Hello again! I can't believe that I am finishing my 2nd full month here! This week we work only Monday and Tuesday, due to Independence holidays, so I have just 2 full weeks left of my internship. The project I have been working on involves research on Social Performance Management. At this point, the bank is completely funded and regulated by the government. Since government funding is heavily political, the bank would like to attract outside investors. In general, the groups that would invest in a bank like ours fall under the category of "Socially Responsible Investors." They want to make a return on their investment, but only invest in projects that also have a social mission. Our bank offers small credits (microfinance) and training to farmers who would otherwise not have access to a traditional bank. Therefore, investors want to know that we're not only making a profit, but are actually increasing access for our clients and helping them expand their business and elevate their standard of living. As you can imagine, these are difficult outcomes to measure. There are alternatives that analyze the bank's processes and the products they offer, while others try to determine the impact that the bank has had on its clients over the years. This is a very hot topic in microfinance now, since the industry has been criticized by some for exploiting the poor, rather than helping them. I have read several of the critiques and it has been interesting to compare them to the experience that I have had, getting hands-on experience. I still haven't made a final judgement...jury's still out!

Last week, I was able to visit some farmers in an area 2 hours north of Lima. The landscape is desert-like, but is still coastal, which provides an interesting contrast. The first pic below is of a strawberry patch and you can notice the mountains of sand in the background. We were also able to pick a bag-full of mandarin oranges, which was a treat. Most of the famers here have an average of less than 10 acres of total land, so they need to be very productive in order to make a profit. The banks are trying to change their mindset, so that instead of investing all of their profits in buying more land, they create savings accounts or purchase insurance (both health insurance and crop-related protection). This is a novel concept for most of the farmers we visited, so it is going to take decades to change the existing culture.




Two weekends ago, one of my roommates and I took a trip to Santiago, Chile, to visit some of my friends who are doing internships there (and so my roommate could extend her visa here in Peru - long story!). The city is definitely 10 years or so ahead of Lima with relation to orderliness and efficiency. The dark side of the story is that most of the policies that brought about these advances were the result of Pinochet's 20-year dictatorship. The people seem to be a little more serious there, which is often a side-effect of long periods of dictatorship. On a more positive note, the mountain vistas are beautiful (see below) and I wish we had more time to explore outside of Santiago and do some hiking.




Yesterday, was a rare, sunny winter day here in Lima, so I took advantage to snap pics of some of my favorite spots.
(1) My house (2)&(3) My strolling/jogging route (4) Parque del Amor = Love Park...surrounding the statue is a wall with various quotes about what else, LOVE/AMOR/AMORE, etc. (5) "It's a stupendous love to love the sea."





Adios for now! I will check again after my trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu this week!

Lou does Lima

Hola from Lima! As a brief introduction, the city has a population of approximately 8 million and is located on Peru's coast. The climate is mild for most of the year, but during the winter (now), there's a constant cloud cover. This is due to the convergence of two weather fronts over the Pacific that are stagnant for most of the season. The sun peeks out several times during the week, but rarely do I see a blue sky. Despite the bad timing weather-wise, the city has a lot of energy and character. During my first week here, I stumbled upon a poetry reading in a downtown park and an open-mic night at a pizzeria. And speaking of food, the seafood here is unbelievable. Most people may be surprised to learn that Lima is considered to be the culinary capital of South America. I plan on devoting an entire blog post to the food scene once I have some pics to accompany it.


I am living in the Miraflores district, which is where a lot of the action happens in Lima. It's probably most accurately compared to a borough in NYC, since it feels like a small city in itself. Unfortunately, the neighborhood has been in the news lately because of the Joran Van der Sloot story. On a more pleasant note, I was lucky to find a family who had a room for rent in a beautiful, colonial Spanish-style home located about a block from the water. It's a perfect location, since I am within walking distance from restaurants, bars, parks, etc. The picture to the left is from a bike tour of the city that I took my first weekend here.

I am doing my internship with AgroBanco, which is a state-sponsored bank that caters to the agricultural sector. The bank focuses on providing credit and educational programs to small and micro-level producers. For the first few weeks, I have been learning about the various functions of the bank and how they work together. Last week, I was able to travel to the jungle, about 8 hours from Lima, to attend several training sessions that the bank offers for citrus fruit and coffee producers. The landscapes were a welcome change from foggy Lima and the trip provided a more realistic perspective on everyday life for most Peruvians, which is a stark contrast to the modern comforts found in Lima. Our 8 hour trip would have taken about half that time if not for delays due to rock slides and issues with ill-timed or unfinished road construction. In addition, the lack of an extensive railroad network means that all products for export travel by truck, which is a common problem throughout South America and a significant competitive disadvantage for farmers. Hopefully I will get a chance to see another region of the country on my next trip. Pics below: (1) coffee plant (2) with a coworker on the way back from the jungle (3) view from the citrus farm we visited (4) cab driver wanted to stop to buy trout along the way

Month 3 Update

Some recent observations...

Freshman Orientation: We learned soon after we arrived that Brazilians have a strong tradition of hazing freshmen college students (male and female). During the first weeks of class, upperclassmen paint the faces of the freshmen and force them into a variety of embarrassing situations. One of the most common activities is to send them into the streets to beg for money (see pic). They not only occupy the sidewalks, but also approach cars at traffic lights. College students impersonating the homeless: can you imagine the reaction to this brand of hazing in the US?


Whitewash: When taking a stroll through a park in Brazil, it is particularly easy to identify caretakers, maintenance workers, and restaurant employees. Each has a distinct uniform, particularly with regards to color, that alludes to their profession and therefore, social class. While neutral colors reign in the US, and it seems that companies are moving towards less distinction, the opposite is true in Brazil. For nannies, the all-white look seems to scream, "Don't worry, I'm not kidnapping your grandma...I'm just the help."
Have you ever thought about tossing 'batatas fritas' in Brasil? If so, you're in luck; you'll get the privelege of sporting this ultra-chic denimwear. Who wouldn't want the golden arches branded on their left butt cheek?

(In an effort to avoid causing further humiliation to an actual employee, I decided against snapping a live shot of these trend-setting pieces.)

Finally, here are some pics from our visit to a restaurant about 30 miles outside of Curitiba. The name is literally translated as "Trout Paradise." The owner is an avid nature lover who raises trout in the river that runs underneath the restaurant. He makes a significant effort to conserve energy, water, and the natural wildlife in the area.





Still to come...a recap of my week in Rio and day in the favela.

Month 2

Unfortunately, I don't have any clever observations to report this month. I assume that this is because I have officially acclimated to the culture (ha). I took two beach trips in the past month; one to Ilha do Mel, which is an island off the coast of our state and the other to Barra da Lagoa, a beach on the island of Florianopolis (4 hours from Curitiba). Ilha do Mel is part of a conservation zone and the number of inhabitants is regulated by the government. Cars are not allowed on the island and as such, there are no paved roads. After a few hours at the beach, we spent a lot of quality time on the porch enjoying frosty brews and watching late afternoon showers (two hallmarks of any good beach vacation in my opinion).

Last week, we traveled to Florianopolis for Carnaval (the Mardi Gras-like celebration in Brazil). We had a full week of vacation from classes, so we took advantage of the weekends to make it a 10 day trip. Our apartment was less than 50 yards from the beach, which made for long days of "tomando sol" (literally, "taking in the sun," in Portuguese) and cooling off at the beach-side restaurants/bars (reference pic below of my roommate Steve, delighting in fresh coconut juice). My favorite meal was called "Procession of Shrimp" and involved four courses of shrimp prepared in different ways. Another night, my roommates/personal chefs also marinated shrimp in lime and cumin and grilled them at our apartment. If you haven't tried the lime/cumin combination, I highly recommend it. The Carnaval celebration was not as elaborate as you see in pictures from Rio, but it was an experience nonetheless. Each night, a parade began around 11pm and finished around 1am, ending at a big dance party under a tent on the beach.





In other news, my internship search is in full-swing. I hope do an internship in Brazil, but plan on applying to jobs in the U.S. as well. If anyone has contacts in Brazil that could use an MBA intern for the summer, I will gladly distribute my resume. The school here has been helpful, so I am optimistic that I will find an opportunity.

In my next post, I will provide some commentary on the political scene here, since elections are in October and campaign season is about to kick-off.

Curitiba - First Impressions

I have been in Curitiba for three weeks and am finally posting some pics. Curitiba is a city of approximately 2 million people and is characterized by strong European influences. Most Curitibans even assume that I am Brazilian, until they hear my accent (which they assume is from a Spanish-speaking country). I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I speak Portuguese with a Spanish accent.

During the week, we spend six hours each day in Portuguese language classes. This will continue through the end of March, and in April, we will take a short course on doing business in Brazil. During the weekends, we've been exploring the city and getting acquainted with the night life.






A few observations about the city and culture...

Who'll stop the rain?
Unbeknownst to us, we arrived at the peak of the rainy season in Curitiba...and these aren't the same summer showers we're accustomed to in SC. While the sun seems to make an appearance while we're in class, the skies inevitably open as soon as we leave...for at least a few hours. My umbrella is my new best friend; I never leave home without it. I'm also in the market for a solid pair of rain boots, but, surprisingly, they're not easy to find.

Metal Mouths
We've noticed that a large percentage of 20-35 year olds are sporting braces. The middle class has grown so much in the past decade, that parents who couldn't afford braces when their kids were younger, can now afford them. As a result, braces are a seen as a status symbol for those in the 20-35 age bracket.

Check Please
Brazilians know how to run a bar. The process for ordering and paying for drinks is extremely efficient, compared to the chaos that takes place in the U.S. When you enter the bar, you receive a ticket at the door and provide your contact information. Each time you order a drink, the waiter or bartender marks your card. At the end of the night, you pay a cashier and use your receipt to exit the bar. It's a really smooth system and gives you much more flexibility to move around to different tables and not worry about multiple tabs or doling out cash all night.