woman on water

In celebration of one of my favorite mujeres!

This chica has got the most contagious laughter and she shreds all day long.  WordPress won’t allow me to embed the slideshow, so please click on the photo to direct you to the project.  Buen suerte for the 2012 season Mel, you are in my heart forever!

Goodbye haitus. I’m back.

I can’t pinpoint what it was that caused me to drop my little blog like a hot potato. I’ve often thought about it these last two years; it’s not that I didn’t care. Life just sucked me dry when I returned to the states from CR. For the most part I’ve believed this blog to be a documentation of accomplishments to fuel future endeavors, except what it is I want to do next has felt so cloudy.

Yesterday, in a tiny one-room heated yoga studio at the top of a hill in Seattle, something clicked.  The studio, Mountain Flow Yoga, is not solely for women but the class happened to be mat-to-mat with females only. Normally I’d be a little flusterated by so many bodies in one class. But mid-downward dog I was completely overcome by the energy in the room. The energy of fourteen women breathing through their stresses, focusing on the now and regaining the stamina to face life with clarity and love.

Immediately I thought of my blog: the blog I created to share my respect and appreciation for women. For too long I’ve felt that my blog is insignificant to others and to the internet universe.  Ultimately, who cares about that?!  These ideas matter to me, and although just snippets now, who knows what can come about from my release.

I’m back!

Water news for Water Week

In U.S. news, the EPA is catching on that we need stricter standards for drinking water, and hopefully for contaminants in the water in general.  From The New York Times:

‘“There are a range of chemicals that have become more prevalent in our products, our water and our bodies in the last 50 years,” the E.P.A. administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, said in a speech on Monday. Regulations have not kept pace with scientific discoveries, and so the agency is issuing “a new vision for providing clean, safe drinking water.”’

This was surprising:

‘There is no central government database that allows officials to monitor water tests by local systems. As a result, it has often been difficult to detect national trends, or for residents to know what is flowing through their taps.’

Read the whole story here.

Las últimas clases a Cepia

Sólo tenemos dos má clases!  Es muy triste, voy a extrañar las mujeres, los niños y mis amigos en Cepia!

Natalia

Our only amiga who showed up today.  In her family she’s one of eight children and I think she liked being the center of attention.  Pop bottle top flowers and piggy bank.  Lots of painting and color combos!

The Tamarindo News

The Tamarindo News is a monthly, bilingual community newspaper.  It’s free and it’s pretty great–they’ve got most of their stuff online, too.  I’m impressed by the topics they cover.

Cepia was recently written up in a section titled, “Communities Survive Together or Fall Apart.” They definitely deserve the publicity!

The paper has also started a suplemento nuevo, titled “Agua Pura.”  The supplement includes the history of the watershed in Tamarindo, which has been stressed due to the fast rate of developments in the past 30 years.  In the first supplement of “Agua Pura,” women were highlighted as playing an important role in clean water issues in the area, because they have more of a sensitivity towards mother nature.

After the donations…

A lot of us are trying to make sense of the earthquake in Haiti.  I am so confused as to why the world would test the limits of the Haitians in such a cruel, hellish way.  I have a hard time writing about this because, besides donating money, there is little that the standard American can do.  Somehow, all I can do is hope that Haiti has finally gotten the world’s attention.

I’ve just read this book.  I suggest everyone to read it.  There is a lot of important history about Haiti, as well as the story of one of the most selfless individuals, Dr. Paul Farmer.  He is the founder of Parners in Health, and this organization is where I suggest donating money.

*NEW* Please sign the petition to help Haiti drop their $1 billion debt (click HERE).  This is essential for their development in the next decades.

¡La primera semana: arte y mujeres a CEPIA!

So far, so good!

We had a successful first week of workshops:  decent turn-out, awesome projects and incredible enthusiasm.  Keenan and I are feeling a bit relieved and super excited to continue our work at CEPIA in Huacas.

Proyecto uno: Un collar

Proyecto dos: Pulseras

Haciendo pulseras!

Las mujeres!

Enero: la puesta de sol

We may not be able to drink salt water, but to not be able to swim in it?!  The horror.  Thankfully, the beaches on the Northern Pacific side of CR are safe for swimming/surfing, and Tamarindo has been working on cleaning up its runoff.  Some other regions in Costa Rica, like Puntarenas, are not so lucky due to pollution from factories.