Week Three: Water, Water Everywhere and Not A Drop to Drink

The Tomolamos project water tower

               

Well, not exactly water everywhere, but portable water had been out for an entire week due to a failure in the villages water pump. There has been no water at the clinic or local school for the people of El Tololar from Sunday until Friday morning.  I have had to travel to Leon to bring in a portable water supply for myself, the advantage of being from a country where our money and labor is valued higher.

It had made me feel a bit uncomfortable, guilty for blatantly being able to have something so vital that the locals did not have access to in this heat.  I feel like I adjusted well, integrated somewhat, but I can’t stop feeling like Paris Hilton for all of the luxuries I have from being born in the USA.

On the other hand, there is so much more that they have that we don’t and you can feel it soon after stepping off of the bus in El Tololar.  They have a rich community, a sense of family that we just don’t have in our technological buster.  They play cards every night, or sports or just spend the time laughing and joking for hours on end, not minding the silly “gringoes” that have come in to play for a while. Despite clearly missing my family, friends, and poor lonely cat, I feel like I have more here without all the possessions and luxuries of home. 

Adolescent photo project

We decided to do a community project with the adolescents in El Tololar, trying to capture their identity and view of life in El Tololar. This came with mixed feelings because the teenagers chosen by the teachers did not appear to be overly excited, but later when I spoke to Adilsa, the director of schools and out house mother, she said that they were extremely  excited. Monica and I cannot await the results of their vision.

School children playing during recess at Ermita School, El Tololar.