March 17th - Eitan Kahn

Tuesday was our first day working with the entrepreneurs. This was what we came to do: help entrepreneurs in San Juan del Sur grow their business. Excitement was in the air and after a delicious breakfast of beans and rice, the groups quickly got cracking.

Most groups scheduled to work with the new entrepreneurs Tuesday, Wednesday and with the graduate entrepreneurs Thursday. This was to allow more time with the businesses who haven't received assistance and consulting before. Many groups spent the day traveling to their entrepreneurs' businesses. Whether it was seeing the kitchen where Condimentos was being made, meeting with the founder at Hotel Villa Isabella, or getting massages at Sol Y Luna (which of course was part of learning about the business.)

My own group was supposed to meet with Ivo Lopez from Click!, however, Click! was undergoing heavy construction work on their office and was unable to meet with us. So, being the flexible travelers we are, the rest of the group visited Richard Morales' office across the street from the hotel, and I joined the Pablo team for a ride down to the Costa Rica border.

Pablo is trying to start his own customs agency to help importers and exporters deal with the complicated legalities and paperwork of the process. He used to work for the government but was laid off earlier this year. However, he is not defeated by any means, and quickly found a small office space down by the Costa Rica border to conduct his work and meet with clients. It was about an hour and a half drive down to the border from the hotel and we got a feel for the Nicaraguan country side. We passed many farms with mainly horses and cattle. At one point, a huge group of cattle was being herded up behind us by ranchers. They streamed into the street and looked like a stampede. Curiously enough, we also passed by numerous large wind turbines. It felt out of place to see such green technology located in such a poor country. Someone said that wealthy private companies placed them there for personal interest.

When we arrived at the customs border, we noticed that it felt like a small town. There were kiosks and small stores and many people walking around and seemingly hanging out. We met up with Pablo and he showed us his office. It was two dusty rooms, almost completely bare except for a desk and a couple of chairs. He didn't even have his laptop there saying he prefers to leave it at home. We asked Pablo why he needed the office space when he could just work from his laptop at hoe, and he responded that the location was key to meet with clients and drop off paperwork at the appropriate place. The rest of the morning consisted Pablo telling us the details of his company and his biggest challenges. We learned that his core strength was expertise in the maneuvering of the importing/exporting process. However, he only had two clients at the moment and we realized we really had to develop his brand and offer to attract more clients and more work from the clients he currently has. Pabo also pulled a couple magic levers to convince the customs officers that we weren't American spies and we were able to see the inside of the customs area. After taking some pictures of Pablo for his website we set off back for the hotel.

We spent the majority of the afternoon creating a brand for Pablo. We came up with a name for his business, designed a logo, and drafted emails for him to send out to potential clients highlighting the skills and services he offers. After a long hot day of working with limited Wi-Fi, a bunch of us jumped in the back of a pickup and set off for the relaxing beach.

Sunday, March 22nd - Kesha Rochester

It is hard to believe that our time here in Nicaragua has come to an end. The night before our flight we sat around discussing our trip as we completed the evaluation forms. It was amazing to recount all the things we had done in just nine days. We had a few days to explore some of the beautiful things Nicaragua has to offer. Then we dove into our work with the entrepreneurs; assessing their needs and brainstorming how to resolve issues. Lastly, we had a day to roam San Juan del Sur as we please. This trip was the perfect balance of work and play.

But heading home was a bittersweet moment for me.  Traveling abroad introduced me to things I had not imagined. Many of the entrepreneurs felt as though they learned things from us. Ultimately, we all walked away with more from them than they did from us. The relationships and connections that developed during my time there with UMD students, faculty, UAM students, and the entrepreneurs are what I appreciate the most. I feel very fortunate to have been part of this opportunity with such great individuals. 

Mi Familia Nica

March 19th- Andrea Kyeremeh

Time in San Juan del Sur seems to move slowly; we've been here for a week and it only feels like a couple of days. San Juan del Sur is a beautiful town with the beach just down the street from our hotel. When you are walking around, you find that everyone is really friendly and will smile or wave as you walk by. Our hotel, Villa Isabella has become our home away from home and I'm starting to get used to Roxanna (our chef) cooking us breakfast every morning.

I have had so many amazing moments here in Nicaragua, but my most memorable experiences have been interacting with the locals. Today while working in the library, I met Michael. He is a student at one of the university's in Nicaragua and he is also a local entrepreneur. He told me about his plans to open up a new restaurant in San Juan del Sur that appeals to tourists. He had a questionnaire asking questions like "how often do you eat out during the week" that he wanted me to look over for him. I spent the next thirty minutes talking to Michael about his business and reassuring him that his English was great and that he didn't need to be nervous when asking tourists to fill out his survey. Moments like these are what I came to Nicaragua for. Despite our cultural differences, we can still communicate and understand one another based on our similarities as people.

I've had great time working on my team as well. We've collaborated really well and have found solutions to some of Pablo's concerns. One of our goals is to create a plan that is sustainable and has attainable goals that Pablo can actually accomplish. With that in mind, today we worked on the bulk of our project by creating a cost spreadsheet and a revenue tracking spreadsheet for Pablo. We also stopped by the library to get his Facebook up and running and talk to his wife Heidi about anything else we might need from Pablo. Interacting with Heidi has been a great experience as well because she is such a loving and open person that is also really driven and intelligent. She's also really patient when communicating with us since our Spanish is not always very clear.

At around 4 today, half of the group went to one beach and the rest of us went to another beach close by. The beach was calm and secluded and we felt like we were the only ones there. It was a great way to distress and relax after a long day in front of the computer. Once we got back from the beach, we had a large group meeting to decide how we would divide the money we had raised. Listening to everyone tell their entrepreneurs' story and express the needs that each business had, made me realize how much work we had all done in a short amount of time. I think we all felt a sense of accomplishment when we were able to divide the money in a way that would meet each team's needs.

To cap the night off, we dinner at Pelican Eyes overlooking the whole city of San Juan. Bruno (one of the post entrepreneurs) prepared a traditional Nicaraguan performance for us and we had amazing food at the resort/restaurant.

"Adventure is worthwhile"- Aristotle

Tuesday: March 17, 2015

Before I delve into the actual happenings of the day, can I comment on how ironic it is that St. Patrick's Day is widely celebrated holiday in both Nicaragua and the US, but not in Ireland...? Honestly: why?

Anyway--upon waking up 15 mins after breakfast had been packed away and most of the class had already head out for the day, I rushed to ask the oh-so-friendly staff of Hotel Villa Isabelle to whip me up a "needed in less than 5 mins meal".

My respective group, to be working with our "new" entrepreneur, was packing up and ready to head to the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. This was our first day after having dinner with Pablo, a local to San Juan del Sur, who was looking to establish a steady stream of income for himself in serving as a self-employed customs agent. We had plans to commute no more than 40 mins from our quaint hotel, in effort to further understand what went into Pablo's day-to-day operations, what colored his work atmosphere and what logistical concerns went into traversing the border.

While en route, our team marveled at a field of windmills that allegedly generated all the electricity necessary to power a neighboring town. About 20 mins after our windmill encounter we came to a dusty halt at the border between the two countries (Nicaragua & Costa Rica).




We got to see Pablo's humble work space, and understand the expenses and procedures that go into practicing his trade in Nicaragua. After talking in his office for about 20 minutes about potential solutions to his concerns, we ventured back up the alley, traversing his building to reach the main, vaguely one-lane'd road leading to to makeshift barricade. The road was accented with vendors and "Claro" advertising, and locals somewhat confused by our ethnically diverse group.

We approached the clearing in the border where people could freely move in and out, and we were quickly halted by an official in an Contagion-esque mask, a branded-black cap and the sort of professional air that insinuates subtle condescension. He immediately told me to put me camera away, as him and Pablo communicated about the legality of non-Nicaraguan visitors being admitted into the depot. A few favors were called in and we were allowed to enter.

I quickly tucked away my camera away and we continued. 45 mins after exploring the depot, and a pop-up photoshoot with Pablo (in effort to produce branding materials)... we were headed back to our comfortable villa in San Juan. Exhausted and very eager to discuss reimagined plans over a very necessary lunch, we continued our work chasing the ever fleeting wi-fi.






Later that evening I got a chance to vibe out with a really friendly local atop a vibrantly painted bus beckoning to be climbed upon. Here's a photo of me and the Tona pacified local man laughing about much of nothing. I spoke broken Spanish, and he spoke rudimentary Spanglish, but we connected on uninhibited spontaneity, and and the beauty of a rose-tinted sunset. Definitely a day to remember.

Thursday March 19- Zain Thaver

Today marked one week of the duration of our trip and now it feels like the trip is going by faster than it did before. We are currently in San Juan Del Sur and today was the day where all the groups met up and helped their entrepreneurs with their businesses. Everyone came down by 8:30 am for a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast consisting of; eggs, waffles, pancakes, fruits, and rice and beans. 

All the groups met with their entrepreneurs by 9 am to start a long day of work and activities. Our group met up with Bruno Palermo, an event planner, who needed help making a contract, updating his website, looking over his financial statements and editing any other imperative documents. Bruno is a tremendously smart guy who has a passion for what he does and we were really looking forward to helping him out and expand his business. The first thing we did was help him make a contract in both Spanish and English. His main concern was making a contract because when stuff breaks and does not go accordingly to his plan, the contract will help him implement the necessary changes to make sure everything is resolved. The second thing we did was help him update his website. The students the year before helped him make a website which turned out extremely well so we just helped him add and take out anything to make the website more appealing and up to date. The third thing we did was look over all his financial statements. We looked at his income statements and cash flow sheet to make sure everything was there and in the right order. By 1 pm, lunch was served at the hotel and this was by far my favorite lunch of the trip: Tacos! We all made our own tacos and it was so delicious. By 2 pm, we went back into our groups and worked more with our entrepreneur. We also started making presentations for the next day. Bruno was really happy that we helped him out with everything and to see a smile on his face warmed all our hearts with a feeling of satisfaction that we are making an impact on the lives of the people living here.

By 4 pm, everyone was getting tired of working so much so we all decided to spend the rest of the evening at the beach since we never got the chance to go to the beach. One of the UAM students drove her pickup truck to San Juan so we decided to take her car. This was probably not the most viable option because 8 of us sat in the bed of the truck, 3 in the back seat, and 2 in the front. This was by far the craziest, bumpiest, ride ever while being squished in the bed of a pickup truck. We reached the beach and it was a sight that I could not even describe. The sun was beaming, and the waves were slowly passing by, I could not wait to go into the beach. We all went into the water and had a fun time swimming, surfing, and laying on the sand. We also watched the beautiful sun set.

We all got back to the hotel by 7 pm, showered and ate dinner at a local restaurant. We got back to the hotel by 9 pm and started working more on our presentations and finished up any last minute work for our entrepreneurs. Today, I had an amazing and productive day helping my entrepreneur and going to the beach. I made sure to make the most of the time I have here because I know this trip would definitely be one of my favorite memorable trips. Going to the beach was immensely relaxing as I was able to forget all my worries and lay on the hot sand while watching the beautiful sun set.

Wednesday, March 18th - Gursahib Singh

Wednesday was a big day for all of us. It was our last full day to work with our new entrepreneurs. Having met Abigail (owner of Sol Y Luna) just two days earlier, we had a lot of work to do. The past few days had been spent understanding the business, analyzing problems and brainstorming solutions; it was time to finally develop our deliverables and implement our solution.

Our group split up into two teams to work on our two separate deliverables. The marketing majors of our group went to work on launching a web-marketing campaign for Sol y Luna which included a Facebook page, a Google plus account, and a website. The accounting and finance majors of our group (which included myself) went to work on organizing her budgeting, financing, and scheduling. For the rest the day our respective teams worked tirelessly on creating various excel spreadsheets, Google documents, and webpages. After a short lunch break, we went back to work, yet again.

After hours of working our team met up, worked out the final details, and reviewed and tested our deliverables. It had been a long day and although we were excited to be done, we were even more excited to present our deliverable the following morning. After observing Abigail and her receptionist record appointments, costs, revenue on paper we were confident that our Excel sheets would save her a lot of time and effort and that our website would attract even more customers. That night we slept well knowing the next day we would be able to implement our solutions and more importantly, make a difference- no matter how small- in someone else’s life.

Friday March 20th - Matt Paston

The Final day of work with our entrepreneur groups had finally arrived. It seemed like yesterday that we had arrived in Nicaragua, but now we were all scattering to prepare our final presentations due today. In the morning we all gathered for another traditional Nicaraguan breakfast. Although many of us looked worn down from a string of nights with a lack of sleep, we were excited to present all of the hard work that we had accomplished over the past few days.

            Each group showed their findings with the entrepreneurs in 15-20 minute presentations. Every group put together PowerPoint presentations that were all very professional looking and well done. In general, groups included the following items in these PowerPoints: basic overview of the business, SWOT analysis, list of improvements/recommendations, and plans for the future. Each group included certain items that really set themselves apart, such as accounting spreadsheets, new brand messages, refinancing options, and much more!

I was extremely impressed by how much work was done in such a short amount of time. Every group put in long hours of hard work during the day with their entrepreneurs and long hours at night to prepare for the next day’s work. After meeting with the entrepreneurs on the first day, we all grew attached to them and really wanted to do our best to help positively impact their lives and businesses in the future.

After each of our individual presentations, the entrepreneurs had the opportunity to speak about their experience working with us. Every single one of them expressed tremendous amounts of gratitude for our help and time. Seeing some of the entrepreneurs teary-eyed really had an impact on me. At that moment, it really set in how amazing this opportunity is that I had a chance to be apart of. As much as the entrepreneurs learned from us (from a business perspective), we all learned just as much from them (from a personal perspective).

My group had the opportunity to present our gifts raised through our fundraising to all 12 of the ladies of Condimentos del Carrizal. Seeing their faces as we rode in the pickup truck with all of the new materials strapped on the roof was an unforgettable feeling. The looks of overjoy and also disbelief confirmed in my head how incredible this opportunity is for everybody involved.

That evening we all dressed up in our nicest clothing for our last dinner in San Juan Del Sur. We ate at “El Timon,” a beautiful restaurant that allowed us to dine on the beach while listening to live music. The atmosphere was awesome and everybody reminisced on the amazing times we have had working with the UAM students, the entrepreneurs, and each other!

Monday, March 16 - Kathleen Garman

On Monday, we had half a day to explore Granada before heading to San Juan del Sur, where we would be working with our entrepreneurs.  Although there were no officially-planned activities, the whole group decided that we wanted to spend the morning doing a boat tour of the volcanically-created islands scattered throughout Nicaragua Lake.  Accordingly, we dragged ourselves out of bed early on our day off, packed ourselves in a small van, and headed out to the boats.

Because our group was large, we split onto two boats that followed each other around for a three-hour boat tour.  Our tour guide didn't say much, but pointed out islands of interest, like the one owned by former president of Nicaragua, Violeta Chamorro, and the island belonging to the family that owned the famous and well-loved Flor de Caña brand.  We saw islands that were for sale and islands with vacation homes that sat on their tippy tops in case of rising water levels.

One of the most popular stops on our tour was to Monkey Island, an island with a large variety of monkeys living on it. The most exciting part? For a small offering of food, the monkeys would come visit people on their boats. A mother monkey and her baby came onto our boats, and made friends with Olu and Max in particular.  After a short visit, our tour guide navigated us back to Monkey Island's shore and the monkeys hopped back to their home.

Another favorite stop on our tour was when we docked on a private island featuring a restaurant.  Some people ordered snacks, others swam, some explored the island, and still others took small naps in the many breezy hammocks. We stayed on the island for a while, but eventually had to leave so we could return to shore, get to our bus, and drive to San Juan del Sur.

After a rather quiet two hour drive to SJDS (most of us napped on the bus), we arrived at Villa Isabella, the hotel that we would be staying at for the duration of our time in San Juan.  We dropped our stuff off quickly so that we would have time to catch the sunset on the beach, which was a short five minute walk away.  After enjoying the sunset colors over the boats and the water, we returned promptly to the hotel to get ready for dinner, which was our first opportunity to meet our entrepreneurs in person.

Meeting our entrepreneurs over dinner was very exciting. Not only did we get to meet them and get to know them, but we also had the opportunity to get started on asking questions about our projects and our work. It was a little frustrating not being able to speak Spanish, as I was really interested in getting to know the ladies I would be working with.  That said, the wonderfully-patient Spanish speakers in our groups translated for us and made it easy to communicate despite the language barrier.

We ended our day excited to get to work with our entrepreneurs the next morning!

Saturday, March 21, 2015 - Matthew Rechen

Believe it or not, our final day in the beautiful city of San Juan del Sur had arrived.  While we were there for just 5 days total, we accomplished great things as a group and were able to transcend cultural barriers to make positive impacts on the entrepreneurs that we were lucky enough to work with. 

When waking up on the morning of the 21^st, we all felt a general sadness come over us as we remembered that the trip was coming to a close.  That being said, however, the morning also came with great excitement; our five days of consulting work had ended, meaning Saturday was our day to take in the beautiful sights of the city and genuinely explore. 

The more adventurous students spent their free day zip lining through the lush Nicaraguan forests, weaving through trees and careening down the side of a small mountain at exhilarating speeds.  Other thrill-seekers decided to test out the waves of the Pacific and spent their final day surfing at one of the local beaches.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the students seeking relaxation on their spring break went to a local spa and beauty salon, Sol y Luna, which was run by one of the entrepreneurs participating in the program!  While there, they helped to stimulate her business while sinking into their chairs and getting top-notch massages that ended the trip on the perfect note.  Of course, there was always the classic group of students that still needed to pick up those last minute souvenirs, so off to the local market they went!

When everyone returned back to Hotel Villa Isabella from their day’s adventures, the group convened for one final dinner together.  This time, we would eat at a local pizza shop on the water and enjoy the final laughs and stories from the week that we had no shortage of.  Also, I have to say that Nicaraguan pizza wasn’t half bad!  All in all, it was a great experience as we enjoyed the good food together and watched the beautiful sun sink beneath the horizon on the Pacific Ocean one last time.

Our Saturday ended with us packing our bags at the hotel and boarding the bus back to Managua in preparation for our flights home the next morning.  While none of us truly wanted to leave, we knew it was time for us to return to Maryland with new friends, great stories, and having made huge impacts on the lives and businesses of the Nicaraguan entrepreneurs. 

Sunday, March 15

Sunday was a great day. At this point we had been in Nicaragua for three days and everyone was ready to get working. We had already began experiencing the local culture and were staying in our third hotel of the trip in Granada. We had also seen some of the sites but had yet to really explore things on our own. That was ok because Sunday was our first free day with no plans or schedules to stick to other than being on time for our departure to San Juan Del Sur at 2.

We decided to use this opportunity to book a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in the country and fourth largest in the world, as a group. This was a great chance to get to see one of Nicaragua's most prominent features as well as get to know each other even better. We took a van out to the marina, and split up into two groups to fit on the boats. Our guides took us on a winding tour through the many islands on the lake, pointing out natural landmarks and the active volcano off in the distance. He also showed us the islands owned by the owners of Fleur de Cana, Tona, and a major coffee company where the workers lived in an adjacent island in wood and sheet metal shacks.

One of the islands was small and inhabited by monkeys. When the boats got closer to the island, two monkeys jumped on and started eating goldfish out of my hand. They walked around the boat and everyone got some great pictures. After that they took us to a small island with a diving board and a restaurant for lunch. We got food, swam and explored for the next hour until it was time to go back.

Once we returned, we had some time to walk around, go shopping and pack up our stuff before it was time to go. The bus ride to San Juan del Sur from Granada was about two hours and most people slept or listened to music. We knew we were headed to the hotel that Jane owned, so were we all excited to see what it looked like. We got our rooms and unpacked, ready for the longest part of our journey.

Dinner was a homecooked meal prepared by Jane's chefs. It was a delicious chicken with rice, potatoes, salad and bread with multiple pies for desert. We had our dinner with the entrepreneurs and this was our first chance to meet and talk with them. Everyone talked for a few hours and we got to know the people we would be helping and working with. After they left everyone got ready for bed, excited for our first full day of work the next day.

Final Presentations in San Juan del Sur - March 20th

Friday was the final day of work, culminating in the presentations of our time with the entrepreneurs.  The day began with the classic Nicaraguan breakfast to recover from a long night.  Despite having little sleep, we were very excited to present our hard work.  We then all showered and dressed in our best clothes.  In our best clothes, each group presented to the rest of the students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and their families. 

Groups all followed a similar format: beginning by presenting background on the business and entrepreneur they were assigned to, a SWOT analysis, and then a presentation of the deliverables and recommendations.  Despite the similar presentations, groups were very creative in what they came up with to help the businesses.  From debt refinancing, brand creating, promotions increasing sales, and the introduction of accounting, every group came up with creative and very helpful deliverables.  I was amazed by the work of the groups.  I was especially surprised of all that was accomplished in such a short time.  I cannot imagine what we could have done in more time.

At the end of each presentation, the entrepreneur would join the group at the front of the audience to receive their certification of participation.  Entrepreneurs also took the opportunity to express their gratitude.  They told stories of their past, their present, and where they wanted their future to be.  This is when we all realized just how important our work the last couple days had been.  Each presentation got emotional at the end of each presentation.

Ivo Lopez, the entrepreneur behind Click!, was very impressed with our presentation.  At lunch he asked me to go visit his home quickly to meet his mother, as he wanted her to meet the people behind the deliverables for Click!.  She told me that she was amazed by our efforts and expressed her gratitude even further.  

Afterwards we all went back and rested before getting dressed up again to head to “El Timón,” the best restaurant in town.  We were treated to the most amazing meal of the trip, with many ordering incredible lobster dishes.  Over dinner everyone shared stories of the trip and expressed their excitement to go out together one last time.  We went out to a couple bars along the beach and danced to every song.   It was fantastic to see how close and comfortable everyone had gotten with each other.