Drafts and Draughts

Mark and I are now into the "home stretch" and that means the real work has well and truly begun. On Wednesday we were asked to produce a draft of our document by the weekend in order for our supervisors to be able to make comments. After working for two days straight we produced a 10 page (single-spaced) draft of the document, which we sent off just after midnight last night. The real challenge was writing sections with information that remains incomplete as we wait to be provided with some data that we think is extremely important for our arguments about the effect of the mediation programs on the efficiency of the Salvadoran justice system. All we could do was note the gap and move on. This did prevent us from being able to write our conclusions and the executive summary our contacts at USAID have expressed the most interest in.

I have to say, I don't think I have ever appreciated Mark's superior professional experience until this week. He has been invaluable in helping to keep me grounded in the realities of how projects and evaluations usually work in the "real" world. My frustration has been all but boundless on countless occasions and Mark has had the unenviable job of breaking through my idealistic perfectionism and reminding me that I will face these challenges for the rest of my career so I might as well learn to accept the limitations and work around them. It's been a hard won lesson but, I am sure, a lesson I would have learned sooner rather than later. That is not to say, however, that I will not be frustrated when confronted by these challenges. I just hope it means I will be able to resign myself to the limitations and find creative ways to work around them.

We will be spending the majority of this weekend continuing to polish the draft and begin the process of extrapolating the conclusions we can make at this stage in our process. We expect to get the comments from our supervisors on Monday and spend the rest of Monday and Tuesday getting the product as far as we possibly can with the information we have. Wednesday we have scheduled a meeting at USAID to present the report (ideally the finished product but we may have to settle for less). Eva leaves town Thursday so, come hell or high water we present what we have Wednesday. Mark and I are already resigning ourselves to the possibility of needing to finalize the report after returning to Washington.

The past week has not been ALL work, however. We have been able to squeeze in a few, much needed, nights out and a few equally necessary drinks. We went to see the new Batman movie with Delmy and her kids a few nights ago. They're always a fun bunch and that was a very well timed night out.

Thursday night Mark and I also briefly met with an acquaintance of Eva's who shares a surprising common interest with me. He is deeply fascinated by all things Celtic. Now, those of you who know me well are well aware of my love of Celtic music. Slightly less well known is my interest in the myths and traditions of the Celts, especially the Irish for obvious reasons. Interestingly, this friend of Eva, a native Salvadoran, shares this interest and is extremely knowledgeable on the subject. Eva has been trying to get us to meet for the majority of the summer but it had not panned out until this week. It was an unlikely encounter that was certainly fascinating.