FINAL OBjectives and STRATEGIES

1) Relate the findings academically to the real world of globalization and how Latin American relationships with North America and Europe are affected depending on the region where the help is provided.

            a) Understand the value of the help provided to Latin America by keeping close records of the number of grants and awards given to NGOs through a list that specifies where the help goes to and who is eligible.

            b) Interview older workers and relate their experience to the progress that countries are making based on the help they obtain.

2) Analyze the reaction of societies in each country to the aid given and analyze whether or not the people know help is available to them.           

 a) Evaluate migration patterns and economic stability as affected by grants by talking to the people on the street and asking simple questions about their contentment with the government and help provided. Also by simple reflecting on the differences between neighborhoods and social classes.

      b) Analyze the involvement government organizations have in the processing of awards and grants handled by NGOs by researching rules and norms each government imposes of the handling of benefits online.

3) Explore the interworking of an organization and how to better the interaction between workers to produce the maximum amount of progress and individual satisfaction in the workforce.

            a) Interview volunteers to see their preferences in the workforce. Then, evaluate how much progress volunteers and workers get done in comparison to how employees are treated.

            b) Keep a secret record of how much work gets redone over and over by different volunteers by asking about their tasks each day.

 The people in RACI (Red Argentina para la Cooperacion Internacional) are wonderful. I feel like we share many of the same objectives as far as equality achievement and justice goes. There are also many volunteers who come from the US and other countries, which add so much to the mix. I am definitely glad I got to make connections with these individuals. 

The Last Standing

This is the last blog I will post regarding the internship before I do my portfolio.  There are many things I have learned regarding International Networking and internal working as well, but those matters will be discussed in the critical analysis of my internship. Now the task at hand is as follows: Blog explaining how you have or prepped or plan to prep the area for the next intern on the last Monday of your internship.

Well, I am prepping the next intern (I just met today, actually) by letting her know where to set her expectations in order to not result disappointed and make the best out of her time in RACI. I think it is vital to guide people in a direction where they can make the best of the information they are given access to, instead of focusing on the negative sides of the work environment and monotony of tasks. I say this not to criticize the organization, but in order to speak realistically to a peer who comes in with the same expectation as myself.  In fact, the one girl I am specifically referring to started today. She came in explaining that this was the last internship (in fact, last step, period) she would have before she graduated and entered the real work force, and is obviously showing eagerness to participate as a one more member in RACI, which in my experience, does not necessarily equate as such when you’re one of their volunteers.  I think that if I had known this when I started, it would have made my life a lot easier, because these things they don’t explain to you when you show up. Of course they sell you the organization as much as they can, and quite on the contrary, make you believe there are these huge tasks of vital and completely necessary things you have to do, but as days go by you’re not even sure of what your deadlines are. This does not help the fact that most international interns come in with really high expectations, when in fact we are just volunteers for the organization.

I really don’t mean for this blog to be a simple bashing session of what I have experienced, but I am one of those people who really want to know the truth of what they’re getting themselves into. I still believe that RACI is a great organization with much, much potential, but you definitely have to go in there knowing what you’re looking for. We have so many resources available to us and this makes it amazingly easy to do your own research and learn things anyway, as I have done and so have many of the interns I worked with. Although, It is easy to get lost in the disappointment, one most remember to keep pushing toward the things that they want to get out it. For instance, if what you want is to have more interaction, then you need to plan interviews and talks at least during the lunch period that is shared by all, as opposed to staying quietly trying to integrate in the environment. I say this because lunch is one of the most important times for communication.  As a matter of fact, communication may seem ambiguous at times,  so it’s important for the interns to know that they have to keep a certain level of respect with the people they work with regardless of the fact that some of them are younger than us. Believe it or not, this is difficult because at the beginning it seems like everyone is jolly and happy to be with you and friendly in a different, higher kind of “just acquaintances” level, so it may help you forget that you technically work “for” them and let the friendliness get too far. I saw it happen with one intern in particular, and I am pretty sure he did not place a job because he was too straightforward with the workers. He was a local and had been working with them for over 6 months. I felt really sad because he was a really nice guy and I cherished him as a friend. Obviously I can justify both parties in the decision of not working together, but at the end of the day I think that whole situation could have been avoided by simply drawing a good solid line of boundaries.

Ok, so after reading this it seems like a harsh critique, which is just not my style, but it is what I have done to ensure that interns don’t repeat mistakes and truly cherish the opportunities without any resentments. I have really appreciated my time there, and also shared that with my peers. I have made it clear that the experience is whatever you make it, as is everything in life, and this organization is in constant growth because of how young it is. You can be part of the start of something wonderful, especially as we embark in the projects I have discussed in previous blogs, and that alone, is magical. 

Size Matters

I had waited to update my blog this long because I wanted to find something specific to discuss as far as the advancements I have made toward my goals go. I will talk about this progress starting with a meeting we had at the AVINA foundation that opened up my eyes in a different perspective. It helped me see the involvement we get from enterprises in the social compromise regarding Latin America. As I have been doing research quantifying this involvement, it was definitely very helpful to see the research in a real life picture.

I have come across ridiculous numbers of NGOs that are either based off Latin America, or work together in order to help organizations based off Latin America. The field trip to this organization not only painted a better picture, but also revived me as an intern and made me wish we did that sort of dynamic work more often.

Regardless, some info about AVINA, it is a foundation that helps aid new associations and individuals get started in the process of ethically conceiving their business.  During this meeting I was also exposed to other organizations that work paralleled to this organization. One really grabbed my attention: Alameda, an organization that works with the human trafficking issue, and gets involved with sweatshops from different countries as receivers and senders. Which led me into a huge focus on research for a day, and sadly introduced me to a topic that I had taken for granted throughout my research excursions; trafficking.

 I cannot explain how happy I was to attend this meeting. Although it wasn’t what I expected (I thought we were attending a cocktail kind of thing with other organizations, and it really was a presentation around a table for the interns of RACI), it made me realize that his kind of dynamics is what moves me to get more involved as a worker. Which means that when I work legitimately as a professional, I will have to get involved in a field or company that lets me pursue this kind of learning.

In conclusion, I have learned much as an individual and the impact I can have if I take part in the process of coordinating and carrying forward an NGO.  The meeting had with it a great source of facts that I took to be very interesting. Here are my favorites:

1) Richness is not necessarily linked to money or tangible resources but to the use of those same ones and how happy we feel as individuals.

2) Capital social is your word’s value in the market. It is not assumedly opened to grow, as in, you don’t get more value regardless of how much you steal, but over time until you mess that up.

3) Corruption happens in all levels, and it has a different definition at each level it happens. State- discretion in the administration of public goods and less transparency;  Society- When enterprises support politicians in order to ask for “favors” after they have won;  and Civil- Monopolies in use of power.

And finally my favorite:

The ability for power you have is that the power you have as an individual, but the power you have is diffused. Your diffused power is the power of the volunteers and connections and people who work toward a goal with you, that power can be infinite. This last piece of information definitely gives a lot of hope to those people who think they can’t do anything alone, because no one is alone in fighting a cause that is worthy to follow, once you put it out there someone will always be willing to give you a helping hand.

It will be hard to put into words how this helps me move closer toward achieving my goals for the Summer, and it is mostly because more than just focusing on the Summer this has given me a power to change many goals in my life as a whole. Although it wasn't meant to be a pep talk, it did just that for me, but on a greater scale. 

I am almost done with the internship here, and even if I were to finish tomorrow, I believe I already obtained what I came here to find.  

RACI Got it Going On

Discrimination in Latin America toward Bolivia can be a topic of deep discussion. This is why I will skip over it now until I have time to write about it with historical facts and whatnot. 

The projects that I will be specifically focusing on at RACI have just been revealed to me today, which is why I was not able to talk about them before. It's quite funny because the whole time I kept wondering whether or not I'd stay sealing envelopes and taking packages to places because that's what interns do. :)

Needless to say, I guess it was a matter of time and organization the RACI needed for them to know what tasks to assign each intern. I think the time was also more appropriate because some of us interns are already heading back to their countries. 

Regardless, starting tomorrow, as soon as I’m done scripting an interview about judicial cooperation and international coordination, I will start calling different NGOs to introduce them to RACI and tell them what we’re about before I invite them to take part of a breakfast presentation late August. This is extremely exciting to me because if anything, it’s the most realistic job I will be doing to incorporate me as a real member of this NGO. I am also excited to interact with people outside of the office who have been working in this environment for sometime now and will probably ask me questions regarding things I should know about RACI. Which, in fact, if you look at the big picture, this is exactly what I will be doing once I set up my own NGO.

The fact that I am finally partaking in an experience which could have interesting outcomes pushes me to publish a shorter blog this week, that way I can have an update next week to see how it goes. Also, I have met Neal Morris, unfortunately it was very shortly as he had only gone into the office to say goodbye to everyone, and therefore I did not get a chance to really ask him how he had liked the experience and what he had learned from it. I know from the RACI’s website he posted a blog regarding the time he had shared with them but I have not had the time to read, plus, I don’t know how accurate it is. Now that he’s been mentioned I will make sure to message him and ask him to share some details with me, not only regarding the RACI but also about how he handled the course content for George Mason. I know I have to update my learning objectives, I seriously thought I had already done it, but I will do that with no more delay tomorrow afternoon.

So far this is all I have. I am having a great time in this city. It really is quite beautiful and I have made some awesome friends with whom I plan to keep in touch. I think it is this group of people that count when you are trying to find a team of individuals who share the same ideals as yourself and want to change the world. J

Boludos, Gauchos y Demas

It has been one week since we started getting a feel of the environment at the office. Although we did not officially start until almost Wednesday, first impressions obtained in the meeting on Monday have been consistent with the reality of what working in RACI is like. Like I said, RACI (Red Argentina de Cooperacion Internacional) is as NGO that serves as the financial provider for about 40 different NGOs in Argentina. I think this is really important because these types of organizations thrive on a group like this to be sustainable in the market place. So it is important to know the work you do makes a difference out there.
I have to admit, my excitement the first week of working is not as fresh today. Especially because we have to work in a room with no windows. Nevertheless, I still enjoy the idea. Still, I think that more important than the usual research we do in the office, are matters outside of it that seem like the most relevant for my experience in Argentina. For instance, this weekend I had to move home stays because the family with which I was staying had complained about me. Why, you might ask. Well, because I wanted to do my blog outside of my room on Tuesday, and actually use the dining room when no one else was using it. The coordinator told me that it was better for me to move because they did not have the right disposition to deal with me. This is code to: They don't want you in their house because you are Bolivian. Yes, discrimination to Bolivians has been a fact for many years now in Argentina. I personally had never lived it, but now that I am a part of the discriminated group, I can tell you it sucks.
This is a very sensitive subject for me, because it goes back to the reasons why I began to study Global Affairs in the first place. Bolivian relationships with every other country have always been shaky. For a really long time, I have to admit, I have not been proud to call myself Bolivian, and now that I was exploring our neighboring countries, that desire seem to diminish even more so. This is kind of painful, in fact, this might just be the first time the feeling surfaces outside of my head. The problem is that when you have such negative connotation with the world when you share your nationality, obviously it will have some sort of impact on your patriotism.
This country is really beautiful and so are the people in it. I guess that actually depends on what you consider beautiful. There is a lot of racism, discrimination, and segregation here. There is also a lot of crime, which is scary. Everyone talks about how careful you have to be when you go out because someone they know, or themselves, has been mugged. Some in a more peaceful way than others, but mugged just the same.
Wine is really cheap here, and also really good. They are the country with the best steak in the world, too. Food is so great and relatively cheap.
I have many books here in my room, and I am really happy in my new place of home stay. I live with just one lady and she is wonderful. Although she admits that if she had known before hand that I was Bolivian, she probably wouldn't have taken me. This is funny, because the one thing that I specifically asked for in my housing preferences was that the people with whom I live do not discriminate against Bolivians. I guess the coordinator in charge of the matching did not even bother to read that request, in fact, she decreased her communication exchange with me once she found out I was Bolivian, too.
It's crazy to think how one little fact can affect the desire in someone else of getting to know you. I want to change that, so I don't tell people I'm  Bolivian anymore. Somehow I feel like that is not me, I would never deny who I am in order for someone else to like me, but I have to silence it for a bit for someone else to give me the chance to speak up and communicate my identity. This is sad, but it is the world we live in and we must deal.
That's all I have on my end. I am happy here, but it is a bittersweet happiness because of the things I sacrifice for it. Still, it is happiness just the same.

First Impressions

I am [still] so excited to be here. Buenos Aires is so beautiful. It definitely has become a bit of fresh air.

1) Relate the findings academically to the real world of globalization and how Latin American relationships with North America and Europe are affected depending on the region at question.

            a) Be attentive throughout the research processes and make sure to understand statistically the number of grants and awards devoted to Latin America from North America and Europe.

            b) Realize the impact of the international cooperation by asking those workers who have been in the arena for longer than myself, particularly those who started working on the NGO when it was first established because they had to pursue the foundation.

2) See how society is affected by the aid that each region gets through exploration of the area and comparison to the other countries visited on this trip.

            a) Evaluate migration patterns and economic stability as affected by grants.

            b) Analyze the involvement government organizations have in the processing of awards and grants handled by NGOs by researching rules and norms each government imposes of the handling of benefits.

3) Explore the interworking of an organization and how to better the interaction between workers to produce the maximum amount of progress and individual satisfaction in the workforce.

            a) Evaluate how much progress volunteers and workers get done in comparison to how employees are treated.

            b) Adopt good norms and costumes for future job settings, and or learn to avoid certain behaviors that would jeopardize me as a future professional, while at the same time understanding cultural differences.

 The people in RACI (Red Argentina para la Cooperacion Internacional) are wonderful. I feel like we share many of the same objectives as far as equality achievement and justice goes. There are also many volunteers who come from the US and other countries, which add so much to the mix.