oiled and lubed

Big red chewing gum, jolly rancher sweets, southern fried chicken, cornbread, wall-mart, baseball, red-necks and grease pig catching. These are a few of the typical american cultural things you get introduced to when you are over here.
We haven't really had to try grease pig catching yet, though I would like to have a go at that, but we were being taught to really grease up our water filter mould to make sure that the concrete would come lose from it easily after it set. Yesterday we still struggled for hours to get the mould lose. We had greased it up with sunflower oil or Crisco (which is like our Stork margarine), really lathering it on. We made 2 water filters out of concrete - the end result modeled beautifully by Mike in the photo (hes from Kansas and says he knows Dorothy from Wizard of Oz personally and use to go out with her too).


The other dude who looks like the KFC colonel is the heid honcho. He started Equip when he realised that people going out to do missions were not "equipped" for surviving in the basic conditions. He grew up in Scotland and so I have a great ally against the only English guy here. Just as an aside - everyone wants to claim some sort of miniscule Scottish ancestry. Im glad I brought my kilt because I'll be able to get people really excited then (not just for the fantastic legs or wearing it like a true Scotsman).
We were learning on our first day of the water filtration course that statistically, poor water and malnutrition are the biggest contributors to death worldwide. This is the type of thing that really compels me to do this type of course to learn more to help.

Anyway, the other evening as well, we were learning outside of class time about welding - which is really dangerous and very cool and very hot at the same time. It is incredible watching the metal sparks fly like fireworks. There is evidence of my achievement and my big hair coming out from under the mask.

So, Im still trying to figure out how to go for a run around here. From the info I have got, the nearest place to run here is about 10miles away by car (obviously). Maybe I'll just have to carry a gun to shoot the dogs instead.