At the Copacabana (The real one!)
My name is Sasha Sears, I am a 25-year-old Canadian woman who picked up and moved to Rio de Janeiro in January. I've been here for four months, and for my first post I'd like to share a little about my work and cultural experiences here.
Working in Brazil
I am doing a one-year internship with a company called Vale, and I work as an HR analyst in the Vale Education area. Vale is the second largest mining and energy company in the world, with operations on all five continents and over 30 countries. I'm really glad I took this opportunity, because I have seen firsthand what a socially conscious company can do for communities and the impact when you have the funds and the bargaining power to get things done. On the other side, I'm not naive enough to think this offsets the environmental damage and sheer water and energy consumption needed for mining, but it's a major focus for this company and that was important to me in terms of where I decided to provide my talents and skills.
I get to manage three of the largest international educational programs Vale offers, and I interact with a variety of stakeholders on a daily basis and am increasing my international network tenfold. I am managing seven-digit budgets and learning quickly the financial ins and outs of a large, bureaucratic, multinational organization. My work is challenging, frustrating, exciting and rewarding, all at same time.
I am managing a sourcing program for Vale in Canada and will soon bring 20 young and talented Canadians to Brazil for a development and training program, after which they have the opportunity to be hired full-time by the company. I also work with the SWAP program, where we bring Vale employees from all over the world for a job rotation in Brazil for four months to spread best-case practices, cultural understanding and to spread the Vale culture. Finally, I am working with an external partner company, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and we run a program where we exchange employees so they can learn more about the partner company and find better ways to work together and further our business relations.
As you can see, the scope of these projects all touch on internationalism and education, but they are very diverse and challenging.
The company culture is very hierarchical and bureaucratic, and, while frustrating, it's allowed me to be resourceful and diplomatic in my interactions and tasks.
People in Brazil work very hard, something that was a shock for me when I first arrived. Coming to South America, I was expecting a laid-back pace with a two-hour siesta after lunch ... No such thing exists in Brazil, much to my disappointment. Vale, specifically, is growing at an amazing rate, so the pace is very fast and projects are picked up quickly and expected to be executed in short time frames. This is the exciting part - the challenge of a tight deadline and working with a team to get the project finished on time. So far, I really enjoy my job here and I will provide more insight to the company culture and business environment here in Brazil later on.
Living in Brazil
I live in one of the most violent cities in the world. The parents were supportive, but definitely anxious about me living here in the beginning, but I wanted a challenge and to see for myself if the world's perception of this beautiful city was true. I can say that, so far, it's not. Is there violence? Of course, any major city has crime and violence. You just need to be smart - stay out of dangerous areas, be observant of your surroundings. Flashy watches, phones and jewellery should be avoided, as well. Because I am careful with the above, I cannot think of one time I have felt unsafe here. I like to think I'm slowly but surely changing the mindset about this city with my friends and family, and now I hope I am doing so with you, as well.
I came to Brazil knowing about five words in Portuguese. A lot of people have called me stupid, brave and daring, but I really did not think about it before coming here. Duh. I guess I just figured it would all work out, and mostly, it has.
I will say, it's very frustrating not being able to communicate something as simple as wanting a glass of orange juice, but at the same time, I love the challenge of it: being creative with hand gestures, using a mixture of French, English and whatever else I could think of to get my point across. The experience of learning a new language in a foreign city has allowed me to be more resourceful and creative, and also provided me with more patience. I'm not fluent in Portuguese yet, but I'm getting there.
Life here never ceases to amaze me. Every day there is something new and exciting to see, to learn, to experience ... and I'm happy I have the chance to share that with others through this blog.
And how did I find this amazing opportunity, you ask??! I am an exchange participant with a student run organization called AIESEC. I have been involved with this organization for many years and it has provided me with a lot of opportunities, something I would like to touch on in a later post.
I hope you enjoyed my first post, and look forward to sharing more about my experience here in the coming months!
Tagged with
sears,
sasha,
brazil,
internship,
vale
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SASHA SEARS
ANTHONY LOTT
Comments
Hi Sasha,
I enjoyed reading about your adventure as I too studied in Brazil. I did a semester of my masters in Sao Paolo. Its a great country with very friendly, life-loving people. Coincidentally I now work for Vale as well here in Toronto. I look forward to reading future posts!
Adam
Hi Sasha,
Interesting reading your post. I lived in Rio for almost a year in 1975-76 when my Dad was posted there with CN to help them with their railway network. It was an amazing experience for a 16 year old.
We lived in an apartment (Rua Gaston Bahian, 1196 I believe... long time ago) overlooking the Lagoa and spent most of our time at the Yacht and Racket club on the lake.
New Years on Copacabana was amazing.
Enjoy your time! Good luck!
Rene
"I'm really glad I took this opportunity, because I have seen firsthand what a socially conscious company can do for communities and the impact when you have the funds and the bargaining power to get things done."
I'm sure Sudbury appreciates Vale's "socially conscious" culture. Though you're second statement rings true: they are big enough that they have enough bargaining power to crush individual holdings/unions. Could have kept Inco (and Falconbridge) in Canadian hands had the feds cared. We need less global business managers.
I'm sure Sudbury appreciates Vale's "socially conscious" culture. Though you're second statement rings true: they are big enough that they have enough bargaining power to crush individual holdings/unions. Could have kept Inco (and Falconbridge) in Canadian hands had the feds cared. We need less global business managers.
...and more education on the proper use of "your and you're".
If you are (you're) going to make such a statement, why not post your real name?
"Less global business managers" means isolation. Isolation means less competition. Less competition means higher prices.
This is the 21st century. Get used to it.
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