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Adios y hasta luego El Adelanto !

The pics above were posted upon our return home, as bandwidth continued to be a challenge for wiki updates. Our last day in the village was spent participating in a fiesta, complete with plenty of firecrackers, ceremony, skits, flag procession, blessings, presentations, lunch, pinatas and more. We cannot say enough how gracious El Adelanto has been to our team! Everyone in the village has been so kind, warm, welcoming and grateful, but we sometimes wonder if we don't get more out of it than they do.

There was still some work to be done, but in the end, 54 families will have water at their homes and you were all able to be a part of it by joining us.

To ALL of our teachers, students and tech coordinators: we thank you. We topped 600 participants this year. 600 of you now share an understanding of how precious water is and what it takes to share our resources with those in need.

Our last day was spent meeting the villagers of the proposed 2011 project. As the final report for El Adelanto is prepared by the team engineers, 2011 is already in their sights.

This wiki will remain open for sharing. Several schools have posted information and pictures of their experience. PLEASE continue to post reflections, ideas and suggestions.

On behalf of the Adventure Kids Learning team, John Andersen, Sandi Masterson and Joan Roehre- MUCHOS GRACIAS!








 * Wednesday March 17 **


 * Last official day on the job and what a great day! Our connections this morning were from a family home in the village and we were able to show a woman backstrap weaving. In the afternoon, our team split up- Katie & Roger went to a site proposed for next year to assess and take pics. John walked the pipeline to continue connections and Joan helped install meters. In mid-afternoon- we were all caught in an intense hailstorm! Apparently it happens once a year- the picyures above prove the Guatemalan "snow". **


 * We are all so thankful to you for your participation this year! Many of you were well prepared with thoughtful and insightful questions. We also learned a lot from you! Some of the prep your classes did was outstanding- such as carrying around full gallon jugs for the day (and THAT was a 3rd grade class!) to researching the local Mayan dialect and more. **


 * We have connected with aprox. 600 students in the US this year and many lives have been touched! We hope you take this experience and know that your contributions and awareness MATTER! **


 * We will be in contact with you via email upon our return next week and follow up. Continue to use the wiki to share ideas, pictures and discussions. **


 * On behalf of Adventure Kids Learning- we thank you and look forward to our 2011 Adventure! Hasta Luego Amigos! **


 * Tuesday 3/16 **


 * 3 more AKL connections today from the school! YAY! 2 tomorrow and it sounds like we'll be set-up at a village home where women gather to weave. IF that doesn't happen- we'll try to be at the tank site for the last day. **


 * Many of the water meters were installed at the village homes today, and hopefully the rest will be installed tomorrow. Thursday, we are hosted by the village at the school for the fiesta as the water is turned on. In addition, there will be a memorial service to Mr. Don Mauer who passed away last year on the trip. We will be sure to post pictures of the fiesta and ceremony! Then we hit the road to get a look at next years site, stops in Chichicastanenga, Panajachel then home on Saturday. **


 * Watch for more updates and looking forward to our final connections! **












 * Monday March 15 **


 * Over the weekend, the villagers tested the lines and found one leak which is luckily in a spot that is easily fixable. More cement layers were troweled on the tank today, and a few galvanized crossings were completed by Katie and Roger. Tomorrow, Katie and Roger are going to check out a potential site for next year's adventure! **


 * Adventure Kids did 3 connections today from the village school with the help of Caroline, our interpreter. We will be at the school again tomorrow! We had a conversation with the school administrator and the end result is- they are very much in need. We have asked them to make "Wish Lists" for their classrooms and have already received them. When we get back, we'll come up with a plan to get some very needed and BASIC supplies to our new friends at the school. **















Sunday 3/14:

We completed half of our connections Friday, and were fortunate to do Friday's connections from the village school. ALL CONNECTIONS MONDAY AND TUESDAY will be from the school! We will have an interpreter, so please prepare questions for students to exchange. The village school has about 550 students in grades K-6. There was a huge soccer (football) tournament going on Friday morning, but it didn't stop the many curious students from surrounding our connetion. We had 4 students represent El Adelanto- Wilma, Freddie Garcia, Marisol and Brandon. They were selected by their teacher to anser questions because we were told they were "sparky" by the school adminstrator :-) Many questions were asked, like what kind of beds do the Guatemalan children sleep in to what is your favorite food. Some of the pictures posted above are from that connection. The Guatemalan students are SO interested in the American students! A great moment was when the two teachers were able to exchange a few questions- and it sounds like good teachers have much in common no matter WHERE they teach! THEY ALL put in extra time and much dedication to their students! We learned that the Guatemalan government provides $6.00 per year per student for their education. Any AKL students want to find out how much YOUR school gets to cover YOUR education costs? I think you'll find the answer very interesting.

We head in to one more week here and are very touched by the connections. Student questions are so interesting and again we are touched by everyones support and enthusiasm. Please continue to post discussion topics and share ideas.

Five of our team members headedhome Saturday. MANY thanks to John, Mike, Richard, Bob and Margaret for your tireless efforts and good company! More layers on the tank tomorrow and a few new team members are joining us this week to work and teach health & hygiene. We'll post progress updates daily!

Thursday 3/11:

Doing a quick update from the tanksite this afternoon! We'd like to thank all of the schools we've connected with so far- the conversations have been amazing! Technology has so far gone VERY well! The women just served us lunch- stuffed chilies in a cornbread "pocket" with tortillas ,rice and a vegetable salad. Their smiling faces coming up the mountain every day loaded with food is so humbling. John posted the pics below- we'll do our best to keep the pics coming, but it has been a bit challenging :-) We are meeting with the school admins here tomorrow to see if we can get a day or two from the village school- stay tuned. Not sure where we'll be connecting tomorrow- we have been told we must leave the village by 11am to avoid major road construction and traffic to Antigua where we'll say goodbye to 5 volunteers :-( Our team is so amazing and hardworking!

IF we can connect to schools- we WILL have a translator- a few have asked. Thanks for keeping the discussion thread going!

The tank now has one layer of cement on the inside and I am watching them get the top layer on as I type. The pipe laying teams are hard at work down the line. 16000 feet of pipe has to be in place for the water to get to the village!!!

Hasta luego Adventure Kids!








 * Tuesday, 3/9: **


 * We have completed day 2 and a great amount of trenching has been done, along with the base of the tank cement laid. The frame of the tank is now in place with tomorrows work being more hribar frame and chicken wire wired to the entire tank. As soon as that is completed, the cement will be troweled on by the masons and and perhaps a few volunteers. **


 * We were pleased to see the front page article in the Kenosha News yesterday and would like to add a few more details, as well as corect the name of the organizations involved. **


 * The following individuals comprise the Wisconsin Water for the World travel team: **


 * Bob Carlson- Kenosha Water Utility **
 * Roger Field- Kenosha Water Utility **
 * John Andersen- Kenosha Water Utility **
 * Katie Karow- Janesville Water Utility **
 * John Bolt- Clark-Dietz, Inc. Kenosha, WI **
 * Mike Rau- City Water, LLC **
 * Margaret (GG) Rau- Pius XI HS **
 * Richard Hope- AECom (Stevens Point, WI) **
 * Joan Roehre- Kenosha Unified School District **


 * The collaborating partners for the 2010 project: **


 * Wisconsin Water Association **
 * Agua Para la Salud **
 * Florida Water Environmental Association **
 * Rotary District 6270 - Jacksonville FL **
 * Rotary District 6290- Kenosha WI **


 * Thanks to everyone for your continued support and enthusiasm for this years project. We have tested the satellite and mobile broadband for our connections beginning tomorrow. **


 * If you are requesting membership to this wiki, please note we can only accept educators participating. We know a number of family members are following along and already know the 2011 trip will include a wiki specific to families. **


 * Buenos noches, hasta manana! **


 * Sunday 3/7: **


 * We are here! Tomorrow we head to the worksite to meet with the village and begin the work. We have already been notified the 2 connections THIS FRIDAY will have to be modified. We must leave the worksite no later than 11:30am. This means South Milwaukee and Bradford HS will be contacted with those schedule changes. We will not plan on canceling- just connections SLIGHTLY earlier than planned and maybe for 30 minute connections. **


 * Thanks for joining the adventure with us! **


 * 3/5 Departing TODAY: **

Our team leaves at 10pm tonight, so from this point forward, the wiki is our primary source of communication for the expedition. I encourage you to use the discussion tab and invite everyone to participate in the collaboration aspect. This wiki is what YOU make it as well!

Many of you have inquired as to how our students can help or donate financially. I am going to post the first discussion tab and invite your thoughts and ideas.

Thank you everyone for your continued enthusiasm and support of Adventure Kids Learning!


 * 3/3 Project update: **

Testing in full swing! John and I tested the satellite modem yesterday- all systems go!

Regarding scheduled connections:

>  **3/2 Project update:**
 * adventurekidslearning SKYPE account will initiate your scheduled connection.
 * IF a disconnect occurs, WE will redial.
 * IF our video feeds are not tolerable, we'll drop to an audio connection.
 * IF you are in a connection with the village school (and I will contact you as soon as I know) please be aware of videoconferencing ettiquette and sensitive to cultural differences. ANY advance discussions you have with your students regarding manners, etc. is encouraged :-)
 * Check out this website for [|Tips for an effective videoconference]

We begin testing today! If you have not contacted me to schedule a test- PLEASE DO SO ASAP! I really just like touching base with you prior to departure! You may add discussion topics at anytime, as well as share classroom ideas on the NEW PAGE added called BRAINSHARE (to your left) I'd like you to share any activities, ideas or projects your class may be doing in conjunction with the connection!

 **2/25 Project update:**

Please add the following SKYPE contacts in to your contact list and email jroehre@kusd.edu to arrange a test ASAP!:

adventurekidslearning kusdiva

Please check school page in the navigation bar on the left to verify connection date(s) and time(s).



**AKL 2010- Destination: El Adelante, Guatemala- March 6-20**.

 Welcome to the Adventure Kids Learning wiki! This site is your passport to the expedition as we travel to El Adelante Guatemala and help build a water distribution system for the Mayan village.

In addition to our daily SKYPE connections, we will reply to your questions/comments posted in the discussions tab, as well as post pictures and our own journal reflections of this expedition.

 You must be a member of this wiki to add/edit content, post questions or leave feedback. Each participating school will have their own wiki page for classroom participation.