return to Asia

Can there be a more fitting way to share a trip to Asia than through photos?

I hope you enjoy the trip :)

Generation Y

Just got back from an interesting event called "Generation Y: Work, consumption, thoughts, business and fun." A series of half-hour presentations by speakers from diverse backgrounds (age, profession, region), attended by around 150 ppl.

A lot of information that i had already heard, but also a lot of new insights, ideas and references. And extra satisfying because i was there alone and the whole event was in Portuguese (that means more than 4hrs of speeches absorbed!)

Particularly eye-opening to learn many of the traits i identify in myself are considered to be typical of my generation. Impatience, curiosity, self-confidence, connectivity, anxiety, indecisiveness, independence, relentless search for new experiences & challenges. Useful for me to realize that, although i grew up on the other side of the world, i can identify in many ways with my peer group here in Brazil (the global nature of the theme was touched upon, but the main focus was Generation Y in Brazil) and also these are not characteristics unique to AIESECers (something i have tended to assume) and therefore i still need to bear these things in mind in my work even though i'm working much less with AIESEC these days.

Great to have the opportunity to attend this kind of event (and for free!). Already looking forward to the next one! (there's that impatience again...)

A very interesting excerpt from a new book led me to this hilarious article evaluating the contribution and prospects of MBAs in today's world.

The book proposes to expose the 'reality' of the management consultancy industry, from the point of view of someone who spent 11 years revelling in its decadence and over-confidence. I found the content paticularly interesting because:

• so many of my friends from university and AIESEC have gone into this industry, but very few of them have revealed anything like these insights
• at several points during the last few years i myself considered this as a career option (not entirely unrelated to point#1)
• although the author's assertion that "one must dispose of the naïve idea that consulting involves the transfer of knowledge" is backed up by convincing arguments, I can't help wondering how many of the industry's (extortionate-fee-paying) clients (not to mention their now surplus-to-requirements employees) were fully aware of this when they agreed to pay
• it reminds me of how willingly many people accept the 'advice' of self-proclaimed 'experts' without the need for the latter to have proven their expertise. In fact the author tells us that "Wherever I was in the world, at the beginning of every consulting project, one thing was certain: I would know less about the business at hand than the people I was supposed to be advising."

As for the MBA article, it's appealing combination of analysis, sober warning and tongue-in-cheek damnation is summed-up nicely by these lines, probably my favourite part:

"The only semblance of a theory behind modern business education is that it purportedly produces "experts" in shareholder-value maximization who are capable of forming an ideal, self-regulating market.

It's a neat theory, of course, and pretty radical, too. But not since the fall of the Soviet Union has a system of belief woken up with so many parking tickets on its windshield."

If you're a management consultant, i look forward to reading your response. If you enjoy poking fun at people who take themselves too seriously, I suggest you check out the articles =)

And finally, if you're currently saving up to apply for an MBA, I suggest you invest your money in something safer, like shares in a US missile manufacturer, copyright for "Brown wins re-term" t-shirts, or maybe Newcastle United Football Club. Of course I know what i'm talking about - I studied economics 10 years ago, and my boyfriend's mother is a tarot-reader. What more convincing do you need? Perhaps a reference from a management consultant ...? =)

Free speech

There's a pretty hot debate going on in the UK about whether an extreme right-wing political party (the BNP) should be invited onto a mainstream talkshow on the BBC (Question Time). Such a sensitive topic has obviously elicited a lot of strong opinions (some rational, some emotional, some contradictory, some incredulous).

But i did enjoy very much this attempt to inject some (black) humour into the debate:

"Sadly there will be some who will listen to their talk of immigration as the root of all evils and agree without wanting to blame the reckless search for mega profits in the banking industry... They will listen to this man who lives in a massive house in the Welsh countryside and believe he understands what it's like to live in a multi-cultured inner city. It seems to me he has more in common with the anti-homosexual, anti-foreigner Taliban (though with a nicer house) than with the normal everyday British man. Perhaps we should invite the Taliban on with him to show how much they have in common :-) "

That would surely be worth the TV licence fee! (Not that i pay one these days, living off The Island...) Thank you, 'Royalty in the Chamionship', for that gem

Addition to the previous post

I just discovered that São Paulo did have an official 'event' to mark the Brazilian independence day. It was a military parade. There were apparently 30,000 participants.

So, less than 1% of the number who participated in the gay pride.

Who says military coups pose the biggest threat to governments in Latin America? :)

(Mais um) Feriado

One of the nice things about living in Brazil is that there are a lot of public holidays ('Feriados'). This Monday was Brazilian 'Independence Day', which meant a 3-day weekend for most people in Sao Paulo (at least, for those earning more than a minimum wage). Compared to others i have experienced, this seemed a rather unpatriotic event. My own 'multicultural' commemoration included washing clothes (fairly international, though the fact that i, as a young professional, wash them myself means there are some places where it doesn't apply...), eating sushi and ice-cream (not uncommon in Sao Paulo, but also not staples of the Republica Federal) and drinking beer (a national obsession).

It was suggested to me that the very fact my day had so many cultural influences was indicative of modern Brazil. Again, i can't help thinking this remains true only for Sao Paulo, and perhaps a handful of other metropolises. Can anyone share what it's like to spend September 7th in the Brazilian 'interior'?

From my perspective, the most patriotic part of the weekend was definitely Brazil's victory over Argentina in Saturday night's World Cup qualifier. If getting one over on this unpopular neighbour (in his own backyard) was not sweet enough, the fact that Argentina is now in real danger of not qualifying for next year's finals, and that Sr. Maradona had spent most of the previous week criticizing the Brazil team, would certainly have helped to make this a memorable evening.

Other weekend news:

• Diego and i went to the theatre to say 'O encontro das aguas' (the meeting of the waters), the story of 2 guys who strike up a friendship on a bridge where one lives rough and the other has gone to commit suicide. Touching in parts, funny in others, but frustratingly short at less than 40 minutes
• Flashbacks to Rotterdam as i ate a falafel kebab (interesting to note that what we used to refer to as 'Turkish' food is referred to here as 'Arabic', while the bread is 'Syrian'...)
• We were pretty lucky with the weather, as yesterday was very sunny, but today the rain returned with a vengeance. 80% of the usual September rainfall fell in just one day. And my umbrella chose today to blow inside-out...
  

Estou de volta :)

I've been back in Brazil for almost 1 week now. A week that almost started in disaster...

Before leaving for my trip i had signed a contract for a new house, and paid 2 months' rent as deposit. The landlord had picked up my bed and some other things, and promised to have everything waiting for me in my new room on my return. I even had a key to let myself in on the 1st day back.

So having landed at 5.30am, i was standing outside my new house before 8, key in hand. Tired but excited. And then the key didn't fit in the lock. And of course i didn't have the guy's number saved in my phone. So i trawled through my luggage until i found the contract. And of course there was no number printed there.

By then i was starting to wonder in what backstreet I would find my bed for sale, and if the Federal Police (my favourite government department, you may remember...) had a ripped-off tenants supports service. Fortunately Diego and his friend (+ car) were with me, so by 8.15 i was on my way to his house. I found the phone number online, and my (very apologetic) landlord explained that they had changed the locks while i was away, and promised to be at home waiting in the afternoon.

After a less than smooth start i've enjoyed my 1st week here. I'm still not sure how many people are living here (i counted 13 but apparently there are some i didn't meet yet). There's Brazlians, French and Germans, and we're speaking a mixture of English, French and Portuguese. So my English will continue getting worse. In a few minutes we'll be gathering around the tv to watch Brazil take on Argentina in a World Cup qualifier that is a must-win for Maradona's men. I hope everyone will still be smiling in 2hrs from now!