the latest

lJanuary 27, 2009

Me cansé! Yesterday and today I think have killed me. Yesterday I started off the day extremely annoyed because like good to herself Martha style, she promised to help me with the registration of the artisans that is due Friday and wasn’t home. She “had” to go to Lima and didn’t even let me know she couldn’t do the registration. I was so angry and my sister (who is always my voice of reason) told me to go and do it sola. I knew I could but looking back on it I was hesitant because I was scared to do it for many reasons. One, Asking for peoples names and DNI which is like their identification number as a gringa is always questionable, because what exactly am I using it for. Two, many of the artisans aren’t part of the Assoc of Martha and since I work with her, might think that it’s a survey for her. Three, I have no idea where anyone lives, not to mention only know like 15 on a first name basis. After saying all this to Mari she told me to just do it or it won’t get done regardless if it pisses off Martha (which was my 4th concern). She took me to the first artisan’s house then to the second’s and there I met Eudocia. She was extremely nice and help me on Monday morning to do the south side of Calle Comercio and Calle Carmen. We went house to house, explaining what the registration was for and taking down each artisan’s information. Then in the afternoon I had my 4 hour classes of computation. There I teach an artisan from Pedregal her name is Mary. I told her my dilemma of not knowing anyone in Calle Carmen who weaves as well as the rest of Calle Comercio. She kindly offered to help me on Tuesday morning. Then by 8 I was in bed.

This morning I woke up and went to Martha’s house to ask her what happened to our meeting Monday morning to register the artisans, she had the NERVE to scold me and ask why I never went to her house. What a b****. Just like everything else, she is a liar!! I told her exactly how I felt about our situation and I’m only working for her and I’m not doing anything productive for the artisans or the people, just basically her and her relatives. I can not express to you all who are reading the frustration and problems I am having with her right now. Not to mention she loves to talk in circles and blame me for not somehow “knowing” when she needs me to do something. I’m not telepathic. Whatever, I’m in a good mood right now and writing about that is making me annoyed all over again!! SOO I left her house.
Mary came at 9 on time, because she attends my computer class she knows I like people on time lol. We headed north up Calle Comercio and looped around Calle Carmen to finish off. It was sooo hot out. I did get to talk to her though about the assoc and the issues it has. She wants the changes and to have a more open assoc, especially because she told me the “real” prices of Martha. For a sombrero that Martha shipped on a recent pedido the artisans got 20, Martha sold them for 40…where did the other 20 go… Martha’s pocket, (more accurately her daughters’ Piura apartment and University tuition). She told them that she uses the money for shipping. HELLO, the client paid for the shipping!! The artisans are so blind to how they are being robbed, it’s absurd. It’s one thing to be a bitch to me but to cheat a whoel assoc is too low and plus now that I have the knowledge of it ohhh ohhh there will be something done, even if it means not working with her anymore. That is just too unjust for me to deal with. (And this isn’t the first time that I could prove these price “gaps”). Uhhh if you people only knew!!

Anyway another thing that is bringing down… moving on. Okay I remember mentioning in October something about another assoc forming with the people unhappy in the assoc of Martha. They actually stopped forming it because no one got their act together besides one of the women, Maria. She ended up forming La Assoc Imaculeta Concepcion (Because the formed it on December 14, obviously). When I was registering more women in the afternoon at her house, I was able to talk with her and she would like my help to form the assoc, do fund raisers with her and also start the assoc open with codes and all so artisans can know what their product sells for. I’m really excited about it and I hope it goes better than things with the witch. I have a meeting with the artisan of I.C. tomorrow at 4, after I finish registering the artisans of Molina Azul. And can you guess whose supposed to help me, La Martha. We shall see if she even has time for me… grr…

Okay that is all for tonight I’m going to pass out!!

Xoxo ekh


The day after…January 28

So Martha did come with me a whole30 after I told her I wanted to leave. This is important because it is so hot that you want to get everything done before mid-day sun. Because of her tardiness I was out till 12:30 and thus getting sun-burn, which I have managed to avoid my whole time here (minus once). What I realized as I was registering the artisans, there was a certain aspect different about today than the other two days. I had a variation of artisan groups. Some people belonged to the one in my town, others to the surrounding assoc, and then others were just selling to Catacaos directly. Buuuut, because I was with La Martha, everyone said her assoc. Which angered me, because I know that isn’t the truth, she was just so intimidating, after each artisan saying, they’re apart of my group. By 12 I wanted to choke her, because the registro didn’t even want which assoc. that information was just for me (Yes, I told her that, she is still the most annoying person on earth). I also once again, tried to explain my job with her and ask her why we cant do projects to better the assoc as well as get more money to the artisans. She just went on a tirade about how there are no pedidos (orders). I mentioned that she has 2 right now and that she had one a week since I’ve known her, she “informed” my business ignorant mind that those weren’t orders. Orders are 2,000 or 5,000 of one product. I told her those are big orders, but correct me if I’m wrong, but an order of 100 baskets is a pedido/order. And I know what you may think maybe it’s a language barrier..uhhu I checked. I said oh I’m sorry you’re right I don’t have any business knowledge whatsoever, you are always right, she responds, I know. Ohhh sarcasm. At this point, I am not lying to you, I thought I was gonna hit a bitch. I have never wanted to sucker punch someone so bad in my entire life. She just wants me to do her things, regardless of the others; I still have yet to tell her that I can’t work with her anymore. I’m waiting till site visit on Feb 4th when Wilfredo and Alfredo will come to see my site so they can handle it better than “calm” self could… PS there is like whoooaaa a lot more to this story but I’m not writing it, this was just a longtime coming.

After that lovely morning, I had tutoring that the kid again didn’t show up for though he sees me every other day… just don’t get it, I need to stop preparing things because when I don’t prepare, he comes. Of course! At 4 I had a meeting with the women from the new group. They are really excited and seem open to my suggestions and to each other. They are doing a cevichara on Sunday. Which is like our equivalent to a bake sale, but they are selling plates of raw fish. Lol. We did the whole cost analysis of the venture and determined that we would make 100 soles minimum. Which is good, I’ll be getting up at 5:30 to go and help them on Sunday before I head to the Jovenes Emprendedores (Youth Entrepreneurs) Charla in San Clemente, where a youth volunteer has asked me to teach the two month course to her youth group, because they want to form businesses. Of course, now that actually another town “dare” get this course, my town is like we want it too, I said and I gave it to you 2,no one came, call me in 2months if you’re still interested, no one will.

Tomorrow should be just as not fun as today, I have to get up early and head to Catacaos because I have filled the second stack of forms they gave me, then register the last part of Pedregal with the princess Martha, and of course I forgot to mention that Consuelo the dir of artesania for Piura, found out that I’ve advanced really far, more than others who did this in the past. Last time Martha told me it took 30 university students a month to do what took me what will be 4 days…ridic. So theyre comingto do a foto-opp and prob take some pics of them filling out 1 or 2 forms and of course Martha will prob take credit for what I enforced, uhhh. I am a volunteer, I do not get credit. (Must repeat in my mind, continuously.) Also, in the end all the artisans are registered which is what they wanted and I got to meet the majority of them, by meet have a convo with them. (Small Victories…Small Victories) Another phrase I find myself saying often.

Will post hopefully tomorrow and you all can read this while I’m experiencing the above, in 100 degree weather, ya… pray for me.

Peace ouuut - elizabeth