by Jan Miller Foster
I joined the Peace Corps in March, 2011 after having been retired for five years.
The Mexican Peace Corps program was developed and an agreement was signed by then Mexican President Vicente Fox and US President George Bush in 2004. Peace Corps Mexico is different from most other programs in that Mexico wanted the US to send highly skilled and experienced people as volunteers.
There are two PC programs in Mexico, Technology Transfer and Environmental. I was recruited for the Technology Transfer program and sent to INAOE, the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics in Tonantzintla, Mexico.
I live in a three bedroom house which is very small but has everything I need. I have hot water but no air conditioning or heater. However the weather is mild all year round because of the altitude which is around 7,000 feet. I miss my car the most as we are not allowed to drive so I have to take buses and taxis everywhere or walk.
I have two main projects and two secondary projects that I am working on. One thing I am doing is developing a filing system for Intellectual Property documents. This will eventually be a computerized document repository.
The other project I am working on is researching what Intellectual Property has been patented by other telescope sites. INAOE is building the Large Millimeter Telescope, the largest telescope in the world, and some of the components had to be developed especially for this project. INAOE is hoping to patent some of these innovations.
My secondary projects are for the community. I recently started a book exchange in this little town, and I teach English to students. Both are equally gratifying, and Mexican people are very appreciative of any help they can get.
Volunteers are always needing funds for their projects so if anyone is interested in contributing, please visit www.Peacecorps.gov to learn how to donate.
Here is a picture of me at the LMT telescope