So far. . .

We've been here for a month!  It hardly seems so. I wish it were possible for me to convey everything interesting that happens down here - I'll try.


Let me introduce Jacqueline and Elena.  One of these days, I'm sure I'll have a picture to share of them - they are employees of DanPer who work along with us in everything that we do.  They work here in the office at our apartment - and they are AWESOME!  They love to sing to their music - and like me, not so well. . .We've decided to start a choir together later today featuring music by Mana and Enrique Iglesias.  I'm sure we'll be a hit - and I've convinced them that we'll soon sing for the presidents of Peru and the United States. I don't think they believe me.


We have a little restaurant that we eat at almost everyday for lunch and dinner.  It's cheap and fantastic.  We pay about $2 for every meal, so I'm sure to come home loaded and fat. Jacqueline and Elena come eat with us on our lunch breaks - One time, I got Elena to admit that we are her favorite interns (sorry past interns, but we are pretty jammin down here!).  Along with that admission, Jacqueline said that she's going to miss us when we leave - which is still two months away.  I guess they just like the way we joke around with them.


Yesterday was Jacqueline's 24th birthday.  So for her birthday we went to DanPer for a 'surprise' cake.  The employees there sang her Happy Birthday, in English no less, and it was HORRIFYING and hilarious. I'm not sure if I'll ever have to contain my laughter that bad again in my life - I'm pretty sure they beat out the Green Family! After this little surprise, we stole both Jacqueline and Elena away to go eat lunch at Jacqueline's favorite restaurant.  It was a seafood joint and pretty top notch.  I ordered a filet of fried fish - it came out so beautiful that I about died from completion.  However . . . it wasn't so pretty on the inside.  I started on the wrong end of the fish and I think I ate a little fish blubber. Ya, I still gag thinking about it - kinda ruined my entire meal, which was bound to be DELICIOUS!


As interns, we are currently working furiously on completing our business plans.  The completed business plans will be pretty fantastic.  They will include the executive summaries and all the information someone would need to run the business - included all the financial data.  For the last couple of days, I've been working on a, may I say, beautiful excel spreadsheet for use in the business plans.  But to bore you even less, I'll explain why this is necessary.


On the fifteenth, we have to send our completed business plans to the investors and the Go! Global students that are coming down (like when I went to Europe, USU also has a group for South America and Asia). The students will show up here in Trujillo around the 20th of June.  For the next week, I will be assigned a group of students to basically tear apart my business plans.  We will visit all of the locations for the future businesses, we will try to prove and reprove the business processes and financial projections so that we can conclude with a recommendation for the investors.  


At the end of the week there will be a large meeting with the investors, the students, and hopefully all of the participants as well.  At this meeting we will give a presentation on all of our businesses.  This meeting is crucial - crucial that we perform in the best interests of the participants, basically fight for their business.


I'm really grateful for this opportunity. I have the chance to develop, along with the other inters, nine businesses and then seek financing for them. To work on their behalf is a remarkable experience.  We have grown our relations with them to the point that they trust us and value our opinion. Obviously the participants are still in control of what their business is going to be - but the fact that they allow me to make suggestions and changes to help them become better, it's really gratifying.  Wow, I love awesome opportunities like this one!


I'm still working on setting up a DropBox account so that all of us interns can easily share our pictures with each other. Once I do, I'll post them!  As of right now, I don't really have many that aren't already of Facebook. Have a great day!

Huanchaco Beach

Huanchaco Beach is the greatest thing that has happened to the modern business man-intern-dude in Trujillo.  Somehow, I was convinced that it was necessary - for reasons that I'm still not clear about - to skip working in our little office and hit up the beach instead.  No matter the intent behind it, I was definitely not against the idea.  And for good reason too!  It is still unknown, but I have a suspicion that I may be laying on the beach for the next couple of days as well.  Pitty me, it's a tough life.

Check out this short video of our day -

Good thing the public transportation system is highly regulated down here or I think I might have something to worry about.  

I'm going to try to take my camera with me everywhere; I will be posting more videos and pictures every few days - and some funny or interesting stories about my stay in the land of the eternal spring.

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.

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at USU

When asked about my greatest experience within the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, I would have to fill in the last multiple choice bubble "All of the above."  One of the school's four pillars is Global Vision - and my continual acquisition of this trait was inspired and is driven by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Go Global and SEED programs.

Counsel is often given stating that a person should find a career that they love.  A career that won't seem like work.  A career that is defined by the character of the laborer.  I believe along with this great advice, that the pathway to that chosen field should also maintain those same standards.  If a student does not love what they are studying, then I conclude that that student needs to choose a new career!   For almost two years I cut against my own grain, convinced that I knew what my future had in store for me.  In December 2010, I finally realized that I needed something more; that something eventually changed the way I thought and felt about myself and my future.

I had the opportunity to study abroad along with 19 fantastic students and 3 excellent professors; students that amazed me, professors that became my mentors and friends.  We studied for seven weeks together; three at USU and four in Eastern Europe.  Together we learned the importance of being 'globally minded,' but the greatest lesson that I personally relearned was that - I AM CAPABLE OF ANYTHING.  With a recent career goal change and acceptance into the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, I am finally myself again. 

I believe that fear and ignorance prevent most people from doing great things.  I live my life by asking myself two simple questions, "What is available to me?" and "Why not?"  By these standards I educate myself about the opportunities that exist, I eliminate excuses that may present themselves, and I become a 'Doer' that demands perfection and excellence.

I invite you to explore your own life.  Are you happy with your career? Your education? Your habits and lifestyle? Your goals and ambitions? Your relationships?  Are you who you should be?  I encourage you to search for opportunities that will aid you in maintaining and progressing your personal life standard.  Strive to define yourself, instead of allowing the world to define you.

Below is a link to a Shutterfly photo book that I created that shares my group's experiences on our Go Global Study Abroad in Eastern Europe.  Feel free to explore.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtWrZi1bNGjlI