Sorry for such a long absence, but what a week! 38 interviews, 2 home base cities, 7 different communities, 1 day of dehydration, and lots of adventures. Writing to you from an internet cafe off the central park in Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, a fairly standard industrial city near the southern Pacific coast of Guatemala. This week has presented a number of challenges that I don´t think I would have been able to deal with a few weeks ago. I have started to come to a lot of realizations about the importance of the work we are doing and how valuable it will be for both the organization and industry, but also for my personal growth. (I will not get too cheesy I swear.) 

On a personal level, I realized this week just how much I have learned in the past couple of weeks. My Spanish has definitely improved (and I have replaced my Caribbean accent with a slower paced Guatemalan accent). I have become totally comfortable just wandering around small communities by myself looking for clients, asking passersby and whatnot. I can get absolutely anywhere with a combination of public tranportation and hitch-hiking. I can do a 126 question interview in 20 minutes flat. But most importantly, because I have been going out without loan officers help, I have learned to really get to know and trust the clients for the day or so I am in their communities. The women have been so helpful, walking me to other client´s homes to interview them, offering me food, offering me a bed (when I fear I may be stranded for the night or when I am not feeling so great), and most of all, just hanging out and chatting about life. Not many westerners have an opportunity like this, to see these communities, spend time in the women´s houses, and have chats about Guatemala, their business goals, US immigration policy, family, life plans, etc. etc. It´s really something incredible…

More to come soon, for now, off to finish data cleaning!