Back in the States

Yes, we are home safe and sound. This was such an amazing experience. It taught us to think about ourselves and our work with a more global perspective. I was so happy to have had the opportunity to experiences the challenges and triumphs of global engineering. Great job, team!

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~Kristen 🙂

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Reflection

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Today we are flying back home to State College. I feel very blessed to form relationships with members in this group and be able to install a PV system to help a community. Dr. Riley asked about our favorite experience and one thing we could change about the experience. My favorite part was commissioning day where we could see the fruits of our labor. I really liked to see the smile on the director of the daycare’s face. I think I would improve on this experience by having a 3D Revit model of the panel. I am excited and ready to share my experience with others back at home.

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Reflections On This Week

What an amazing week!

I learned so much this week working on the solar panels.  It was great to work alongside Vegas Electric, Dave, and Solar Dave.  Just watching how they interacted was a positive learning experience.  I also loved the hands-on part of the week which included everything from measuring the panels to installing them.  I was really impressed with how well our group worked together.  During the times I was not on the roof installing the panels, I hung out with the daycare children.  These kids were amazing.

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This trip was such a great opportunity. adorable and really fun to work with.  To the best of our ability we educated them on solar energy.  The children always smiled and said, “Hola” every time we walked through the door.  Their smiles reminded me of why we are doing this project.  I think our team left a positive impact on this community.  One of my favorite parts of the week was commissioning.  Seeing Judy, the daycare owner, as she turned the switch was amazing (see picture above).  Her smile said it all.

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Job well done. Now it’s time for fun!

After the commissioning of the array was complete yesterday it was time to have some fun

The students spent their free time at a local zip line where we soared across a dozen lines performing a variety of stunts such as hanging upside down and a few backflips.

One time when I was hanging upside down I managed to knock my pulley off the metal wire which although didn’t send me plummeting to my death, did leave me stranded in the middle of a 75 yard line 50 feet off the ground. Luckily for me one the workers zipped out and pulled me in. #embarrassing

Next we checked out the animals in a small zoo at the zip lining place. I felt bad seeing the animals in cages but it was cool to see them nonetheless. Some of the monkeys even climbed on our shoulders and heads and we took some pictures.

Afterwards we came back to our hotel for a little rest a relaxation. I took a swim in the ocean when ere I found $21 which I immediately spent on celebratory drinks for the group. Later I found out that a lady found $100! I should have stuck around an kept looking. #regret #jealous

We spent the rest of the night enjoying some good food, a few drinks and some excellent conversation. We have such a diverse group that everybody always has something interesting to contribute.

Today I’m looking forward to spending some time on a boat and doing some snorkeling. Stay tuned for photos!

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Monkeying Around Roatan

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In the afternoon on Thursday, we had an opportunity to do an excursion. We went zip lining and then we got to see a bunch of different animals. In the picture above is one of the types of monkeys we saw in addition to the spider monkey. We also saw parrots, toucans, deer, and rabbit. Zip lining was a fun interaction between our group and the tour guides. I think everyone was a little nervous about the zip line at first, but then by the third run people were hanging upside down. Later that afternoon and into the evening, we hung out at the beach near our hotel.

Today is our last day in Roatan. We are going on a catamaran and we might visit another solar site. After all of the hard work we put into the solar panels our team deserves a relaxing day. In reflection of the whole trip there was more planning and teamwork than I thought would go in to putting up solar panels. We faced little challenges along the way like dimensioning the size of the pipes, putting in grounding lugs, and finding the right time to commission, but I think we are all flexible enough to meet those challenges.

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How to be an Amigo to Roatán

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Yesterday evening, 6 March 2013, after surveying the future 2014 solar project, we presented at a forum: Island Friend’s Forum. Our team presented what our solar panel project was all about to some fellow non-profit organization representatives. Most of these representatives are Americans, Canadians, or Europeans that visited Roatán during a vacation, fell in love with the place, and decided to stay/make it their new home.

Wow, after hearing from all of the kind-hearted representatives, and what their cause is about, and the time and effort they spend and love they pour out making Roatán a better place nearly moved me to tears. There were organizations hoping to improve: the health care on the island, the education system, the social aspect, the humanitarian concerns, etc. The causes came in all sort of flavours, shapes, and sizes.

You can learn all about Island Friends, see all the non-profit organizations, and how you can be an amigo to Roatán You will really be making a difference, and saving a life and/or bettering the life of a Roatánian

*When I return to campus, I will be an amiga to the Health-Care organization because they hospitals here are seriously lacking running water, IV’s, the things most hospitals may take for granted, etc..

Aqui: http://www.islandfriendsroatan.com/ OR click on the ‘azul’ banner (under blog title)

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