As my final week in Brazil comes to a close, I am able to reflect on the work I have accomplished as an intern at CIFAL, under the organization FIEP (Federation of Industries of the State of Parana). Not only did I accomplish tangible work, but I also learned a variety of new skills and forms of communicating in a work environment. When commencing this internship, I was unsure what to expect and in addition, unsure of myself. As this was my first internship position in the “real world”, it was initially hard to visualize the product of my ambitions. Yet after the first couple of days I felt as if I fit into this world naturally by being proactive and maintaining a stable work flow. Whenever I finished my tasks or had questions while completing work, I would ask my coworkers what I could do. There were even times when my supervisors themselves had questions, such as the proper English translation of a text/work, or what I thought about a specific idea they were forming. This process made me truly feel like a part of their team, and a part of CIFAL as a whole. The upcoming intern that will fill my position must know beforehand that they are in for a treat. They will more than likely learn and acquire more skills than what they expected, and in the meantime form new connections with the wonderful people around the office. The new American intern will be able to take transcripts from the English version of CIFAL website (www.cifalcuritiba.org.br ) if they need a model for what is expected in terms of English translations. The majority of the English translations were produced by myself, and revised by my manager. They may also look at other works that I translated, such as special invitation letters, biographies, and event schedules/dissertations. Another thing that I have left behind for the upcoming American intern is new knowledge to my current coworkers about American culture and lifestyle. Thus, they will be able to further understand more about the new intern. If the new intern has any questions relating to work or Curitiba itself, please do not hesitate to give them my email! I would be more than happy to give them a list of exciting things both in and outside the workplace.And a final thank you to my coworkers:

Dear CIFAL team,

I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for your kindness, determination, and overall support. Without each of your unique perspectives and insights, working at CIFAL would be a completely different experience. I want to thank Rafael for taking the initiative in handing out new tasks whenever I completed what was needed to be done, and also, for offering help when I was feeling doubtful of my work. Rafael was not only helpful, but allowed me to build efforts in strengthening my business communication skills and helped me to envision new ways of producing work – from the simplest translation tasks, to the more lengthy works such as revisions and brainstorming for upcoming events. He was able to give alternative suggestions and allowed me to aid him in important projects and work meetings. I want to also thank Vinicyus for reassuring my completed work. Vinicyus was active in demonstrating what work needed to be improved or what work was excellent. He also helped me a lot on the different schedules for the upcoming International Anticorruption forum. Lastly, we spoke about how International Relations plays into the real world and CIFAL itself, as we both share the same major. Last but not least, I want to thank Patrizia for enlightening me with her knowledge of creative economics and international cultures/customs. Patrizia was one to always come up with bright ideas and was encouraging while I was at work. Her enthusiasm in the workplace concerning important issues around the globe, particularly those of development and human rights, was a personal inspiration that I will never forget. This work experience in Curitiba, Brazil is one that has made a definitive change in the way I apply myself, in terms of both critical thinking and written work. The people I have worked with here as well as the skills and insights I have gained will remain in my professional book as my career takes flight.