Hola Chicos!
So, for the weekend, as it is a long weekend, Monday is a holiday. Nati invited me to come home with her to her family's house in Rafaela Argentina. It is about 550KM Away from Buenos Aires to the North-West. It is a smaller city with a population of 83,000. Its nice to get away for the weekend! We took the over night bus, I am quite tired now, and its rainy, but I hope it will clear up and be nice for Sunday and MOnday :)
Yay for Holidays!
Chrystal
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Pressure Is On
Hola Chicos!
So, work officially started on Wednesday June 15th 2011. And I already feel the pressure. What I didn't know before I came here: The region is financially unsustainable; aka we are flat broke. Literally, we can pay the basics of housing and salaries to all of my team for only 1 month. This is assuming we do nothing. So turns out - I have to do everything. Of course I set my goals high and want to create many new large scale partnerships with companies here including: KPMG, Deloitte, Artemisia, Tata Consultancy Services, InBev ect..... But - Now, if I don't success immediately, We don't be paid. This is not ok. I should of been warned of this situation because as hard as I want to work, my work depends on the decisions on businesses and although I am convincing, realistically, I will not achieve everything I set out to do. So - the pressure is on. My whole team is looking at me and my counterpart Cristian, to work our butts off and bring in loads of money immediately. Yeah, not as nice as I would of liked it. Creating partnerships wouldnt be so bad, except to add on to the difficulty of selling, is the fact that we have Visa issues here in Argentina, thus making our international internship program MUCH more difficult to sell.....sooo....Although I am excited to be here, I am feeling disappointed with the situation and not being forewarned so I could make a FULL decision with that information included.....
But, Pressures on - its time to SELL! :)
So, work officially started on Wednesday June 15th 2011. And I already feel the pressure. What I didn't know before I came here: The region is financially unsustainable; aka we are flat broke. Literally, we can pay the basics of housing and salaries to all of my team for only 1 month. This is assuming we do nothing. So turns out - I have to do everything. Of course I set my goals high and want to create many new large scale partnerships with companies here including: KPMG, Deloitte, Artemisia, Tata Consultancy Services, InBev ect..... But - Now, if I don't success immediately, We don't be paid. This is not ok. I should of been warned of this situation because as hard as I want to work, my work depends on the decisions on businesses and although I am convincing, realistically, I will not achieve everything I set out to do. So - the pressure is on. My whole team is looking at me and my counterpart Cristian, to work our butts off and bring in loads of money immediately. Yeah, not as nice as I would of liked it. Creating partnerships wouldnt be so bad, except to add on to the difficulty of selling, is the fact that we have Visa issues here in Argentina, thus making our international internship program MUCH more difficult to sell.....sooo....Although I am excited to be here, I am feeling disappointed with the situation and not being forewarned so I could make a FULL decision with that information included.....
But, Pressures on - its time to SELL! :)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Lost in Translation
So, some things are extremely hilarious when they are directly translated from Spanish to English....I burst out laughing at my teammates when they have said something innocent but in English it is extremely....not....haha Of course, I am not laughing at their language skills but they are amazing, but I am laughing at those translation that just should be.....
Examples:
How can I turn you on?......Asking me what keeps me motivated at work.
What satisfies you?.........Aking me what makes me happy in life.
I was just playing with myself.....Talking about doodling on the blackboard prior to our arrival
and Spanish to English:
Estoy Excite.....which translates to....I am sexually excited....not I am happy. haha
Estoy Embarazada....which translates to.....I am pregnant....not I am embarrassed. Oops!
And thats life :)
Examples:
How can I turn you on?......Asking me what keeps me motivated at work.
What satisfies you?.........Aking me what makes me happy in life.
I was just playing with myself.....Talking about doodling on the blackboard prior to our arrival
and Spanish to English:
Estoy Excite.....which translates to....I am sexually excited....not I am happy. haha
Estoy Embarazada....which translates to.....I am pregnant....not I am embarrassed. Oops!
And thats life :)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Life and Jokes in Buenos Aires
Life is becoming more entertaining every day in Buenos Aires!
Lets see now...
Yesterday, after work, half of us returned home, and the other half went to the movies. Us, at home, got ready and headed out to a bar to say fairwell to Nati, the current MCVP Communications, who is returning home to Brazil, and then moving onward to India for an internship. But we all headed out, and the people at the movies were supposed to meet us after. Well, we have been having an issue with the keys, we only have 3 pairs and there are about 10 of us living here currently! And you cannot LEAVE the apartment building without keys cause you must unlock from both the inside and outside. In afterthought, this is a huge fire safety hazard and would not fly at home. But anyways, the movie folk came home, but sans keys.....and they had VERY conveniently gone grocery shopping for the house cause we were stocked out. hahah So here they are, sitting outside our apartment building, with all our groceries, ringing our doorbell, with nobody home, and NO idea which bar we had gone to! hahah They eventually got IN TO the building when somebody else left, and sat outside out apartment. They realized they could access our internet while sitting outside our door, so they did and figured out which bar we were going to, but still, the groceries! What to do with all the groceries?!??! haha So they went knocking around door to door in the apartment trying to find somebody to watch our groceries! Well, people in Buenos Aires are not overly friendly so they ALL ignored them!! hahah FINALLY after 20 or so doors they found somebody willing to even OPEN the door for them and watch all our groceries while they came to the bar to meet us, get the key, and return home again. hahah Ghetto Life. :)
Also, work wise, there is A LOT of work. All day. Everyday. I cancelled my Spanish classes this week to be at work. and when I say all day; I mean from 10AM-8PM. But it is going well - I just am waiting for more free time, cause during the day we are learning so so so much, but arent given anytime to actually complete the work we are finding questions to and figuring out we have to complete. So my To-Do list gets longer and longer daily!! YIKES!
But for now! Klaus, another teammate of mine, who is from Austria, has arrived this morning, we had a LOVELY full breakfast all together, the 10 of us here, and now we have to wait 2 more days for Jose, our last member to FINALLY join our team!!! :) It is VERY exciting stuff to think we almost have our COMPLETE TEAM!!
Hasta Luego!!
Lets see now...
Yesterday, after work, half of us returned home, and the other half went to the movies. Us, at home, got ready and headed out to a bar to say fairwell to Nati, the current MCVP Communications, who is returning home to Brazil, and then moving onward to India for an internship. But we all headed out, and the people at the movies were supposed to meet us after. Well, we have been having an issue with the keys, we only have 3 pairs and there are about 10 of us living here currently! And you cannot LEAVE the apartment building without keys cause you must unlock from both the inside and outside. In afterthought, this is a huge fire safety hazard and would not fly at home. But anyways, the movie folk came home, but sans keys.....and they had VERY conveniently gone grocery shopping for the house cause we were stocked out. hahah So here they are, sitting outside our apartment building, with all our groceries, ringing our doorbell, with nobody home, and NO idea which bar we had gone to! hahah They eventually got IN TO the building when somebody else left, and sat outside out apartment. They realized they could access our internet while sitting outside our door, so they did and figured out which bar we were going to, but still, the groceries! What to do with all the groceries?!??! haha So they went knocking around door to door in the apartment trying to find somebody to watch our groceries! Well, people in Buenos Aires are not overly friendly so they ALL ignored them!! hahah FINALLY after 20 or so doors they found somebody willing to even OPEN the door for them and watch all our groceries while they came to the bar to meet us, get the key, and return home again. hahah Ghetto Life. :)
Also, work wise, there is A LOT of work. All day. Everyday. I cancelled my Spanish classes this week to be at work. and when I say all day; I mean from 10AM-8PM. But it is going well - I just am waiting for more free time, cause during the day we are learning so so so much, but arent given anytime to actually complete the work we are finding questions to and figuring out we have to complete. So my To-Do list gets longer and longer daily!! YIKES!
But for now! Klaus, another teammate of mine, who is from Austria, has arrived this morning, we had a LOVELY full breakfast all together, the 10 of us here, and now we have to wait 2 more days for Jose, our last member to FINALLY join our team!!! :) It is VERY exciting stuff to think we almost have our COMPLETE TEAM!!
Hasta Luego!!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Life is Better Again
Our Team is reunited and we have a new Addition! Nati has arrived in Buenos Aires - she is my ICX counterpart who will be living in Santiago! :) YAYYYY!!!! Lais is also back from her week away in Amsterdam, and brought us back yummy yummy treats!!
ON Tuesday evening a bunch of us went to La Plata, a city 1 hour from BsAs, to have a party with the Local Committee there. We went to an interns house, Felipe, from Brazil, to pre-drink then we headed to a club at 2am. In Argentina, they start drinking at 12, they go to the club at 2, and they stop at 6am when the clubs close! Crazy party life here! I can barely make it to 3am but I am working on it! BUT, while in La Plata, at the club, it was around 3am and I walked downstairs to sit, I was exhausted, and I see Felipe, and a few other of the AIESECers, sitting on the couch with Felipe sleeping. Then all of a sudden, he PUKES on the girl next to him!!! hahahah Ewww, so then me and 3 others help carry Felipe, NOT a light fellow, home so he can sleep. On the way home he pukes on another girl and in the car. I THANKFULLY was missed by the projectile! THANK GOODNESS!!! hahah But all the while, the girls kept saying to me "Welcome to La Plata!" bahahahha. Yes Welcome Indeed :P
Then On Saturday Night we went to a party at "The Andes Way" House.....this is a project that @USAL is putting on, called The Andes Way, they are bringing 25 interns to BsAs, and they are living in one house called "The Andes Way" House. :) It was a great time, lots of people, lots of dancing, and lots of laughs.
And the rest of the weekend I spent lounging around, sleeping, reading, relaxing. It was blissful. :)
Its Monday, and I had my spanish class this morning, it went well. and then I came home, and we all shared dinner and tea&dessert of Dulce de Leche, which is like Caramel, and waffle snacks that Lais brought for us from Netherlands. Yum Yum Yum. Excellent day I do think :)
I am happy again!
ON Tuesday evening a bunch of us went to La Plata, a city 1 hour from BsAs, to have a party with the Local Committee there. We went to an interns house, Felipe, from Brazil, to pre-drink then we headed to a club at 2am. In Argentina, they start drinking at 12, they go to the club at 2, and they stop at 6am when the clubs close! Crazy party life here! I can barely make it to 3am but I am working on it! BUT, while in La Plata, at the club, it was around 3am and I walked downstairs to sit, I was exhausted, and I see Felipe, and a few other of the AIESECers, sitting on the couch with Felipe sleeping. Then all of a sudden, he PUKES on the girl next to him!!! hahahah Ewww, so then me and 3 others help carry Felipe, NOT a light fellow, home so he can sleep. On the way home he pukes on another girl and in the car. I THANKFULLY was missed by the projectile! THANK GOODNESS!!! hahah But all the while, the girls kept saying to me "Welcome to La Plata!" bahahahha. Yes Welcome Indeed :P
Then On Saturday Night we went to a party at "The Andes Way" House.....this is a project that @USAL is putting on, called The Andes Way, they are bringing 25 interns to BsAs, and they are living in one house called "The Andes Way" House. :) It was a great time, lots of people, lots of dancing, and lots of laughs.
And the rest of the weekend I spent lounging around, sleeping, reading, relaxing. It was blissful. :)
Its Monday, and I had my spanish class this morning, it went well. and then I came home, and we all shared dinner and tea&dessert of Dulce de Leche, which is like Caramel, and waffle snacks that Lais brought for us from Netherlands. Yum Yum Yum. Excellent day I do think :)
I am happy again!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thank You RBC Visa
Turns out - I have to thank RBC Visa - for they have insurance - and Since I bought my camera within the last 90 days - they will replace it for me if I provide them with the original receipt and an incident report.
Life is good with insurance - Bad things happen - VISA came to my rescue. :)
Thank you RBC Visa!
Life is good with insurance - Bad things happen - VISA came to my rescue. :)
Thank you RBC Visa!
Friday, May 27, 2011
What a Week...
What a Week I've had....
I started out the week good! Started my Spanish lessons! Which are going well - Atleast I think. They are interesting and my teachers are really good. I am with Ñ de Español (http://www.eniedespaniol.com.ar/en/home.html). It is really well priced and they are flexible with my hours, and my lessons. I am thus far learning the basics....Verbs....To Be, To be called, To Have.....And lots of nouns along the way.
My foreigner learning Spanish act has allowed me to get away with some funny direct translations including my favourite "Alto Cinco" which means High Five :D yayy
Then the week got really shitty.....I got pick-pocketed! argggggg!! I got my Camera case stolen which had my brand new camera, my Visa, my Debit card, and thankfully only $15 in it! But arggg!!!! wtf. It was at Lunch time on the way to a restaurant - My purse was at my side with my arm swinging over it....and somehow they managed to get into it. But theres nothing I can do about it. It is completely normal and common for such things to happen here! All of my teammates have had it happen atleast once and many of them have had it happen more than 5 :P How brutal that this is just considered "normal" life.....Get a Job...thats all I have to say. But ive canceled my cards and they are sending me new ones....but my camera is lost and Im so sad cause it was the coolest new camera with all these fun features!! :(
And also - ontop of it all, I got sick mid-week and have been battling a nasty cold. My nose is stuffy, and my throat is swollen and very painful...yuck!
But - I slept 15 hours last night....I feel much better, my cold is SLIGHTLY less irritating, but my Anger over my stuff has subsided greatly, and Im now just Blah about it all....
and Today, Friday, Im working at home. and it is now the weekend....I have no plans....But I would love love love to just stay home and read. haha Sounds like a very loser person weekend - but for me - its Bliss. :)
Chrystal
I started out the week good! Started my Spanish lessons! Which are going well - Atleast I think. They are interesting and my teachers are really good. I am with Ñ de Español (http://www.eniedespaniol.com.ar/en/home.html). It is really well priced and they are flexible with my hours, and my lessons. I am thus far learning the basics....Verbs....To Be, To be called, To Have.....And lots of nouns along the way.
My foreigner learning Spanish act has allowed me to get away with some funny direct translations including my favourite "Alto Cinco" which means High Five :D yayy
Then the week got really shitty.....I got pick-pocketed! argggggg!! I got my Camera case stolen which had my brand new camera, my Visa, my Debit card, and thankfully only $15 in it! But arggg!!!! wtf. It was at Lunch time on the way to a restaurant - My purse was at my side with my arm swinging over it....and somehow they managed to get into it. But theres nothing I can do about it. It is completely normal and common for such things to happen here! All of my teammates have had it happen atleast once and many of them have had it happen more than 5 :P How brutal that this is just considered "normal" life.....Get a Job...thats all I have to say. But ive canceled my cards and they are sending me new ones....but my camera is lost and Im so sad cause it was the coolest new camera with all these fun features!! :(
And also - ontop of it all, I got sick mid-week and have been battling a nasty cold. My nose is stuffy, and my throat is swollen and very painful...yuck!
But - I slept 15 hours last night....I feel much better, my cold is SLIGHTLY less irritating, but my Anger over my stuff has subsided greatly, and Im now just Blah about it all....
and Today, Friday, Im working at home. and it is now the weekend....I have no plans....But I would love love love to just stay home and read. haha Sounds like a very loser person weekend - but for me - its Bliss. :)
Chrystal
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Transition Transition Weekend
So all week we have had long long long sessions of transition. We started at about 11am and went until 7 or 8PM every night...It is all good information but it is SO much to learn and grasp and long days make for a tired Chrystal.
But weekend time. Saturday in the evening we trekked our way to the new house for the 25 trainees arriving this week. the house is HUGE. it used to be an orphanage, which is somewhat creepy cause there are remnants of the kids....pictures and toys....in this gigantic haunted house....ahaha but all the AIESEC;ers from Buenos Aires USAL are painting the ENTIRE house to prepare for the arrival of all the new interns!! We joined them for their Local Committee (LC) meeting, I didnt paint because I want wearing appropriate painting clothes....but we stayed the evening and they had lots of beer and we danced and danced. It was a jolly good time! They were teaching me how to dance again and its just so entertaining cause my body does NOT move the way theirs does. I just cant MAKE it do that. haha But I am attempting it!
Today I am going to the neighbourhood of La Boca, which has all the really really pretty coloured houses to look at. It is major tourista spot but thats ok cause it looks so so pretttttttttttttttttttttttty :D Cant wait!
Adios
But weekend time. Saturday in the evening we trekked our way to the new house for the 25 trainees arriving this week. the house is HUGE. it used to be an orphanage, which is somewhat creepy cause there are remnants of the kids....pictures and toys....in this gigantic haunted house....ahaha but all the AIESEC;ers from Buenos Aires USAL are painting the ENTIRE house to prepare for the arrival of all the new interns!! We joined them for their Local Committee (LC) meeting, I didnt paint because I want wearing appropriate painting clothes....but we stayed the evening and they had lots of beer and we danced and danced. It was a jolly good time! They were teaching me how to dance again and its just so entertaining cause my body does NOT move the way theirs does. I just cant MAKE it do that. haha But I am attempting it!
Today I am going to the neighbourhood of La Boca, which has all the really really pretty coloured houses to look at. It is major tourista spot but thats ok cause it looks so so pretttttttttttttttttttttttty :D Cant wait!
Adios
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Conference Complete - Transition Day 1
Last day of conference went by so quickly. Said lots of goodbyes - including to the current MC. and my team and I were formally introduced - atleast, the half of us that were at the conference!! :D It was very lovely.
Monday we all got the day off to recuperate and relax. We slept til noon and then cleaned cleaned cleaned the house! Yikes was it EVER DISGUSTING! But now its all lemony fresh!! mmm
Today, Tuesday, is the first day of transition between the new team and the old team. It should be great fun :D
Adios
Monday we all got the day off to recuperate and relax. We slept til noon and then cleaned cleaned cleaned the house! Yikes was it EVER DISGUSTING! But now its all lemony fresh!! mmm
Today, Tuesday, is the first day of transition between the new team and the old team. It should be great fun :D
Adios
Sunday, May 15, 2011
LDS 2011 - Day 2
Busy busy busy busy BUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSy
Woke up to the LOVVVVVVVVVVVVELY sounds of fog horns blasting to tell everybody to get up. Aint that a nice alarm eh?!?!?! haha And EVERYBODY, Including me, were just exhausted. The party the night before was amazing! Just danced and danced. I didnt drink too heavily as others did, but I had a blast. Turns out Im not as bad a dancer as I though! haha People taught me to samba! :) YAYYYY! haha And funniest part about Southern Cone AIESEC....They have something called the "kissing competition" - You have to kiss as many people as possible and take pictures and whomever kisses the most wins.....delegates are worth 100 points or something but MC - aka me and my new teammates - are worth 1000 Points. hahah This, made the night very entertaining for me. I was generous and gave out about 15 kisses. But I dont think they win....They each only got 1000 points....But I got 15,000 Points total. Cant beat me Im the gingerbread mean!!! :D hahah
During the day I only had one session to run - on Overcoming Gaps: Strengthening your Plan. It went over well - I ran the session in English - clearly - and I hope that everybody got the message that I was trying to transmit. They did their work in Spanish which is perfect, cause I want THEM to grasp the concept - not feel the need to work in English to include me - that isnt the point of my session. So Lais, my boss, helped with running the sharing portion since they all shared in Spanish. A few people came up and said the session was great - I really appreciate that feedback. I really want to be successful here - even with my current handicap of being Uni-lingual. haha.
Soooo since I only had one session - I was lucky enough to be able to sleep a lot of the day. So I went to my room and napped - I woke up - and 3 other members of my team were there napping - apparently we all had the same idea! haha :)
OH OH OH OH so one thing here - They have a food called Duche de Leche. It is like a think caramel sauce. They eat this sauce with EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGG! hahah Snacks, dinner, dessert. It is FABULOUS! as well alll know I'm a HUGEEEE Sugar fan! :D
Another thing about Southern Cone, everybody is really really warm and close. They are always touching, leaning on eachother, they give kisses when they see people, just very close. So I've felt very loved so far! My teammates are really amazing, and they are being really really kind to me with speaking English and including me. So I am very happy here so far! :D haha I hope things continue this way - but perhaps a little more Spanish on my part!! :D
Party last night wasnt as uppity.....oh ps. The parties dont START until past midnight. like the pre-drink starts at 1AM....haha Its very different...cause 10PM is my bed time...but I stayed up, but it wasnt that busy, I guess everybody was exhausted from the day and the night before, so there werent as many people. So at about 1:30 I went to sleep. So thankful cause today is a long day again - and I have 2 sessions today; Financial Management and Crisis Management :) Perfecto!
Adios Amigos!
PS. Funny fact about one of my teammates - she studied in the USA, and she took an English class - so shakespeare - and they did a play - but because its not "english" like we speak - she played the part of the butterfly....who was silent. :D haha Had to share - its cute.
Woke up to the LOVVVVVVVVVVVVELY sounds of fog horns blasting to tell everybody to get up. Aint that a nice alarm eh?!?!?! haha And EVERYBODY, Including me, were just exhausted. The party the night before was amazing! Just danced and danced. I didnt drink too heavily as others did, but I had a blast. Turns out Im not as bad a dancer as I though! haha People taught me to samba! :) YAYYYY! haha And funniest part about Southern Cone AIESEC....They have something called the "kissing competition" - You have to kiss as many people as possible and take pictures and whomever kisses the most wins.....delegates are worth 100 points or something but MC - aka me and my new teammates - are worth 1000 Points. hahah This, made the night very entertaining for me. I was generous and gave out about 15 kisses. But I dont think they win....They each only got 1000 points....But I got 15,000 Points total. Cant beat me Im the gingerbread mean!!! :D hahah
During the day I only had one session to run - on Overcoming Gaps: Strengthening your Plan. It went over well - I ran the session in English - clearly - and I hope that everybody got the message that I was trying to transmit. They did their work in Spanish which is perfect, cause I want THEM to grasp the concept - not feel the need to work in English to include me - that isnt the point of my session. So Lais, my boss, helped with running the sharing portion since they all shared in Spanish. A few people came up and said the session was great - I really appreciate that feedback. I really want to be successful here - even with my current handicap of being Uni-lingual. haha.
Soooo since I only had one session - I was lucky enough to be able to sleep a lot of the day. So I went to my room and napped - I woke up - and 3 other members of my team were there napping - apparently we all had the same idea! haha :)
OH OH OH OH so one thing here - They have a food called Duche de Leche. It is like a think caramel sauce. They eat this sauce with EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGG! hahah Snacks, dinner, dessert. It is FABULOUS! as well alll know I'm a HUGEEEE Sugar fan! :D
Another thing about Southern Cone, everybody is really really warm and close. They are always touching, leaning on eachother, they give kisses when they see people, just very close. So I've felt very loved so far! My teammates are really amazing, and they are being really really kind to me with speaking English and including me. So I am very happy here so far! :D haha I hope things continue this way - but perhaps a little more Spanish on my part!! :D
Party last night wasnt as uppity.....oh ps. The parties dont START until past midnight. like the pre-drink starts at 1AM....haha Its very different...cause 10PM is my bed time...but I stayed up, but it wasnt that busy, I guess everybody was exhausted from the day and the night before, so there werent as many people. So at about 1:30 I went to sleep. So thankful cause today is a long day again - and I have 2 sessions today; Financial Management and Crisis Management :) Perfecto!
Adios Amigos!
PS. Funny fact about one of my teammates - she studied in the USA, and she took an English class - so shakespeare - and they did a play - but because its not "english" like we speak - she played the part of the butterfly....who was silent. :D haha Had to share - its cute.
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