I spent very rewarding 2 weeks in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico with Kids on Computers to install and maintain computer labs.
I touristed around Oaxaca City for two days: Day 1 and Day 2.
We moved the computers that were bought in country to Huajuapan de León, our home base for the labs.
Continue reading June Trip Report: Kids on Computers and Beyond
Stormy, Avni, Hermes, Fernando, and I went back to 18 de Marzo to set up the networking, install more new computers (for a grand total of 9), and try upgrading the older computers with different methods. We also brought a Mac laptop and networking equipment to create a local network that would have access to Rachel, Khan Academy, and Wikipedia content.
Originally we were using CDs to install the OS and a USB flash drive with games and educational material. Several of the CD drives wouldn’t work or we couldn’t switch up the boot order. Avni made bootable USBs and that worked on several of the computers. We also had an external CD/DVD drive. Most of the computers were upgraded, but we had to stick with the older version for 2-3 of the computers.
Finally, we pulled aside a few of the computers to move to Manuel Gonzalez Gatica the following day.
We visited our first school, 18 de Marzo, on Wednesday. When we arrived the students were watching a movie on a projector! The teacher quickly rushed the kids out to the school yard to let us start working and to tell us about the current state of the lab.
Si se lo perdiste, escribí un blog de mi viaje a Oaxaca y mi primero día en la cuidad.
En lunes, desayunamos con Hermes y otro programador que trabaja con él. Entonces exploré algunos sitios en Alcala, una pasarela pedestre desde el zócalo (un parque en el centro de la cuidad es como las plazas de armas en Suramérica) a la iglesia. Hay muchos tiendas, museos, gallerías, etc.
Visité el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y disfruté la exposición de Sonoplastia. Fue un poco extraño mezcla entre sonidos y arte, pero me gustó muchas exposiciones. Tengo un video aquí.
Estoy siendo voluntario durante 3 semanas con Kids On Computers (KOC), una organización sin fines de lucro de los Estados Unidos, que instalan laboratorios de computadoras en todo el mundo.
Quería tomar un momentito para pensar en que quiero hacer con mi carrera y el mejor camino para hacer esto es conectar con mis valores más fuertes. Es muy importante para mi cerrar la brecha digital en los Estados Unidos así como el resto del mundo. Esta oportunidad es perfecta para practicar eso.