Everyday Life in Monteiro

Hello faithful blog followers,
Sorry it has been a littler longer than normal since my last post, but to be fair, I warned you this would happen with my lack of computer!

My work is taking off, I'm settling just nicely with my family, and I have developed an overall sense of contentment in this place.

It turns out my initial work will include researching and implementing a project of dry composting latrines. The idea behind this concept is basically to use a barrel as the pit of a free standing latrine, and when the barrel is full, it is closed and set aside for a certain length of time until all (or most) of the harmfull pathogens die off. At this point, the material is safe (or safer than fresh faeces) to use as fertilizer. This is a technology specifically for communities around here that don't have any sort of bathrooms. These people only use the great outdoors, posing large risks of spreading disease, especially in the rainy season when everything becomes a big mess of mud. With the dry composting latrines, everything is contained in a barrel until it is safe to use, eliminating risks during floods and/or high water tables. Yeah! I've been traveling to various communities presenting this idea, and for the most part, after smirks and giggles watching an American try to talk in Portuguese about faeces and urine, the people have been surprisingly receptive to the idea. At one particular session, I think I didn't quite explain it well enough, because an elderly woman rose her hand, and asked, "but what if I fall in the barrel?" She was quite concerned and we all got a good laugh out of it. But I then assured her that each latrine has a normal toilet seat built above the barrel so this would not be an issue. Good laughs. I so far have 8 households for sure signed up to try one out, which means I have my work cut out for me. I'm currently researching best methods of building/maintaining these latrines, and then I will start to design and construct these lovely little units. It is all very exciting especially when I have specific people in mind to build these units for. It makes it so much more personal and meaningful. I'm excited to begin work in these people's homes because it means lots of shared lunches and teatimes and conversations. This is what it's all about.
As for the rest of my life aside from work, Monteiro is lovely. Very picturesque. I have about a 30 minute walk to work, although MCC recently decided to buy me a bicycle as most of the other workers live within a 5 minute walk. So I am the proud new owner of a shiney blue set of wheels :-). As I travel to work, I pass butcher shops with meat hanging from the ceiling, blacksmiths pounding away at their metal work, fruit stands, motorcycle repair shops, you name it. I often sing in my head (and sometimes aloud as I bike down the stone streets) the opening song from Beauty and the Beast where Belle is walking through town, watching the world wake up. "There goes the baker with his tray like always.. The same and bread and rolls to sell..." you know the song? It's a good one. And I totally know how Belle feels when I ride with the cool morning (early early morning sometimes 6:30) breeze in my hair, roosters still crowing, goat bells sounding, church bells ringing. I also relate when the townspeople sing the line "She's different from the rest of us, she's nothing like the rest of us.... That Belle!" Or rather "That blue eyed Anamaria!". Although there are plenty of lighter skin folks in Brazil, my blue eyes are a dead giveaway that something's different about me. And that's ok. There is something different about me here. There's something different about all of us. :-)
Hope you're all well.
I'll try to post pictures soon.
Peace,
Anamaria