Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Fat Tuesday

Family and Friends...

I am in the big city today looking for materials to make a small, low-technology greenhouse. Over the last few months I have been working with a few communities in producing fruit trees and it has been a relative success until know (the final product is ready in about 8-10 months). It has gone sufficiently well, that I am going to invest a bit of my own money and help a friend of mine begin his own tree nursery. We will be "partners" and he will continue to teach me the art of growing and taking care of young trees (a very useful and hugely environmentally beneficial skill to have) while I will put in the majority of the money (which won`t be more than a few weeks worth of gas money there in the States these days).

I am curious to see how it works out. At worst, I will learn a new skill and pay a "class fee", plus I will participate in producing and planting a few more trees. At best, I will help a friend begin a small business and I will be able to use the money that I "make" to help support youth in the area go to college.

Fat Tuesday is this upcoming week. Here in Ecuador (and I think in most of the Catholic World) that means that we are in the festivals of Carnaval). I will celebrate by throwing water on everyone and their mother (literally) this weekend, then watching the superbowl with other US friends, and on Monday going to a big outdoor concert-party where we will continue to get drenched and drench others and maybe participate in a white-water rafting competition.

It should be a blast!

I think that this is a great way to avoid the "after-christmas blues"... you just schedule more Holidays!