From the Andes

2 hours writing, 2 hours reading, 1 hour prep, page count = 138

This week's blog monitor is Lucía Corral Peña, in the East Bay. Lucía is a foundation and nonprofit consultant specializing in grantmaking and new program design, project management, facilitation, organizational and fund development for social change organizations. Lucia currently serves as a lead consultant to The California Endowment's Agricultural Worker Health Initiative and Asian American Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy's Civic Engagement Fund. Lucia is an attorney and most importantly enjoys life with her husband Gustavo Peña and children Diego, Joaquín and Alex. Welcome, Lucía!

Well, I'm here! I arrived in Bogotá this afternoon after a delayed connecting flight out of Miami. I slept through most of the delay, so it wasn't really that bad. However, by the time I arrived, it was too late to get anything useful done at the archives, which close at 5pm, so I went over to a cousin's to hacer visita, meet and greet a bunch of my relatives, which was great. I hadn't seen most of them in almost 4 years, and there are new businesses, a new baby, all kinds of wonderful changes. They're hooking me up with places to stay in Bogotá and Medellín, as well as a cell phone and Internet access, so I have a lot to be thankful for.

In terms of writing, I'm carrying over some time from the weekend, when I finished revising three chapters and sent them to my committee. In terms of reading, on the plane, I went over my notes from my last fieldwork trip. I spent some time upon arrival setting up appointments and getting the research materials I need ready. Tomorrow, I head to the archives first thing. I'm glad to be here and excited to get started!