Hello, Friends
by Connie Burk

Our fourth year living on the Columbia River has been a rich and eventful one. We still wake up each morning happily listening to a cacophony of bird songs, and Jerry, who is becoming a more avid birder every day, can now identify a lot of them. The rainy season is slowing down, but the mud is still in high gear, making my half-hour walk to the village especially difficult. I cannot "pole dory" during the rainy season when the river's current is swift, but fortunately, I discovered an ideal alternative. I now float to work, lounging in a small inner tube. The current guides me peacefully along, occasionally spinning me around for an upriver view. It is a wonderful way to begin the day.

I'm happy to report that, after four years, we've figured out how to successfully grow tomatoes and peppers! Veggie growing organically down here is much more difficult than it is in North America. Our secret: we trade coconuts with Miss Elodia Mendez for her chicken manure, and apply it regularly and liberally. See Jerry's report - Farming in the Tropics - for more insights on our encounters with tropical soils.

After practicing the art of patience for quite awhile, two long-term goals have been met this year that have rocked my life. Last February, we added internet access at the Columbia Opportunity Center, and in August, our new Peace Corps Volunteer, Denise Frank, arrived in Columbia.
The internet access has exceeded my expectations for success, and remains affordable for most of our villagers. Some students bicycle in from nearby villages to conduct their research and complete their homework, and occasionally, a truck rolls in from outside the village filled with e-mail users.

Denise is a breath of fresh air for IAIA. A motivated, high-energy person, she is enthusiastically learning about our work in Columbia and selecting from an array of project ideas that have been presented for her. Her volunteer energies will not be spent on the COC's computer lab, though she has had a positive effect there already. Instead, she will work on projects that I've dreamed up and have had little time to complete, and projects that she dreams up herself. We are beginning a monthly village-wide newsletter this month, and more activities are planned. In a fast-growing village where there are divisions based on politics, religious denomination, and old family feuds, we plan to spread the message that our combined energies will be spent primarily on activities that bring the villagers together productively and harmoniously. It's a tall order, but an important one. With Denise's assistance, I think we can make some progress toward that goal.

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