Here are a few pics just to give you a feel for my life right now. Today I climbed one of the hills that surround my neighborhood. This is a view of my barrio from above. As you can see, it is all pretty dry and brown, but the neighborhood is still being developed, so someday perhaps it will be green and well-paved like the neighboring areas.

The house is, obviously, the house that I am staying in, with my host mom Manuela and my grandma. Today I learned how to wash my clothes properly using a bucket, a board, and a bar of soap. After that I got to fight of the chickens to hang my laundry out to dry on the roof.

The best part of the whole laundry experience was when I walked out and saw my mom holding my socks, telling me that they were mal lavado and that I would have to rinse everything again. Oh the shame of being an incompetent American who can´t even get the soap out of her underwear. Better luck next time, I guess. Tomorrow we start our second week of training, and I will be learning in greater detail how to build landfills, start tree nurseries, and teach children in Spanish about protecting the environment. Can´t wait!