“Tudo bem? Tudo bem!” – Living abroad in Brazil
Before starting my internship at GEA Farm Technologies do Brasil in Jaguariuna, São Paulo, I was very excited but also a little nervous. What would working in Brazil be like? How would my Brazilian colleagues receive me? How well would I manage in the new culture? But upon my arrival I learned very quickly that all my worries were unnecessary and time started disappearing unimaginably fast.
Daniela Leppler spent two exciting months at GEA Farm Technologies do Brasil. She learned about doing business in Human Resources abroad, embraced Brazilian culture, and discovered a country with exceptional natural beauty.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to live with one of my company colleagues. She received me with a warm heart and open arms, as one would a dear friend of many years. My first day in the office was a little challenging, there were a number of new faces and names to remember and I did my best to keep from getting lost in my new workplace. But after a couple of days I felt fully integrated and quickly made some “new” friends.
My Human Resources (HR) project was extremely interesting. Together with the local HR manager I conducted all the HR standards and processes in Brazil and I was very impressed by the huge variety of highly professional recruiting, development and marketing measures they were working with. My second task was to explore the needs and requests of the HR department in Brazil: How could the German Holding support the local HR work, and in which areas would international co-operation be useful? And maybe most importantly: What could be done to improve international co-operation within the worldwide HR community?
I could handle my day-by-day-workload in English, but outside of our company walls I didn’t get too far with it. I started to learn some basic Portuguese before my trip and took some beginner classes abroad, but the depth of conversation was of course limited. On the other hand, picking up some general expressions didn’t take too long. Every morning a friendly “Bom dia!” and every time I ran into somebody a “Tudo bem? – Tudo bem!”. And even when I didn’t find the right expressions, I could always rely on my pantomime skills to communicate.
The variety and exceptional natural beauty of Brazil might have been fascinating me the most. When I travelled to Foz do Iguaçu, a city in Brazil’s southern region, I had the chance to witness the Iguaçu Waterfalls, which are higher than Niagara Falls and twice as wide. I joined an exciting adventure tour and we crossed the forest in a giant car and then jumped into a speedboat. The boat took us up close to the falls, and somewhat underneath. We all got soaked, but dried very quickly as we had wonderful 30°C on a beautiful sunny day. My second trip was to Rio de Janeiro. There I could enjoy vast beaches, Brazilian samba nightclubs and of course the town’s famous landmarks: Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) and Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) who is unwavering in watching over the citizens of Rio de Janeiro.
My time in Brazil will remain unforgettable. On my last day in the office I learned about the Portuguese word “Saudade”. It is a word difficult to translate adequately. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for something that one was fond of and which might not return. I got an idea what it meant, when I left my Brazilian colleagues and their astonishing country. But I am quite sure I will have the chance to go back one day.
