Bienvenidos to my Blog!

Hello Family, Friends, and Curious Readers,

Thanks for stopping in to see what I am up to. This is my first blog, and I hope not to bore you too much with the details of my life. But rather hope to offer you some insights into development work, the highs, the lows, and well the boring.

But before I move away for 27 months, let me give you a little information about myself before I lose a steady internet connection.

So after graduating from Boston College in 2005, I decided I wanted to learn Spanish and "save the world" so I moved to Cusco, Peru. I began by volunteering for The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco by researching and writing a small business plan for the organization. I continued to work with the organization until February of 2008, when I returned to the US to prepare for my move to Madrid, Spain for 15 months to study an International MBA at IE Business School. And now, after a year of searching for the perfect development job, and taking odd jobs in the meantime, I have joined the Peace Corps and am volunteering again. So wish me luck, and PLEASE someone stop me from volunteering again!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A good day

So not only does the weather here in Matagalpa feel like a cool fall day in New England (complete with storm clouds and rain), but I also found out that I got the location I really wanted to hold the regional competition here in Matagalpa. And it is free!

It is the cultural center right in the middle of town. I am hoping that people who are not involved in our project will stop in and buy some products the students have made. Also I met a local TV personality who will be MCing the event. Although it is only about 2 weeks away, things seem to be coming together quickly and I hope to have the sponsors set by the end of next week. It should be a great event and I am getting quite excited!

Also, today there was a local competition at the largest institute in Matagalpa and I was one of the judges. Here are a few pictures from the day:

A little background, this is the largest institute in the city of Matagalpa, and in two days it will be closed and all the classes relocated to other schools because their school is getting renovated. So everyone was saying goodbye.

It was like a party, but people were hugging and crying too!

These are some of the teachers in the center of all the students. The president of the student body was saying thank you!

And some of the senior girls presented a traditional dance in the teacher's honor

One group explaining their product to a judge.

This girl can sell ice in the antartic! And apparently she also holds the #1 ranking in public speaking at the high school level.

Me with Donald (the local TV star) and the famous Professor Bismark!
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1 comment:

  1. JulieOctober 12, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    AWESOME! Sounds like everything is coming together. It really has been a good day for everyone.

    ReplyDelete

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