Well, the trip to the Northern Zone was really eye-opening...in more than one sense!...
at one point, a very young girl who works for the national development committee came to me and said: I wanted to introduce myself, I hear you are MI, the new admin?...Yes, thank you, we´ve talked so much on the phone these last days...
Next thing I know, I´m in the middle of a semicircle of 5 people, all looking at me with wide admiring eyes...((hello, I´m pretty average looking, really...)) ..then there was this really awkward silence and I said: eh, yes??...and they said: oooh, it´s just that we´ve heard so much about you, they are really impressed with you, they say you´re a superstar...("they" being the country director, deputy country director and program officer)...they did??...yes, superstar, that´s the exact word they used!...((wider eyes on their faces))...oh, really?...
Now, that is actually intimidating...I now have to try to live up to that reputation!!...and, if I think about what I´ve done this past three weeks, nothing seems extraordinary to me...I mean, yes, I´ve added value in small ways, but, I don´t feel I´ve done anything to deserve the "superstar" moniker...
So, this part of the trip was scary, but nice! LOL!