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. 

Hello!

As many of you know, Brazil is currently uprising to the turmoil it has been engrossed in for decades. With the raise of bus prices in Sao Paulo, cities across Brazil revolted. The issue is not about the bus prices per say, it is the fact that prices are raising ABOVE standard inflation, and thus will cause a change in salary rates. In addition, as a response to the protests on corruption in this country, police brutality is rampant. I believe this factor was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, and encouraged all citizens, young and old, to “go to the streets”. (unfortunately, many of them are breaking out into violent and dangerous protests)

My coworkers and I converse a lot about what is happening in Brazil- both in present and past terms. Perhaps in my next blog post, I will go more into detail about our conversations. They relate to the economy (mostly trading and inflation), government, and traditional customs. All of the conversations I have with my coworkers are stimulating and even enlightening.  In the office of CIFAL where I am interning at, there are only three people that make up the team!

One is Rafael, who coordinates technical projects and travels with FIEP a lot. He is well informed and practiced about architecture and history. The other is Vinicyus, who creates and gives a lot of CIFAL’s presentations. He is a graduate of international relations and I believe, one of the youngest managers on the team in FIEP. Then there is Patrizia, who is similar to a topic/events manager; she condones a large portion of the research and is well versed in French and interested in a variety of cultures across the globe. I love that each one of my coworkers bring something different, yet important to the table. Their characteristics and interests vary, yet when brought together they truly make an extraordinary team.

http://www.cifalcuritiba.org.br/english/

Currently, we are still working on the main project of “Anticorruption in Latin America”. The program brochure and structure of events are still being revised. For this event, over 800 people will attend and Singapore officials will be the main panelists (as I mentioned in my last blog, Singapore is the epitome of a non-corrupt society). Our main objective with this anticorruption project is to promote good business ethics and to demonstrate ways in which combatting corruption results in success.

As we work on minor projects around the major project, I have been assigned the task of translation and cleaning up both websites (Portuguese and English), as many things on the sites were outdated and or incorrect. Most of the translation I do is from Portuguese to English, and requires detailed attention to what the main message of the text is. Essentially, I write articles, programs, and summaries in English. I also revise/edit work that my coworkers write in English.

I am happy to report that my coworkers have adamantly expressed their excitement about the work that I do, and go on to say that they enjoy my writing style in English (as well as the on point translation- the only mistakes made are business terms I am not familiar with. As you can imagine, translating terms you are unfamiliar with or phrases that are common in a particular culture is tricky!). I am very grateful that they are open and honest about the work that I accomplish, and hope to do as much as I possibly can while I am still here- who knows, maybe even after I leave!

Internship: First day & New Experiences

                             

This is only a tiny portion of the building!

The name of the overarching company I will be interning at is “FIEP”- Federation of industries of the State of Parana (the state in which the city of Curitiba is located). FIEP has subdivisions- SESI, CIFAL, IEP, and SENAI. Each one of these branches holds a specific mission and responsibility to uphold FIEP, in conjunction with UNITAR (training sessions provided by the United Nations itself!).

What is interesting about the structure of FIEP, is that not only does the building itself hold valuable qualities (such as some of the largest auditoriums in Curitiba), but this organization is the starting point towards innovation, sustainability, and even education.

What exactly do I mean, you ask? Before I entered the FIEP building today, I had no idea organizations such as this existed. I am aware that there are organizations in the United States the focus on individual goals, meaning there is an organization made for just one population.

But not in FIEP’s case; FIEP is a center that provides education through SESI (meaning high school classes)- to the children of those that work in the industrial service sector (children of mechanics for example).  FIEP also has a staff for design (of logos, furniture, etc), a staff/school of fashion, a research team, a team dedicated to supporting and starting out small businesses/entrepreneurs, and something I thought was very interesting and creative within itself, a “creativity Lab”-which is exactly what it sounds like; you sit in the lab to be creative and come up with ideas to bounce off of the company for specific goals/projects or even on a large scale.  As we were walking around the building, my manager pointed out that every company needs a creativity lab- how else would google or apple be invented?

My office location, is in the FIEP building under the name CIFAL.

 

the office door & view from the center of the building.

The office room is comprised of 5 people that work for the branch, and luckily, I get my own desk! All of my work colleagues were very helpful in making me feel welcome and gave me a substantial amount of information about the company/work expectations.

My branch, CIFAL, is located in 9 different countries around the world (U.S, Brazil, 2 in Africa, Poland, Scotland, South Korea, China, and Malaysia) and focuses on sustainable urbanization. This can include transportation, the environment, the economy, government structure, and overall development. CIFAL provides training sessions and classes, as well as panel events, aimed towards specific audiences (depending on the project and goals). These audiences are mainly comprised of local actors such as political officials, diplomats, mayors, public and private sectors, and now even students! (as students are the “fresh young minds” of today which will enrich our future).   

Currently, CIFAL’s main project is focused on Anti-Corruption in Latin America. This massive event will be held in November and will have at least 400 members attending this panel discussion and business meetings. Panelists from Singapore will be attending and presenting, as Singapore is the prime epitome of a country sans corruption.

One of Brazil’s biggest problems is corruption itself. The entire public of Brazil is aware of this fact- even though Brazil’s economy increased exponentially; corruption has remained in its structure and government. CIFAL’s main objectives are to promote the detraction of corruption through awareness and education (they will have advertisements throughout the city, mainly in bus terminals where the public is most likely to see it on a day to day basis). My organization will also be promoting the concept of “business ethics” to workers in higher level positions in the business world, and will be asking them to present to target audiences.

As of right now for this grand project, my task will be to translate the program pamphlet and objectives into English- once it is completely revised by the management staff (statistics and finances are still being worked on). In addition to this project and translations, daily, I will be researching for the company and analyzing statistics based on my research.

This will pose a challenge for me, as I am a person that usually requires detailed instruction on how to do a job- which I would then pick up quickly and be very proficient in whatever task was required or necessary. However, simply researching daily, seems somewhat vague to me.

My question is… What am I researching?? Therefore, I must be proactive and establish this by tomorrow.

Last but not least, even though it was my first day at this internship and commencing an internship in general, I was finally able to comprehend how an office environment works as well as the hierarchy in the work environment. As an outsider, hierarchy in professions seems complicated and even vague. Though now, I realize that in order to achieve goals and overcome obstacles, you truly need everyone to work in their respective section- for this is what makes up an entire organization and success.

Additionally, Jonathan and I went to our second class at FAE (the university in the center of the city). Luckily we figured out a schedule that worked for everyone,

And will be attending classes that are for those majoring in linguistics. The class we are attending is called “Portuguese Language” and focuses on the variety of style that the language is written, read, and spoken; all three are different. In addition, we are learning persuasive, emotional, and poetic ways of speech/literature, and the influences that are changing the traditional language (even way of writing), such as technology and different tones.

An interesting point that the professor pointed out, was the fact that there are times when someone is “wrong” for speaking too correctly- as perhaps it intimidates people. She used the professor vs student model as an example. 

Learning objectives

Learning Objectives (*May be subject to change)

By Rachel Niemiec

1.       To compare the application of sustainability from classroom projects to the real world

Research past and future projects of CIFAL and assess the facets of achieving sustainable urbanization. 

  Understand this company’s resources and how they maintain sustainable finances from private and public sectors.

Ask colleagues/superiors how they prepared themselves toward the achievement of sustainability. Was this learned directly through the job, or in previous education?

2.       Observe how this internship condones international development and global connections

Discuss with superiors (Vinicyus) how international relations plays a role with this organization. Does CIFAL in Curitiba also work alongside the other 8 CIFAL organizations across the globe? Do they all have the same regulations? Do they hold similar meetings?

How does sustainable urbanization in Curitiba maintain a connection internationally? Does globalization play a part in CIFAL’s themes?

Focus on improving my personal understanding of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Research the United Nations millennium goals online and through the company. Take notes during meetings and during official’s lectures.

Understand the principles of FIEP in UNITAR. Why is the UN directly involved with CIFAL? Is it mainly just developing countries?

4.    Observe how this organization maintains well-being and overall health for its clients

How does this organization inform its clients? Through the LPD and training programs, what technologies are used? Follow ups?