First Day at Work

I had to wear a suit today. This is terrifying stuff... forget the the other things I ought to be worrying about. I guess I've been spoiled by a lax dress code at my former job in the States, huh?

Here's me grimacing because I had to get dressed up.

So, first day at the office. Lots of handshakes and introductions and formalities. I got to meet most of the staff at the headquarters of LAPO Sierra Leone, one of the two microfinance institutions (MFIs) I'll work with. I met two "Kiva Coordinators" who work on all the Kiva loans as well as the guy who runs the books, the branch auditor, and two directors. While working here at LAPO, I'll be sharing an office with the two staff responsible for the Kiva loans.

No clients come to the MFI headquarters. Instead, all the "action" happens at the branch offices. These are located throughout the Freetown with a few in other cities. I got the chance to visit a branch office and see loans being dispersed. In one case three women received loans for their small roadside businesses. They received a type of loan product that gives each of them funds for their own businesses, but they also form a sort of assurance group that makes them share responsibility for repayment. After they each completed paperwork and the credit officer presented them with three checks, everyone bowed their heads for the loudest of the women to say a prayer for everyone's health and for blessing of the loans.

Good first day.

Arrival

Freetown!

My arrival reminded me of a passage from a novel I read last year, You Shall Know Our Velocity, by David Eggers. The characters in the book wake up as they're landing:

The light was screaming through the windows, intent and wild, and I opened my portal's eyelid a quick few inches and we were coming at Africa at 300 mph, the ocean below striking the coast of Dakar with desperation. The neat shadow of the plane jumbled over the city's shoreline, the buildings glowing in tan and white and standing still as the water and wind came to them with all the world's fury-and then died. We were somewhere else. What were we doing here? ...

"How did we get to Africa?" he said. "Already I don't want to leave. Did you feel that air? It's different. It's African air. It's like mixed with the sun more. Like our air isn't mixed as well with the sun. Here they mix it perfectly. The sun's in the wind, the sun's in your breaths."

See the full passage here or get it here. It's a great book. It's a long quote and explicitly about Dakar but I like it and it lets you know I'm excited to be here.

When we finally made it to Freetown, I was greeted on the tarmac by a woman who would help expedite my arrival. (She's the wife of someone at one of the microfinance institutions (MFI) where I'll be working.) The reason the MFI sent someone to help me out is that I had several laptops in my carry on that were purchased in the States on their behalf. And when I say the woman (Aba) expedited things, she really went all out. She hustled me past passport control and past the yellow fever checkpoint. When my bags were slow she used her mobile to call the baggage dudes to find my duffel. And most importantly she helped me with the customs guys who had some questions about the multiple laptops.

The very final leg of my trip was by speedboat. Yep. The airport's located across a wide bay from town, so I hopped a boat and crossed over to town where I met a couple employees of the MFI. I'm really not sure who was happier about the laptop handoff (they were freakin' heavy). Anyways, they took the laptops and helped me find the boarding house where I'll be staying.

That's the arrival. More on other stuff later.

Up, up, and away

In Chicago on a long layover.

Here's the obligatory shot of The Bean downtown.

Ice Cream

A little over-the-top ice cream before I go. This is Sam's Sundae
from Bi-Rite Creamery in the Mission... chocolate and sea salt ice
cream, whipped cream, and bergamot-infused olive oil.

Crazy. But crazy good. The line that extended around the corner at the
creamery was worth it.

Lingering in SF

Last week I completed an incredibly packed week of training at Kiva's headquarters in San Francisco's Mission District. I learned a lot each day about the organization, its partners, the tools they use, the challenges they face, and the huge community that I'm now a part of.

This week I've got some down time to relax a bit and catch up on sleep (after a crazy schedule last week). I'm excited to finally make the trip to Sierra Leone.

Here we go.

Out of Boston

This past week was all about packing up in Boston and getting the last things ready to go. I finished up at work (after four and a half years there) packed up most of my stuff (after about eight and a half years in Boston) and saw lots of friends one last time (which was really great.)

Sunday was a beautiful day and I'm pretty sure Boston did this on purpose so that I'd remember the city that way (and feel like I'm missing out on the great weather!) And on the way to the airport we stopped for one more great meal: Santarpio's pizza in East Boston.

Thanks Boston!

Weekend in Newport

We went away for the weekend as my time here in Boston is dwindling. We headed to Newport, Rhode Island which is about 90 minute south. The weather was great and with our bikes we got to ride and see some of the huge mansions that Newport is known for. I definitely got that sense that the city is nuts during the summer months.

We also stumbled upon a brand new restaurant (opened ten days prior) that was fantastic. I had the best Egg In A Hole imaginable. Yes, it was that good.

Where I'm off to...

Now that I've given my notice at work (see last week's note), I start to move towards some exciting new happenings. In the fall it'll be grad school. But first I'm off to Africa to work for the non-profit Kiva for three months.

Kiva is involved with microfinance and lets anyone loan $25 to people in the developing world. Their website explains it in much better detail. And if you've got ten minutes, the video below walks through the process. (And it was made by a Kiva Fellow, someone in the role I'll soon be assuming!)



p.s. Just found out I'll be working in Sierra Leone in west Africa. Awesome!

Giving notice

I had the scary/exciting experience of letting my boss know I'd be leaving the company. It was scary only because I put so much thought into it. In the end the conversation was pretty easy. But given that I've been here for years, the finality of it seems dramatic.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, the clean break is really a great thing! How often will I get the chance to so clearly draw a line between what I've been doing up to now and what I'll be doing next.

I can't wait!

Olympics

It was a fun two weeks while the Olympics lasted. If nothing else, it gave everyone something in common to talk about -- even if that meant discussing the intricacies of short track skating relays. The thinking behind the modern Olympics was to promote peace and understanding, which today means being able to talk at the water cooler with coworkers or announce something on Facebook or talking about it with utter strangers on Chat Roulette (yes, I tried it.)

Funny headline from the Vancouver newspaper:

Happy 209

Well, it's a few days late, but last week was 209 Day, when the world celebrates 2/09 and everything that's good in life. It's hard to really describe what the holiday truly means, but I think it's best to start at the beginning...

Rewind back to 2005, when I lived at 209 College Ave. In honor of our home's address, friend and roommate Becca (and I think MLD as well...) wished the world a Happy 209 and the rest is history. She managed to get the attention of a writer for The Daily who wrote about it:

Best Week Ever at Tufts
By Adam Cooper

Published: Friday, February 11, 2005

Shamelessly ripping off VH1, Features has decided to do our own Best Week Ever in honor of all the sordid and stupid goings-on here at Tufts. Don't get offended, just be smarter next time.
-- Professor Jim Schmolze [blah blah blah] ...
-- According to newly elected [blah blah blah] ...
-- So 209 College wishes us all a Happy 209...uh, thanks, we guess?

If it's printed in The Daily, it must be true. Thank you Adam Cooper, for recording the beginning of this holiday. Full article here.

Fast forward to 209 Day this year, which included seeing some cool places in Mexico (Puebla, Oaxaca, some old cathedrals and ancient ruins), getting lost in our rental car every single day, and eating lots of GREAT food. Here's a nice grandma making a snack on a stove... 6 pesos (about fifty cents) for a meal.

I hope you had a Happy 209 Day. And I hope you can join next year. It should be a lot of fun.

Concert

I went to see People Under The Stairs perform Thursday night. I'd never heard of them before this week, but was really impressed. And the concert was cheap! Fifteen bucks (and not paying Ticketmaster a big fee) was great.

A video of one of their songs: