Posts Tagged ‘Central America’

March 11th, 2010 - 5:14 pm § in Around Town, Belize, Doing, Good Ideas, Volunteer

“Don’t get your reading material from the dump.”

This morning while heading into work, we dumped our garbage. Driven by our protected areas manager, Nat, two other volunteers and I assisted in the process by tossing bags and crates of rubbish on top of one of many exposed piles of trash along a road off the highway. Nat, jaded by his time in [...][...]

March 10th, 2010 - 4:34 pm § in Country, Doing, Nicaragua, Volunteer

Two Weeks into a Year’s Worth of Photography Classes

I’ll never forget watching my first group of photo students in Solentiname walk away from me to shoot some of their first pictures. I was standing inside of the poorly lit classroom with a massive smile on my face – I could hardly contain my happiness – and reminded them one las[...]

March 5th, 2010 - 2:33 pm § in Around Town, Nicaragua

I’m on a Boat: Joys and Sorrows of Pangas

A panga boat ride is similar to when your best friend takes dad’s Porsche out for a spin: fast, unnerving, uproariously fun with fist-clenching close calls. This is the Caribbean Coast’s main mode of transportation, and how blueEnergy can access our communities. Our two-hour panga ride on a rece[...]

March 3rd, 2010 - 10:16 am § in Costa Rica, Culture, Day in the Life

My Hips Just Don’t Move Like That

One of the biggest challenges of living in Latin America: dancing like a local. Even the most awkward adolescent boys can shimmy their hips in a way that feels physically impossible to me. Over time I’ve gradually resigned myself to the fact that I will never be able to dance like them. It would b[...]

February 24th, 2010 - 1:17 pm § in Around Town, Costa Rica, Day in the Life

Life Without a Cell Phone

In many places you travel, picking up a cell phone with prepaid minutes or an international SIM card is simple and reasonably cheap. Unfortunately for me, Costa Rica does not fit in this boat. I’ve heard mixed opinions about how hard it is to get a cell phone. The consensus is that you can get [..[...]

February 19th, 2010 - 1:25 pm § in Culture, Good Ideas, Nicaragua

When Microenergy and Microfinance Meet

Part of my role at blueEnergy is to manage our two loans through our local microfinance institution. Who would have thought a portfolio of a little over $1,200 would be so challenging? Earlier in 2009, blueEnergy received funds to subsidize individual solar systems for two communities: Set Net Point[...]

February 17th, 2010 - 1:04 pm § in Around Town, Day in the Life, Good Ideas, Nicaragua

Safety Versus Freedom

While living in Managua, the hardest things I’ve had to balance are my personal safety and my sense of freedom. Everyone I meet here is paranoid about personal safety-often for good cause I’ll admit. A lot of the recommendations are fairly obvious and apply to just about any big city: Don’t wa[...]

February 11th, 2010 - 6:45 pm § in Belize, Day in the Life, Tips & Resources, Volunteer

Scorpions and Tarantulas and Rats, Oh My!

One of the main reasons I chose my volunteer position was the free housing provided at the field center.  Prior to making the move, I asked my standard first question: “Are there tarantulas?” The response was just short of laughing in my face. Aside from tarantulas, we are also the pro[...]

February 10th, 2010 - 5:40 pm § in Around Town, Nicaragua

Taking Your Time

Before I came to Solentiname, Nicaragua I was determined to arrive and get to work immediately. I imagined riding up to the remote archipelago in a long, thin wooden boat where children and families eagerly awaited my arrival. I would jump out of the boat, introduce myself with a smile, a handshake,[...]

January 26th, 2010 - 5:09 pm § in Looking, Nicaragua, Tips & Resources, Volunteer

How I Came to Be a Volunteer

I’d like to be straightforward with you from the very beginning and tell you that I’m no volunteering expert. In fact, I’m quite the novice. I’ve only volunteered once before and that was for one week during my freshman year of college. I had an incredible experience and left intending to do[...]





Bad Behavior has blocked 891 access attempts in the last 7 days.