Blogging is so much easier than writing for real. It is almost like having a conversation where the other person doesn't actually respond. My thoughts just appear in text without translation or effort. If only writing a thesis was this easy...
Things have been insane/intense at work. A bit of a hot mess on Monday, for our first day of class, and as a result I have jumped into hyper-drive... I am taking on roles that I didn't imagine taking for a few years at least. I feel a little bit like my Mom, laying down the law, to a certain degree. And that seems bogus, since I am an intern, but I have almost been asked to take this role. The director seeks my advice on anything A Ganar. I am responsible for strategic planning (though this wasn't specifically assigned to me, I am the only one who thinks about it), and in meetings I am introduced as the technical expert of the program. Some pretty hard-line positions had to be taken Monday and yesterday in meetings, and I was the one taking them. So very strange.
All of the events of this week and last have sparked a new interest in me: I now feel like I need to go back to school and get a degree, or at least some training, in non-profit management. In classes last year we all begged to get an answer to the question: with so much money in development, with so much effort put to solving the most devastating problems of hunger, poverty, disease, and limited opportunity, why isn't it working? Well, this week the answer seems clear. There is a lot of money, sure. We could always use more, but there is money. What there isn't is efficient organizations and skilled, competent teams to use the money. What we are lacking is training for those who implement. Those of us who went to Heller seem to take what we learned and what we know for granted. But the idea of knowing what needs to get done a month, week, day from now... it is a skill that is in high demand! It is a novel addition to the field, to the industry of social justice, peace, and development.
Here are a couple pictures of town these past couple of days. I am forcing myself to take pictures, no matter what. Even if the scenes are uninspiring. Even if I fear taking my camera around with me. I will snap shots of life here.
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| Guayhavana (Guava) |
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| Ibagué by rainy day |
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| A fellow client of my taxi driver, who I traveled to Bogotá with, and was in the car crash with, just got back from a vacation in NY. She brought me these chocolates to remind me of home. <3 |
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| Grafiti |
Shots of Ibagué: 3 person moto, fruit cart, and a couple of buildings
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