All change!

Hello!

Well the weather seemed to change yesterday the "land of eternal spring" went from a non-existent summer (except that the last few days were very hot) to a humid morning followed by 5 hours of torrential rain!  My roof is made of corrugated laminate with some tiles laid on top (for effect) the noise is deafening but the roof is water tight.  Well watertight inside there are many leaks where the laminate meets the clear laminate covering the patio, and the gutters need cleaning!

Jossefet is now in Brussels for three months, a friend of his has kindly offered him an internship in his textile-design company, I hope it works out. So the burgeoning relationship is in a period of change and adjustment!  Unsurprisingly, to me, he was grilled for four hours by immigration at Madrid airport before being let into the EU. Missed his connection but was put on a later flight to Brussels. All this, despite of having a letter of invitation and various other details to prove he was a legitimate visitor.

As “penny buns had been costing tuppence” lately, I have decided to use the next three months to change my diet and live more like a “Chapin” (Guatemalteco) and adopt a traditional diet, (but)  also be meat free 4 days a week.  It will do me good, I need to loose a further 5-10 kg if my optimal BMI is to be believed and achieved! So more vegetables, more frijoles, more fruit.  Less cream cheese, cream and cakes. I have as good as stopped drinking alcohol except for the occasional beer (this is purely temporary I hasten to add!) and I probably drink too much coffee these days!

The project in Santiago Zamora is heading for the buffers as the old guy who founded the project really resents the popularity and diversity of what is being offered to the children, and is making life impossible for us, so we need a change of strategy.

For me, I have seen the writing on the wall, and have been preparing for this change over the last two months I have been working on the idea for a new project which is called “artes móviles” with the proposed mission of “bringing the arts to Guatemalan children in remote and rural communities and importantly for those children with special needs”.   

 I am developing the project plan and will be asking you all for your ideas, and support (at a later date) going to need to find 500 people willing to cough-up £5 per month for the duration of the project. Viral marketing and sponsorship by UK companies in Guatemala will be the way forward I hope. Looking for a late 2012 launch but have many obstacles to overcome in the meantime ~ gauging interest, forming an NGO in Guatemala, charity commission rules in the UK, to name but three!

Simply sitting, and watching the world go by just isn’t an option! However, I am constantly reminded of the frustration I felt in India with an approach to anything taking five times as long and achieving on 50% what I am used to in Europe!  Mañana,  mañana and looking “po faced” and not expressing any opinion to your face. Adapting to this culture change is so frustrating, my well meaning advisors all tell me to lower my expectations and then lower them some more!

But, part of the process of designing and delivering arts based activities to the children has been an incredible widening of my own skills and abilities.  In the last two months I have made terracotta hanging mobiles, learned to use a hot glue gun, designed picture frames in “foamy”,  and started out on a whole new world around jewellery making and design. The shops here are “chokka” with cheap jewellery; all the same, all boring and not a scintilla of creativity to be seen!  I want to use this medium for developing the creativity and ingenuity of the children, giving them an opportunity to change from the traditional learning by rote and copying based learning of school to the freedom to explore and develop ideas and give them expression through making amazing pieces of costume jewellery!  Traditional starting point, but with an original (Mayan) twist! The boys and girls will also have the challenge of finding ways of overcoming the technical details of trying to work with wire and stones and in design problem solving.

So today, I present the idea of “artes móviles” to the operational team of CasaSito and hopefully after getting their support, the idea goes to the board of CasaSito with the hope that it becomes a (future) autonomous but partner project of CasaSito. 

I have been so frustrated with the technology behind this blog, as I have no real idea whether you are getting to read my witterings as there is no way of knowing who when and how you read the blog after I press the “publish” button- so maybe I need to change this as well!

Oh yes, I have 6486 tracks on my computer in i-tunes  represented by over 400 composers I have turned on shuffle - so I am listening to the lot in a randon order- a complete change in my listening habits and an absolute revelation. So many gems I have simply forgotten!  Oh yes the 6486 tracks would take 23 days of continuous listening!  The juxtaposition of tracks is a little hair-raising at times but then so is life!

All change!

Last Thursday was Mother's day here in Guatemala ~ I got the children making cards for their Mums!

 Hasta Luego Amigos!

It has just started to thunder and rain.......  during the rainy season itraisn everyday in the afternoon  often torrentially ...... and I need to go out to do my presentation! Hey ho!