Hey everyone!
Its been a while I know, I´m sorry for the delay. Last week was crazy here. There was a strike inbetween Puno and Cuzco that prohibited us from getting the second session back to Puno to start work. Luckily they are ok and on their way! While Juliana and Jessie were in Cuzco with the other half of the team, the rest of us were still hard at work at PRISMA. We met with Michelle of Kiva.org and submitted PRISMA´s application to be a partner with them. The bulk of our work on this project was in providing pilot profiles of some of Prisma´s clients to Kiva and giving them the interviews we had conducted. Michelle was incredibly helpful and a lot of fun. We took her out to dinner in Puno after the meeting and had some pretty impressive pizzas. It was great to finally send off the work we had done on this project with Michelle and hear what she has to say about our application. From what I can tell, things look really good!
Other than Kiva, we finally got the excel program set up so that we can enter in all the data we are collecting in our surveys. This is all thanks to Chelsea of course. Me and Toby sat down at the computer last week and entered in the first wave of data we had collected. Chelsea made it as easy as possible for us and the time really flew by entering in all those surveys.
The charlas are still going strong, though last week we hit a small bump in the road. Either because of the strike going on or because PRISMA´s first week of every month is always slow, nobody showed up to our two classes. The Charla team was really bummed of course because it was a really exciting business chat, but we´re carrying it over to this week so more clients will be able to hear about it and come on time.
Friday was a sad day as we had to say goodbye to some of our first session members (Chelsea, Valerie, Emily, and Toby. We´ll miss you guys!). The PRISMA officers took us out for one last final lunch together at one of their client´s restaraunts and we had an amazing time! Lots of food, and tons of dancing. I couldn´t have come up with a better way to send that group off. But now its time to look forward to the new group we have coming in. I´m so excited to get started on showing them the ropes of everything we have accomplished last session. It´s a tallented bunch so I´m sure the next 5 weeks are going to be intense and productive!
Tyler
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A Day's Work in Peru
After several weeks of hard work in getting our projects off the ground, CMI seems to be finding its stride. We spent the past week testing and finalizing the impact assessments that we will be distributing to hundreds of PRISMA's clients over the course of the summer. We also successfully prepared and presented several charlas on business topics, in spite of delays caused by strikes last week. Now we are preparing for a visit from a Kiva.org representative this coming weekend, so we spent the day conducting interviews with PRISMA's clients to find some compelling stories for the folks at Kiva.
Inevitably, though, we were faced with still more challenges as we tried to get our work done. Last week it was a transportation strike that forced us to cancel our business training workshop, and today Puno's teachers went on strike and blockaded the mountain road leading out of the city. None of the combi vans that we usually ride to Juliaca were running this morning, but a few of the larger buses were willing to pass through the blockade. We tried to get on one of the available buses, but so did hundreds of other people trying to get to their jobs at the same time, so we were thwarted in that attempt.
We walked to Puno's other bus terminal and decided to hitch a ride on a bus bound for Arequipa, which passes through Juliaca on the way. Unfortunately we discovered when we arrived in the city that Juliaca's main bus terminal was closed, due to yet more protestors marching and flooding the streets. So we took a bicycle rickshaw several more miles to the city center, and then trekked the last half mile or so to the office -- arriving only two hours late!
When we finally arrived, however, we were rewarded with the chance to interview many of PRISMA's clients about their businesses. I spoke to a 20-year-old woman named Jenny who is studying accounting at the local university. To help pay for her education, she has spent the last four years making clothes -- hats, sweaters, and pants -- that she sells at the local market. She recently came to PRISMA to take out her first loan in order to expand her business. Specifically, Jenny said she wants to take classes about business topics and learn how to operate the large sewing machines so that she can produce more clothing to sell.
Jenny is very ambitious and also wants to use the additional earnings from her business to continue her studies. She currently takes classes mostly in the afternoons and works whenever she is not in school. She hopes to study law when she is finished with her accounting courses, and she very much wants to learn English. But she told me that good English programs in Juliaca are very difficult to come by -- students often must travel to schools in a different city in order to take quality English classes, which is very expensive.
Even all of the directors and staff at the PRISMAcxc v, office have begged us to teach them English during the short time that we are here, so it is clearly a skill in high demand! Perhaps an enterprising Peruvian could take out a loan from Prisma and use it to open an English academy in Juliaca....
Valerie
Inevitably, though, we were faced with still more challenges as we tried to get our work done. Last week it was a transportation strike that forced us to cancel our business training workshop, and today Puno's teachers went on strike and blockaded the mountain road leading out of the city. None of the combi vans that we usually ride to Juliaca were running this morning, but a few of the larger buses were willing to pass through the blockade. We tried to get on one of the available buses, but so did hundreds of other people trying to get to their jobs at the same time, so we were thwarted in that attempt.
We walked to Puno's other bus terminal and decided to hitch a ride on a bus bound for Arequipa, which passes through Juliaca on the way. Unfortunately we discovered when we arrived in the city that Juliaca's main bus terminal was closed, due to yet more protestors marching and flooding the streets. So we took a bicycle rickshaw several more miles to the city center, and then trekked the last half mile or so to the office -- arriving only two hours late!
When we finally arrived, however, we were rewarded with the chance to interview many of PRISMA's clients about their businesses. I spoke to a 20-year-old woman named Jenny who is studying accounting at the local university. To help pay for her education, she has spent the last four years making clothes -- hats, sweaters, and pants -- that she sells at the local market. She recently came to PRISMA to take out her first loan in order to expand her business. Specifically, Jenny said she wants to take classes about business topics and learn how to operate the large sewing machines so that she can produce more clothing to sell.
Jenny is very ambitious and also wants to use the additional earnings from her business to continue her studies. She currently takes classes mostly in the afternoons and works whenever she is not in school. She hopes to study law when she is finished with her accounting courses, and she very much wants to learn English. But she told me that good English programs in Juliaca are very difficult to come by -- students often must travel to schools in a different city in order to take quality English classes, which is very expensive.
Even all of the directors and staff at the PRISMAcxc v, office have begged us to teach them English during the short time that we are here, so it is clearly a skill in high demand! Perhaps an enterprising Peruvian could take out a loan from Prisma and use it to open an English academy in Juliaca....
Valerie
An Interesting Interview
Today, when we finally arrived at Prisma the first meeting of the day was already underway. Juliana, Valerie and I set to work, interviewing every woman in the room about their personal stories.
This Sunday a representative from Kiva, Michelle, is coming to interview PRISMA about setting up a partnership and this is part of the ground work for that partnership. We need to find at least 10 stories of women who are about to start a new loan that we can share with Michelle. We are looking for interesting stories – of women with unique business ideas or interesting twists that set them apart. Many of the women here have similar businesses – they sell clothing or food at the market in Juliaca and or in Ayaviri.
Other stories are interesting but not the best to represent PRISMA borrowers to Kiva. For example Juliana interviewed one woman today who sold spices in Juliaca. Her value-added strategy? Smuggling. She was very proud to tell us that she could sell spices that she bought wholesale in Bolivia for twice as much profit here if she ran them across the border without paying tariffs. Considering the main market in Puno is called “The Contraband” this is certainly not an uncommon way to make a profit here. Puno is in fact well known among the provinces as a center for smuggling goods in from Bolivia – everything from discmen and DVD players to raisins and marshmallows. Most of the clothing in Puno is “contraband”. However we decided that this story wouldn’t sell well to Kiva and if published might damage the livelihood of the women we are trying to help.
We did find several women who we would like to represent PRISMA to Kiva. The last woman I interviewed, Zaiga, was 28 years old with a 9 year old daughter and a 3 year old son (pictured with her). She had been a cook in Juliaca and with her first loan (she was now on her fourth) had started a vegetable stall, bringing in vegetables from Arequipa, a much lower altitude city on the western, coastal side of the Andes, about 5 hours from Juliaca. A few months ago she had turned the vegetable stall over to her husband so that she could start a restaurant in a town called Rinconada called “Comedor Popular” also using food brought in from Arequipa.
A lot of women we interviewed went to Rinconada some days, usually weekends, to sell their wares. Rinconada is a mining town based around the Ananeya gold mine, even higher and colder than Juliaca or Puno. I asked why Zaiga wanted to start a restaurant in Rinconada rather than Juliaca. She said there was more opportunity there, the miners can pay in gold. Because there is no farming or food production in Rinconada itself, food and other basic items are essential (and profitable) to import.
Zaiga didn’t like living apart from her husband, her daughter and her sisters most of the week (her three year old son Ronald traveled with her). When Ronald started school (2 years from now) she wanted to be back in Juliaca for good. Her plan was to work hard, expand her restaurant and earn enough money to save for her son and daughter’s education and some improvements in her house (which she had already started on). Then she would return to selling vegetables in Juliaca. She had most recently taken out a total of 5500 soles in two separate loans and had paid back 3500 of it. She wants to take out another loan to buy more tables for her restaurant and bigger pots. She says people come in at lunch time and eat standing up and hopes that with more tables and bigger cooking pots she can serve everyone faster and increase her business.
Jessie
This Sunday a representative from Kiva, Michelle, is coming to interview PRISMA about setting up a partnership and this is part of the ground work for that partnership. We need to find at least 10 stories of women who are about to start a new loan that we can share with Michelle. We are looking for interesting stories – of women with unique business ideas or interesting twists that set them apart. Many of the women here have similar businesses – they sell clothing or food at the market in Juliaca and or in Ayaviri.
Other stories are interesting but not the best to represent PRISMA borrowers to Kiva. For example Juliana interviewed one woman today who sold spices in Juliaca. Her value-added strategy? Smuggling. She was very proud to tell us that she could sell spices that she bought wholesale in Bolivia for twice as much profit here if she ran them across the border without paying tariffs. Considering the main market in Puno is called “The Contraband” this is certainly not an uncommon way to make a profit here. Puno is in fact well known among the provinces as a center for smuggling goods in from Bolivia – everything from discmen and DVD players to raisins and marshmallows. Most of the clothing in Puno is “contraband”. However we decided that this story wouldn’t sell well to Kiva and if published might damage the livelihood of the women we are trying to help.
We did find several women who we would like to represent PRISMA to Kiva. The last woman I interviewed, Zaiga, was 28 years old with a 9 year old daughter and a 3 year old son (pictured with her). She had been a cook in Juliaca and with her first loan (she was now on her fourth) had started a vegetable stall, bringing in vegetables from Arequipa, a much lower altitude city on the western, coastal side of the Andes, about 5 hours from Juliaca. A few months ago she had turned the vegetable stall over to her husband so that she could start a restaurant in a town called Rinconada called “Comedor Popular” also using food brought in from Arequipa.
A lot of women we interviewed went to Rinconada some days, usually weekends, to sell their wares. Rinconada is a mining town based around the Ananeya gold mine, even higher and colder than Juliaca or Puno. I asked why Zaiga wanted to start a restaurant in Rinconada rather than Juliaca. She said there was more opportunity there, the miners can pay in gold. Because there is no farming or food production in Rinconada itself, food and other basic items are essential (and profitable) to import.
Zaiga didn’t like living apart from her husband, her daughter and her sisters most of the week (her three year old son Ronald traveled with her). When Ronald started school (2 years from now) she wanted to be back in Juliaca for good. Her plan was to work hard, expand her restaurant and earn enough money to save for her son and daughter’s education and some improvements in her house (which she had already started on). Then she would return to selling vegetables in Juliaca. She had most recently taken out a total of 5500 soles in two separate loans and had paid back 3500 of it. She wants to take out another loan to buy more tables for her restaurant and bigger pots. She says people come in at lunch time and eat standing up and hopes that with more tables and bigger cooking pots she can serve everyone faster and increase her business.
Jessie
Everyday is an Interesting Day
Every day is an interesting day when you live in Puno and work in Juliaca.
Remember how there was a total strike last week? Well today the teachers went on strike. We found out about it at breakfast this morning when my mom came home early. She’s a high-school (or the equivalent, ¨secundaria¨) teacher. She told us that they had tried to form a union in her school this morning to support the strike. She was elected secretary but refused because the director of the school had made himself president and apparently that’s illegal. So she went ahead and taught her classes until the school shut down (despite being unable to form a union).
There were plenty of cars out as we walked down to the combi station at 7:45. However when we arrived the cars were leaving without passengers. I asked a woman attempting to get to Juliaca and she said that the teachers had blockaded the roads out of Puno and that’s why the combis wouldn’t take passengers - they were just going home, not leaving the city. We waited, along with throngs of Peruvians for a combi or bus willing to take us. Some taxis offered, but for 70 soles. One taxi driver tried to convince us to go to Sillustani (some nearby pre-Inca ruins) instead. What do we look like, tourists?
Well, at 8:30 we decided to give the long-distance bus station a try since almost all the busses from Puno to Arequipa or Cuzco stop in Juliaca as well. We convinced a bus going to Arequipa to sell us tickets just to Juliaca (4 soles- a high price but it was our only option). We think the guy who sold us the tickets just pocketed the money since they didn’t give us actual tickets. Leaving Puno we could see the evidence of the blockade – boulders in the road and riot police. We got through fine, although it was a longer trip than usual. We arrived at PRISMA at 10:15, an hour and a half after we intended to, just as the first meeting started. So begins the long day of a commuter in Peru.
Jessie
Remember how there was a total strike last week? Well today the teachers went on strike. We found out about it at breakfast this morning when my mom came home early. She’s a high-school (or the equivalent, ¨secundaria¨) teacher. She told us that they had tried to form a union in her school this morning to support the strike. She was elected secretary but refused because the director of the school had made himself president and apparently that’s illegal. So she went ahead and taught her classes until the school shut down (despite being unable to form a union).
There were plenty of cars out as we walked down to the combi station at 7:45. However when we arrived the cars were leaving without passengers. I asked a woman attempting to get to Juliaca and she said that the teachers had blockaded the roads out of Puno and that’s why the combis wouldn’t take passengers - they were just going home, not leaving the city. We waited, along with throngs of Peruvians for a combi or bus willing to take us. Some taxis offered, but for 70 soles. One taxi driver tried to convince us to go to Sillustani (some nearby pre-Inca ruins) instead. What do we look like, tourists?
Well, at 8:30 we decided to give the long-distance bus station a try since almost all the busses from Puno to Arequipa or Cuzco stop in Juliaca as well. We convinced a bus going to Arequipa to sell us tickets just to Juliaca (4 soles- a high price but it was our only option). We think the guy who sold us the tickets just pocketed the money since they didn’t give us actual tickets. Leaving Puno we could see the evidence of the blockade – boulders in the road and riot police. We got through fine, although it was a longer trip than usual. We arrived at PRISMA at 10:15, an hour and a half after we intended to, just as the first meeting started. So begins the long day of a commuter in Peru.
Jessie
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Charlas, Cheap Seats and Culture
One of the projects PRISMA wanted us to work on was providing their clients with business classes (charlas de negocios). It is common for microfinance organizations to provide services to their clients in addition to loans. After preparing a series of classes under the topic of Aumente Sus Ventas (Increase Your Sales), we delivered the first class on Thursday evening. The first class specifically dealt with customer relations.
This is all sounding very BUSI 101. But what is important to understand is that PRISMA clients are largely conducting business in literal markets. Many of the women sell produce, clothing and handicrafts in very congested and competitive markets in town. So what do 8 American undergraduates in varying majors know about this? Nothing. Thank goodness for pre-made rural South American charlas. Our job has largely been to take preexisitng information already proven to be helpful to these clients and present it in an organized and fun way.
Through interviews and roaming around the offices, the PRISMA clients have come to know our faces and recognize our broken Spanish from a mile away. This has made it easy to approach the women and invite them to the charlas. After personal invites, sign up sheets, transportation strikes, and a rescheduled charla, we did it! The participants were very involved in the discussion and excited for the next class. We will be giving these classes twice a week.
After leaving the office especially late in the evening (because a 5 o'clock charla means a 6 o'clock charla on South American time), we take our 40 minute commute back to Puno to catch a bus for Cuzco! We decided to take a much deserved weekend trip to Machu Picchu and the famous Inti Raymi festival. Being the frugal student travelers we are, we of course hop onto the cheapest overnight bus towards our destination. What should have been a 6 hour sleepy journey turned in to a 9 hour hectic ride. After some logistical nightmares and close-to-tears moments, WE MADE IT TO MACHU PICCHU!
It is a unique experience to see a place so many times in a photo and then witness it in person. We are all feeling more in touch with the culture in Peru and are starting to understand a little bit more of where that unparalleled peruvian pride comes from.
Chelsea
This is all sounding very BUSI 101. But what is important to understand is that PRISMA clients are largely conducting business in literal markets. Many of the women sell produce, clothing and handicrafts in very congested and competitive markets in town. So what do 8 American undergraduates in varying majors know about this? Nothing. Thank goodness for pre-made rural South American charlas. Our job has largely been to take preexisitng information already proven to be helpful to these clients and present it in an organized and fun way.
Through interviews and roaming around the offices, the PRISMA clients have come to know our faces and recognize our broken Spanish from a mile away. This has made it easy to approach the women and invite them to the charlas. After personal invites, sign up sheets, transportation strikes, and a rescheduled charla, we did it! The participants were very involved in the discussion and excited for the next class. We will be giving these classes twice a week.
After leaving the office especially late in the evening (because a 5 o'clock charla means a 6 o'clock charla on South American time), we take our 40 minute commute back to Puno to catch a bus for Cuzco! We decided to take a much deserved weekend trip to Machu Picchu and the famous Inti Raymi festival. Being the frugal student travelers we are, we of course hop onto the cheapest overnight bus towards our destination. What should have been a 6 hour sleepy journey turned in to a 9 hour hectic ride. After some logistical nightmares and close-to-tears moments, WE MADE IT TO MACHU PICCHU!
It is a unique experience to see a place so many times in a photo and then witness it in person. We are all feeling more in touch with the culture in Peru and are starting to understand a little bit more of where that unparalleled peruvian pride comes from.
Chelsea
Friday, June 22, 2007
Transportation Strike
Activism seems to be a big part of Peruvian culture. I've seen many marches up and down the dusty streets of Puno. It seems like they have them everyday. They're usually composed of middle-aged people, fifty to one-hundred of them, in two separate lines, chanting and doing call-and-response. They display banners, walk slowly and hold up traffic. There is usually a contingent of policemen in tow with riot shields and clubs, as if these elderly folks were priming molotov cocktails under their coats. I haven't seen any of them escalate into anything violent - they hold up traffic for a while and eventually dissipate.
Tuesday night, we got word of a much wider demonstration. Transportation workers in the department (like a state or province) of Puno were going to strike on Wednesday, and perhaps Thursday and Friday. The strike, or 'Paro', was to protest the Peruvian government stalling on their section of the Interoceanic Highway Project. The highway system is going to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, and allowing people and goods to travel across the continent. Brazil finished its sections of the highway; Peru has yet to finish it sections.
After Tuesday´s workday we went to the Juliaca bus terminal to return to Puno for the night. All of the combis had slogans like ¨Viva El Paro Regional¨, or long live the regional strike, written on their windshields in blue paint. We knew for sure that the strike was on for Wednesday. This was unfortunate because we had planned a business seminar, or charla de negocio, for the women Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning we wake up, and instead of hearing the hustle and bustle of Puno traffic, their is relative silence. The only thing I can hear is a group of transportation workers playing soccer in the street below our apartment. When we go out to get groceries there are many people walking around, but nearly every business is closed for the day. Even Promujer, the microfinance institution that we share tenancy with, is closed due to the strike. The only part of town that has shops open is Lima avenue, the tourist hub of Puno.
The strike only lasted one day. I´m not sure how it was organized, or what the demands were, but it sure was disruptive. Not only did it bring business to a halt in Puno, but a handful of women showed up to Prisma for our charla and we were not there to deliver it. I cannot imagine a situation in America where a political demonstration would shut down the economy of a whole state.
Working in Peru is difficult because we have to operate at a Peruvian pace; which, to pragmatic (and perhaps impatient) Americans, is laboriously slow. With a bit more hassle than we bargained for, we delivered the charla on Thursday. It was a great success. I will let Chelsea fill you in on the details. Hasta Luego
Tobia
Tuesday night, we got word of a much wider demonstration. Transportation workers in the department (like a state or province) of Puno were going to strike on Wednesday, and perhaps Thursday and Friday. The strike, or 'Paro', was to protest the Peruvian government stalling on their section of the Interoceanic Highway Project. The highway system is going to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, and allowing people and goods to travel across the continent. Brazil finished its sections of the highway; Peru has yet to finish it sections.
After Tuesday´s workday we went to the Juliaca bus terminal to return to Puno for the night. All of the combis had slogans like ¨Viva El Paro Regional¨, or long live the regional strike, written on their windshields in blue paint. We knew for sure that the strike was on for Wednesday. This was unfortunate because we had planned a business seminar, or charla de negocio, for the women Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning we wake up, and instead of hearing the hustle and bustle of Puno traffic, their is relative silence. The only thing I can hear is a group of transportation workers playing soccer in the street below our apartment. When we go out to get groceries there are many people walking around, but nearly every business is closed for the day. Even Promujer, the microfinance institution that we share tenancy with, is closed due to the strike. The only part of town that has shops open is Lima avenue, the tourist hub of Puno.
The strike only lasted one day. I´m not sure how it was organized, or what the demands were, but it sure was disruptive. Not only did it bring business to a halt in Puno, but a handful of women showed up to Prisma for our charla and we were not there to deliver it. I cannot imagine a situation in America where a political demonstration would shut down the economy of a whole state.
Working in Peru is difficult because we have to operate at a Peruvian pace; which, to pragmatic (and perhaps impatient) Americans, is laboriously slow. With a bit more hassle than we bargained for, we delivered the charla on Thursday. It was a great success. I will let Chelsea fill you in on the details. Hasta Luego
Tobia
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
A day in the life of a CMI student…
It’s Monday morning, 6: 30 A.M. and you’ve just weaved your way through the maze of mototaxis, tricitaxis, women setting up their street stands, and the man who incessantly tries to sell you a Quechua language book (he obviously doesn’t understand that you’re still working on your Spanish), until you’ve finally made it to the combis terminal in Puno. Each successive combis fills up immediately from the crowds who are impatiently waiting to make it to Juliaca to begin their work week. You push into a combis with the other CMI members, all 8 of you just barely making it in. You squeeze your legs behind the seat in front of you, made for someone much smaller, and hold on tight for the bumpy 45-minute ride to Juliaca. Upon arrival at Prisma, you find that the meeting you had rushed to get to is not at 8 AM, but rather 9 AM, so you spend an hour preparing for the day.
When 9 AM rolls around, you make your way into one of the loan meetings, explain in broken Spanish that you are conducting an interview for Prisma, and you get as many women as possible to answer your questions. You hear from some women that they have to hide their loans from their husbands. Others work 16-hour days to provide for their families. All are trying to improve their lives with a small loan from Prisma. You then reunite with the rest of the CMI group to discuss your impressions and you begin to realize that your original questionnaire needs editing and rework. You spend the rest of the morning tweaking the questions until you are satisfied with the new version of the interview.
At 1 PM it is time for a 2-hour lunch break while Prisma is closed. You go to a nearby restaurant where you order the menú del dia- a cheap combination of platters including tripe soup. When the bill comes, you realize that you have in no way fooled the waiter that you might be from Peru and he has overcharged you for your meal. So, like many times in the past, you send your Colombian CMI member to point out and reconcile this unfortunate mistake. The rest of your lunch break is spent making copies of the survey and perhaps grabbing a snack at the Ricos Pan bakery to get that tripe out of your mind. The afternoon brings more meetings and client surveys; some women are ready to talk your ear off, others are indifferent and still others, who are illiterate, require extra attention. The afternoon flies by as you frantically collect as many surveys and client stories as possible while publicizing the business charla (chat) that you will give that week, all while trying not to interrupt the loan meetings too much. You have to keep in mind that any time the clients are at Prisma, they are losing money by not attending to their respective businesses.
Around 5 PM you make another fearful trip in the combis back to Puno, take a break for dinner and some internet time, then meet back at Ricos Pan (which has inevitably become your favorite place in Peru) to tie up loose ends and finish some work over a steaming cup of chocolate con leche. By midnight you are ready to escape the cold of your unheated apartment and so you dive under a pile of blankets to catch some much needed rest before you see what excitement Tuesday might bring.
-Emily
When 9 AM rolls around, you make your way into one of the loan meetings, explain in broken Spanish that you are conducting an interview for Prisma, and you get as many women as possible to answer your questions. You hear from some women that they have to hide their loans from their husbands. Others work 16-hour days to provide for their families. All are trying to improve their lives with a small loan from Prisma. You then reunite with the rest of the CMI group to discuss your impressions and you begin to realize that your original questionnaire needs editing and rework. You spend the rest of the morning tweaking the questions until you are satisfied with the new version of the interview.
At 1 PM it is time for a 2-hour lunch break while Prisma is closed. You go to a nearby restaurant where you order the menú del dia- a cheap combination of platters including tripe soup. When the bill comes, you realize that you have in no way fooled the waiter that you might be from Peru and he has overcharged you for your meal. So, like many times in the past, you send your Colombian CMI member to point out and reconcile this unfortunate mistake. The rest of your lunch break is spent making copies of the survey and perhaps grabbing a snack at the Ricos Pan bakery to get that tripe out of your mind. The afternoon brings more meetings and client surveys; some women are ready to talk your ear off, others are indifferent and still others, who are illiterate, require extra attention. The afternoon flies by as you frantically collect as many surveys and client stories as possible while publicizing the business charla (chat) that you will give that week, all while trying not to interrupt the loan meetings too much. You have to keep in mind that any time the clients are at Prisma, they are losing money by not attending to their respective businesses.
Around 5 PM you make another fearful trip in the combis back to Puno, take a break for dinner and some internet time, then meet back at Ricos Pan (which has inevitably become your favorite place in Peru) to tie up loose ends and finish some work over a steaming cup of chocolate con leche. By midnight you are ready to escape the cold of your unheated apartment and so you dive under a pile of blankets to catch some much needed rest before you see what excitement Tuesday might bring.
-Emily
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