More trabajo

Today I started off with some interviews in CORPOCALDAS, the environmental agency of the Department (state, sort of) of Caldas (where I am). I was a bit concerned to find out that the person I was scheduled to meet with this morning was out of town, but everything turned out for the better. On my way out of the building I was recognized by someone that a contact from last week had introduced me to, and she offered to introduce me to some other people in the same agency. So, instead of meeting with someone about infrastructure, I met with several people about some actual participatory programs that the agency is involved in. It was very informative, and they gave me a huge pile of documents to peruse. Who knows, instead of hazards I may end up studying water or environmental management after all. Actually, it might be interesting to compare those programs to the Guardianas, since that seems to be the only one they run that isn't participatory. The first two photos are taken from the CORPOCALDAS office I was hanging out in, on the 12th floor of the tallest building in Manizales. It is a shame that the new building under construction blocks the view now.

After that I treated myself to a fancy lunch. I've been cooking in the hostel most of the time, so I figure I've saved up a bit of money. It still wasn't that expensive, only $8 US. The restaurant had a buffet for the same price, but I couldn't resist when I saw that they had Mexican-style fajitas served with guacamole. The tortillas were deep-fried, which was odd, but overall the meal was quite delicious. It was the first time I've had Mexican food since I arrived. I've also been surprised at how many Chinese restaurants there are. I have yet to meet a Chinese person, but I also am not getting out into town much aside from these offices.

After that I had a meeting in Aguas de Manizales. They have an education program about water and environmental management that they do for children and professors. The point is to diffuse information to the community about conserving water and not exploiting natural resources. The kids are supposed to tell others what they learned in a year-long series of training workshops. I've been invited to join them on Friday at Rio Blanco. The painting represents the history of Manizales. It was apparently a very sexual history.

I had a kind of crazy bus ride home. I guess I got on the bus headed in the wrong direction, and once I realized that I just decided to stay on and check out the town while I did the entire loop. Unfortunately, it ended at the terminal and I had to change buses. The last photo is a view out of the town from the terminal. The next bus that I took got stopped by the police to investigate the driver, so the poor guy had to give us all our money back so we could catch another bus. I finally made it home, and I am trying one more time to make the colombian beans. So far so good!