My organization, Asylum Access, does our work in our local offices in Ecuador, Thailand, and Tanzania, although we are headquartered in the States. When I talked to people in the U.S. about our work, the first thing I had to do in every conversation was disabuse them of the notion that our goal was [...]
Archive for April, 2010
Living Poor on the Rich Coast…and Loving It!
My shirts drip with sweat at the end of every class. It seems ridiculous: Yeah, it’s hot here in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica, but I teach English, not pilates. Teaching, however, has turned out to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. A given night might see me miming falling down[...]
Are You an Idealist in Latin America? Write For Our Blog!
This post was originally published on the Idealist.org homepage blog. Every year more and more people are traveling to Latin America to live, work, travel, and learn. And while these adventure seekers continue to check out the vast cultural, social, and environmental riches of the region—from the[...]
April 14th, 2010 - 5:15 pm § in Costa Rica, Volunteer
That is Not the Costa Rica I Know
A lot of people I know have visited Costa Rica and they loved it. The beaches were fantastic. They zip-lined through the rain forest. They saw monkeys from their hotel room. Hearing these stories, I quickly learned that despite my dabbling in being a tourist, the Costa Rica they visit and the Cos[...]
April 14th, 2010 - 10:46 am § in Guatemala, In the Field
Endless Latin America
Every month we’ll be posting an entry from a guest contributor who has some advice, resources, information and/or inspiration they want to share. This month’s guest contributor is Tom Hemingway. Tom Hemingway has explored the outer limits of Latin America from the U.S. to Argentina through many [...]
Love in the Time of Conflict
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou When I parachuted into Colombia after months of work in environments of modesty and reservation, I was taken aback by the abundance of unbridled affection. A[...]
Coming to the U.S. “Sin Papeles”
During my time in Ecuador, I have met a number of people who came to the United States to work sin papeles, or as undocumented workers. The current debate about immigration in my country is just as heated as ever, so I won’t get into the politics of immigration. I’ll just tell you what I[...]
Productive Uses Create Sustainable Energy
There are many steps to help create energy independence within blueEnergy’s mission. One of the final stages is to create ways in which our communities can use the wind turbines, solar panels and other energy systems we provide for productive uses. Broadly speaking, productive uses refer to projec[...]
Reading List
For those of you about to leave or in the middle of your adventures, the following is a quick list of some of the books that have been helpful or have provided interesting perspectives to contemplate during my Kiva Fellowships in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The first three are development economics bo[...]
