June 4- That was, like, soooo awkward

We arrived at the Latacunga office of FODEMI and met for a while with the “jefe.” Then, thinking we were ready to start interviewing, they thrust us into a room full of about 20 clients applying for a second loan. Completely unprepared, Neil and I began clumsily asking questions. About three clients across the front row were very eager to answer our questions. But being unprepared, we were fumbling around trying to figure out what to ask and what not to ask in a situation where we had not expected to do interviews.

If things were a little awkward at first, they got much more so in a couple minutes. While trying to ask questions, a baby in the room with its mother started wailing. What’s a good way to deal with a crying baby? You give it milk of course. Only, this mother sitting directly in front of me didn’t pull a bottle out of the baby supplies bag, like most American mothers. She went for the more, natural, option. Yes, she just hiked up her shirt and started breastfeeding her little one right there in front of us.

I could hardly believe it. Now, as I looked back and forth between the clients that answered our questions, I felt compelled to somehow not look at her. This was made difficult as she was sitting right between two of the men who were answering the most questions. Then, another baby, a couple seats down the front row, started wailing. Yep, more of the same.