Buenos Aires, Week Three: Starting Work

I finally got word on my job status last Monday (the day I was supposed to start working) from my adviser. She sent me a brief e-mail before I was scheduled to attend an orientation meeting with her and several other interns from different programs. In the letter, she informed me that I would be working with an NGO called La Usina. She described La Usina as a nonprofit organization that works to promote social justice for people with disabilities in Argentina by launching awareness campaigns and promoting similar programs. During the meeting, I learned that I would primarily be working to find appropriate funding options for the organization's various programs.

I must admit that I was pretty nervous about my job placement at first. Initially, I didn't think that working for La Usina would necessarily suit my academic and extracurricular interests and experiences. The goals of the organization seemed heavily oriented towards issues in sociology and psychology. As a public policy major interested in politics and diplomacy, I wasn't sure that La Usina would be a good fit for me or that I would be a good fit for La Usina. To make matters worse, it didn't seem like the representative from CDS in New York (who had actually spoken with me about my interests and prior experiences in an interview) had played much of a role, if any, in placing me. I felt like the people at CDS had essentially transferred my files over to COINED (the school where I took classes for the first two weeks) and distanced themselves from the very process which they were supposed to facilitate. To keep myself from rambling on, I'll put it simply: The entire ordeal to this point left me nervous and wondering what to expect next.

A day later, my adviser accompanied me to La Usina for a brief orientation. A fifteen minute walk from my residence (SO convenient), the office is in a fairly nice part of town that is very easy to get to. When I got there, I was greeted with hugs and kisses (a customary greeting that I've grown accustomed to) by the employees and treated very nicely. They explained to me that I would be working in a branch of their development department called international cooperation. They said that my primary objectives would be to search for embassies, social organizations, and other international organisms that offer funding for NGOs like La Usina, contact those organizations, and collaborate with my coworkers to choose the most appropriate grant programs to apply to. OK, I thought. This is more down my alley. After about another half hour of introductions, I was set free. Just before I left, they told me that my first full day would be that Friday.

After enjoying a two day break in the middle of an otherwise hectic week by going to the famous Recoleta Cemetery (where famous Argentines like Eva Peron and Domingo Faustino Sarmiento are buried), exploring Puerto Madero (a neighborhood close to the banks of the Rio de la Plata), and attending a folk music concert/traditional Argentine dinner at a restaurant in Palermo, I had my first real day of work in Buenos Aires. The atmosphere was very laid back--we spent a good deal of time sipping mate and getting to know each other--and it was easy for me to get into work mode. Virginia, the woman with whom I will be working very closely, really wanted me to get a better feel for the mission of La Usina and the goals of the development department, so I spent the entire day taking in a ton of information. Although it felt like I was being presented with a mountain of facts and data at once, I found it all very interesting and relevant to my field of study. After researching a few institutions (the World Bank, several embassies, the Ford Foundation, etc.) into the late afternoon, I was allowed to leave for the weekend.

My weekend was extended yet again because of a national holiday on Monday (Flag Day). I had originally made plans to travel to Uruguay, but a temporary hike in the ferry price to Montevideo forced me to put the trip off for now. I've been developing a cold since last Thursday or Friday, so I mostly (and I say mostly because I was foolishly out until after 4 am at least twice over the weekend) took it easy on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Work also went very well today. I'm beginning to compile a list of institutions that may be able to provide funding for La Usina and I've learned a lot about the most effective ways to find viable options, as my coworkers have flooded me with all sorts of literature regarding "international cooperation". In all, I think that I will be able to have a very positive, enriching experience during this internship. My uneasiness has faded, and I think that this will be an excellent opportunity to see how an NGO functions and how they collaborate with other organizations interested in promoting favorable policies that pertain to a vast array of issues, from the issue of civil justice for the disabled to the problems regarding climate change and environmental degradation. Hopefully I'll have much more to report after my first full work week comes to an end this Friday!