And so should you. As I lay in bed, listening to the drunks outside my house belt out…well, i dont know exactly what, ranchero maybe, could be a mangled version of some 80s power ballad that they love so much here in nicaragua, i just finished watching a TED talk by William Kamkwamba, a young man from Malawi who brought himself and his family electricity and water by constructing windmills outside his home. he was entirely self-taught, garnering his knowledge from the few physics and energy books he could get his hands on (this was actually a follow-up presentation and my second introduction to William, as he gave his first TED talk two years ago; he makes an impact each time). I love his story. It gives me faith in the human mind and spirit. It emboldens the confidence I have for development in Africa (in another TED talk, one presenter claims that by the end of this decade there will emerge an Einstein out of Africa, and my bet is now on William Kamkwamba). (another side note: yes, I have been watching tons of TED talks as they are the fasting loading video podcasts I can get on my slow and sporadic wireless connection). It gives a short pang to my heart that I am here and not there with peace corps. I am hopeful that the same spirit exists here in Nicaragua.
Perhaps it is. The other week, the director of the school I work at here in Jinotega approached me asking if I might be able to translate a document for him. So I said, sure, id take a look. Then I was handed a 45 page manual on how to construct a wind turbine. I’m still staring at it, wondering how I can make this 45 page document, written in English, relevant to this school (and also wondering why the group from the United States who came to build the first turbine would leave this 45 page document with a group of people who do not speak a word of English).
I also wonder if this killer headache of mine will ever go away, if the boy I am tutoring in english will ever grasp the “th” sound, if my high school students will ever take me seriously, if I’ll ever digest the mass quantities of tortillas I have been eating, if I’ll ever have a fluid conversation in Spanish, if cindy lauper really is as amazing as Nicaraguans believe.
So I am going use this crush I have on William Kamkwamba, and believe, just believe, and maybe he’ll notice and we can run away to Africa together in August 2011.
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2 comments:
Or maybe he can help you to build the first wind turbine in your area. Just a mother talking. The possibilities when people aren't afraid to work are endless. We're so proud of your inner strength, Dane. So proud.
DAINAPOTAMOUS!
PS I just added TED Talks to my podcast list as well :-) They'll help pass the nights when there isn't much else to do. I miss you!
<3 PIGAJON
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