January 4, 2011

No matter where you shop in the local areas, you see stacks of washcloths for sale. They even sell them in the streets while you wait in traffic. I have seen many of the locals carrying them to wipe their faces etc. when hot and sweaty. But yesterday, I had to laugh. After church, the three of us (yes, Ace gets to go too, down here) went to eat next to the canal at an outdoor restaurant. Many locals were around with their families because of the holiday (New Year’s weekend) playing in the park, grilling, etc. But, it started raining and many people took their washcloths and put it on their head. (to protect their head from the rain???). Just interesting and different. Umbrellas here are often used differently, too. Nice to have an umbrella with you all the time during the rainy season, since you never know when one of those afternoon showers will pop up. But, when the sun is beating down and you are in a no shady spot, many use them to protect themselves from the sun, too. And I actually did that one on a long afternoon walk we took and there were a couple miles without shade. I felt rather silly, but it was mighty helpful.
Had a very interesting past two days. Wayne and I went down into the slums yesterday to visit the outreach center that the church has set up to serve that community. The church is trying to develop a school by growing a grade at a time, which will help some of these kids learn English and technology skills while getting a good education as well. They also get a good meal. There are programs to help the adults, as well as a lot of other services. As mentioned before, public education (which is all these kids have) is not good here. The church is looking for my help in developing something to do with the computers they already have and to use them a little more academically than they currently are. Today, I went back down with a brain full of ideas and ways I wanted to set it up. Unfortunately the equipment was just so old and outdated, nothing worked like I wanted. It was just so disheartening to say the least. I think of all the computers that we had back home in Cincinnati that I had tossed because they were of no use anymore. Those old discarded computers are so much better than what was in this center. But there is no way to get them from THERE to here. But, it is someplace I really want to continue working at and seeing how I can help.