The bike shop here at Maya Pedal is, apparently, quintessential Guatemala. Which is to say, seemingly unorganized. Tools and parts aren't always placed where they belong and rarely return to the spot where they came from. We have been working a lot on organizing and cleaning up the shop, and I think it's going well..
Surprisingly, the wheel room has maintained its cleanliness the past couple weeks.
Still, there sometimes appears to be a method to the madness as Rodolfo (the mechanic), can find things in the parts room amazingly quickly. He has expressed appreciation for all the organizing we have done, though. I think it does help him out so we aren't all running into things on the floor and missing tools.
As far as work goes, we sometimes get various projects assigned to us from Rodolfo, and we ask lots of questions and try and initiate our own projects. So far, we have worked on building up and fixing bikes for customers, orders for a bici-degrenador (corn de-grainer), biciliquadora (blender), and a battery charger. All pedal-powered, of course. I also picked out an old rusty bike frame, and Nilit and I are working on getting it built up. It's a small sized frame, which is in high demand here where even Nilit is picked out as a tall man. It has been tough to build a bike up because all the parts around here are old and recycled from other bikes, and there is so much variability in bike types and the necessary parts. Sometimes I spend 20 minutes just finding a very specific part (like a stem that fits or a bottom bracket piece) or a even just matching nut & bolt.
Nobody except the other volunteers speak English, so we are getting lots of Spanish practice. We also speak a little with customers who come by and need something fixed. I really need to learn more bike part translations, though. Us volunteers also have a (somewhat loose) rule of speaking only Spanish with each other at dinner. It's hard because we sometimes realize we are eating in silence because of it and switch back over :)
Maya Pedal is in sort of a transition period right now with regard to leadership. There's quite a bit of rumor and hearsay about what happened and who did what, but I don't care to propagate that here. Suffice it to say, I don't think it's affected our work too much so far. It may soon, but we will find out in due time.
At times we work 10ish hours a day which can be a bit tiring on the feet - but the time still seems to fly by somehow. I have fun getting my hands dirty and getting things accomplished around the shop. A handful of days have been a little shorter or lazier because we aren't always loaded with customers, and at times we haven't had the materials we need to start a new bicimaquina. Nilit and I have also been training online in the evenings for the Unite for Sight program in India. Based upon the information they've given us, we have to start mentally preparing for lots of 12-hour working days including OR procedures, outreach camps, and clinic work. Sounds exhausting, but so very rewarding at the same time. I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it!
We are actually on vacation right now from Maya Pedal. I'm writing from Guatemala City, where we needed to visit the Indian embassy. We are then traveling around for a week up to Flores and Tikal (where we will see Mayan Ruins) and then to Semuc Champey (to see some apparently gorgeous waterfalls and views!). We then return to Guate and bus back home to Itzapa. I'll post pics and stories when we get back :)
Have a great week!
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| Before... |
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| After! |
Surprisingly, the wheel room has maintained its cleanliness the past couple weeks.
Still, there sometimes appears to be a method to the madness as Rodolfo (the mechanic), can find things in the parts room amazingly quickly. He has expressed appreciation for all the organizing we have done, though. I think it does help him out so we aren't all running into things on the floor and missing tools.
As far as work goes, we sometimes get various projects assigned to us from Rodolfo, and we ask lots of questions and try and initiate our own projects. So far, we have worked on building up and fixing bikes for customers, orders for a bici-degrenador (corn de-grainer), biciliquadora (blender), and a battery charger. All pedal-powered, of course. I also picked out an old rusty bike frame, and Nilit and I are working on getting it built up. It's a small sized frame, which is in high demand here where even Nilit is picked out as a tall man. It has been tough to build a bike up because all the parts around here are old and recycled from other bikes, and there is so much variability in bike types and the necessary parts. Sometimes I spend 20 minutes just finding a very specific part (like a stem that fits or a bottom bracket piece) or a even just matching nut & bolt.
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| Using the dye grinder because my weld sucks! |
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| Learning how to weld! |
Nobody except the other volunteers speak English, so we are getting lots of Spanish practice. We also speak a little with customers who come by and need something fixed. I really need to learn more bike part translations, though. Us volunteers also have a (somewhat loose) rule of speaking only Spanish with each other at dinner. It's hard because we sometimes realize we are eating in silence because of it and switch back over :)
Maya Pedal is in sort of a transition period right now with regard to leadership. There's quite a bit of rumor and hearsay about what happened and who did what, but I don't care to propagate that here. Suffice it to say, I don't think it's affected our work too much so far. It may soon, but we will find out in due time.
At times we work 10ish hours a day which can be a bit tiring on the feet - but the time still seems to fly by somehow. I have fun getting my hands dirty and getting things accomplished around the shop. A handful of days have been a little shorter or lazier because we aren't always loaded with customers, and at times we haven't had the materials we need to start a new bicimaquina. Nilit and I have also been training online in the evenings for the Unite for Sight program in India. Based upon the information they've given us, we have to start mentally preparing for lots of 12-hour working days including OR procedures, outreach camps, and clinic work. Sounds exhausting, but so very rewarding at the same time. I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it!
We are actually on vacation right now from Maya Pedal. I'm writing from Guatemala City, where we needed to visit the Indian embassy. We are then traveling around for a week up to Flores and Tikal (where we will see Mayan Ruins) and then to Semuc Champey (to see some apparently gorgeous waterfalls and views!). We then return to Guate and bus back home to Itzapa. I'll post pics and stories when we get back :)
Have a great week!
So cool! Love the pics! Are you traveling as a group? (Asks the non-concerned super cool sister) lol
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see what you guys are up to out there! :) I must say, though, that the room looks a bit claustrophobic...is there any window?? I guess if you are just dead tired and can drop on the bed for a few hours of Zzz's, it wouldn't be so bad.
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys are having fun and experiencing new things! That's what it's all about - helping the community and taking in all the sights and smells (some maybe involuntarily)...
Looking forward to your next blog. Love it!
-Vaishali
It's great reading what you two are doing over there. Sounds like an amazing journey so far and I'm sure you will have many more experiences to add to your box of "amazing experiences". Best wishes to you both from the both of us!
ReplyDeleteAchal & Jesal