Some good friends of ours have just begun a trip of about 6 months through Central America. Their goal is go learn Spanish really well, do some volunteer work to help improve the environment, and/or socio-political system, and to have a little fun as well.

Central American Travel Blog

They have set up a nice travel blog to cover their trip and even have a first post from guatemala. Great news!

Rain Skirts - Like Rain Pants - but way better

They are also working on and planning the basis for a really innovative company selling Rain Skirts which is a functional and fashionable alternative to a trench coat or rain pants. It's a great idea and nearing full fruition which is very exciting as well.

So, congrats the Reid and Libby for their boldness and dedication to their dreams. It's really cool to see these things coming together for them and to support them in the process.

A few years ago my friend Cam went to Africa in the summer for work. While there and touring around he ended up finding some orphaned boys who he wanted to help get a house, clothing, food, and schooling. When he returned, our University's Magazine did a story about the process and now he has a website where he is providing more information along with a request for additional donations.

I generally am turned off by the big charities around the world.

What do you get for the person who has everything? Penicilin.

Ha!

But what do you get for the person who has all the material possessions that they could desire, but who has a whole in their heart from the poverty and hunger around the world? This holiday season, you can fiill that hole in their heart and purchase a little slice of prosperity for impoverished individuals with Heifer International.

Through a variety of programs, Heifer focuses on sustainable, entrepreneurial, small-scale projects which improve the lives of the poor in a variety of countries. You can purchase a gift of almost any size and they will provide you with a gift card suitable to give to your friends. Not only do their gifts immediately help the lives of the recipient, they also help the recipient's family and village by improving the wealth of the community.

I am now in Juchitan, Oaxaca,Mexico, first I want to say sorry to everybody i didn´t have time to see before i left, but as usual I put everything to the last second. Ok, so if you don´t know, I´m here for the summer in a medium sized town in the far south of mexico about an hour from the pacific coast working at a cancer research-prevention-treatment center and doing a qualatative research project about the organizational structure and how that is influenced by national and local culture. nerdy, huh?

I feel really good right now, i found an apartment and got a cell phone yesterday and moved in today, it is so cute, a furnished room in a lime green building with rustico furniture and a nice view of lots of trees, a fewroofs,and chickens galore. Right now there is a big party and the street is blocked off and a band is playing and all the ladies are wearing the big Oaxacan dresses like Frida Kahlo loved so much. The hospital where I´ll be helping out is really simple, more like an empty office building. They go out into the cou8ntryside every week to do screenings for women´s cancer (teaching breast self exams and doing colposcopies) and I´m going to get to go along on those, probably just doing education and intake paperwork.