Journal, August 11, 1976 PM

I have visitors again tonight, Jay Hasheider and Dave Quarles. I expected Jay, but Dave was a surprise. We went out for pupusas {Salvadoran snack food} and beer with Steve Pamperin, and lots of B.S.’ing. Gary Forest left me 3 “Hoard’s Dairyman” magazines to look at. Wow, what nostalgia, reading about some {Artificial} Breeding co-op’s new “hot” bull, and about the value of computerized cow matings. They had a short article about a dairy cattle show in Costa Rica by the guy who judged it. He was very impressed with their cattle.

I talked to Chico {Rodriguez, Peace Corps Agriculture Program Director} today. He was all inspired about the study he wants to do up in Chalatenango – the Río Tamalasco area. He has a good approach, if he can implement it. He wants to look at the technological stages that farmers are in. Do a typology, then look at the cost-benefit of raising farmers of a given stage to the next higher one. He also wants to organize 5-10 PCV’s {Peace Corps Volunteers} to work on plot work and analysis to find out what the transition really does cost (a pivotal item). It all sounds good, and I even got enthused about it, but I don’t know if Chico will ever follow through. It’s going to be tough, & he does have to be a Peace Corps PTR {Program Technical Representative} too! I’m all for him though, he’s trying, and if he does it, it will be useful to DGRNR {Dirección General de Recursos Naturales Renovables}, and maybe have broader applications. His approach appeals to me much more than the general, unfocused and “we have to do such and such a study, so” approach at Planificación {Planning}.

Chico said he talked to Juan Coward about Jaime {Olson} and me wanting to transfer down there. He wasn’t very encouraging. He said that Juan said his recommending us would help our chances, period.

<I got a letter from Sofia.> She says she can’t make it up here in September – exams in school and a big paper, etc. I expected that outcome, but it still was disappointing. I guess more so because she sounded pretty down, said I hadn’t written much and she couldn’t find a telephone to call me on September 15, so she thought she’d have to forget it. Poor kid. I’m going to have to write her and find something cheerful to say.

Gert {Verberkmoes} wrote too. She says the long drought in Wisconsin broke July 23 with a big tornado. It took down trees in her neighborhood. I hope they got the rain without the extras at home.