August 4, 2009
¡Buenas Días!
Just right off the bat here, I should warn you that I have had a pretty productive week with the autoclave, so this blog is bound to be pretty boring 
On the 27th, 22 elementary teachers arrived from California on a minibus packed to capacity and with a mountain of luggage on top. It looked like the sled from the Grinch after he steals all the presents and decorations. It was literally as if someone had dropped my elementary school into rural Nicaragua. And after they had settled in, it was even cuter. They were here as part of a Masters in Education class and worked with the students at Sabana Grande Elementary every morning on projects that related science and art. Because of this, they all wore nametags made of construction paper, hung around their necks with yarn, but they left them through lunch and all afternoon, when they had class at the Solar Center. Furthermore, whenever the professor wanted the attention of the group, she would clap out a pattern. The rest would repeat it, and then fall obediently silent. It makes me wonder what strange habits engineers carry into their personal lives. I guess I do carry a calculator in my purse…
On Friday, the teachers directed a “Sun Fair,” in which the kids sang songs and showed off to their parents what they learned all week. Each grade level presented a different project or song related to weather or energy. It was great. They sang “Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun” but it was called “Sol, Sol, Señor Sol Dorado” and “De Colores.” I cheered very loudly for my little sister Alexandra. After the younger kids performed, my older sister Vanessa and Luis Miguel, Donald and Maricela danced to one of the traditional Nicaraguan songs, all dressed up in beautiful silk outfits. Oh, I almost forgot! There was an absolute downpour all day. The irony was not lost on Adelina, who joked that I had better remember to wear my boots and raincoat to the Sun Fair.
Another good thing about having the teachers here for the week was the food. Typically, the volunteers walk a few kilometers to the house of one of the Mujeres Solares for lunch, which is always delicious. However, last week there were just too many of us to fit in one house, so fearless Dona Carmen and Dona Vidalia brought the food to us! It was like Thanksgiving every day at 1. Amazing. One day, Dona Carmen made pepper-crusted chicken in the solar oven that was so good that my mouth is actually watering just thinking about it. And speaking of cooking, I made something in my little solar oven yesterday! An egg, haha. But it was really good!
So you don’t get the impression that all I do is attend school plays and eat delicious food, I’ll say a little about the autoclave. All last week I did tests comparing the heating curves of the giant solar ovens and that of the Frankencooker. Looks like the Frankencooker heats up fast enough that it can take advantage of as little as an hour of sun, whereas the bigger ovens take up to 5 hours to heat up during days with variable sun. This week, I’m going to seal the insulated space to minimize the heat wasted by heating up the whole box as opposed to just the volume inside the parabolic.
So, things are going well down here. I’ve got a week and a half left, and if I didn’t miss all of you so much, I could stay for much longer. It’ll be really difficult to say goodbye to everyone, but also great to see my American family and friends again.
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HI Erin,
Missed you at the family reunion but enjoyed seeing your Ma,Pa and sister. It has been VERY interesting to follow your trip/project on this blog……thanks and although I am glad you are having a good time and success on the autoclave, I will be glad when you are home. I think you are brave for going on this adventure! Would love to see photos of your trip when you get home.
Love, Aunt Carla