On Wednesday, I dressed myself in a suit in preparation for my big presentation to Generals Alfredo Coronel Pichardo and Alvaro Baltodano of the National Commission for Free Trade Zones. I traveled to Free Trade Zone Las Mercedes for my presentation that morning.
It went extremely well, and later that afternoon, I took a tour of the largest Free Trade Zone in Central America, toured a factory, and talked with the Directors for Human Resources of one of the companies there to find out more about the hiring process for these corporations.
It was one of the most eventful days of my life, inspiring me about my thesis topic even more.
On Thursday, I traveled to Villa del Carmen to meet with Mayor José Inocente Castro and several teachers of the local secondary school to investigate the difficulties facing rural communities in advancing school enrollments.
In the afternoon, I met with Sobedya Morales, Director of Curriculum of the Ministry of Education of Nicaragua, to present my thesis, get her feedback, gather important data, and network with her for future reference. On Thursday night, I interviewed William Mendoza, a worker in the Saratoga Free Trade Zone.
I spent Friday morning in the library of the National Institute for Development Information to read through their books on poverty and school enrollment, photocopying important pages for my thesis to add qualitative evidence to a statistical analysis.
On Friday afternoon, I met with Nan McCurdy, an American missionary who has lived in Nicaragua for 30 years, witnessing the civil war and several presidential administrations. I met with her to further understand the government’s policy on education from an on-the-ground perspective, as she has worked as a missionary in the San Francisco Libre education system for 10 years.
I also visited the Foundation for Sustainable Development office to learn about its operations in preparation for applying to be a Program Coordinator next year.
On Saturday, I bid goodbye to the Nicaraguan family that had given me so much support throughout my trip. I went to the airport, used the free internet there to send a few emails, and flew home.
Thank you very much for this opportunity. I will never forget my experience in Nicaragua.
