The computer lab is up and running in the barrio where our students are doing service. Twice a week a group of students attends the lab, giving instruction to children and adults in the basics of computer use. Just learning the difference between right-click and left-click has been a challenge, but the people are making good progress, with some of the kids showing signs of being true computer prodigies. The computers, donated by Rutgers University's Office of Undergraduate Education, will remain in the community after we have gone - our students are preparing a plan for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the computer lab, so that residents of the community can continue to enjoy the machines, and future generations of Rutgers students can continue to participate in this form of service-learning.
I am feeling much better, having suffered with shingles for almost two weeks now. I look much less horrible (except for the hideous beard I have been forced to grow, being unable to shave due to the sores on my face), and the pain level is low enough that I have returned to work full force.
There remains very little time in our program here, a fact of which our students are keenly aware. They all have formed deep attachments to the people and the communities in which they are volunteering and doing research, and for many their impending departure is a source of much sadness and deep reflection.
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