Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Priorities

"The colonel took the top off the coffee can and saw that there was only one little spoonful left. He removed the pot from the fire, poured half the water onto the earthen floor, and scraped the inside of the can with a knife until the last scrapings of the ground coffee, mixed with bits of rust, fell into the pot."*

I´m pleased to say that I´ve reprioritized reading. Activities within my Peace Corps site have exploded and 6 different Committees are now taking action to coordinate health projects. Weekly meetings are held for various topics: expand an aqueduct, check water quality at springs, design a new water system, assess old spring boxes, solicit help from the Representante, visit the Ministry of Health, review materials for composting latrines - there´s a lot happening!

Not to mention planning geology fieldwork! Several trips to Panama City will have to take place before I can get back to Baru´s flanks and avalanche deposit.

All of this running around has made it even more important to consider when I can pick up my next literary classic.

*No One Writes to the Colonel, Gabriel Garciá Márquez, 1961.