Yesterday was a smashing success. Joseph, Mohamed, Brad, and I visited four villages, gaining us a number of interview and samples, as well as a few coconuts, several oranges, and even two chickens! The ride out wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Although my hips were sore from the previous week of riding, and although we woke up at 6AM (w/ a hurried breakfast of cold rice and Clif Bars) for an early start, and despite the ~1 hour ride to the farthest village to start the morning, the ride (and the day as a whole) was quite manageable, although still exhausting. Luckily, after the second village (and at the beginning of the third) we took a break, eating a few complementary coconuts and oranges. Our guide very much needed this break as he began to feel sick midway through the morning. It feels great to be done with the surveys (and now almost done with the direct water quality testing).
The nutrition group left this morning, so the focus now is on wrapping everything up before we go. Items on the list: (1) finish direct water quality tests; (2) collect all GPS data and train one individual in the use of it (since I am selling mine to Village Hope); (3) meet with Dr. Bart to discuss the transition to the next phases of water development (education and remediation); and (4) figure out the fun decompression activities for tomorrow.
Time has really flow by here, and I am beginning to think more and more about what's next: taking a few really interesting classes, figuring out the graduate school situation, finding summer work, and catching up with some UofI friends before our paths diverge. This has probably been the most exciting period of my life thus far. In any case, I really hope our work here can make a positive difference.
One more thing: the last village we surveyed was Buya (pronounced "Boo-yah!"), a fitting name, I think, for my feeling upon completion.I would also add that the palm wine we purchased from a local manufacturer was quite a fitting (and refreshing) celebratory beverage.