Work?

So, lately I have become acquainted with a concept that was a bit foreign to me for awhile there...work. When I arrived things were a bit slow and I have been doing a whole lot of getting to know the community, just talking to folks and seeing whether they have interest in my project. Recently, some of those talks have begun to pay off. 

Currently, I am working with 3 schools in the area, teaching the kids about the environment, composting, making a school garden and various phrases in English. All of the schools are great, although one of them is a 2 hour walk from my home and on the way back I gain over 1000 feet in elevation in about 3/4 of a mile. It is hard to complain though, as on of my co-workers lives in this town and makes this walk just about every day. 

This week, I began administering vitamins to cattle also. As I have said, many of the residents here believe that I am a veterinarian, so I figure even though I am not one I can take this on and confuse them even further. This was definitely a learning process. Here there are no real corrals, basically the cattle are set loose in the cornfields after harvest and graze there until it is time to plant, then they move them to the lowlands, near a river, an hour or so from here. Anyways, as they are roaming free, it presents a small challenge to get them and give them injections of vitamins. The guy that I was doing this for just grabbed a regular piece of rope, went out and lassoed a cow, running along with it so as not to be drug along and finally found a pole to use as a bit of leverage against the beast. We then proceeded to tie the cow's head to the pole, to keep it somewhat stationary while I injected it in the rump. I think we injected 5 cows with this process and I only had one close call--the first one, I didn't slam the needle hard enough, he got spooked and I almost caught a hoof to the shin. Lesson learned, make sure the needle goes in on the first try, apparently cattle don't enjoy being jabbed with sharp objects. 

Recently, the office of the association I am working with had their computer taken to the main office in Quiche and we are now using an older computer. After hooking up this computer, I discovered that after about 15 minutes, it fails. Every time. Which is nice. Also, when I looked at the manufacturer of this computer....none other than Micron, from the great state of Idaho. Thanks Micron. Small world, huh?