Thursday started at 3:30 with Nate’s alarm. I groggily
showered and finished what little packing I had left. We met downstairs and
bussed to the Lima airport. Our wait there was not very long because Tyler and
Cooper slept through their alarm and made us late, which I was not complaining
because I would rather wait in a hotel rather than an airport. We quickly moved
through check in and security and waited in the tiny terminal downstairs. When
it was time to board the plane, we took a shuttle to the airplane and boarded
from the tarmac.
The flight was only an hour, but it was just enough to
finish my book. It was a great book, but the ending made me a little sad. I
would recommend anybody who asks to read The
Kite Runner. The Trujillo airport is really small. There is not even a gate
because they all board from the tarmac, and there is only one baggage claim for
the flight or two that comes in daily. We bussed to our hotel where they
weren’t ready to check us in because of the earliness. We left our luggage and
separated for breakfast, and by the time we returned, the rooms were ready.
I am sharing a room with Alex for the week, and our room is
sooo small. I guess I am just used to the luxury, but it is cramped. The girls’
room right next to us has to rooms, one for each bed, two TV’s for each room,
couches, a table, and, well, everything to make me jealous. It will be alright
though; I don’t plan on spending too much time in there anyway. The rest of the
hotel is really nice, especially given the area we are in.
Trujillo is a dusty city. There is sand everywhere, almost
like vast desert land, but more humid. There are hardly any nice buildings,
mostly walls with graffiti or half-standing edifices. We did pass by the
construction site of the temple, and it will stand out when it is finished just
because of the extravagance, not to mention the height and the lights. Our
hotel is located right on the plaza de armas, and my window looks onto the same
grassy area with a weird statue that looks like it only has one leg (at least
from this angle). A busy street is right below us as well, so the traffic
sounds honk and rev all day.
We had a meeting with the SEED interns to start our day’s
agenda, and they reviewed all the business plans we were assigned to. I am in
a group with Nate and Shannon, and our
plan is for a small bodega (or mini-mart) by a fellow named Luis. We had been
making plans about what we will do when we get here, but it mostly was flipped
up-side down a few days ago. We shortly made plans for the day, which was a
meeting with Luis in the evening.
After our meeting, we found lunch at a small corner
restaurant. We are all a little weary about eating some of the food, especially
the vegetables which are washing in local water which is advisable not to
partake of. Part of my meal came with a salad, and I ate it. Whoops. I still
feel fine though. The rest of my meal was pollo a la plancha, which was a
chicken breast with French fries. I really likes it, especially coupled with a
sweet Coke.
I ended up taking a nap in the next-door girls’ room after
lunch. We met downstairs to head out to DanPer for our plan tour. DanPer is a
joint venture from Denmark (DANmark in Spanish) and PERu. They grow vegetables
like asparagus, peppers, artichokes, grapes, etc., and can them for companies
like Del Monte. They are a huge employer and work really hard to support their
employees. They are the corporate sponsor of the SEED program here in Trujillo;
their employees are encouraged to participate by getting their entrepreneurial
ideas together, taking classes, and putting together a business plan. Their
plans are run through us students on the Go Global program for approval, which
is what we are doing here in northern Peru.
The plant was very different than the other plants we had
been to. It was very labor intensive, which means they didn’t have fancy
equipment that did the work, like the other factories had. There are rows and
rows of workers that stand there all day, peeling asparagus or pitting peppers
or canning veggies. Our tour was very personal, getting right in the process
and following it from cooking to canning to shipping. We went through two
plants: one for peppers and one for asparagus. We didn’t catch much of the
asparagus plant because by the time we got there, everybody was headed home for
the day. We asked too may questions in the pepper plant (our group was all in
operations, so we all knew what questions to ask).
After, we met were given some samples of some of their
products; it tasted better than I thought it would. We were all tired of
standing and anxious to go to our meeting with our people. Finally, we were
able to ditch the ridiculous garb we were required to wear, hopped in a taxi,
and hurried back to the hotel.
We found our guy, Luis, waiting for us. He seemed very
nervous, and I just wanted to tell him to not be nervous, but this step in the
process is a big deal. We are the last hurdle before the decision, and we have
a large say on the decision. Our meeting went well. We had a hard time coming
up with questions, but they came eventually. I was able to follow mostly, but
Nate had to translate occasionally. Luis spoke very softly, so with the other
meetings going on, I found it hard to focus and figure out what he was saying.
The SEED interns showed up, and Luis seemed to relax a little with familiar
faces. He seems genuine and humble, which I think are great traits. We will
trek out to his place this week and perform due diligence to better create our
recommendation.
Our meeting lasted for not quite an hour. The interns wanted
to have dinner at this restaurant they were suggested, so we went with them
down the road a block to a neat little nook in the wall. The food was a little
more expensive, given that you can eat a two-course meal with a drink for 5
soles (about $2). We were seated outside, and even though it is winter down
here, it was very pleasant. The sky glows at night, a mix of the humid ocean
air coupled with the city lights. It was a little chilly, so we turned on the
stand heaters that warmed the patio. Dinner took forever to come out, which
seems typical out here. I had some pasta with alfredo sauce, which Peruvians
always serve with ham slices in it.
It was a great night. I hung out with the girls next door
and fell asleep on their bed. They woke me up and sent me to my bed not much
later, and I zonked out. I thought Trujillo would be a drag because we have
free schedules all day for a week, but I think it will be the most rewarding
part of the trip.
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