2IVf6haP1tho0aCHxyPAAk9YKnH9Ri_DAuFl8yRyHMOFsmngebVQj69FtPSlNHtFh9_RSvplkr0ESRUxKrJ6MdGPEjky5rO4U/s320/Cocunuts.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Coconuts</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99AOc5E3jBb9nFC93m22rfGOmq_AtnqBfpaFYwbjP6oCh7V6crWU6-P_qe9GaRfEo5XkT6EwAAaRyFLTskVQEv37IzeRdoGg-bk0TjmNcZ_7C-1dRRhsf6XRQyWwHk2qDnETj7GkbS-w/s1600/TinyTrashOfMartanique.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99AOc5E3jBb9nFC93m22rfGOmq_AtnqBfpaFYwbjP6oCh7V6crWU6-P_qe9GaRfEo5XkT6EwAAaRyFLTskVQEv37IzeRdoGg-bk0TjmNcZ_7C-1dRRhsf6XRQyWwHk2qDnETj7GkbS-w/s320/TinyTrashOfMartanique.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny trash can in Martinique</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7c9Z7UmGZVTKPSw9rVM0BeX5ppbSCALYMUHWxJshPHRBYhu2wYw3rXZ1eNRWhAQVrbeM9FqqBC5jF1_nRVseaHBCBIGT3VZKhm0DWHZ8LEZIkfb8wBlvoeSLXd1pYrvGX0Jy3N-DlUB0/s1600/ViewofaBayinDominica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7c9Z7UmGZVTKPSw9rVM0BeX5ppbSCALYMUHWxJshPHRBYhu2wYw3rXZ1eNRWhAQVrbeM9FqqBC5jF1_nRVseaHBCBIGT3VZKhm0DWHZ8LEZIkfb8wBlvoeSLXd1pYrvGX0Jy3N-DlUB0/s320/ViewofaBayinDominica.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View of a bay in Dominica</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyRtFwout6mP0fAYPxT8b0WMeOdjG8LYvTDPAhBvFJpcC1SjSirOnR_ZvK0RmAw7PneYt3TLWzwnHBEWI_N68k6MAiPrvP8Ni1LAWvhR3HOiBorhFor-pcpbdiva0EAt3R0pypj8XibI/s1600/Yumyumyum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyRtFwout6mP0fAYPxT8b0WMeOdjG8LYvTDPAhBvFJpcC1SjSirOnR_ZvK0RmAw7PneYt3TLWzwnHBEWI_N68k6MAiPrvP8Ni1LAWvhR3HOiBorhFor-pcpbdiva0EAt3R0pypj8XibI/s320/Yumyumyum.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Waiting outside the boat dock</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVsW5_9Ki1e_AYSt_fiz89dVIe1ek0FuGW6KKIh4HkYnTwR6TWkTjc5_uARdRmjR0fc-JFITRNBqWQi0XrJfgSiFDhDvrCo9QKZazor1EdcnsqVhAeCIK1-LhlrFCO_WgFz2zNoafd0c/s1600/Half+of+Team+Arretao+showing+some+love.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVsW5_9Ki1e_AYSt_fiz89dVIe1ek0FuGW6KKIh4HkYnTwR6TWkTjc5_uARdRmjR0fc-JFITRNBqWQi0XrJfgSiFDhDvrCo9QKZazor1EdcnsqVhAeCIK1-LhlrFCO_WgFz2zNoafd0c/s320/Half+of+Team+Arretao+showing+some+love.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Half of Team Arretao showing some love</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExJy1gEnWB-qt7QWcROKs4YmxA-RdbRBU04Cee93UtgAIyMgaA0IaxD1mVtlwRZG7kkllWy30cyvM-ZMYv4UKqVlF7qSe4UFSdRLGPTEHnst43lbwUoJquvtLelZMFeXiO5CITyhV51o/s1600/Historic+Fort+Saint+Louis+in+Fort+de+France.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExJy1gEnWB-qt7QWcROKs4YmxA-RdbRBU04Cee93UtgAIyMgaA0IaxD1mVtlwRZG7kkllWy30cyvM-ZMYv4UKqVlF7qSe4UFSdRLGPTEHnst43lbwUoJquvtLelZMFeXiO5CITyhV51o/s320/Historic+Fort+Saint+Louis+in+Fort+de+France.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Historic Fort St. Louis in Fort-de-France</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY6l2V73hAw_gQPik58PncpNxqcBDV9VOPNfOyZUP0UfCdP-29dHf7wKorpqOc2ax8UO-FBYSsxP11R_brL1hteJvVttgEP4322woUnaLTNLOFtDjS_8MHI5Z-gS5k5V0XQYEaRnOg4Q/s1600/Houses+in+the+Carib+Territory+along+the+road.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaY6l2V73hAw_gQPik58PncpNxqcBDV9VOPNfOyZUP0UfCdP-29dHf7wKorpqOc2ax8UO-FBYSsxP11R_brL1hteJvVttgEP4322woUnaLTNLOFtDjS_8MHI5Z-gS5k5V0XQYEaRnOg4Q/s320/Houses+in+the+Carib+Territory+along+the+road.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Houses along the road in the Carib Territory</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEBYWlYOATSXQy2DzNpZKMACz37FQ1ul-pbddbsEz04GaThtAn7JTwH86oOZODkdV4yImj564rGzJWOEuXM2_Ahfkn3TpQ1fRp0lp_mDcfprh6JSqnFY1II9GYiivxDqUNhZthZmd28E/s1600/Jared+and+Iris+checking+out+the+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEBYWlYOATSXQy2DzNpZKMACz37FQ1ul-pbddbsEz04GaThtAn7JTwH86oOZODkdV4yImj564rGzJWOEuXM2_Ahfkn3TpQ1fRp0lp_mDcfprh6JSqnFY1II9GYiivxDqUNhZthZmd28E/s320/Jared+and+Iris+checking+out+the+view.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Jared and Iris checking out the view from our guesthouse</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhVofmifDISWaqi8kth_Xr2X0at72ZIMeoQmuM7vQgAzKrbrfhUIsgzHlcPMg0YHYhWKO7YY5fK92a8kTcn6W57aNaKLrvUii9KxottOcrGzcGjoyzNv8rGk07eJA0FbNlmwQf5fZyDs/s1600/Martinique+beauty+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhVofmifDISWaqi8kth_Xr2X0at72ZIMeoQmuM7vQgAzKrbrfhUIsgzHlcPMg0YHYhWKO7YY5fK92a8kTcn6W57aNaKLrvUii9KxottOcrGzcGjoyzNv8rGk07eJA0FbNlmwQf5fZyDs/s320/Martinique+beauty+.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Martinique Beauty</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI5ndq53nRlO8cTY5Kt7z3eOUuqMLfkocslOoPA7PAvzWqFY3kb4oRbSf0cwm6pwhc6VPyg4rLQ3Hxmb4kiI5P9J8IXj7SsU2j7sHBNgr8ex1RQCKYikUxqj9ORWTat7t-DFXmkdVUMc/s1600/The+Dominica+Flag+as+we+arrive+in+port.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI5ndq53nRlO8cTY5Kt7z3eOUuqMLfkocslOoPA7PAvzWqFY3kb4oRbSf0cwm6pwhc6VPyg4rLQ3Hxmb4kiI5P9J8IXj7SsU2j7sHBNgr8ex1RQCKYikUxqj9ORWTat7t-DFXmkdVUMc/s320/The+Dominica+Flag+as+we+arrive+in+port.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The Dominican flag as we arrive in port</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFOat5msXf05M0fO-7u413ZsV4vYsVoCFRGwfK5V0FD9-biFAaknddUkZ1bYOrG5mimgkIimegan_X5OhlxWvr6ZDv6y_7s78N6u9sLDiiWSWe7djHbTO5zCZwELtvdur85x_rm7By44/s1600/The+view+down+the+street+as+we+stepped+into+Dominica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFOat5msXf05M0fO-7u413ZsV4vYsVoCFRGwfK5V0FD9-biFAaknddUkZ1bYOrG5mimgkIimegan_X5OhlxWvr6ZDv6y_7s78N6u9sLDiiWSWe7djHbTO5zCZwELtvdur85x_rm7By44/s320/The+view+down+the+street+as+we+stepped+into+Dominica.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The view down the street as we stepped into Dominica</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEN8huPyZf6_4CUuMWz2FV9o37_siMqW_iOqniLUyWFYa0i0svx17Y5NwQUnp4G7tBhxdBmjjuZqT-E6GZ_mGriWgrqcTgPEt0r9GkqoSPqlktaNwMsSx8QSLY6X3rBuuCLN165iJpYM/s1600/Vendors+near+the+port+as+we+travel+to+the+Carib+Territory.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEN8huPyZf6_4CUuMWz2FV9o37_siMqW_iOqniLUyWFYa0i0svx17Y5NwQUnp4G7tBhxdBmjjuZqT-E6GZ_mGriWgrqcTgPEt0r9GkqoSPqlktaNwMsSx8QSLY6X3rBuuCLN165iJpYM/s320/Vendors+near+the+port+as+we+travel+to+the+Carib+Territory.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Vendors near the port as we travel toward the Carib Territory</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgditte1JxJ6Y3ShaWBVjTCoQOjAvdodCTYOb5peJGtbmq6ZHZAmG9MYCpYVcYPEG98Uka2-Pf7Eti32wmcBUup-7a3veIw_B5JYwtAMDoyQu-cAo2Xp8ilJiRc6suc7cLguPPhaNtKE/s1600/A+popular+form+of+transportation+through+Dominica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgditte1JxJ6Y3ShaWBVjTCoQOjAvdodCTYOb5peJGtbmq6ZHZAmG9MYCpYVcYPEG98Uka2-Pf7Eti32wmcBUup-7a3veIw_B5JYwtAMDoyQu-cAo2Xp8ilJiRc6suc7cLguPPhaNtKE/s320/A+popular+form+of+transportation+through+Dominica.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">A popular form of transportation in Dominica</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgwkfrzeMRRu1C_xzdbNWvlrk5PB2zWleN2iX9EWHhY6VgyIwMqNSJM8mu3YvObiwhifIL_vSX4kRw9Yk4HyS2q2xgY7sFOtn6rDiyfAnTWoyun4F0W4yvGH6xL3786KyS8-ARrjmKwU/s1600/Houses+in+Dominica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgwkfrzeMRRu1C_xzdbNWvlrk5PB2zWleN2iX9EWHhY6VgyIwMqNSJM8mu3YvObiwhifIL_vSX4kRw9Yk4HyS2q2xgY7sFOtn6rDiyfAnTWoyun4F0W4yvGH6xL3786KyS8-ARrjmKwU/s320/Houses+in+Dominica.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Houses in Dominica</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fGmKXmX3PmG8sU4bOugQx1Sq1Jl0lM-jQIx1DS02sB81VkSY-tjdmQH9kA1ApDGG9RCZYBHC-MSY4QLcxhETZyPkawKQ7v33wcFBO9-XmaRUBkiaQbcZtoqG6lOc2oMw8fa0r-hSdNU/s1600/Outdoor+market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fGmKXmX3PmG8sU4bOugQx1Sq1Jl0lM-jQIx1DS02sB81VkSY-tjdmQH9kA1ApDGG9RCZYBHC-MSY4QLcxhETZyPkawKQ7v33wcFBO9-XmaRUBkiaQbcZtoqG6lOc2oMw8fa0r-hSdNU/s320/Outdoor+market.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">An outdoor market</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzge05o16JGjRMxuOQ7qGMR0fJnuXc2yl7TQ33WwDnEWFyq-0kh3UZKUTv3QntkqGghHpDIQLTlHd8iG5VDTfVPxqVgAjblT4f4TbDg35_tyC4ucwlpLJsAkmi-IFDAn4kf2RbYsVayY/s1600/View+of+Dominica+from+the+boat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzge05o16JGjRMxuOQ7qGMR0fJnuXc2yl7TQ33WwDnEWFyq-0kh3UZKUTv3QntkqGghHpDIQLTlHd8iG5VDTfVPxqVgAjblT4f4TbDg35_tyC4ucwlpLJsAkmi-IFDAn4kf2RbYsVayY/s320/View+of+Dominica+from+the+boat.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View of Dominica from the boat</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCBTWDQR8PkKUge8O5ev7tULX0nTbmIE0QjkIGsFCPfSqqiAqp59i7aOyg9c_Zw3wCkWBrkIL-0ow2qOlIsLtbykNChFc1J8GNMEtKy2oKEN4wk26314scnPqBlM6z9p8eHoLGQNQT1o/s1600/View+of+ocean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCBTWDQR8PkKUge8O5ev7tULX0nTbmIE0QjkIGsFCPfSqqiAqp59i7aOyg9c_Zw3wCkWBrkIL-0ow2qOlIsLtbykNChFc1J8GNMEtKy2oKEN4wk26314scnPqBlM6z9p8eHoLGQNQT1o/s320/View+of+ocean.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View of the ocean from our guesthouse</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxF3orafJ-4D6UwzARDTKWOUYQIRzKm-3jpyge_eh2KLHiCr1sYjLm2KFJ91PV2tSGlvuovNDX3eRbW2jVLL9xKNDZJQ31orJi764h93aGilGoAnXqI3NvCjUhBX-1hIVROLrubCwgFjc/s1600/Welcome+to+Dominica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxF3orafJ-4D6UwzARDTKWOUYQIRzKm-3jpyge_eh2KLHiCr1sYjLm2KFJ91PV2tSGlvuovNDX3eRbW2jVLL9xKNDZJQ31orJi764h93aGilGoAnXqI3NvCjUhBX-1hIVROLrubCwgFjc/s320/Welcome+to+Dominica.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Welcome to Dominica</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-85464493206513217682011-01-11T18:46:00.000-08:002011-01-12T04:30:12.292-08:00Day Two: St. Lucia to Martinique<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Today's video by Team Danje </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5jedj0vuPAc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Welcome to Europe! We are in Martinique, which is officially France. Thus, we entered a totally different language community, a different currency, and a just plain totally different culture. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We spent our hours in St. Lucia at a nearby beach, getting a feel for the lives of real St. Lucians while being in view of a rather large and exclusive resort. We were happy to find the resort totally unappealing to us and we talked about how eager we are to get to our worksite(s) in Dominica. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We started several hours early to get organized for our trip to Martinique by catamaran, a huge ferry that traverses the waters between the islands of the archipelago. We had ample warnings that the crossing would be rough, so we dosed up on motion sickness meds and ran for the top level of the boat, where we heard that it was less likely for people to throw up. We ran bets about how many of us would throw up (and how many times) but happily, we all lost the bet (as no one picked “zero” for either answer). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The boat showed a French language version of one of the Spiderman sequels, with English language captions. None of us welcomed the idea of trying to watch small screens while fighting through the waves, so most of us just zonked out before we even left port and stayed that way until the boat slowed to approach the dock at Martinique. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Our luggage collection proved to be less of a problem than we expected, though we are sick of hauling around huge bags of tools, first aid, and other supplies when we are not yet even using this stuff. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Still, we had no problems because Claude (who is still in Puerto Rico, but will join us tomorrow in Dominica) had made all of the arrangements for us and because our two French language speakers (Morgan and course consultant Matt Halperin) smoothed out any wrinkles that emerged. Morgan spent a full year abroad in France last school year, so she welcomed the opportunity to return to the feel of the Europe that she loved (and loves). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Morgan is the recipient of one of two (so far) proposals of marriage to members of our group. Because we have gotten two such offers in two days, we wonder if this is going to be a daily occurrence. We hope not. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We move on from Martinique just after noon tomorrow, so we have the morning to get a feel for this little island slice of Europe. Then one more boat ride, a long-ish van ride, and we will finally reach our destination. Thanks for paying attention to our blogs already; please tune in again soon to get the real scoop on what we are doing . . .</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdHY0XMhqKUaPc7R0rUIAeQJlpWtt_m-i4dZSuLGxBPd3zrsdGi3iENGOGBL7qnC4p9J4cZsmNiL-wZSI7bEXSrJ5jF4EggongUQlp_D-dtSFiEtrh5r27QIi8jDePkEbCnzI1NEHm_U/s1600/Beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdHY0XMhqKUaPc7R0rUIAeQJlpWtt_m-i4dZSuLGxBPd3zrsdGi3iENGOGBL7qnC4p9J4cZsmNiL-wZSI7bEXSrJ5jF4EggongUQlp_D-dtSFiEtrh5r27QIi8jDePkEbCnzI1NEHm_U/s320/Beach.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Hanging out at the beach in St. Lucia.</div></div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkgY0rFpJeMhkQVYzboLYR2Jqe4lydA-4nDdLEuzDrjFmYacw0WMBRJukUysUBnTs4lUTOH2vMD30WmeNbUmHSQdXJ49g7kSlejve9suOXun7rucyYa9GnbgvL1LniM4O7PHlvTpGPXo/s1600/Leaving+St.+Lucia%252C+Dock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkgY0rFpJeMhkQVYzboLYR2Jqe4lydA-4nDdLEuzDrjFmYacw0WMBRJukUysUBnTs4lUTOH2vMD30WmeNbUmHSQdXJ49g7kSlejve9suOXun7rucyYa9GnbgvL1LniM4O7PHlvTpGPXo/s320/Leaving+St.+Lucia%252C+Dock.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Leaving St. Lucia, Dock--Looking back at the dock in St. Lucia from the ferry.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoalewTbh11tHaPv_iEz1t92JJ1jf6nWjMOTIQAKdznJfdJzCvO0vK9PR3zDoOQPadF-7PPx0TuIllNryCs0lVSmuvq4sEh_udEhQiDNzHwHyfP9ByiF0cUPQxaTD4c3wOApYzPTPCRk/s1600/Golden+Arrow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoalewTbh11tHaPv_iEz1t92JJ1jf6nWjMOTIQAKdznJfdJzCvO0vK9PR3zDoOQPadF-7PPx0TuIllNryCs0lVSmuvq4sEh_udEhQiDNzHwHyfP9ByiF0cUPQxaTD4c3wOApYzPTPCRk/s320/Golden+Arrow.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Golden arrow--The hotel we stayed in on St. Lucia.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFOqUUVusNZrbwUCa6684B8afny6CluF8alEgkL4GFV2aufrHrlwUAg2HVex5svNEuw11TljJlQPi7dhnQTo8am5aG8BC35jRftts8NPg-4u-QiKXrcT3-SGyWO06wZQJnlGsT3IDjWs/s1600/Dani+walking+up+hill+from+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFOqUUVusNZrbwUCa6684B8afny6CluF8alEgkL4GFV2aufrHrlwUAg2HVex5svNEuw11TljJlQPi7dhnQTo8am5aG8BC35jRftts8NPg-4u-QiKXrcT3-SGyWO06wZQJnlGsT3IDjWs/s320/Dani+walking+up+hill+from+beach.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Dani walking back from the beach</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7sbembQujzkyB0o0SobzyfbvzJjX5tuN0js6dc7O2XN4NHlj01nAOnNBzdPyINY-4OuDnSK9gtekxXLQW_h2xITzFyg7SSVX5z4Xt4zoP5RCweo73nWh3zueX9yT4tqwVTvuWaKw3bY/s1600/Local+Gift+Shop+at+the+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7sbembQujzkyB0o0SobzyfbvzJjX5tuN0js6dc7O2XN4NHlj01nAOnNBzdPyINY-4OuDnSK9gtekxXLQW_h2xITzFyg7SSVX5z4Xt4zoP5RCweo73nWh3zueX9yT4tqwVTvuWaKw3bY/s320/Local+Gift+Shop+at+the+beach.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Local Gift Shop at the beach</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyl8tkwlvOrndpx2taT2_fsUVa1m-0qLdHxB7eRPzc3bXbpxEGet67L7FOusS12Wt_vuyw8qrD0A4nV2Sxx8lc-WpHZt0OX9x_NvmUWc_TqEajkq2gxzriBt0LHP86xxMcYz1yDr8X-fU/s1600/Look+a+crab%2521%2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyl8tkwlvOrndpx2taT2_fsUVa1m-0qLdHxB7eRPzc3bXbpxEGet67L7FOusS12Wt_vuyw8qrD0A4nV2Sxx8lc-WpHZt0OX9x_NvmUWc_TqEajkq2gxzriBt0LHP86xxMcYz1yDr8X-fU/s320/Look+a+crab%2521%2521.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Look a crab!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIFD_YU4DdQu-JUFx7ZczlVebhrL_o64dp5f5iRSNScMKM8P4OBCcxX2QZm74D_budKPsmjHrHdYrW2s7m8QOOjmHmNQZ2xT8pf_w_RmgJ3syT8cMHDKgBkE7vKHBkvZag3eK2asQkPw/s1600/Sunset+on+the+way+Martinique.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIFD_YU4DdQu-JUFx7ZczlVebhrL_o64dp5f5iRSNScMKM8P4OBCcxX2QZm74D_budKPsmjHrHdYrW2s7m8QOOjmHmNQZ2xT8pf_w_RmgJ3syT8cMHDKgBkE7vKHBkvZag3eK2asQkPw/s320/Sunset+on+the+way+Martinique.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sunset on the way Martinique</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugJ5Tde4dYnHBcmOpBQYgR9Z7K3uzFHz1vzf_rtbei0LJKDfpYjqyLv041d5q5UW_q0jcdp65hJ9emUWbPkQZRIX3vdMJ61pIKnXClo-bloHWC3W6KQZ6PQ1jfqgWYaGyvfOQmQ_4gQ0/s1600/Team+St.+Mary%2527s+attempting+to+discover+the+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugJ5Tde4dYnHBcmOpBQYgR9Z7K3uzFHz1vzf_rtbei0LJKDfpYjqyLv041d5q5UW_q0jcdp65hJ9emUWbPkQZRIX3vdMJ61pIKnXClo-bloHWC3W6KQZ6PQ1jfqgWYaGyvfOQmQ_4gQ0/s320/Team+St.+Mary%2527s+attempting+to+discover+the+beach.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Team St. Mary's attempting to discover the beach</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_kGFUC-YT6scJJd4yApxBZfHwYKWL61gMM8ukgysHMzPayqPQUn4R-wP98-ODRutNQMHvgjMe472AUGBjHX4Bk2yw42Sq_t4eHZf7FiR6lUsi4fjqxhLtgwXWVyDxkgm8DHmHOUKf5k/s1600/View+from+the+Golden+Arrow+Inn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_kGFUC-YT6scJJd4yApxBZfHwYKWL61gMM8ukgysHMzPayqPQUn4R-wP98-ODRutNQMHvgjMe472AUGBjHX4Bk2yw42Sq_t4eHZf7FiR6lUsi4fjqxhLtgwXWVyDxkgm8DHmHOUKf5k/s320/View+from+the+Golden+Arrow+Inn.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from the Golden Arrow Inn</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-66384597734630569782011-01-08T04:37:00.000-08:002011-01-09T05:36:41.328-08:00Day One: Travel Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Today's video by Team Mountain Chicken (Matt B., Claire, and Scott):<br />
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Thanks for joining us as we begin our several day odyssey from Moraga, California, to the Carib Territory in Dominica. Perhaps because we are heading to a place where few tourists flock (or because we made travel arrangements at the last minute after the cancellation of our planned Haiti trip), we are making a series of hops to find our way to our eventual destination. On Friday night, we flew out of SFO to Miami, where most of our group waited for our next flight SEVEN AND A HALF hours later. For today, we will make it to the island of St. Lucia, a primary Caribbean hub. Tomorrow we will hop a boat to Martinique, where we will sleep Sunday night. Finally on Monday we will get on the boat that will take us to Dominica.<br />
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Right now we are in the Miami airport crashed all over the floor, taking turns being the "guard dog" for all of the carryons we are sporting. Our checked luggage load is massive, as we are transporting most of the tools we will need to do our jobs in the Carib Territory. We also have quite a pile of first aid gear (ready for almost anything!) and a certain amount of food as a backup to the local cuisine that we will eat in Dominica. It turns out that most of us are really good sleepers, as evidenced by the heavy breathing all around the three current gear guards. <br />
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Those who are awake are distraught to watch groups of people in matching t-shirts heading off to Haiti to do relief work during the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. The gate right next to ours contained piles of volunteers heading into Port-au-Prince as we just watched them go. Despite these slight blows, though, we are still eager to make our way to Dominica and see what we can learn about the ongoing destruction of the Caribbean over centuries rather than maintaining our focus on what happened in Haiti in the last year. <br />
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Right now we are without our Haiti expert anyway. Claude has already boarded a different plane than the one we await, as our island-hopping adventure would require him -- as a Haitian citizen -- to have visas that the rest of us don't need. He will take a route through Puerto Rico and then rejoin us on Monday in Dominica. <br />
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Team Mountain Chicken (see intro video below) is keeping track of today's journey by videotape so they will post a short piece tonight in St. Lucia (internet access permitting).<br />
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Here's a shot of the nap crew just getting organized. We eventually filled this entire aisle with alternating heads and feet and lots of loud snorts:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Update: We have now arrived in lovely St. Lucia. We struggled with the vibe of the tourists on the plane, in the airport, and in the town, as they were pretty set on being served by the locals in every possible way. We (hopefully) share a different approach to our hosts and our location, so we just quickly moved on up to our hillside inn on the north end of the island. It is not fancy but it is far beyond our expectations of the way we are willing to live while we are here. We have our own beds, showers that we share with our one or two roommates, and a cook in the building who provided an incredible chicken dinner for us tonight. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few of us ventured into town to see what it was like (and to stay awake until a reasonable hour), but we really weren't interested in the tourist section of town. We will stay here for the day tomorrow, then board a boat to Martinique where we will spend the night tomorrow. Tune in then to see what it is like for us to jump from an island that uses Eastern Caribbean dollars and has a culture that is all "island" to an actual extension of France, Euros and all. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-11576758196352964012011-01-05T04:03:00.000-08:002011-01-05T04:04:27.483-08:00Meet the Teams!We did a media crash course today to learn how to shoot and edit quick videos to post to the web. Each team did a brief introduction of itself, under a name that has something to do with our destination of Dominica. <br />
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There is supposedly a slang word in Dominica that means "stupidly brave." This team decided to name itself after that term: ARRETAO:<br />
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We studied Creole in preparation for our canceled Haiti trip and we are happy to learn that some Dominicans might still speak Creole. This team picked the Creole word for "danger" and named itself DANJE:<br />
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There is a huge (endangered) frog that used to be a staple of the Dominican diet. This team named itself after the colloquial term for that frog, MOUNTAIN CHICKEN:<br />
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The Dominican (pronounced doh-mih-NEE-kuhn, we think) national bird is the Sisserou Parrot. This team calls itself SISSEROU:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RYhOrqY_rM0/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RYhOrqY_rM0?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RYhOrqY_rM0?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8880289132830989834.post-41615912325042979282011-01-03T12:10:00.000-08:002011-01-03T12:16:16.208-08:00Meet the crew!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0fAqqGbKXgbTqxeMZze-sx0ueR7ztwwTKuJtLjrTW-XrgknXMMnEdX9nMYY5FSPvI69DmHa3Er76BFD2eLI9OD9NFTCq0OILwjWlObNllLVIyR_UkM7museBxnr5OPgFybvwpC8HEPk/s1600/IMG_0315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0fAqqGbKXgbTqxeMZze-sx0ueR7ztwwTKuJtLjrTW-XrgknXMMnEdX9nMYY5FSPvI69DmHa3Er76BFD2eLI9OD9NFTCq0OILwjWlObNllLVIyR_UkM7museBxnr5OPgFybvwpC8HEPk/s320/IMG_0315.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jon "Goose" Geertsen</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelWdAxarbaXwIzI1A8d-ypDowZwbt3N-ecVLj_CzybGYapbyFdmw1vuaV9MBgSEX1NzNz3Fs7WkCQCmH0kDImxFmC3xxk56IkVRhvS-MiWBgDqDUABEiFCBEbpLJmrPfDL-fSiVNNZmA/s1600/IMG_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelWdAxarbaXwIzI1A8d-ypDowZwbt3N-ecVLj_CzybGYapbyFdmw1vuaV9MBgSEX1NzNz3Fs7WkCQCmH0kDImxFmC3xxk56IkVRhvS-MiWBgDqDUABEiFCBEbpLJmrPfDL-fSiVNNZmA/s320/IMG_0303.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Claire Konecny</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_43addnjlJ7feFCRWoopeVzOz39P3QkuE3-1DAIyjA9VHGES8IGBUsL6IWRIAAKXyhCh1v-V-gpgswXX2KHjId75UqgyhgLk5LZgq_DpVhIZmV8h0eaDPY6QGJxslmtwmlbZwGf-GIM4/s1600/IMG_0965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_43addnjlJ7feFCRWoopeVzOz39P3QkuE3-1DAIyjA9VHGES8IGBUsL6IWRIAAKXyhCh1v-V-gpgswXX2KHjId75UqgyhgLk5LZgq_DpVhIZmV8h0eaDPY6QGJxslmtwmlbZwGf-GIM4/s320/IMG_0965.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Morgan McGlynn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGraWfp8-6GeLZrAD1XsknyDQU9pp3EqQ9a5-CJPolzvMWb9JZj4wGQbiRjfbotQVoXiOKx05Z1rZHJ-voUsDi4vKS16yycEyZdM-5ZDR5IJS4bqA9VnZKVh1d-cCzHyKx4CNVYBfz1E/s1600/IMG_0970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGraWfp8-6GeLZrAD1XsknyDQU9pp3EqQ9a5-CJPolzvMWb9JZj4wGQbiRjfbotQVoXiOKx05Z1rZHJ-voUsDi4vKS16yycEyZdM-5ZDR5IJS4bqA9VnZKVh1d-cCzHyKx4CNVYBfz1E/s320/IMG_0970.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Scott Millslagle</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmZqdUTAOiT-fxIcJB9HsUjEfOIOEfbRrm0s1OUdn5c4C_inPjdKy05aSA_OA8uxn-mAxQp_Bf80nvnQnMwMs6jqb4d4QGWGyLMc1xi34e-xn9-ggrjkv7dfyLVplDEy5WRZQ-taLWoc/s1600/IMG_0308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmZqdUTAOiT-fxIcJB9HsUjEfOIOEfbRrm0s1OUdn5c4C_inPjdKy05aSA_OA8uxn-mAxQp_Bf80nvnQnMwMs6jqb4d4QGWGyLMc1xi34e-xn9-ggrjkv7dfyLVplDEy5WRZQ-taLWoc/s320/IMG_0308.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Christina Downing </div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlnQnC7vSpgHhuOHHasGaCuIcPifLUYaxbJ42mYxjPKGIbZpTr00fsMt-0UCpshMZoEsB-mPW0s_pZRz2UQs4wc5K88rN8gtW-1vDt5e_nJgNFr_v4Dr378HDmy993uP9e5Xjs3uNiTA/s1600/IMG_0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlnQnC7vSpgHhuOHHasGaCuIcPifLUYaxbJ42mYxjPKGIbZpTr00fsMt-0UCpshMZoEsB-mPW0s_pZRz2UQs4wc5K88rN8gtW-1vDt5e_nJgNFr_v4Dr378HDmy993uP9e5Xjs3uNiTA/s320/IMG_0961.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Luke Monroe </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_136JMXq1t3PMo5sXv-SMm-u-8NJ9wetxNDlot0Ec1IqZB-XmmwQDQxRmb_rR7LfSQPJrvHpRh-AVp3gHF34DShUR-3RtEfr2DonZUY5_llp0Errq4M46S7WVzNDvDa5HyL-uqvxqkyc/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_136JMXq1t3PMo5sXv-SMm-u-8NJ9wetxNDlot0Ec1IqZB-XmmwQDQxRmb_rR7LfSQPJrvHpRh-AVp3gHF34DShUR-3RtEfr2DonZUY5_llp0Errq4M46S7WVzNDvDa5HyL-uqvxqkyc/s320/IMG_0305.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Hilary Shontz</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPRnA5QjrusK0OvlsnQNVltKWK1lfrA1OisfAAiH_o70vhqsFKGtzqjEfeBSyJwOFcOpEltsAZwDkYZayBH5HpM_Wr5Lxmx0GwFVQF_S07XjaAgwigGZL5Syfy-mZ0gL8W3YGsoIFrKI/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPRnA5QjrusK0OvlsnQNVltKWK1lfrA1OisfAAiH_o70vhqsFKGtzqjEfeBSyJwOFcOpEltsAZwDkYZayBH5HpM_Wr5Lxmx0GwFVQF_S07XjaAgwigGZL5Syfy-mZ0gL8W3YGsoIFrKI/s320/IMG_0963.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Jared Medina</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8NNdIdJ2rHTM9a74CNTVNwm4i7xkFgRlkWrSKXg7v8wFc-hSabEVMcPC_9mwfndJNPPDW29FgmnL9Vhki-jrKr5KIZN_lfVwcoT74xhqEX2z6vXpwb_SyJy0vnfaSOPRKAs_DauBIok/s1600/IMG_0318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8NNdIdJ2rHTM9a74CNTVNwm4i7xkFgRlkWrSKXg7v8wFc-hSabEVMcPC_9mwfndJNPPDW29FgmnL9Vhki-jrKr5KIZN_lfVwcoT74xhqEX2z6vXpwb_SyJy0vnfaSOPRKAs_DauBIok/s320/IMG_0318.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lindsay Verber</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VPh7Iesa6cw1qFXEGMtvveTT-iaxxDr0kZjmwIdBUMkvBuOVFuK5GB86RYJaBE7YGtHcr4y5aNUvfSNoEZ-efiRxaKcn65RrHodj8uABfj-wYcRw2dbP976pksNA5f8Y1ERuMS4_d44/s1600/IMG_0307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VPh7Iesa6cw1qFXEGMtvveTT-iaxxDr0kZjmwIdBUMkvBuOVFuK5GB86RYJaBE7YGtHcr4y5aNUvfSNoEZ-efiRxaKcn65RrHodj8uABfj-wYcRw2dbP976pksNA5f8Y1ERuMS4_d44/s320/IMG_0307.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Trevor Condon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrS5BVDN2KhyfWsWj_gElgIxxZP57shyphenhypheni-1zGnM6CoHmzV9zWggx7XiYQa5IK0MkThVMi3BRdAZIl_ZniT9JpSzgvKY_jdcq-ijQEs1HBJ7bbP92cNDHIAwpgZyowak26aZG4orPvJ5Q/s1600/IMG_0966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrS5BVDN2KhyfWsWj_gElgIxxZP57shyphenhypheni-1zGnM6CoHmzV9zWggx7XiYQa5IK0MkThVMi3BRdAZIl_ZniT9JpSzgvKY_jdcq-ijQEs1HBJ7bbP92cNDHIAwpgZyowak26aZG4orPvJ5Q/s320/IMG_0966.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Iris Rodriguez</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVglg0FvTCdnsHQ8bqTrSHHJq_Pw0k-e4a05StZO621iIxMZ8s-VPYaZNcYS4Ezl0TnnAse7LhpEIFUG-jEMhyvdD4iwN8akc-nqoW_MX-zeTFnzHebBF0WuDRCe-4Vymt7LBkQDc4Md8/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVglg0FvTCdnsHQ8bqTrSHHJq_Pw0k-e4a05StZO621iIxMZ8s-VPYaZNcYS4Ezl0TnnAse7LhpEIFUG-jEMhyvdD4iwN8akc-nqoW_MX-zeTFnzHebBF0WuDRCe-4Vymt7LBkQDc4Md8/s320/IMG_0962.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Matt Halperin </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrj_tegffffODj6XoMfoFzU94VGsYfZidLUYedLEvnW3B3z5G8pdtI05NUq59A5-Ho9qJ1oFrbxKxNDj5lR1Rk7A2X32kJqc_Xw6msiDnq5pu7kBl9VG3HzrReLJ0SABZpHcI9gEEGFYQ/s1600/IMG_0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrj_tegffffODj6XoMfoFzU94VGsYfZidLUYedLEvnW3B3z5G8pdtI05NUq59A5-Ho9qJ1oFrbxKxNDj5lR1Rk7A2X32kJqc_Xw6msiDnq5pu7kBl9VG3HzrReLJ0SABZpHcI9gEEGFYQ/s320/IMG_0968.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Dani Lucier</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrz9Hx-dLgm3ey3m2XojukdI9ZxJ9tlqPx9Myq0muxYvIyRFDdDeay2sEbgzdWGm8Wf5MIdoSptC51vQyuJSc7UNt5ZNDiTzTCjz0zBmwgBBoX761mSuyDYCq8v7SiPACXo8rv6nri1U/s1600/IMG_0969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrz9Hx-dLgm3ey3m2XojukdI9ZxJ9tlqPx9Myq0muxYvIyRFDdDeay2sEbgzdWGm8Wf5MIdoSptC51vQyuJSc7UNt5ZNDiTzTCjz0zBmwgBBoX761mSuyDYCq8v7SiPACXo8rv6nri1U/s320/IMG_0969.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Matt Beutner </div>SMC DIRThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10061117566800577823noreply@blogger.com1