The fight for normalcy
After exactly one month in Santiago, I finally have settled in to a place with internet access and comfort. I moved to a room in a different part of Santiago, a little farther from work than the old place with the spawn of the devil children, but much more relaxing and comfortable.
It's so nice to get a good quality home-cooked meal and be able to watch the news or a movie with peace and tranquility. It's funny how the little comforts like that can really affect the whole experience. I became more productive at work and generally happier. (I also realized that I am an internet addict, but it is the beacon of globalization and a wonderful thing that keeps me informed, so who cares)
I cannot believe a month has passed already. I can't say that time has flown because that's cliche and it really hasn't gone that fast, but it's gone fast (ah the contradictions).
Work has gotten a tad bit more interesting, as I've gotten briefed about my upcoming assignment which has more to do with Accion Emprendedora and not so much with the DUOC Universidad Catolica. This new project is to do the research and development work for the financial sector of AE.
What AE wants to become its own lending institution that gives entrepreneurs microcredit. It's an ideal situation because during their tutoring and classes, they learn about and monitor all the entrepreneurs, so they know who would be a good person to lend to - it's kind of like the way a bank in the US does a credit check. I think it's the first of its kind not-for-profit bank in which the interest paid goes back into funding the organization and more loans. (UPDATE 10/17/2006: That statement is totally wrong. Turns out what I was talking about is a microfinance institution, and there's tons of them. I called myself out)
No one really knows much about how this would work, and there's lots of other micros - micro-leasing, micro-factoring - that can become options in this bank: BanAccion. I'll be spending much of my time doing this research to modify and improve the proposal to a point where it can be presented to funders and international development organizations (World Bank, etc.).
Exciting and challenging, I like it.
Greetings from my peaceful and quaint new home,
Apoorva
It's so nice to get a good quality home-cooked meal and be able to watch the news or a movie with peace and tranquility. It's funny how the little comforts like that can really affect the whole experience. I became more productive at work and generally happier. (I also realized that I am an internet addict, but it is the beacon of globalization and a wonderful thing that keeps me informed, so who cares)
I cannot believe a month has passed already. I can't say that time has flown because that's cliche and it really hasn't gone that fast, but it's gone fast (ah the contradictions).
Work has gotten a tad bit more interesting, as I've gotten briefed about my upcoming assignment which has more to do with Accion Emprendedora and not so much with the DUOC Universidad Catolica. This new project is to do the research and development work for the financial sector of AE.
What AE wants to become its own lending institution that gives entrepreneurs microcredit. It's an ideal situation because during their tutoring and classes, they learn about and monitor all the entrepreneurs, so they know who would be a good person to lend to - it's kind of like the way a bank in the US does a credit check. I think it's the first of its kind not-for-profit bank in which the interest paid goes back into funding the organization and more loans. (UPDATE 10/17/2006: That statement is totally wrong. Turns out what I was talking about is a microfinance institution, and there's tons of them. I called myself out)
No one really knows much about how this would work, and there's lots of other micros - micro-leasing, micro-factoring - that can become options in this bank: BanAccion. I'll be spending much of my time doing this research to modify and improve the proposal to a point where it can be presented to funders and international development organizations (World Bank, etc.).
Exciting and challenging, I like it.
Greetings from my peaceful and quaint new home,
Apoorva
I hope you settle in nicely to your new home!!
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