Day
after day, I understand better how worth was the experience in the
Netherlands. In February 2017, I left Brazil to an internship at
AVANS, Breda. During the time abroad, a mix of positives and
negatives moments and experiences made me evolve and recognize this
personal change back in Brazil. I can mention relevant gains in three
different aspects - personal, professional and cultural.
Certainly
talking about our personal gains would be the most difficult part.
However, I lived for five months among the Dutches, so I learned to
be fair, direct and self-confident like them, keeping my Brazilian
features as well. In fact, I am usually quite shy on formal
situations, but when I was hit by the Dutch direct way, I also have
to leave some parental lessons beside and impose my opinion like the
natives do. If I act like that in Brazil, for sure I would lose a
bunch of friends. We are indirect,
sentimental and heart-broken “level soap
opera”.
In
the Engineering field I could be valuable, provide
good results to the research group and the partner company involved
on the project. Heading to the end of my bachelor in Brazil, thoughts
like “what am I doing in here?” or “what can I add to the
world?” commonly pass through my
mind. However, by presenting my project and arguing with professors
in the Center of Expertise Biobased Economy I could realize I was
capable to deliver good results and ideas even in a dynamic and
developed workplace like that. Moreover, because of my work in the
project, we could bring the following steps to be developed in my
Brazilian University. Everybody should keep
in mind - Believe in your potential!
I
always had the curiosity to live in Europe. I have already studied in
the United States,
and Europe was the other big reference to my country. In the same way
of the Plato cave myth, when someone stays restrict to a country not
well internationalized like Brazil, this person goes against the own
mind/thought to fit her life on the “cave” perspective. Pushing
ourselves to an experience abroad allow us to interact with people
from different cultures, having wider understanding of Brazil
and world. Moreover, it is possible
changing some personal behaviors by facing and understanding other
realities. As soon as we face cultural differences, we respect and
learn from each other. That is a step closer to be a global citizen.
Therefore,
I strongly recommend and encourage my friends at the University to go
for a period abroad, either Living Lab Biobased Brazil or other oversea
opportunity. The feeling of being out of your comfort zone in other country is a powerful tool to create better civilians, engineers
and global citizens.