hmmm...

ok. Im a little homesick. maybe more than a little. i just got back to Santiago yesterday morning from a week in California with my family for christmas. It was so great to be there and to spend time watching movies, eating a great big dominican dinner for christmas eve, going through all of our family traditions that I would have hated to miss. It was such a relief to just slow down and let myself turn off 'survival mode' - not having to constantly ask questions, struggle to find the right words, worry about things working out, or navigate anything (except I-5 from the saftey and comfort of my own car).

being home i think also made me realize what a different world i live in here, and how far away i really am from everyone i care about. of course its nice to be connected by emails and skype (best invention ever) but i couldnt help but feel that the world at "home" was slipping right by me and most of all, without me, while im busy being a little dot treading water in a huge south american sea. a happy little dot most of the time but still... it was hard to get on a plane to come back to a place where i dont have close friends yet and it seems like things take twice as long and are twice as hard to do. i've always loved the challenge of living abroad and finding myself in the middle of a new and challenging situation, its almost like a game. the harder it is, the more exciting it is when i figure it out, or find a place for myself. right now, i kind of want to take my toys and go home.

i know this feeling will pass like it always does, especially once the holidays are over but for now im kind of stuck ... one of my roomates asked today why i was so unusually quiet, was i sad? mad? plotting world domination? At which point i laughed and then started to cry right into my bowl of spinach fettucini.

the magic of maitencillo

Had an incredible trip to a special little place called Maitencillo this weekend. The Presidential elections were today so everything in Chile comes to a halt. No alcohol is sold from 9PM the night before, most stores and shops close, the endless stream of political propaganda is suspended on TV, and all of the campaign signs that have literally covered the streets and all public places for the last 3 months must be taken down for a 24 hour period leading up to election day (clear minds, clear decisions the thought goes). I figured since I can’t vote I would still take advantage of the opportunity for a clear mind.

I found this great little ocean village when I was on a scouting trip with some other guides from Santiago Adventures last weekend. We drove up in the truck, got out at the town “center” which was basically 8 or 9 little huts set up as make-shift seafood stands of salmon, mussels, clams, abalone, calamari, shrimp, lobster and scallops. Salsa music was playing from a portable radio, the sun was shining, pelicans were swooping for scraps from the brightly colored fishing boats, and the weathered fishermen were wrapping up their nets having just dropped the daily catch at the stands. Major “Buena Onda” –my favorite Chilean expression – “Good Vibe”. I’ve been thinking about how I could get back ever since we drove away so I rounded up some girlfriends and we headed westbound this weekend… getting there and back to Santiago was quite the adventure (isn’t it always!?) but worth every confused second we spent on micros, collectivos, speeding taxis, and buses.

We spent the night at this place that had so much personality… there was an Indiana Jones climb to reach our little treehouse cabaña following crisscrossing dirt paths and stone steps through an enchanted forest of morning glories, nasturtiums, bamboo and eucalyptus. The cabaña itself was beautiful and cozy with candles, sea glass, hanging mobiles, and furniture made from seashells and driftwood.

After basking in the warm sand and drinking hot chocolate on the beach we shared a couple bottles of white wine and made a wonderful dinner of fresh salmon and mussels right out of the Pacific, homemade bread, and salad with nasturtiums we picked from our deck. I think we all felt a little bit like troupe of mini-Pablo Nerudas. I fell asleep with the sound of the ocean coming through the small port window I had left open, feeling very lucky and muy contenta.

El Nido.... NESsT

Here are some photos of my walk to the office (our street Jose Arrieta and our office door) so you could share a little bit of my NESsTER day-to-day. Hard to believe I'm starting my third week, time is flying by!


So what do I do there? A little background… NESsT is an international NGO that works in Latin America and Central Europe with headquarters in Santiago and offices in Budapest, Hungary and San Francisco. They work in Social Enterprise (developing a profit generating business tied to the social mission of the NGO to facilitate self-financing) and Venture Philanthropy (investments from donors into the enterprise or the NGO itself that ultimately generates a social rather then a financial return). Its exciting to me because I believe there are so many good people working very hard with worthwhile organizations in the Nonprofit world and really changing the world and their communities for the better. However, many of these organizations spend so much time in the exhausting cycle of fundraising just to stay afloat and while the directors and employees have a lot of focus and passion for their cause the burnout rate is very high, pay is quite low, and overall accountability in the nonprofit sector leaves a lot to be desired, especially from the perspective of serious donors.

NESsT is taking an approach of combining the tools and strategies of business with the mission and values of the NGOs to facilitate social change in a sustainable, creative and smart way. The importance of civil sector organizations (NGOs and nonprofits) is finally beginning to be recognized on a broader scale and many of the top MBA programs now offer degrees and certifications in Nonprofit management, emphasizing social innovation and the development of specialized management skills that are very much needed in the nonprofit sector. That’s kind of how I came to NESsT… I was getting quite frustrated with all the problems and inefficiencies I was experiencing in my work in the nonprofit sector and thought there HAD to be a better way to do things. The ideas of venture philanthropy and social enterprise (as well as microfinance) are gaining incredible momentum and hopefully will be able to pass the experimental phase in the coming years and become viable ways to literally change the world. NESsT is a leader in the movement and I’m hoping my experience with them will help me to decide if this is a career I would like to pursue.

My main responsibility as a "NESsTER” is working with the Latin American portfolio in the Venture Philanthropy Fund. Its neat because I get to meet face to face with the people behind the organizations that focus on Women’s rights, public land conservation, community development, and education, as well as work with their business plans, investment briefs, accounting, and assist a bit in consulting. I’ve been very impressed by the degree of professionalism and success that NESsT maintains across Latin America… they are a balance and a bridge between the down to earth, passionate people that are attracted to the nonprofit world with people that know how to actually get things accomplished in the business world. Movers and shakers with heart and a conscience, you could say. Lots of work but I’m enjoying it! And I work in a pink building… how can that not be cool? ☺