UGH - life has me hemmed up....I'm playing catch up again. I started 6 posts like 2 weeks ago, and am just now finishing them. The full story is below the jump, along with my trouser sock obsession.
Petrobras:: Back to the schoolwork, we still have planned company trips to attend to. So, we're scheduled to visit Petrobras, the Brazilian oil refinery, and a direct competitor of YPF/Repsol of Argentina. So this visit is to really contrast the companies, and get Brazil's take on their industry position, etc.
Now, after yesterday's festivities I gotta be honest - my brain has kinda checked out. Yeah, I'm an MBA, and I have an interest in technology, and development in emerging economies, but I also like fun. Knowledge is great, but I'm daydreaming of helicopter rides and caiprinhas....lol. But I'm also distracted by the fact that a sister is BR-IZOKE, and after yesterday's little subway fiasco, I'm focused on getting that taken care of.
But the Jokester is here to entertain us - see pic at left. He's one of our tour guides for Petrobras, and speaks NO English at all. What he does speak is the international language - love! Yes, he's quite the charmer, flirting with the students, managing to crack jokes in Portuguese and Spanish, and overall keeping us engaged. He's a few months from retirement, and plans to expand his music business immediately after. There you see him hugging his imaginary girlfriend ;-)
The one thing I do observe at Petrobras, is that while the Brazilian work ethic is very different from what we typically consider "American", it's no less thorough, or business savvy. Though laid-back and jovial during our tour, they're very knowledgeable about their industry and competition. And we're seriously overdressed in our business casual, compared to their jeans, t-shirts and sweats, we seem much more appropriate for a refinery. However, it's never clearer than when we join them in the cafeteria for lunch, and we see their recycling stations, and feedback mechanisms. They actually have a rating system where employees can electronically rate how their lunch was, based on smiley faces. :-D is great, :-) is good, :-| is okay, :-( is poor, and then you can add comments, and submit - all while you're dumping your trays and tossing away your recycled bottles/cans/paper. My multibillion dollar global company employee company can't even get the recycling part right....lol.
From there, we travel back to downtown Rio, and stop briefly by the Cathedral do Brasil. It's beautiful, and sorta decaying, but we barely have time to pose for pics, before we're off to our next stop....
Banco do Brasil::We have a planned visit to the Central Banco do Brasil. We expect another economic overview, discussion of their financial crisis, fiscal responsibility, and measures that they're taking to stabilize the economy. Yes, it's all thrilling stuff here!
Don't let the headiness of the topics fool you, this visit is major. The Banco do Brasil is the equivalent of the Federal Reserve, and responsible for setting/directing Brazil's monetary policy. So when it's deputy director spoke with us about hedging for currency fluctuations, the accumulation of reserves to offset economic downturns, inflationary spending vs. accumulating those reserves, etc - it is major. Yes, I was listening intently...
...Even as my mind is still on my br-i-zoke-ness, and handling my financial biz. I mention to our other host that I need to make a Western Union payment, and he mentions very casually that he'd like to do what he could to help.
The next thing I know I'm shepharded into a private branch of the bank, reserved for employees. After taking my information and my passport, I'm assured that I will have no difficulty being helped...and then I'm invited back to my presentation, to have coffee and cookies, and wait for my gracious host to handle my request. No lines, no numbers, no waiting. So, I return to the presentation....and....
10 minutes later, my host comes back with a few forms to sign...and my cash. In hand. Along with an apology for yesterday's fiasco. And a little extra bonus cash, thanks to the fluctuating exchange rate. Nicccce.
thePowerofRelationships:: What happened, you ask? I benefitted from the power of relationships, and relationships are the fuel that drives non-Western society. One day, I'm just some silly American, unfamiliar with the way things work in a foreign country. But with the right relationships, the next day, I'm an honored guest from a prestigious university, that happens to have a long-standing relationship with the Central Bank of Brazil, and who may work for a company that does business in Brazil. You feel me? I've never been one to put much stock in the whole "who you know" notion, but I truly understand and appreciate that the world, particularly outside the US, works exactly that way. I've definitely got to work out my networking-using-relationships muscle.
myTrouserSockObsession:: No, I do NOT have a foot fetish, at ALL. But I will say that the deputy director of the Banco do Brasil struck me as really sexxy, as did the deputy director of the Central Bank of Argentina, even though he was a shawty (< 5'7", and I'm 5'8"). So, my female companions and I were trying to figure out what it was.....
companion1:: He's too short, you're on your own with this one....
companion2:: The other guy was way cuter, that pink shirt was working for me, even though I hate men who wear pink.
me:: He was cute, pink shirt and all.
companion1:: Yes, he was - but he was well put together. From the shirt, suit, shoes...even the cuff links. I love a man that's well put together...
me:: see, you're a woman after my own heart. I love a man who can pull off a serious set of cuff links.
companion1:: Yesss!!
companion2:: And their clothes fit so well, that European fit, kinda slim, but not tight? Yum!
companion1 & me (in unison):: Yesss!!
companion2:: But I still don't see what you see in his short guy here....
me:: yo, did you peep his Trouser Sock game.
companion1 & companion2 (in unison):: What???!!
me:: I am a sucker for a guy in a mean pair of Trouser Socks.
companion1:: Here again, you're on your own with that one....
I know, I know...but I'm saying , if you can pull off a distinctive, but non-flashy/non-fruity trouser sock (a nice small disparate paisley perhaps?), with your (of course) mean suit, shoes and cuff links...*sighs*. I'll melt, I swear.
And don't throw in a hat. A nice small-brimmed Dobbs, or a Bailey...*swoons*
Whew. But I digress. Next up: why every brazilian household has a maid, volunteering abroad, and SAMBA!
...oh, and yes there will be partial nudity. Stay tuned....lmao.
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