My STEP category was an internship where over the summer, I worked as a Digital Marketing Intern at a consulting firm named PME Consultores. This internship took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina completely in Spanish, and was 40-hours a week in person.
While in Argentina, I discovered a few things about myself. One of these things was that my confidence and ability in spanish, as compared to before they trip, has increased tremendously. Another thing I discovered about myself was that working in an office space in a professional environment might not be for me. Lastly, being in Argentina was a great way to learn more about another South American culture that differed from my own Mexican roots.
My first discovery about myself has to do with my ability in spanish. Before going to Argentina, my confidence in my spanish ability has been quite low. Although spanish was technically my first language, as it was the language that I heard and used in the household growing up, attending English school and not doing much to refine my Spanish skills had led me to believe that they were lacking when compared to other native speakers. What I discovered was that I was actually one of the more proficient spanish speakers of the abroad program group. Not only that but some of the locals had commented on how well versed I am in spanish which led to me being more confident in my ability and more confident to express my feelings in spanish.
My second discovery came with my discontentment with the office life. My internship was an in-person only internship where I worked at an office with maybe 5 total employees. The lack of social interaction in the office makes me second guess whether I want to put myself in that environment. Now I know not every office job will only have 5 employees but the monotony of coming in everyday and being seated for 8 hours a day and staring at a computer just may not be for me. This was an important revelation as many of the jobs that I might pursue with my Finance degree would be office jobs, and now that I know what that’s like, perhaps it’s not for me.
My third discovery was the general expansion of my world knowledge. I’ve always loved traveling and have been to many countries, yet have never been south of the country of where my family is from and where I’ve visited multiple times. The history of Argentina is very rich and is prominent in their French architecture, Italian food, and spanish dialect. Being of Mexican descent, I’ve always seemed to subconsciously attribute spanish to people with more melanin or otherwise people that look more like myself, and going to Argentina made me open my eyes to the various types of shapes and colors that my spanish speaking companions came in. It was truly a sight to see.
These changes matter in my life because I believe that I will be able to make better decisions in my career going forward because of this experience. Before I had been so focused on securing an office job in Finance and my internship this summer is challenging that concept. I’m also a double major in spanish and with my newfound confidence in my ability, perhaps I might just want to delve into what professional careers my spanish major can offer rather than my Finance major. With my love for travel as previously mentioned, I believe this experience to be culminating a new path for me, perhaps one where I could use that spanish to travel to the rest of South America like I’ve always wanted to do. I’m so grateful that I was able to experience all that Argentina had to offer and if I could, I would do it all over again.
