This morning I started the day off with a long run around Loja with my friend Sarah Jean. SJ is a graduate student at Indiana University who I adored spending quality time with today. She is way overqualified for this program which is glaringly obvious whenever we do group work and her knowledge is far superior to any of ours. SJ is a joy to be around and I am gaining so much from the wisdom she exudes. After our run, I had the pleasure of skyping with my mom while enjoying a warm cup of café con leche. Looking for adventure and an unforgettable way to spend our morning off, SJ and I hopped in a cab and asked the driver to take us to the botanical gardens (assuming that it would be well-known and obvious). Five minutes later we found ourselves at what Ecuadorians call a zoo. It was about the size of a football field and included a bear, two llamas, two pumas, a tiger, birds, a mix between a pig and a porcupine, and a rabbit sized rat. Wow, what an adventure we had.
Our group then chartered a bus and went to the community of La Era in the middle of the Andees mountains requiring a 45 minute ride in a pick-up truck. We had our first consultation presentation today completely in Spanish. Eight women work together for their textile business and they are struggling with unity and cohesion. Our plan was to talk about organizational structure, forming a mission statement, and setting personal goals. However, once we began asking about their organization we discovered that they already had a mission statement, organization, and they were expecting help with finances and marketing, the task left for the other interns. They seemed confused during our presentation, struggled to participate, and we were easily frazzled. After a long debrief we have constructive information to help improve our next consultation.
After a enjoying Mexican food for dinner we are all working on our consultation for tomorrow. Hopefully, vast improvements will be made.
Hasta luego,
Cate
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