A head start: Guatemala Water Conference Day 1

I am in Guatemala City for a sustainable water use conference for the Americas (Link: http://d6.iwrn.net/). I arrived this morning, at 6 am (!), having left LAX at midnight, finishing a 4 day stay with Nana and Papa Beyrouty and my great friend Diana and her family. LA was a great time. I miss my grandparents already; but now I begin a time where I can really get myself mentally prepared for the month that follows. In case you're wondering, this conference is not for the Peace Corps. I am going for my own development. Water quality and sustainable water use are areas that I hope to focus my career in, and this chance to meet with other stakeholders, including NGOs and government orgs that I might have the opportunity to work with while I am in El Salvador is a priceless opportunity. I have to thank my professor Dev Niyogi and Mike Colby and David Wilkie from USAID and Wildlife Conservation Society, respectively, for helping me obtain the funds to get here. This will be knowledge that I will carry with me indefinitely.

I want to show some shots of Guatemala but so far it has been gloomy with rain. I went for a nice walk, getting very wet, but saw some of the business district of the city, and catching up on my losing Spanish. It's coming back to me poco a poco (little by little). Hopefully after the next few days I will have some more to say about this town and the people, but more importantly the things I've learned being here. Tomorrow I get to listen to the President of Guatemala, Oscar Berger, presenting his aspirations for global unity in solving water issues. Should be an experience!

This photo is the view from my room.