The first half of the week I spent relaxing, doing some assignments, taking it easy for the most part. Surprisingly, I have found a new hobby of mined that I had no idea exist, cooking! I have made chicken quesadillas, chicken alfredo, spaghetti, eggs and potatoes, banana smoothies, etc. I have had so much fun cooking and even cooking for others. Our teams also found out one of our first projects. We found out how we are going to do coagulation/flocculation. Our team will be using Maringa seeds, which we already came up with process.
Maringa Seeds
On Friday, our class went on an excursion at parque natural encuentro. Here, there was a non-profit organization was talking to us about different scales of water treatments. First, we saw and studied ojo de agua, a water source.
Ojo de agua
Then, we were taught about some designs at the household level. Many of the designs were challenged just because of the beliefs of the community and how they did things. For example, people in rural Chiapas like to keep their water in clay pots, so they had to design to incorporate this.
some prototypes
Then, we looked at a larger scale: a community scale. We are already aware of each processes and their role in cleaning water. So, it was nice to see it in person and see everything come to life.
chlorination, filtration, and sedimentation
storage tank and chlorination
There was also UV disinfection because much of the community has a stigma against chlorination. We also had a tour of how they designed the outdoor ‘wet’ toilet to re use the water for irrigation, The process is driven by nature and takes ten years!
toilets ->irrigation
After, we had a group lunch at a BBQ place that tasted just like Texas BBQ! I was in heaven with their brisket to be honest. I was so excited to have a taste from home.
brisket and mac and cheese
For the rest of the day, we spent the day out on the town, exploring the centro. I also bought all my souvenirs for family back home.
me, nancy, and the similares man
eyeball mirror with kiana!
The next day, I was supposed to go on an excursion to see a waterfall, but I was super tired. I ended up going to explore some more of the town. I visited this really nice Chinese restaurant and made friends with the owner and other American travelers (they also had six dogs!).
yummy food
After, I got some Taro tea and tapioca, which I thought was really good. :p
Taro Tea
Overall, I had such a great time balancing relaxing, cooking, learning, and exploring the town.
-Gwyneth