Today was quite the eventful day at work. We had two visitors from Peru. One is a rural coffee farmer/co-op member and the other is an employee at a larger co-op that we buy coffee beans from. They gave a presentation for us about their farms and co-ops and I took photos throughout the day. Then I got to interview them. Keep in mind that they speak Spanish (which is actually their second language, their first is a local Incan language). I took 4 years worth of Spanish in high school and one semester my freshman year in college, but most of that has escaped me. I could listen and pick up words better than I could speak it. Luckily, we have employees at EE who are fluent in Spanish (b/c we have so many Spanish-speaking partners), so I usually had a translator with me. Meeting them and hearing their stories made everything come together for me. Our fair trade prices are making a difference in the farmers' lives, but they still face many challenges, including poverty and a lack of health care. It was both sad and inspiring to hear their stories. These two folks are on a weeklong tour with EE people to bring consumers and producers together. I'll be meeting up with them in Philadelphia next Thursday and Friday to do more interviews and photos. It will be my first work trip. I get a hotel room!
On Tuesday, I went out with a co-worker for his birthday. It was at a place in JP and it was "Live Band Karaoke" night, which I had never seen before. Basically it's regular karaoke but instead of a DJ, there's a live band backing you up. Pretty cool.This week has flown by. I'm looking forward to the weekend, and then next week I'm only in the office on Monday. I'm attending a conference in Boston Tuesday-Wednesday, and then I'm in Philly Thursday-Friday.
Adios amigos!
a/k/s
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