Grafting in the Jungle

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Just a quick note since thats literally all I have time for. I am officially working my bollocks off. I am grafting like no grafter has ever grafted. And you know I can graft! I am a grafteros, a graftiera, the chairman of the board of Los Graftieros S.A, I am a grafita - a small grafter.

Working for two publications, one in spanish, researching by reading only in spanish, communucating only in spanish, writing my questions for interviews in spanish, doung the interview in spanish, transcribing into english and then writing an article in spanish is fucking hard basically. Not only that but after working all day and talking in spanish, i go straight to two hours of spanish lessons with a teacher who, sadly, doesnt have great english herself, and then puts me through hardcore translation of business articles from los tiempos with loads of irregular verbs to conjugate!!! I am officially knackered. But loving it of course. I came down with flu as well because the season just changed here and the nights are cold, and everyone in town was sneezing the same day i was. But that will pass.

So tomorrow I have to interview the director of a large industry rep, CADEPIA, and then I am proud to say that I also just now set up a second interview for my los tiempos piece with a woman who owns a small shop that I pass every day on my way to the cocha banner magazine, which sells half news clothes and half used - v controversial thing to be doing in bolivia so i took the plunge, fresh from my spanish class which was fucking hard work (you can tell im back at work - my expletive count is back up, no?) waltzed in there on my own and started a conversation, then went in with my "yo trabajo para los tiempos/im an english journalist" spiel and told her about my story and that i needed to talk to a vendadore de la ropa usada, and she agreed to be interviewed tomorrow after my spanish class. had a long conversation about several things but i understood her (and her very elderly old lady friend) when she said that she could understand me really well and my spanish was good. Nice to hear but its never enough - my goal at the end of this month is to get invited to dinner at the canelas household where we will talk about lots of hugh falutin subjects, the problems of todays world etc, all in spanish, and of course they will ask me loads of things about my work back home and i will enlighten them on my life and the journalism world in europe, all in spanish. I really like luz marina canelas, editor of los tiempos, and i know she speaks a bit of english but i hear that she is afraid to make mistakes with it so she keeps schtum (spellcheck??).

Anyway have to go play on the motorway now and catch a bus there too but can I just say agaun for the record, I dont think i have had to work this hard for years, even though my work at home is challenging, physically and mentally this is really stretching me and i have to give it absolutely everything i have and then a bit more. Ximena wants me to help come up with a style guide for the magazine too after i opened my big boca and said that they needed one.... unstead of being pissed off that i have that much audacity, she looked at me like jesus had just walked into the room and took the idea right on board. which us good because everyone needs a style guide, a house style. so, No time to socialise, but i dont care because whatever spare time i have i want to sleep or chat to my host family. I am also still pitching magazines back home with various stories and interviews i have set up in south america.... im tired.... ok get off yer cross!!! nah its not really work is it. I´m not shovelling through shit with no gloves on like this really unfortunate community of campesinos living (yes - living there) at cochabamba´s municipal dump and selling anything recyclable they find. im a lucky bitch no?

Just wish me luck for this article I have to turn in on friday. Let it kick arse. Let me not fuck it up

x

PS CEC!!!!! Sorry for the lack of emails!!!! I will write you this week!!!! xx

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Comments

[Daniel Semper]

Call me
Call me , call me, call me. or give me your house phone and a time to call you. (your cell is off?) Greetings :) I was also with flu and bad throat. This year is going to be cold as Hell .. if Hell was supossed to be cold ;)