First Day in the Field

After many days in front of my computer here in the office, I finally had my first real chance to get out in the field and start interacting with some of the people that will be involved in the execution of this nutrition program. This morning, I took one of my favorite little moto taxis (literally a cart built around a motorcycle that rides like a go-kart and goes up and down the road by our house) to visit the school in San Isidro. I would have the chance to speak with the director, three of the cooks, and a few other administrators and get some questions answered about the current program.

I had a little surprise when I arrived at the school because, after confirming several times that my co-worker was going to join me (including one confirmation this morning before I left), Enrique was nowhere to be found. After waiting fifteen minutes, I decided to just dive into the discussions and hoped he would arrive. He never did show up (another meeting came up, though I was not informed), so I ended up conducting the whole hour long meeting – almost entirely in Spanish – by myself. Fortunately, everyone was very willing to help and I think it went pretty well. I got a lot of good information on how much food they use every week, where they buy it, how the store it and how they prepare it. I’m also excited to go back and visit again next week when the kids are in class, because I think observing the cooks in action will give me an even better understanding of the program as it’s currently run.

I’m back here at the office now eating lunch which, if you’re curious, is the same thing I order every day from a restaurant down the road. Rice, beans, some sort of lime-flavored beef that I don’t actually like that much but always order because it’s the only name I can remember, a delicious cheesy fried potato thing, and a Coke Light (Mmm!). I only mix it up on the days they have lasagna, which are rare. It’s probably for the better too, because last time someone picked up lasagna for me, it also included a huge pile of rice and the potato – hello carbs.

For anyone still reading after that interesting account of what I’m eating right now, I have posted some more pictures from the weekend staycation. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nicole.roden&target=ALBUM&id=5296031668783233345&authkey=8_S8foc6v2s&feat=email