Well, the students are all gone, the programs are done, and the summer is over. Now I start my "real" job - what I'll be doing the other nine months of the year.

So far, this means working on www.invennovations.com, an enormous database meant to help the fields of international development and social entrepreneurship start communicating about what is going on in different parts of the world in terms of inventions and innovations (hence invennovations....get it!?). I'm really excited about the site and its potential, and thrilled to be working on it as closely as I am.

It's a little lonely without the students here - I really enjoyed being a leader and I got to know some of the students pretty well. But it's also nice to throw myself into this other work and start getting settled in Antigua.

On that note, remember my door? Well, it rains a lot here in Antigua. And what happens to untreated wood when it rains? It gets bigger. So I tried to leave my apartment yesterday afternoon, after 24 hours straight of rain, only to discover that my door no longer closed. So I ran to the carpenter, who explained to me that yes, of course that is what happens when it rains and no, he couldn't do anything about it even though one of the key points of a door is that it closes. After much fumbling in Spanish and frustration on my side, he finally sent one of his employees over to my place and Victor (the employee, who was actually very nice) shaved away pieces of wood until the door finally fit back into the frame. This morning, when I was about to leave for work, I discovered that the door had gotten even bigger and wouldn't close AGAIN. But I really didn't have it in me to deal with the carpenter once again, so this time I grabbed my Leatherman and hacked at the door myself until I got it to close. It's been raining all day, though, so it remains to be seen whether the process will have to be repeated when I get home.

Oh, the wonders of a Guatemalan life.

I'm supposed to be getting internet installed at my apartment tomorrow morning! Pray, or cross your fingers, or think general kind thoughts in my direction - it would make a world of difference if I had access to the outside world while at home. Plus, then I could stop spending my days stealing the wireless at McDonald's while hoping that none of the employees notice that I've been in the same spot for 8 hours straight and haven't bought a single thing....