Still felt a little queazy at the start of the week but Im slowly getting my strength and my appetite back. Fortunately, we only had a couple of appointments on Monday and they werent until the afternoon. We arrived at the austentaciously namely Loboguerrero/Wolf Warrior school (public) to retrieve the teacher/DoS questionnaires and whilst Joni kept the headman occupied, I waited outside to accost the parents as they arrived to collect their childen. Their was a general reluctance to complete the exercise on the spot but many agreed to take the paper home and return a completed version the following day. Im fairly sceptacle about this option but as this was the original delivery strategy, it will be interesting to measure the return rate. I managed to convince 9 parents to take a questionnaire before Joni returned and we continued.
We arrived on time at the Ivan Dario Lopez school though it was quiet enough to assume that I had made a mistake regarding schedules. We were kept waiting a little while as the diminutive DoS occupied herself with some paperwork before giving us her undivided attention and confirming that we were working on the Latin schedule (add 20 minutes). Shes a very cooperative lady and more cheerful than on previous occasions though she did look completely exhausted, a fact exaggerated by her slight frame and pale complexion. We waited patiently and chatted randomly with a few of the teachers about our investigation as the parents started to arrive. Attendance at these meetings has been consistently good because parents at all schools are obliged to pick up reports rather than rely on their child for delivery. This occasion was no different as one of the school managers kicked off the meeting, welcoming the parents and eulogising about the benefits of the goverment subside programme (PAC). Having delivered the good news, he then chastised everyone for misplaced pessisism (regarding the possibility of university entry) and for failing to exert sufficient discipline in the home. He was right of course and its certainly something Im going to have to work-on when I return to Newcastle.
It was quite an intimidating act to follow and Joni had considered making a joke of it but wisely changed his mind, after all not since a certain chef left The Muppets have the Swedes been known for their comedy timing. As always, the parents listened politely and even gave us a round of applause once the introductions and explanations were complete. Due to time constraints, the DoS once again asked the parents not to complete the questionnaires on the spot but to do them at home and drop them off the following day.
Having walked and talked our way around comuna 13 for 8 very intense weeks (in the sun) Im tired and in need of a break, however there remains the final and most significant (collection) phase of the investigation which is hardly the time to start losing your will. To make things easier, I thought it was high time we took the weight off our feet and let someone else carry the load. For a fare of 10 quid, I hired a taxi for the entire morning and we visited a host of schools, picking up as many teacher/DoS questionnaires as possible. We got great responses from El Poblado parents (private) and Loboguerrero teachers (public) though a decidely mute response from Humberto and their less than enthusiastic deputy head. There was also disappointment at Ivan Dario Lopez, the parents it appears do indeed lack discipline at home and we recieved less than 10% of responses. During this time, we also had the opportunity to drop-in on the Santa Lucia school (private) and leave questionnaires at the parents meeting. Once again, we would have to return the following day for collection and hope the parents would do the right thing.

Wednesday. In view of the relatively sweatless and odourless success of the previous day, I once again hired a cab and we did the rounds. Despite being on a grid system, the local neighbourhoods are often set at angles to one another requiring subtle changes in addressing and actually making driving and direction finding more difficult. First we popped into Santa Lucia and were initially disappointed having obtained only 2 from 20 responses however, once our presence in the school was known, a gang of children appeared in reception with their completed copies. We left with a total of 11 which is most certainly a success. Next we went to Moderno Los Robles (private) and whilst Joni waited inside to assist participants I waited outside to verbally wrestle them into submission. There was a certain tension in the air today as the area has recently seen the arrival of a new slum settlement (or invasion) and apparently there had been some shooting the previous day. I kept back in the shadows and without wishing to startle anybody (a no-no under such curcumstances) managed to convince 6 parents to commit 15 minutes of their time to the cause. We thanked the DoS for her time and headed for the final destination of the day at Luz Haydee (public) to collect questionnaires, not from the DoS this time but from the rebel teacher that we had spoken to the previous week. S/he had done the business and handed over the completed papers in an appropriately clandestine manner as we discussed his/her work. Ironically it was today of all days that the disinterested DoS decided that he wanted more information about our work. Joni kept the DoS occupied whilst I chatted to the insider. S/He said that he would like more exposure for his talented childern from abroad and naturally I would like to help but exactly how this can be achieved is difficult to know.
The tour is complete for the day but the day itself is a long way short of complete. My tourist visa only allows me to stay for 2 months and whilst getting an extension is apparently no problem, Joni and myself have to travel to the north of the city to the Directorate of Security Administration in order to complete the process. When we arrive, there is a huge back log of people waiting but fortunately for us these were Colombians with their own issues, foreigners have a seperate area which at the time of arrival was almost completed deserted. For Joni its all very easy, hes been through the process before and simply has to pay the extension fee of 15 pounds. I, on the other hand have to get multiple photocopies of everything in my possession, including body parts and return the following day before Im even considered worthy of a stamp. Even a Swede would have trouble finding the funny side.