Kate Lena: Owner of International Shipping Company

I´ve had a decent week...the usual ups and downs, but overall it has been good. We had the inauguration for our Youth Health Promoter Training School and 28 students showed up! This year instead of one school, we have 3 promoter schools with 18-24 students in each group coming from all 10 primary schools in Corinto. The group seemed really excited and enthusiastic to be part of it. On a sad note, I had to say goodbye to 2 of my favorite soup kitchen kids, as they will be moving to Costa Rica today. Although I am excited for their journey to CR and hoping that their life will be good their, I will definitely miss them.
So with these events at work plus normal comedor activities, health fairs etc... its been a good wekk. And then it got better...I got to enter the port! I´ve been wanting to get into check out the port basically for the entire time that I have been here in COrinto, but since they are so strict, it just hasnt happened. Luckily I have a friend who works with customs for the port checking containers coming in. Last night it actually happened. It was a long process, but totally worth it. First we had to go back to my house so I could change. YOu must be wearing pants and close toed shoes. The shoes was a bit of a dilemma, seeing as the only close toed shoes that I have here are sneakers, bright green and yellow crocs or heels. I ended up in heels (not stilettos or anything too high, but still heels). Then we went to her office to write a letter to ask permission that I could enter. She wrote on the letter that I was a visitor. After a walk to the port and getting rejected by the Bossman, we returned to her office to rewrite the letter. ¨We´ll just make something up!¨ she says. I read the letter over her shoulder as she is writing realizing that she has just made me the owner of an international shipping company and that we are entering the port at 9:30 pm to check up on one of my garlic containers. I immediately get a bit nervous wondering if they are going to ask me questions about my ship, my containers, my company. I never realized how strict they were there, but it makes sense. I totally could have been smuggling in drugs or guns or who knows what. Anyway, this time Bossman says Yes, of course I can enter, so we do. I put on my hardhat and my orange bright glow in the dark vest.

How cool. Right now there are 4 ships here-one from LA unloading containers, one from China who is delivering sugar to somewhere else and the other 2 we did not get to see. I honestly could have sat there and watched them load sugar for another hour. For someone, like my friend, who has been inside the port many times, it was old news. But for me, it was so interesting! I have no idea why...it shouldn´t be really. There is not too much to see, especially at night. But I found myself wondering where they came from, who the workers were and where they were going. Anyway, it was a fun field trip for the night and I´m hoping the opportunity will present itself another time to explore...maybe during the day and maybe we´ll get to board a ship!
Signing off,
Kate Lena International Shipping Company Owner