May 31 - Fogon Duty

The guys build a stove
From the ground up. Mud and bricks
Ash to keep things cool

May 30 - We Take the Angelitos Felices Kids to the Pool

These kids swim like they'll
never get the chance again
So hungry for fun

May 29 - UVic Sends Out The Big Announcement

The news broke today

Doctorate of laws for me

Facebook friends go wild

May 28 - Kind of Late to Ask If I'm Coming to the Meeting

It's an odd thing when
Merlin calls from La Ceiba
As if he forgot

May 27 - This Is No Place for Children

The orphanage reeks
A baby sleeps in a pile
of dirt and shorn hair

May 26 - The Rainy Season Sets In

It rains more these days
The heat builds in the mornings
Then the sky explodes

May 25 - I Depend on Being Wired

It has come to this:
Work stops without Internet
I go home early

May 24 - Rendicion de Cuentas in La Cuchilla

Kitten on my lap
Flies on my legs. This is how
They do meetings here

May 23 - Something To Brighten Up That Place

I should be working

But surely making posters

for the orphans counts

May 22 - Merlin and I Spend Much of the Day Getting a Christian Aid Photo

It's a long, rough road
Back to San Jeronimo
All for one photo

May 21 - The Leafcutter Ants Arrive

A long line of ants

Transport small pieces of leaves

Nightly past our door

May 20 - Me and Windows MovieMaker Get Reacquainted

It's good to be back
Mixing sad songs and photos
To make people cry

May 19 - At the Cabildo Infantil

Only the brave would
Try to organize children
Into committees

May 18 - A Surprise Sighting On My Bird Walk

The jays' cries draw me
And I spot a giant snake
Wrapped around a branch

May 17 - I Spend The Morning On A Fiddly But Fun Project

Iliana asks me
to make Cabildo badges
Nice to feel useful

May 16 - Poco a Poco

Spanish PowerPoint
Suggests I've come a long way
Fluency? Not yet

May 15 - Strangers Arrive to Check Up On Things

Four new faces here
The junta directiva
Tough chicken for lunch

May 14 - A Phone Call With Suyapa Shatters My Fragile Sense of Accomplishment

Some days are diamonds
But this isn't one of them
Glad there's rum at home

May 13 - My Concert at Carrizalito I

Dark roads and strangers
Lead me high above the town
Children dance and sing

May 12 - The Kids of Angelita Hogar

So hungry for touch
He takes my hands to bounce and
Ten more come running

May 11 - Man, It's Hot Here

This is a country
That requires a lot of fans
We've got two blowing

May 10 - Settling into Hacienda Grande for a Long, Long Meeting

We take the table
near the garden, and don't move
for seven hours

May 9 - Things Pick Up

Either I've learned how
to work in this new culture
Or I'm busier

May 8 - Visitors from Afar in the Office

My boss says I should
join him for a meeting, which
goes on much too long

May 7 - An Afternoon Walk in El Bosque

Just me and the birds
Hanging out at the Ruins
My exotic yard

May 6 - Swapping Music for Meals

A night of music
Leads to another fine meal
Atop the terrace

May 5 - Adventures at the Orphanage: Trying to Hang Laundry

The clothes are wet and

Smelly, and our bad clothesline

Keeps falling over

May 4 - A Road Trip to Las Flores

The model farm of

Don Humberto impresses

The Christian Aid rep

May 3 - Weird Things Always Happen When I Come Here

She's well past the age
of breasts that give milk, but this
strange child takes comfort

May 2 - The Bug Returns to Our House

Whatever got me
Has now got Paul, or was it
the meat fest last night?

May 1 - A Trip to Aguas Termales for Dia de los Trabajadores

Much meat and swimming
And a bone-shaking ride in
The back of a truck

Apr. 30 - Feels Like Late July in Kamloops

It's a rare day when
I would choose to sit inside
Even the birds pant