Work, Fun, Friends, I've got it all!

So this week has been significantly better than my last! Starting with the 4th of July, I actually had 2! A few weeks before coming to Perú I joined the South American Explorer's Club which has volunteer resources, travel guides, and weekly events for members. This past week was a 4th of July BBQ. Let me tell you, there's nothing that will have you feeling more patriotic or missing your country more than your independence day. This was one of the hardest days for me to be out of the country!

When I arrived to the BBQ I was greeted by 3 Brits who were there to see what all the fuss was about...I was the only American :( Thankfully after about a half an hour there were about 8 other Americans that showed up. All were equally excited to be eating American style hamburgers and to be talking with fellow Americans.

The next day, the 5th of July, I celebrated with my host family as they were not around the house on the Fourth. To ensure a full Fourth of July experience, I made sure we had everything American for the BBQ. The menu included:

1/2 Pound hamburgers
Potato Salad
Chips and dip
Baked Beans
Watermelon
And of course, Smores!

Trying to restart the grill

Everyone in the family was astonished by the size of the hamburgers considering the hamburgers sold on the street here are paper thin and there is literally more lettuce in the burgers than meat. After finishing our dinner we started the camp fire, singing songs and roasting smores...it was a big hit!

The Fam hanging out around the camp fire

This week I was also able to find some work! At first I was disappointed again when I couldn't visit one organization because of a 2 day nationwide transportation strike. More disappointment came when another organization was unwilling to share their stove design ideas with me in fear that I might take their ideas and their work by starting a project in the same region as them. I finally got my break when the same organization mentioned there might be some stove designs online. I did a google search for "How to build clean burning wood stoves in rural villages" and I naturally got thousands of relevant results!

After doing a bit of research, I have decided I don't need to pay the outrageous fees of some local volunteer organizations. Instead, I'm going to start my own project designing, constructing, and installing clean burning, fuel efficient stoves in rural villages. I have spent most of my past week reading articles and books like the 120 page thriller "Improved Solid Biomass Burning Cookstoves: A Development Manual" by Prof. S.K. Sharma, Director of the Energy Research Centre of Punjab University. Let me tell you nothing gets me goin' like comparisons of the combustion and heat transfer properties of wood to cow dung! After a bit more research early next week, I plan to travel around the city and countryside sourcing materials and talking with villagers to better understand their needs. Hopefully by the start of the following week I will be able to start construction.

In addition to all of this, more good news. This weekend, I have been planning on traveling to Lake Titicaca to meet up with three of my U of M friends who are doing some volunteer work there. After a few emails back and forth, I just found out today that I actually have 3 more friends working there! Needless to say, I'm really excited for the reunion. The bus leaves in 2 hours and I still need to pack, so I guess that's all for now.

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!