Final post

As my final week in Brazil comes to a close, I am able to reflect on the work I have accomplished as an intern at CIFAL, under the organization FIEP (Federation of Industries of the State of Parana). Not only did I accomplish tangible work, but I also learned a variety of new skills and forms of communicating in a work environment.

              When commencing this internship, I was unsure what to expect and in addition, unsure of myself. As this was my first internship position in the “real world”, it was initially hard to visualize the product of my ambitions. Yet after the first couple of days I felt as if I fit into this world naturally by being proactive and maintaining a stable work flow. Whenever I finished my tasks or had questions while completing work, I would ask my coworkers what I could do. There were even times when my supervisors themselves had questions, such as the proper English translation of a text/work, or what I thought about a specific idea they were forming. This process made me truly feel like a part of their team, and a part of CIFAL as a whole.

              The upcoming intern that will fill my position must know beforehand that they are in for a treat. They will more than likely learn and acquire more skills than what they expected, and in the meantime form new connections with the wonderful people around the office. The new American intern will be able to take transcripts from the English version of CIFAL website (www.cifalcuritiba.org.br ) if they need a model for what is expected in terms of English translations. The majority of the English translations were produced by myself, and revised by my manager. They may also look at other works that I translated, such as special invitation letters, biographies, and event schedules/dissertations. Another thing that I have left behind for the upcoming American intern is new knowledge to my current coworkers about American culture and lifestyle. Thus, they will be able to further understand more about the new intern.

If the new intern has any questions relating to work or Curitiba itself, please do not hesitate to give them my email! I would be more than happy to give them a list of exciting things both in and outside the workplace.

And a final thank you to my coworkers:

Dear CIFAL team,

              I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for your kindness, determination, and overall support. Without each of your unique perspectives and insights, working at CIFAL would be a completely different experience.

              I want to thank Rafael for taking the initiative in handing out new tasks whenever I completed what was needed to be done, and also, for offering help when I was feeling doubtful of my work.  Rafael was not only helpful, but allowed me to build efforts in strengthening my business communication skills and helped me to envision new ways of producing work - from the simplest translation tasks, to the more lengthy works such as revisions and brainstorming for upcoming events. He was able to give alternative suggestions and allowed me to aid him in important projects and work meetings.

              I want to also thank Vinicyus for reassuring my completed work. Vinicyus was active in demonstrating what work needed to be improved or what work was excellent. He also helped me a lot on the different schedules for the upcoming International Anticorruption forum. Lastly, we spoke about how International Relations plays into the real world and CIFAL itself, as we both share the same major.

              Last but not least, I want to thank Patrizia for enlightening me with her knowledge of creative economics and international cultures/customs. Patrizia was one to always come up with bright ideas and was encouraging while I was at work. Her enthusiasm in the workplace concerning important issues around the globe, particularly those of development and human rights, was a personal inspiration that I will never forget.

This work experience in Curitiba, Brazil is one that has made a definitive change in the way I apply myself, in terms of both critical thinking and written work. The people I have worked with here as well as the skills and insights I have gained will remain in my professional book as my career takes flight.

Turning negatives into positives

I would also like to talk about the "negative" experiences I've had in Curitiba thus far, and expand on these experiences in order to analyze the positive aspects.

1. When I first arrived here, I had a different host family. Throughout the three weeks that I stayed with them, they were never at home due to work, and living situations eventually got tense. The tension mainly increased due to misunderstandings, passiveness from one side, and the small family was having a noticeably difficult time adapting to their compromise of taking in two new strangers. Eventually, I decided to switch host families because I felt like both sides were uncomfortable and unhappy. The lesson I learned from this experience was that one needs to be direct and honest, and must take action themselves. Additionally, if such action is taken, the situation will fix itself; after the house change, I moved in with a big family who are kind, accepting, generous and were more than excited to have me with them when I arrived! One of the main reasons I don't want to leave Brazil is because of this family and their amazing personalities and generosity. Their company will be greatly missed but never forgotten when I move back to the U.S.

2. During a late hour on a Friday night, I was waiting for the bus near my house and got robbed. That night, I was planning to meet up with my friends in the center; the night resulted in my wallet and camera being stolen from me (luckily, I put my wallet in my pocket when I knew something felt wrong and luckily I was not physically harmed). This is obviously one of the scarier situations, yet I believe I learned most from it. The lessons I learned were the following: Always plan in advance, even if plans pop up last minute. Safety should always be a priority- in such an event, it is always better to call a taxi even if you have looked at the bus schedule and stood outside 3 minutes before the expected time. Additionally, in the event of being robbed, remain calm, and give up the items that the thief is demanding. Your life is more valuable than your possessions. If you feel like something is wrong by observing your surroundings or getting a "gut feeling", take action. Call the police, put your wallet in your pocket, walk away, etc.

3. My plane ride from Brasilia into Curitiba got switched mid-flight since the Curitiba airport was closed due to weather conditions. This resulted in our arrival to a different airport 2 hours away from Curitiba- on top of everything, it was in the middle of the night. Once my plane landed, the passengers were required to gather their bags and standby until further information could be released. The airline staff were having a hard time communicating to the passengers and were also unsure of what was going to happen. That being said, an hour later the passengers were told to catch a bus to a hotel 2 hours away (close to another airport) and then take the 6am flight into Curitiba from the other airport. Many of the passengers, including myself, felt frustrated, cold and tired. Once we arrived to the hotel, we only had 2 hours to rest. 

In this situation, I learned to simply "roll" with what inconvenience is thrown at you; instead of panicking and throwing a fit (as many passengers were doing) all you are capable of doing in that moment is being alert yet relaxed. Eventually with time, you will be out of the situation.

4. During my stay in Brasilia, I saw the pre and post results of a man that was beat to death. In this situation, it is always best to call for help (stay inside of the car, unfortunately these kind of situations are capable of being set ups). 

Overall, each of these experiences have taught me important lessons needed for life- both relating to personal and professional living. I have learned to be more direct, more adaptable, and how to remain calm in tense/serious situations. Experiences such as these are thrown at everyone at some point in their lives, and I am actually grateful to be learning so much in a place that has so much hope and potential for its future. Brazil is a developing country, but the key word is "developing"; each and every day, development in this country reaches a new high (take the uprisings and protests for example! The citizens in Brazil have finally awakened and realized the time to take action is now.) and it is amazing to observe such changes.

The lessons, observations, and new insight I have obtained while here cannot compare to any other experience or place I have been to. Brazil has extended its reach to me and demonstrated valuable qualities that I can now safely say are a part of me, and additionally, those lessons will always remain with me!

Continuation of Work at CIFAL/FIEP

Currently, we are still working on the project that is working to combat corruption in Latin America. And honestly the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, seeing as how the protests in Brazil are increasing in response to corruption. (p.s- the bus fares went down today because of them! From R 2,85 to 2,70). Last Thursday, I stayed for a long meeting which discussed the company’s upcoming international forum on anticorruption. We mainly discussed the structure of the event, the organizations attending, and the poster competition- or in other words, how to further engage our target audiences. The poster competition is for young adults that wish to engage in promoting anticorruption in this society. There are already cool posters out there which will give you an idea of what I'm talking about. (find these at: http://app.cpib.gov.sg/cpib_new/user/default.aspx?pgID=1314 )

In addition, we are working on a project with Argentina and an organization called IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) that focuses on Road Safety in Latin America. Death tolls from vehicle accidents are on the rise here, which is why this project is focusing toward reducing the amount and enforcing seminars for safety (seatbelts, speed, road signs/pavement, etc). 

In Argentina, they have an ongoing project called “Yellow Star”. Every time there is an accident with a motor vehicle involved, this campaign group will paint a yellow star in the spot where a death occurred, which in the long run will raise awareness and hopefully increase competence within drivers around the city.

Another interesting project currently in the “potential for the future” phase, is the potential of a partnership with an organization in Canada which focuses on cultural mapping in countries. The desired goal of this cultural mapping is to bring about tourism and to highlight the important aspects of unrecognized cities in certain countries. I still need to do further research about this project, but it is something that certainly pertains to my focus and interest. 

p.s- the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) is an organization located in New York and Washington DC. This organization focuses on development in Latin America and the Caribbean. They hold events, promote donations and increase awareness to the general public and partner organizations that are able to aid in disasters or development in the relevant regions. 

This past week, I was able to call the IDB headquarters and talk to one of the representatives. It was an interesting experience, as I am so used to hearing Portuguese around me. I suddenly felt relieved to speak to an American on the phone, and more importantly, speak to someone who cares about such important matters. I am hoping to invest more research and time into the IDB and other similar organizations located in DC for next semester.