October 6, 2005

Jason: Today was awesome. My language group had its turn to visit a couple volunteers in situ. We made banana/pinapple jelly, pithaya and lime jelly, peanut butter from scratch, and some really yummy bean burgers with cumin and garlic. Then, we got to see a Nica community bank in action. These community banks the PC is starting have a lot of potential. They are unofficial community savings and loan centers that get the campesinos saving and earning interest on their own money. It's great for small business owners trying to get a little start-up capital.

Aftwerwards, we encountered a bus blocking the dirt road going up the hill to our volunteer's house. It was stuck in the ditch crossways. Every time it tried to get back on the road, it would slide back because of all the mud. So, Keenan hitched it up to the Land Cruiser by a thick chain and helped pull the buss back onto the road. It was scary, since there wasn't much communication with the bus driver during the manuever. Unbelievably, it actually worked, and no one got hurt. Some real power in those Land Cruisers.

Today was also the birthday of another volunteer that is ending her service. We all got together and had cake and a wonderful dinner. She had a lot of advice for us. For any project to be successful, she said, the motivation and leadership need to come from the local community members, not the Peace Corps. We are there as a resource: as facilitators, not leaders. That might prove difficult for all these self-starter gringos that are used to leading something. We will need to let people know the resource is here for them, educate them about opportunities, but wait for them to take the lead. Sounds like this could get pretty frustrating before the end, but I think there's a lot of wisdom in this advice.