Working Knowledge

Showering at 8:00am. Getting home at 5:00pm and collapsing on a couch from exhaustion. Answering e-mails at 11:00pm. In some ways, my AIESEC traineeship in Porto Alegre really wasn’t that different from the average summer job or internship in D.C. or New York. Nonetheless, as far as my actual internship was concerned, my summer volunteering in Brazil turned out to be a far more unpredictable and surprising experience than I could have expected.

I was hosted by the Centro Social Marista (CESMAR), a large, Catholic-affiliated educational complex located at the heart of a very low-income community in the northeastern outskirts of Porto Alegre. The CESMAR consisted of a high school, a technological education branch and a “socio-educational” arts wing that catered mostly to the younger children. Because the center operated as a charity catering to the surrounding neighborhoods, most of the education and services were provided free of charge.

My efforts were divided chiefly between the arts and technology wings. I taught two weekly Spanish classes, assisted with three English classes per week (which sometimes involved co-teaching), and co-taught two computer literacy classes per week. In the computer literacy class, I directed a human geography side project, through which students would apply the knowledge of Microsoft Office software they had just learned to discuss issues related to international and social relations (such as, for example, by creating graphs in Excel to discuss population trends over time in various countries). Learning at the CESMAR wasn’t all a one-way street for me, though; I also got to participate myself in the students’ theater, hip-hop and Afro-Brazilian percussion classes.

Out for a stroll with my Hungarian colleague during our lunch break.

To be honest, I was uneasy at the beginning about working for the CESMAR. I was actually afraid that my work would be tantamount to intensive babysitting, without actual work of substance or any true exchange. However, my supervisors at the center gave me a lot of freedom and space to make what I wanted of my experience. After only a week of training and observation, I had to sit down and draw up lesson plans—in Portuguese!—for all the different classes that I was going to be leading (especially since the each language class dealt with a group of a different level). Thankfully, my Portuguese had started out at a professional enough level that the task was not impossible, but it was a challenge nonetheless.

The people I met there also made the CESMAR memorable for me. My Colombian coworker, a fellow AIESECer from Bogotá, made my first few days on the job feel a lot less lonely. Although she was only there for a month, we bonded on the hour-long commute to and from the CESMAR and ended up becoming very close. There were also two volunteers from Germany at the CESMAR. They had been there for a year with another European agency, and they helped us two become more integrated by introducing us to the people of the center and showing us the ropes. Knowing some Portuguese really helped me become closer with my coworkers, and it even served as our lingua franca when another volunteer from Hungary came in toward the end of my stay. As the weeks progressed—and especially after my Colombian coworker left—I became close with many of my Brazilian coworkers, even being invited by the younger programmers in the technology center to go out with them on weekends.

We AIESEC EPs take ourselves very seriously. 

On my last day, the hip-hop instructor, Luciano, organized a goodbye presentation for me in which he and his students performed an impressive routine that they had worked on all semester. Halfway through the presentation, he changed the music and the students began showcasing some of the salsa choreographies that I had taught them when Luciano invited me to give salsa lessons in the second month. At that moment, I realized that my experience at the CESMAR had turned out to be exponentially more rewarding than I had initially expected.

And not just rewarding, but also reciprocal. The students might have learned a thing or two from me, but I learned something new from every one of them every single day. ■

Brazilian Time

The concept of Brazilian Time does not compute for the average American upon arrival to Brazil. It’s similar to Colombian time, in that when you are invited to a party at eight and you get to said party before around ten, you’re going to look like a fool. For Americans, who in Latin America and Brazil have somewhat well-deserved reputation for being outrageously punctual, this can be catastrophic. Specifically, one of my friends Trey, a fellow Texan, found himself waiting over two hours at a going away party for even just the guy who was leaving to show up. For me Brazilian time wasn’t much of an issue, my family in Colombia works the exact same way. We are late to most things where arriving on time is not imperative. 

Some might argue that this is the reason why Latin American and Brazilian economies require so much more development to reach the levels of first world countries, but I think its merely more indicative of a more relaxed culture, a culture where events are open, with arrival and departure times that are practically optional. Parties rarely end before three or four am and almost never end when the invitation says it will. It’s what Colombians call “relajo,” an enjoyable chaos, and its one of the best parts of going abroad.

Florianopolis-Brazil

My internship in Florianopolis consisted of week-by-week among four NGO’s that provided education and care for at-risk Brazilian kids while they were not in school. My lessons, conducted with my Catalonian partner Mar, were modules on multiculturalism, Human Rights, Ethics, and Environmental Responsibility, taught to children ages 5-15. Keeping those kids interested in those topics when they rather be on the playground or the soccer pitch, with only a basic knowledge of the language was some of the hardest work I have ever had to do.

But the time spent at the NGO’s wasn’t all work. We’d spend most time just getting to know the kids, playing with them on the playground or the soccer field, playing connect 4 or checkers, or any other myriad activities at some of the more organized NGO’s, while others only wanted us to teach and didn’t really want us to. The best NGO’s to work at were those that allowed you to get to know the kids and befriend them, as well as doing interesting things such as taking the kids to a short film screening or making the kids meals from our countries for lunch.

Florianopolis was such a beautiful and great city, so outside of work there were always things to do. Beach trips, sandboarding, and meals at churrascarias were always in the mix. The work was challenging in a fun way and the city was incredible. Florianopolis is indeed paradise.

Kenya - Its Wild Side

A trip to Kenya is incomplete without getting to see its wild side – the majestic mountains, the zig-zagging gorges, and of course the animals. On many weekends, I had the fortunate opportunity to see many wonderful parks around Kenya. One of the first weekends I was there, we went biking through Hell’s Gate. The name brought to my mind images similar to Dante’s Inferno, but when we arrived, I felt I had just stepped into a poster-perfect piece of heaven on earth. Words can’t really do justice so I will just have to have the picture speak for its beauty. 

 

Hell’s Gate was the first time I got to bike through a national park, where we spotted baboons, zebras, and even a giraffe.  The baboons were extremely cute, but while we were busy oohing and ahhing, they sneakily grabbed our packed lunch and ran off with it! We quickly learned our lesson after that. The best part was taking a tour down to the gorges (luckily it was sunny that day or else there would have been flash flooding in the gorges) and seeing the windy tunnels.

Another weekend, we hiked for five hours up Mount Longonot, an inactive volcanic mountain. It was one of the most grueling hikes I’ve been on but definitely worth the triumphant feeling when we finished. Everyone warned us that we would be covered in a thick layer of dust by the time we finished, but I did not believe them until I actually tried the hike. Unlike a regular mountain, this mountain’s dirt mostly comprised of sand, rather than dirt, and you could not avoid making a mess as you climbed. Never have I ever most looked forward to a shower than after that hike.

And finally, I can’t forget to mention all the animals I got to see – elephants, zebras, giraffes, and even lions. For someone who grew up watching Lion King and can recite the lyrics of most of its songs by memory, it was truly a dream come true. A group of us went to visit the Elephant Orphanage, where we saw baby elephants that were only a few months old but already were so big. Their mothers often were killed by poachers and so these elephants had to be rescued. The visit reminded me of how we need to continue working to preserve this world and the environment and animals that coexist with us, so that even generations down the line can appreciate all this beauty. I also got to take a trip to the Giraffe Center, where the main event was getting to kiss a giraffe. I highly recommend everyone trying that at some point in their lives J

Kenya - Working at LivelyHoods

So the reason why I am in Kenya is to see the Great Migration…just kidding! The real reason is that I heard about a nonprofit called LivelyHoods, which operates in Kenya, and became really interested in working there over the summer. I had never worked for a nonprofit before and so it was a good opportunity to see firsthand what challenges a nonprofit faces in a developing world and put what I learned (I was a Global Affairs major, in the economic development track) in college in perspective.

A little about LivelyHoods – it trains Kenyan youth to be sales agents for products such as solar panel powered lamps and more efficient charcoal stoves. The Kenyan youth are able to have a livelihood, while the customers in Nairobi gain products that improve their environment and that help them save money in the long run. My role in this nonprofit is a little bit of everything. We are currently trying to figure out the best way to expand and sell more products so that the company can become self-sufficient. I am also working on creating a low-tech sales management system that will help the sales agents record their daily activity when they are out and about in the field. My favorite part of working at LivelyHoods is definitely meeting all the sales agents and staff. Many of these sales agents have dreams to become chefs, or fashion designers, but are unable to afford the education required for that role. One inspiring figure named Alex was an orphan who worked his way up in this nonprofit to now be a sales leader and trainer. Talking to them everyday reminds me why it is so important to keep helping – even if it is one youth at a time.

There are many challenges in running a nonprofit, and even more when trying to run one in a developing country with a corrupt government, so I am really impressed by the tireless effort of all the people working in this organization. I just started a trial of the sales management system that I created with 6 sales agents so I am excited to start hearing some feedback next week!