Friday, August 28, 2009

14 days to go

Two weeks from today, I will have arrived in Washington D.C and meeting the other Peace Corps trainees leaving for Macedonia on Saturday, Sept 12.

Though I have been randomly putting clothes in a suitcase, today I started packing in earnest. What to take for two years to a place that has really hot summers and cold winters? It is hard to look at warm clothes let alone touch them when the weather here is hotter than usual. Daily temperatures fluctuate between a nice 60's at night to hot 80's during the days. In centigrade that is "nice 17's to hot 29's". I am going to have to get used to understanding the temperature in centigrade and for now will memorize the range - anything over 30's is very hot and below 15 cold.

My clothes are laundered and folded and placed on the bed waiting to go into 2 suitcases - one small 27x18x8 and one large 30x21x10! I will take my Spain hiking trip backpack as a carryon and a small school back pack for my computer and electronic gadgets! From the material the staff at Macedonia sent, I still need to buy a flash drive to tote data around as the internet is widespread and accessible, with lots of internet cafes. In order to focus on what I am going there for I gave up my iphone on Wednesday! I am planning to get a regular mobile phone instead of a smartphone, with voice and text (I dont want to give up text!). This blog will be my connection to all of you.

I also learned that I am among the 10% of volunteers over the age of 50. The volunteers are evenly divided between community service and education. I will be engaged in NGO (non governmental organization) development. Beyond knowing that I will be training in a location near the town of Kumanovo, northern border of Macedonia, I am glad I know nothing of the actual assignment. This was I don't build up any expectations of what I will be doing or not doing. The plan is to keep an open mind and just take each day - one day at a time.

Meanwhile, back to the task at hand - actually packing and not writing about it

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Re-Thinking Soup

Great minestrone soup made from freshly harvested vegetables that very morning from the Jane Adams Hull House Kitchen garden! I attended this monthly public conversation at the Jane Adams Hull House - University of Illinois Chicago campus today, which focused on the sustainability food movements that are peppered across Illinois and the US.

The conversation was led by Josh Viertel of the Slow Food movement, which grew out of a protest to the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy! The small group of protesters showed up with a big cauldron of prepared penne pasta and soup bowls and distributed free soup to the crowds. This eventually led to the chanting of wanting slow food as opposed to fast food represented by the American fast food chain.

A majority of the sustainability food movements in the US are primarily manifested in community gardens in urban areas. Not big enough to have a real impact on the mono-culture cash crop food programs which have taken over the majority of the agriculture tax dollars. The structure of the Farm Bill has led to the demise of the small farmer growing food for consumption and the growth of growing food as a commodity!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Disappointments, Opportunities, Milestones!

In September of last year, when my first assignment with the Peace Corps was delayed due to a sports injury, it seemed appropriate to research ways to expand our niche high voltage, industrial and commercial electrical design and install business; Electrical Systems and Services, Inc. Running an operation in 'bear market conditions' left Jay with very little time to research the field for clean energy, green initiatives to complement our business. So both Angeli and I were in a position to do this important research as our plans for graduate study/peace corps respectively, were delayed due to unforeseeable reasons.

We organized our work to cover the market, incentives, training, certification and other related issues. We also took the first step of attending workshops, site visits and researching products and manufacturers before making any recommendations. The strategic decision Jay made based on this data was to add viable 'green, clean' power need solutions for our clients in our immediate area, who could not afford huge capital outlays, yet wished to participate.

He took the initiative immediately and installed an off-grid solar powered LED parking lot light, which comes on at dusk and turns itself off 6 hours later. Last Friday, Aug 14th he held a grand opening event to install the first small wind vertical-axis wind turbine in Wisconsin! It was so well received as it's wind needs are only 6-12 mph at a height of 30 feet, looks like lawn art and does not need heavy equipment to install and maintain. Check out the following two links: http://tinyurl.com/qswzxr with son RJ and http://tinyurl.com/ofuwhd featuring Jay.

Maybe, just maybe there may be an opportunity for this kind of small wind turbine in Macedonia!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Staging Information

At last the details for staging and departure arrive by email this afternoon!

The next few days & weeks are going to be flurry of activity and all I can do is sit and stare at the computer screen, unable to think of a coherent sentence to express my feelings adequately. It is so much easier to share the information in the email with you.

Here are the relevant details.

"The Staging Unit is looking forward to your arrival for the Macedonia staging event. Please read this email and the attachments carefully, as the information here will answer many of the questions you have regarding your final steps prior to departing for Macedonia.


Please note that as a Trainee and Volunteer overseas, you will be expected to act and dress in keeping with your status as a professional and guest. At staging, business casual attire is required.

STAGING DATES: Friday, September 11, 2009 – Saturday, September 12, 2009

REGISTRATION:1:30 PM on Friday, September 11, 2009

DEPARTURE: 5:40 pm on Saturday, September 12, 2009"

I will miss you Otis!



Friday, August 7, 2009

Counting Down the Days

I have come to realize there are many ways to count the days. One is to do nothing and wait. Another is to remain engaged in activity. I chose the latter so that when I receive my flight itinerary and e-ticket from Sato Travel and be on my way to the staging city, I will have no regrets of things undone.

On the dining table lies the welcome packet, opened and spread out - with the piles increasing as I add the paperwork that I need to take with me. In the bedroom is my open suitcase - clothes just piled in, yet to be properly folded. My desk has been organized with neat piles of electronic gadgets and related wires, transformers, etc. which need to be inventoried for my Clement's Insurance application. My ipod is still missing......

Of higher priority is the other paperwork on this same table where all dining activity has stopped. Angeli, our third child has her admission letter, visa related paraphernalia, health forms and student handbook spread out. She is heading out to Peking University, Beijing for her Master's in International Relations on Sept 3! Rahul, Sheena and Gita are also home, so after Christmas holidays the family is together again.

The breakfast room table, large enough for the six family members, is now accommodating 5 additional visiting family members! Visiting us is my niece from India, who will begin undergraduate studies in fashion Design at Meredith College, Raleigh, N.C. on Aug 15 and my brother, who is here to help her with this transition. This weekend my nephew, a graduate student at UIUC working on developing some new material for the microchips so they are even faster, is here to join the family gathering and Jay's two nieces from UK - their first visit to the USA!

I have changed my profile picture to include that of my husband. This was taken at the July 21 John Legend concert at the outdoor Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois. Before an invitation to his concert, I must admit I had never heard John Legend before! I must also admit that as long as the children lived at home, I stayed current with the music scene. They were surprised to learn that we were going a Legend concert! With so many house guests expected, it made sense to spend an evening together and this artist was playing at Ravinia.