Experience My Perception

So I'm starting this blog to record, well, me.  And with this blog, I hope to make a point - share my current perception of the world and what I hope to perceive in the future.  In my description of this blog, I shared a quote from the movie Anna and the King.  It was that, "Most people don't see the world as it is, they see it as they are. A good king needs a broader view."  Is that not the greatest quest for everyone?  Without getting too religious, are we not all in the pursuit of happiness? And if there is happiness to be had, what better way to pursue it than to open our minds and hearts to see the world as it really is instead of just the way we choose to see it?  Wouldn't doing this dissolve all of the bigotry and persecution?  Wouldn't seeking better understanding even eliminate much of the self inflicted pain that we won't let go?

Understand that it isn't possible to perceive the world exactly as it is alone - there are too many variables, but we can develop the habits to treat everyone fairly, to withhold our judgements, to be full of humility and charity.  The world's greatest teacher not only taught us how, but also showed us.  Why would we choose not to follow?  Christ teaches that we are, with him, heirs of the kingdom of God.  Well if heirs to the highest throne, then do we not also, like him, need a 'broader view?' 

I'm on my journey to broaden my view.  I realize that I'm behind many in fulfilling this quest - but I also understand that it doesn't matter, as long as I arrive.  I hope that you will enjoy yourself as you Experience My Perception.

What more needs to be said?  Peru is so awesome it has a logo, everybody wears it (the logo, not Peru), and I'm sure some people even have hidden tattoos of it - extreme.  Maybe that's my calling in life - to popularize a logo for America...or maybe not.  Instead, I guess I'll just share Peru with you.  

I am currently an intern for the Utah State University Jon M. Huntsman School of Business's SEED Program.  SEED means small enterprise education and development.  The mission of the program is 'to provide Utah State University students with a hands-on, once-in-a-life time learning experience while simultaneously educating people in developing economies in new business creation and development skills.'

In essence, we provide the tools and teach the skills necessary to help locals start their own businesses.  The SEED Peru program is organized into an annual cycle of three semesters.  David Buhler, Riley Hendrickson, and myself represent this semester's interns.  Our primary responsibility is to prepare the current program participants to present their business plans to investors towards the end of June. 

To give a little more background, to make sense for future references, there are three players in the SEED Peru program. First is obviously USU.  Then we have Wasatch Social Ventures.  That company is a Utah owned and operated investment company that administers all of the loans to our participants.  Lastly there is DanPer.  DanPer is a local agricultural giant that produces much of the world's asparagus and artichokes. They recruit the programs participants, which are most often employees of DanPer.  DanPer also collects all of the loan payments to help standardize the process from the movement of interns.

When we first arrived in Trujillo, we were surprised to have a fourth person from USU here with us.  Supe Lillywhite graduated from USU this past semester and is currently employed by Wasatch Social Ventures.  His responsibility is to basically audit the program and make any changes since the program is still relatively young.

For the first few days of being in Trujillo, we were without internet in our apartment, so we did most of our work at DanPer. Below is a beautiful picture of us as we began our tour of a processing facility, which they are super proud of.

Supe Lillywhite, Mark Bailey, Riley Hendrickson, and David Buhler.
We are dressed up as 'visitors' ready to tour the processing plant
at DanPer.

Whelp folks, I'm going to hit the sack.  Night y'all - Look forward to tomorrow's post about Trujillo, Huanchaco, the beautiful weather, exotic women, and the wonderful culture.