I bet BAE's AGM didn't have Mariachi...?

Last week another cooperative in Yali, Cooperativa Gorrion, had their Asembla Ordinaria (like an AGM). As I was in my cooperative’s office that morning, I got invited by our president Noel... once again, not knowing what I was accepting, and I feel sure it was because I had exploded with frustration the day before... (things are moving very slowly on the teaching side).

I’m quite capable now of understanding that I’m being invited to something, but often am clueless as to what. And it’s hard to say "could you explain that again slowly as I want need to wear the right shoes or think up an excuse”. It turned out to be the longest AGM I have yet encountered, but also the only AGM that has involved a Mariachi Band, specifically employed to "wake us up”. I’m in the sort of mood this week where I cannot fathom why another culture would behave as they do (and all this without the influence of the Daily Mail) and I couldn’t help thinking that if they kept to the point and didn’t have an AGM lasting five hours then perhaps they wouldn’t have needed a band to rouse them. Anyhoo, the AGM turned into a fiesta, the Mariachi stayed, and I didn’t dance - again. I’ll have to rectify that soon, but this time it was because I needed the loo. For 5 hours. And there wasn’t one. I have no idea how everyone else managed. Crazy gringa, insisting on keeping herself hydrated. Due to the fact I had no real idea where we were going I didn’t have my camera, but I took a picture of the location the next day... With the balloons gone, and the cattle back in the corale in place of the plastic chairs and rum. There it is!

During the meeting, the manager of the cooperative – a forceful woman named Francesca – gave out in huge detail about Fair trade coffee and the rainforest alliance. I hope to find her at some point and get her to repeat her tirade, in bite size chunks and pausing for dictionary breaks. But it means we might have a Coffee – Parte the Thirde entry and then at least one part of the tag line of this blog may not be lying...

Noel (president of our cooperative, keep up!) also included me in a planned trip to the Miraflor nature reserve last week, for a group of the English students to see what they're doing with tourism. The idea was to motivate them into learning more, Noel is very keen on tourism but the youth aren't really learning fast enough for his plans... so at the end of the trip he gave the youth an impassioned talking-to about how tourism "is in their hands now..." And that with a bit of luck and hard work we will attract "Chele" (literally, white people). And then looks at me and says, "we already have one!!" And I had been trying to blend into the background. He's a groovy guy. I like his vision.

So I’m learning this week that I´m a girl that likes a bit of infrastructure. Call me crazy, but if we’re going to have a (planned) power cut for 3 hours every day, I want to know when it’s going to be. You know, cos then I might plan around it. The same with water. And, hey, no-one likes a transport strike, but when it lasts for 7 days and counting and they block the roads so no-one can pass... So this weekend, I’m not going to Esteli as planned, to teach English in El Regadio, I’m staying in Yali. To continue learning the lesson that patience is a virtue...

Oh, and this will make my colleagues laugh. Guess what I’ve been invited to join in with next week at my co-operative? A strategic planning day!! Hahahahahahaha. Yes, there is a bitter undercurrent to this post.