In place of our monthly meeting, a 2 hour workshop will be offered focusing on the Spanish language and culture. As many EWB projects are located in Central and South America, the need for a basic understanding of the language and culture of these areas is critical to improve the success of these projects. As a Returned Peace Corps volunteer who worked and lived in Central America, the facilitator of this workshop can attest to the correlation between good communication and the success of a project.
The objective of the workshop is not to attempt to teach the entire Spanish language but to give EWB engineers the background and skills needed for basic communication in the host country. We will focus on pronunciation and the basic grammatical structure of Spanish so that an engineer armed with a dictionary and phrase book will be able to maximize there use. While basic survival phrases will be briefly covered the majority of the workshop will focus on engineering-based conversations and words not likely found in a typical tourist phrase book. Time allowing, a brief overview of rural Latin American culture will be given. The participates should come ready to role play as the facilitator believes the best way to learn is by doing.
The workshop will start at 7:00PM August 9th, and be held at the Rockville library in a large upstairs room. Following the lesson, we will proceed to La Tasca for Spanish Tapas (appetizers), a brief meeting and networking. We hope to see you there.
We would appreciate knowing if you are coming so we can prepare enough materials. Please contact Paul Hlavinka (treasurer@chesapeakeewb.org) to confirm attendance.
The July meeting will be held at Montgomery College, Monday July 12th from 7-9 pm. The meeting will be in Science East Room 312, the engineering and physics department.
Campus Map:
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/secondary5.aspx?urlid=37
Note: The campus map on the link is current, but the construction occaisionally reroutes traffic. Where the signs say Student Parking, they really mean everyone. Probably best to avoid the areas that say Faculty and Staff Parking. Lots 8, 9, and 10 are the easiest access to the SE building (away from the construction).
The June meeting will be held at Howard Community College room CL-158 on Monday, June 14th at 7 pm. CL-158 is right across from Parking Garage 1 on the map below. Cross over via the walkway on the third level of the garage.
Campus map: http://www.howardcc.edu/about_hcc/getting_around/maps_and_directions/index.html
Thanks to everyone who came out to our May Happy Hour meeting in Baltimore. It was great to see a number of new faces in addition to many of our regulars. Although mostly a social, we did discuss some business such as a planned September kickball tournament fundraiser. This was also the official handoff from the outgoing Executive Committee to the newly elected members, as seen in the photo where I pass the office of President onto Teresa DiGenova. Thank you to our outgoing officers, and we look forward to an exciting new year with the new leadership team.
To kick off the summer, and to welcome in our new officers, our normal monthly meeting in May will be replaced by a happy hour social at One-Eyed Mike’s in Baltimore. See the attached flier for more details. The meeting will begin at 7 pm.
Everyone is invited, so bring friends, family, coworkers… whoever you can fit in your car! There will be no formal agenda, but we will briefly discuss upcoming fundraising activities and our ongoing partnership with the Columbia Rotary Club on a project in Gondar, Ethiopia. Hope to see everyone there!
