Friday, May 24, 2013

First week of work already done!

I was so wrapped up in my post about the ideas I have for how to replace the soap factory yesterday that I forgot it marked the 1 week point since I arrived in Bolivia. It's hard to believe all the things that have happened in such a short period of time. I've met so many incredible people, been to so many interesting places, eaten so many new foods, and had so many experiences that I can't wait for the next 10 week!

Today at work we said goodbye to a Belgian volunteer at Warmi today, and it made me think of how soon I will be leaving. 9 weeks make sound like a lot, but the things I want to achieve could take a year or longer! I have to present to the administration on Monday what exactly my project will be for my time here. As I've mentioned before I want to set something up to fill the void that the soap factory will leave when it closes in a month or two.

I've been reading through a lot of information about Fair Trade, doing research on all kinds of organizations including producers, retailers, and trade associations. I've also been browsing a lot of product catalog to see what kind product we could produce. I e-mailed two wholesalers here in Bolivia asking about how they started their businesses and already got a response from one of the biggest Bolivian fair trade organizations. I also e-mailed a retailer from the US and got a response with lots of useful information concerning the fair trade market and organizations that help start fair trade businesses.

The progress has been small, but the first steps are always the most difficult. I have no experience in small businesses or start-ups, and have only recently immersed myself in the fair trade scene. I also don't know about my ability to determine what an attractive product is, but whilst I was gazing into the distance today at work and thinking I had an idea that might just work. What if instead of trying to come up with the next big thing, or simply replicate whats already in the market and try to compete, I simply revitalized the existing soap factory? What if instead of letting the factory close I were to launch a fundraising campaign in order to get the paperwork renewed, and found a way to start selling high-quality artisan soaps? Its still just an idea, but it might make sense to just use the capital and resources we already have, and try to improve on it, instead of saying goodbye to soap and searching far and wide for a replacement which will take a lot of time and energy and might be risky in terms of success. Energy I have lots of, but time is something I unfortunately do not and risk is something that I feel uncomfortable playing with since the administrators of Warmi already have so many things to worry about--I don't want to initiate a process that will become a burden on anyone once I leave.

I don't think I'll be able to settle on a product by Monday but I think presenting what I've thought of so far will get some wheels turning in people's minds and hopefully based on their feedback I can begin focusing my efforts on an achievable goal. For now I am looking forward to relaxing a little this weekend, the Champions League Final between Bayern and Dortmund (two German teams fighting to be crowned the best club team in Europe), doing some laundry, and preparing my presentation which I will post here once it is finished.


- Attila

To read more: attilainbolivia.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Attila's First Few Days in Bolivia!

FIRST DAY AT WORK AND A NEW INTERN ARRIVES - May 20th


Today was my first day working at Centro Integral Warmi, where I will continue working for the next 10 weeks or so. I met the directors, volunteers (about ten or so), some mothers, and all the adorable little children! Bruno arrived at around 10:30 in the morning after the catholic service--which happens every Monday morning--was over. At around 11 we had a three hour meeting to recap the kermesse that happened yesterday.

After our meeting we had lunch with the children who were bouncing off the walls, diving under chairs, and literally running in circles. A bunch of them asked me my name, laughed, and then ran away again--it was too cute. To help them unwind some of the volunteers took them to the park to go play. I went upstairs to start doing some research on how I can contribute to Warmi. I already have some interesting ideas which I'll share in tomorrow's post after I meet with one of the directors tomorrow morning to talk about my responsibilities.

At around 4:30 Janka and I took the bus back and I met Marcos who went with me to the market to buy some things. It was a crazy place with little shops and people all over the place. I would never want to drive a car there because people pay almost no attention to them. The market reminded me a lot of the Grand Bazaar in Turkey. We also passed through the central plaza of Cochabamba, the Plaza del 14 Deciembre, which I will definitely return to to take some pictures.

All along the journey Marcos and I talked about his thesis for his major in economics and math, how people view foreigners in our respective countries, our families, our respective university systems, and he spent a good amount of time trying to learn German from me but I kept getting it confused with Spanish! Most of the vendors were closing up by the time we got there and we began walking to a few stores that different people we asked recommended. By the time we visited them all we were only 6 blocks from the intern house despite having taken a twenty minute bus ride to get there--quite an excursion.

Once we were back Bruno told us another Warmi intern was arriving from Milwaukee so we immediately got in a taxi and left for the airport with Janka and Arde (and iranian-dutch intern working at a different organization). We met some other AIESECers at the airport who had driven there. Once the intern, Angela, arrived, all 9 of us squeezed into the 5-seat car (2 in the passenger seat, 2 in the trunk, and met on top of the three in the backseat).

Group photo with the new intern, Angela (in the batman shirt)

How many people can you fit in a crossover? Come to Cochabamba to prove yourself wrong
We survived the car-ride and got some nice dinner--I finally tried a trancapechu which is basically a burger with egg, rice, some flat meat, and a bunch of little things I don't remember now but it tasted amazing. It's almost midnight now so I think I finally digested it and am now going to attempt to begin the exercise regime known as P90X. Fingers crossed that I don't discover what trancapechu tastes like coming back up.

AIESEC IN THE PARK - May 18th


Saturday I attended my first AIESEC local committee meeting. I woke up around 1PM (still exhausted from festival the night before) to the sound of an AIESEC functional team meeting going on in the living room. I rolled over and began reading one of my books whilst eating some bread rolls that I had bought the day before at the supermarket. I've never felt so lazy in my life.

After the fourth roll at around 3PM, I heard a knock on my door. Rodrigo, the intern experience manager, was inviting me to join them for their local committee meeting in a nearby park. After paying the 30 cent entrance fee, I met the president of the AIESEC Bolivia national team (MCP) as well as the vice president elect of incoming exchange. I also learned that the national team is actually based here in Cochabamba so I will have more opportunities to interact with them.

The national team members introduced themselves to everyone once we all took our seats on a small hill and began the meeting. I had the chance to say a few words as well and then we did broke up and did some activities. In one of them the VP-elect told me about the national conference they and the rest of the Bolivian AIESEC committees had attended the week before I arrived. What struck me as incredible was how similar the messages that were communicated to them were to the messages that were delivered to the AIESEC Yale delegation when we attended a leadership development conference inHolland over spring break.

AIESEC Cochabamba local committee meeting in the park

They also told me a very inspirational story about one of the former national presidents of AIESEC Bolivia. He was from Cochabamba, and ran for vice president of Talent Management (VP TM). After being rejected from the role the first time he applied he didn't quit and was successful a year later. He continued to work really hard and then became VP TM on the Bolivian national team. His dedication to the organization eventually got him elected to national president of AIESEC Bolivia. Early in his term when he went to the biggest international AIESEC conference (IC) in Egypt, however, he was involved in a car accident and died. It shocked everyone at the time, but his story has not been forgotten here inBolivia. At the conference last week everyone lit candles and talked about the foot print they wanted to leave in the world through their experience in AIESEC in honor of the late president.

Bolivian's passion for AIESEC shines through when one hears stories like these, or when the local committee meeting that I was at with about 40 other members lasts over three hours! Once we were done, Diego invited me to get "nuggets" with some of his friends (who were also at the meeting). It turned out it was just a plate full of fried chicken and French fries (about 2 dollars). Marcos continued teaching me Portuguese—since he comes from a region of Bolivia where many people speak it in addition to Spanish—on the walk to Diego's house which was nearby. Diego then gave me a ride back to the intern housing on the back of his motorcycle. It was dark and with no lights and no helmets, I wasn't convinced of how safe what we were doing was, especially after we made a left turn on red. But again, this is Bolivia!

He dropped me off safely at the intern house where I found some of the members from the national team and some members of the Cochabamba committee in the living room drinking rum and coke and dancing to traditional Bolivian music on someone's cell phone. I picked up some of the basic steps pretty quickly, but lost it as soon as they incorporated some jumping into it.

We then did some typical AIESEC dances (known as "roll-calls") which made me realize just how true it is that dancing is the international language of AIESEC. I had danced the same dances in Stamford,Newark, and even Holland, and now I was doing them in Bolivia. We even did the American roll-call to "Bad Touch" which someone had on their phone.

The evening continued with the game "detective," which Bruno from Brazil taught to everyone. We talked about discrimination in America, and the difficulties in doing social work while earning enough to sustain ones self, and the trouble that Bolivians have in doing development projects through AIESEC because they are usually unpaid volunteer work and they simply can't afford it. Bruno then made us a typical Brazilian drink called caipirinha and I taught everyone how to play "Cheers to the Governor" which everyone really loved.

Bruno making caipirinha
Everyone left by 2AM and Bruno, who lives in the room next to mine, and I quickly went to bed because we have to get up tomorrow morning at 6AM for the Kermesse event the next day at the Centro Integral Warmi. I'm still not fully sure what it is but I can't wait to find out!


To follow more of Attila's travels, visit his blog at http://attilainbolvia.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Erin: Enjoy My Origin - Beginnings in Poznan, Poland

After the first four days in Poznań, Poland, I can finally say (and pronounce!) cseść [hello, in Polish] from one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! The past few days have been an incredible adventure of traveling across several time zones, discovering a city that probably never would have been on my radar, meeting interns from all over the world, and trying to produce all kinds of new sounds in an attempt to communicate with people on the street!

The first weekend has consisted mainly of training our new group of 20 or so interns, spread across four fairly similar projects, and of helping us get our bearings in a foreign place. Among our group, we have interns from Singapore, China, the Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kenya. Several sessions with the LC in Poznan have introduced us to the Polish culture, and to the ins and outs of teaching in Polish schools. In between, we've gotten to hang out, have tons of laughs, explore the city around us, and get to know our new homes.



 


Starting in schools yesterday, I don't think anything could have prepared me for the welcome I'd receive from the teachers and children. Although most adults in the school (essentially everyone except for a couple of English teachers) speak no English, they have been so kind and helpful in showing us around. The English teachers we are working with are absolutely wonderful, helping us translate to their classes and connect with the kids, and giving us everything we could have wanted or needed. The kids themselves are really incredible too - so excited to see us and hear what we have to say. I think for many I am one of the first foreigners they have ever seen, and they are fascinated by this strange human being who looks differently from them and who doesn't understand their Polish! But as the other interns and I discussed as we caught up at a pub after work yesterday afternoon, the stories we'll have of the kids are really priceless. We've been asked for autographs, we've been forced to sing and dance, we've been stifled by crowds of kids all rushing to hug us, and we've even been offered small amounts of Polish money! Depending on the age of the kids, we're teaching them about our cultures and the countries we're from, along with encouraging them to learn and use more English. I teach anywhere from 1st to 6th grade, and while the older kids are really engaged and have lots of questions about America, the youngest ones are really much better served by hands on things like drawing. So they've been learning while making American flags in their notebooks! (Another strange realization -- our flag is great for this! A Polish flag, which is divided into two sections, red and white, is very simple to draw, but an American flag is a real challenge if you're 6!)


It's so interesting to me to see America through the eyes of everyone around me, both Polish and otherwise. The kids ask the funniest and strangest questions - if I have a husband, why America is so big, if it could beat Poland in a war, and if we all eat chips all the time! Maybe just as fascinating (or more so) is talking with the other interns about our homes. Every intern speaks English more or less fluently, so except for differences in accents we have not much of a problem communicating. But it's been so interesting finding out what people know, and don't know, about our country. It's been pointed out to me several times that I don't look like an American, too! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that what a lot of people know, they know from TV shows, but I was also surprised to be asked multiple times, very specifically, if American high school is clique-y like in the movies. I hope that by the end of this trip, I will be able to show them that most Americans, like myself, are nothing like either Honey Boo Boo or Kim Kardashian! I certainly know that I feel a hundred times more knowledgeable about so many other places in the world now, too, just from hearing the way the interns have all presented their own backgrounds. It's truly an amazing feeling being able to connect with all these friends from all over the world, and find out our many similarities, and most surprising differences! (Example from training -- how many continents are there on Earth? I never would have thought that the answer could range anywhere from 5 to 7, depending on where you're from!)






My host family, too, has been so hospitable and welcoming. I live right now with a family in their small but beautiful apartment ('flat', if you're in Europe). They have two sons, ages 5 and 10, who have been so excited to meet me. The younger, Mateusz (the Polish version of Matthew, pronounced close to matoosh), is not yet conversational in English, but has discovered that we can connect via knowledge of Sesame Street and the Muppets! He walks around singing the Elmo Song over and over, and laughing with me. I was very impressed with the English skills of the older one, Michał (Polish for Michael, pronounced close to me-how), who told me stories last night over dinner of his relatives in Italy. My host parents, Johanna and Piotr, have been making traditional Polish dishes every evening and always making sure I have plenty to eat and drink, and am warm enough when I leave in the morning! They taught me last night about a whole host of Polish festivals and holidays, and a Polish custom in which every person celebrates not only his birthday, but also his 'name's day', which I guess in English is really closer to a Saint's Day. For example, on the day of St. Michael, all of the Michael/Michałs in Poland celebrate their name's day, and eat cake to celebrate! The days are prescribed by a book of Saints, and apply to most Polish people, who are a conservative group and have dominantly Biblical names. My host father said that he'd find an equivalent for Erin, and find me a name day so that I can come home and make my family celebrate it for me!


I'm confident that every day will bring more fun and lasting memories, stories to tell, and pictures to be taken. I've only been here for 4+ days, but I already feel so comfortable in this city, and I know the next six weeks will continue that trend. I'm sure as well that each day will bring more new realizations in the realm of culture shock and differences, and that each day I'll be more comfortable and confident in my growing repertoire of Polish phrases and words! I'm beyond excited for what the next few weeks will bring.