One Week: Two ND Visits!

I've been in Granada for a little over a week now and I have already been visited by three fellow Domers. My friend Mariano Estrada came out this past week. We went to Mariano's old vacation home which has now been turned into one of the nicest hotels in Granada. We shared a laugh when Mariano realized that some of the doors that had once been there now led to nowhere, and the house next door was now the hotel's kitchen. Mariano and I share a similar interest in helping artisan groups from rural villages gain access to competitive markets. He's developed a company named Custom Elevation, which you can read more about here. He will definitely be popping up again during my travels!

This Sunday I was visited by my friend Agustin Garcia, who is currently doing research in Nicaragua. Augie is staying with another ND student Vanessa, while he does his research in Managua. Augie is conducting an ambitious project that seeks to examine how people's perceptions of their own financial literacy level relate to their confidence when working with banks, their desire to learn more, and a number of other factors. More information about his work can be found here. Augie and I enjoyed an afternoon in Nicaragua, chatting about our travels and time at ND together, while I got to know his host family a little bit. Time will tell if Augie makes it back out to Granada for a more adventurous visit!

Augie and I in Granada's Central Park