The Last Hurdle

Mark and I jumped our last hurdle today at work. We presented our findings to date at the USAID offices to people from the Democracy and Governance Office as well at the Strategic Planning Office. I'm not going to lie, I was terribly nervous. I really didn't eat anything substantial all day and I'm betting if I had needed to shake hands with anyone they would have felt me trembling. Luckily greetings here are a kiss on the cheek so I dodged a bullet there.

In reality the presentation went very well. It was obvious that everyone was pleasantly surprised with the results of our work and our analysis of the mediation programs. The report is still not done and Mark and I will have to complete it after returning to DC because we are still missing some very important numbers. Just the same, our USAID audience was very pleased with the progress to date and even expressed surprise at how much we accomplished in just a couple of months. Interest has been expressed on several sides in distributing our final report, which I think would be excellent. Our humble contribution would be one of the few examples of a quantitative analysis of a mediation program made publicly available for quite some time.

Once that stressful, though ultimately positive, experience was over, Mark and I returned to the office for the last time. With the presentation given and no chance of getting the missing data before we leave, or even in the coming weeks due to some major events, Mark and I are left with nothing more we can do here. I know I'm excited to take a couple of days off and away from the office before returning to pretty much jump into classes.

We also took tonight to have our "ultimas pupusas en El Salvador" with Delmy and her son Fernando. I have grown very fond of Delmy and her children and I must admit I am going to miss them. They're warmth and friendliness has been one of the highlights of my time here. If I can work with someone half as capable and friendly as Delmy in every job I have in the future, I will consider myself uncommonly lucky.

Tomorrow I will finish packing and rest up for the always long and stressful process of flying internationally. I am fully expecting this to be a good trip home. I will have family to greet me at the airport and I look forward to seeing all of my friends in the coming weeks.

This summer has had its ups and downs but luckily the positives outweigh the negatives. I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a learning experience and I was not disappointed.