Going to the Farm

So I know it has been a few weeks since I've posted something on here. School has officially started back up; however I have only been to three classes in the past two and a half weeks. The first week of class I came down with a little case of the Giardia, so I wasn't doing a whole lot outside of my apartment. I think it was something that I picked up while I was in the village but it took about a week to finally catch up with me. Anyway, it knocked me out for a few days. I was better by the end of the week, which is good because I needed to go to class, and I went on a nine hour road trip on that Saturday. I was starting to worry that I was still going to be sick during the trip, but I was completely better by then. Last week was spent down on a farm doing some ag training. This is the second time that I've been, and I really enjoy the trips down there. This time we focused on methods to raising chickens, corn and a little bit about soybeans. It is a huge skill to know these kinds of things out here because everyone is a farmer in the villages. So we've applied for a grant that is going to pay us to establish corn test plots in villages. Over the next few weeks we are going to have to set up these test plots and then spend the summer going out and checking them and collecting data. All of this means a lot of time out in the village for me. I'm actually looking forward to it. We're also looking for a few good places to establish come coffee test plots. My filipino roommate is sort of a coffee growing expert, so we're going to try and get that all going in the next couple of months. It is a lot to coordinate, so we'll see how it all goes. Anyway, that's about all that has been going on out here. I'll be traveling to about half a dozen villages over the next couple of weeks to try and get these test plot locations squared away. Other than that it is going to class and trying to keep up with my normal responsibilities in town. It'll be busy, but it is fun.