so my last update was work...this update is fun.....just got back from a short trip to macedonia, bulgaria, romania, turkey and greece with four other peace corps buddies...we rented a car in macedonia and did quite a bit of travelling...i think romania was my favorite country of the places with travelled, with a town/city called Brasov being my favorite place (although it was all enjoyable). i had good company, good food, good sightseeing and good times...i think i simply reinforced my belief that major cities are not for me as istanbul although beautiful and full of history, was probably one of my least favorite cities...i just think it's tough to get a feel for a country by a major city, i'd much rather spend my time in the rural areas getting to know the people, and the culture...but that's just me...
next up is a trip to africa (kenya and possibly tanzania) with my girlfriend kristen...she has yet to be to africa, so i'm excited to share that with her...i have been there once and can't wait to get back..we're planning on going to a elephant orphanage, go on a safari, feed some giraffes, and hopefully visit a peace corps volunteer or two so we can see what life is like in Peace Corps AFRICA!
finally, i made a video for an organization called Travel with Balls...the idea is simple, when travelling the world, bring a couple soccer balls you can buy for about 2-3 dollars, and pass them out to kids in need...the response you'll get is amazing...clearly i'm not suited to be an anchor on ESPN, but it was well worth my nerves to make this video and support a good cause and good people! you can see my video below, and the official video below (official video first) and if you search "Travel with Balls" on facebook, twitter and the web you can access their respective accounts and their blog...i really hope it takes off and more people get involved...that's all for now..have a good one folks....
Official Trailer:
My contribution:
Monday, January 23, 2012
still moving
it's been a while since i blogged last...i have a couple updates to give...
first, we've completed the soccer project, named a champion, and made a cool video that all the participants can remember...hopefully sopa, protect ip and the music companies will allow me to continue to share the video for years to come with the music i'm borrowing using the "fair use" clause....haha..anyway, here's a video recap of the soccer tournament...i had a great time doing it...and i think the participants did as well...
next up is the park project...what can i say besides it has been an up and down experience...the latest is that we've had to uninstall some equipment to make repairs to insure the equipment lasts...in addition, we had a "volunteer day" with some of the high school students to help turn the soil around the trees, and paint different features to keep the park looking nice (which is hard to do in winter when the grass turns to mud)....we had about 8 students come out to help us out which was nice, my sitemate kim and i even did some work ourselves....after winter dies down a bit we will return to the park and reinstall the equipment we uninstalled with the necessary reinforcements...
finally, although my time here is winding down, i'm working on two new projects, i won't be able to fully complete either, but i hope to lay the foundation for the volunteer who follows me to gramsh so they have some work to do when they arrive...
the first thing is a project at the local health center...i'm submitting an application today to begin to replace an outdated filing cabinet (about 30 years outdated) where residents medical records are kept...this is a small grant i hope we can utilize to show the benefits of a modernized filing system in one office...i also like the idea of starting with one office to make sure the project is worthwhile...we're starting with one filing cabinet, but if this project is useful, i think we can replace about 30 cabinets at 5 different locations, which would be a much bigger grant that would have to be completed after i left...but, given the importance of keeping medical records in good shape, i think this project is a good candidate for a grant...
the second thing i am working on is a tourism project for the region of gramsh...again, we're setting the foundation for something bigger...right now we're picking the 5 best locations, and trying to put together a program for travelers, and a place where they can easily gather information...the final piece will be teaming with an english speaking person (possibly a high school student) to act as a tour guide...i'm hoping we can get all the information ready and up on the web before i leave....
so that's that when it comes to work..hope you're all doing well....
first, we've completed the soccer project, named a champion, and made a cool video that all the participants can remember...hopefully sopa, protect ip and the music companies will allow me to continue to share the video for years to come with the music i'm borrowing using the "fair use" clause....haha..anyway, here's a video recap of the soccer tournament...i had a great time doing it...and i think the participants did as well...
next up is the park project...what can i say besides it has been an up and down experience...the latest is that we've had to uninstall some equipment to make repairs to insure the equipment lasts...in addition, we had a "volunteer day" with some of the high school students to help turn the soil around the trees, and paint different features to keep the park looking nice (which is hard to do in winter when the grass turns to mud)....we had about 8 students come out to help us out which was nice, my sitemate kim and i even did some work ourselves....after winter dies down a bit we will return to the park and reinstall the equipment we uninstalled with the necessary reinforcements...
finally, although my time here is winding down, i'm working on two new projects, i won't be able to fully complete either, but i hope to lay the foundation for the volunteer who follows me to gramsh so they have some work to do when they arrive...
the first thing is a project at the local health center...i'm submitting an application today to begin to replace an outdated filing cabinet (about 30 years outdated) where residents medical records are kept...this is a small grant i hope we can utilize to show the benefits of a modernized filing system in one office...i also like the idea of starting with one office to make sure the project is worthwhile...we're starting with one filing cabinet, but if this project is useful, i think we can replace about 30 cabinets at 5 different locations, which would be a much bigger grant that would have to be completed after i left...but, given the importance of keeping medical records in good shape, i think this project is a good candidate for a grant...
the second thing i am working on is a tourism project for the region of gramsh...again, we're setting the foundation for something bigger...right now we're picking the 5 best locations, and trying to put together a program for travelers, and a place where they can easily gather information...the final piece will be teaming with an english speaking person (possibly a high school student) to act as a tour guide...i'm hoping we can get all the information ready and up on the web before i leave....
so that's that when it comes to work..hope you're all doing well....
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