Stranded at Third

As I lie in my bed, slightly intoxicated after a day of piña coladas, beer, and hamburgers with the crew of Far, Far Away, and vibing to some good American folk music ("Janglin" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros -- I strongly suggest a five minute break from your day to listen), I have a chance to sit and reflect, holistically, on my experience this summer. I am heading into week 11 of 12, and the 73 days I have spent here have provided me with much to reflect upon. I have met unique people, seen unique sites, eaten unique foods, and experienced unique experiences. I have learned basic rules to running a company as well as mistakes to avoid, I have learned a new language and about a new culture, I have learned about relationships and friendships, I have learned about trust and abusing trust and, most importantly, I have learned about myself. I realize that it is somewhat conceited to write about myself, but this is a blog, and isn't that the point? A random aside: The other day I was thinking about it, and aren't blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. just the socially-acceptable forms of egomania that today's society thrives on?  Yet, as I near 2,000 pageviews, it is clear that people do indeed want to read about my summer... And being over 4,000 miles away from home, that is a comforting, albeit narcissistic, thought -- coincidentally, iTunes has now moved on to "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. So I write...

Marcio, showing off his sense of
style, wearing Naiara's shades.

I frequently question my decision to come here this summer. I had a better-paying, and more relevant, alternative internship set up back in Michigan. However, I turned that down for, what I figured would be, an experience of a lifetime. Luckily, I got what I was hoping for -- for better or worse, this experience has certainly been once-in-a-lifetime. I have met so many interesting people, some I hope to someday see again, and some I hope to quickly forget. I am grateful that one of my roommates/workmates/lifemates (we are essentially living together), David Rood (author of this wonderful blog), will be coming back to the University of Michigan next year to study law, and I hope that we will continue our friendship. My boss, Marcio Ruiz Maya, is another individual that I hope I am able to stay in contact with after my time here ends. Marcio is likely the sole reason I survived my foreign internship at INACE. His sense of humor and compassion make him very easy to get along with, and his unique and quirky personality will be missed. The majority of my Portuguese knowledge comes from his teachings (I have reciprocated by helping him in his English courses), and we have learned a lot about each others' cultures from one-another. An example of his sense of humor is as follows:

Marcio, pointing out some
piping on board our ship.

Last fall, Marcio visited Philadelphia for a conference. It was his first and, thus far, only visit to the U.S. He frequently tells me that during his time in Philadelphia, he never witnessed a "white person" working. According to his observations, "only blacks, Mexicans, and Arabs work in America", and he repeatedly reminds me of this. One day last week, he observed me listening to music while working, and told me that I was a "matador" -- or (directly translated) "slayer". He oftentimes pokes fun at company workers, telling them that they "matar tempo" -- "kill time" -- and thus are "matadors". Later that day, he asked me where I was from, as he never can remember. I reminded him that I am from Madison, Wisconsin. He looked it up on Google Images, and, not surprisingly, found many images of last year's Scott Walker protests. He told me, "I see that everyone where you are from is a 'matador', I understand now. I told you that white people don't work in America! And now, I see that it is not your fault that you are a matador." As I explained to him that the protests revolved around Gov. Scott Walker (keep in mind that, here, people cannot pronounce the hard "t" sound, and pronounce it as a "tch" -- ie. Matt = Match), he quickly pointed out, "No wonder everyone is a 'matador' in Wisconsin. Who would want to work for "Scotch" Walker, cousin of Johnnie Walker? He must always be drunk..."

While this example can likely only be fully appreciated in person and after having worked for two-plus months with Marcio, I still felt that it was a fun example of his sense of humor.

Being 4,000+ miles away from friends and family for an extended period of time, especially at an internship that I have not particularly enjoyed, has been a struggle. It has lent me much time to think about how much I miss my friends, my brother, my sister, and my parents (as well as the rest of my family in Wisconsin and in the U.S.). I have had plenty of time to think about my goals in life, about what is really important to me, about what I value most in my friends, and about what unnecessary frills I can (and should) consider trimming. For me, as a student at an out-of-state university, the summer is a cherished time of year, when I am able to reconnect with high-school and childhood friends, and spend time with my family, who I do not often get to see during the school year. While I am sad that I have not been able to use this summer to do these things, I do not regret my decision to take this internship. After all, there will be more summers, and this was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. I will still have plenty of time to spend with my family. There will be more backpacking trips and roadtrips with my friends. I will have more opportunities to go golfing with my cousin and grandma. However, I do not think that I would ever have the opportunity to spend a summer working in Brazil again.

By the way, I battled my way out of the pickle and slid safely into third. Unfortunately, the next batter popped out, and I was stranded there. Just goes to show that sometimes you can't rely on your teammates to help you out. Gain the extra muscle and hit the home run next time. Luckily for me, I will be advancing home within the next couple weeks, anyways.