That is a vision of Golder Associates, and I have the privilege of being able to participate in an internship with this company. Golder Accosietes is a company that does Environmental Impact studies for other companies. They give several services such as the following: Environmental and Social Assessments, Engineering, Detail Design and Construction, Water etc. Monday the 20th was kind of my first time to go to the companies building. I went with my dad because the man in charge of human recourses, Daniel Veliz, wanted to meet with both of us just for a small interview and an introduction to the company. I learned that a company can have financial loses if any of their employees gets hurt. They would have to find someone who is able to do the work for a couple of days before the employe comes back. I leaned about the investigations a company does whenever an accident happens. they must conduct test to prevent a similar accident to happen ever again and have more financial looses. Unfortunately this presentation took about 2 hours which only left me with 30 minutes to "work".
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"Come to Beijing!"
That's how it all began! My friend invited me to go to her house for a week in Beijing. I had vacations so it didn't sound like a bad idea. However, it started all like a joke. In my mind and in hers we knew that was going to be impossible. My parents would never allow ME travel half across the globe just to see a friend I met in a summer camp. I could easily do that through Skype, so what was the point of going all the way to China? Well...next thing I know I'm packing my bag, going to the airport and sitting down in a KLM, two floor plane for 10 HOURS on my way to Amsterdam to then take ANOTHER plane for 13 HOURS to then land in Beijing, a total of 26 hours. I was going mental. As I was sitting down I couldn't believe I was actually going to Asia and visit one of the most culturally fascinating places in the world!!
Anyway, I don't know how but I slept a maximum of 4 hours out of the 26. There was no place in my head for sleep! Even after I arrived to my friend’s house, I wasn't sleepy! I just wanted to get myself going! Nevertheless, first day, Saturday 4, was a relaxing day. For lunch we ate Singaporean food. It was chicken with rice, Chinese veggies, soup, and I think pork. It was good and I got full really fast. (Esmond and Sophia, if you ever read this, I apologize in advance for the lame description, but that is the best I can do).
After the Cantonese food, they invited me to try a "bubble tea". What in the world is a "bubble tea"?? It looked like a normal cup with tea and milk I think, but something very peculiar was that you had to drink it from a straw, which was thicker than normal. I took a sip, and there was nothing special about it. Second sip I almost spit everything that was in my mouth! Some sort of small, chewy, slimy "bubble" was inside the tea! It wasn't even a bubble it was a small ball the size of a marble. The tea itself was ok, but I just couldn't get confortable with those bubbles! It had a somewhat familiar taste but the way they felt was just not right for me. First day ended! "8 more to go! Still plenty of time before I say goodbye so no big deal!" Next day...THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! It. Was. Huge. Although you could only walk a small portion of it, I heard that you could visit it from different part of the country. The good thing was that it was a beautiful day. The sun was out with a clear blue sky, perfect. It was a little cold with the breeze but that didn't take away the beauty of this colossal piece of architecture. The following days it was just getting to know little more about the food and culture of Beijing. Food such as: Duck, Dan Dan Noodles, Jiao Zi, Spring Rolls, BBQ Pork Buns, Shrimp Dumpling... a Burrito? Yes, a traditional burrito in the middle of Beijing. But out of all the things I did in Beijing, I'm sure I'll never forget the presentations I made to my friend's brother 5th grade class about Peru. Yes, I made an actual presentation. My parents made me make one just before going to Beijing, just in case anyone asked about Peru so that I could be "well prepared". But something that stood out to me was that I was actually nervous!! I have made many presentation in class before so why was I so nervous?! I got the highest grade in a Spanish speech so how could this be any different? They were just 5th grade students! Well, until now i still can't figure it out. I have my guesses, like, being in a new whole new country surrounded by unfamiliar faces, having to present and describe a country to people who might have never heard of it. In addition there were some technical problems with the presentation that made me a little insecure at the beginning.They said that I did very well at my presentation, which made me feel good about it, but I was disappointed with myself. I knew my presentation was not that well made. I was able to acknowledge by myself that my stance was not proper, my voice was not high enough, there was no tone and it felt monotone, with no emotion. As we headed back to the house I reflected on how I could have made it much better. Nevertheless, it was a great learning experience and a little fun to be honest. In my mind I would have never thought or dream about making a presentation about Peru in Beijing, China. Last day! Forbidden City. HUGE! The only bad thing was that we got a little lost at the begging. We didn't know where the entrance was so my friend, her brother, and I wondered around outside the walls like lost tourists. Her brother was an amazing guide to be honest. He said he only read the signs but I think he was a little too modest and actually knew the history. We arrived to her house and what a better way to end an amazing trip? With a delicious, home made Molten Chocolate Cake with ice cream!!! "Last day", "end an amazing trip", words that echoed in my head as I got my bag ready. My friend's parents had to attend a meeting so we said our goodbyes. I thanked them for giving me such a great opportunity of visiting their amazing country and of course, for letting me stay in their house. I had an hour before I had to jump in the car and head to the airport. My friend and I just sat in a room and said nothing. It was just silence. My eyes started to get very watery. I tried to hold the tears back but some of them managed to break loose. I think my friend was having a harder time than me because she wasn't stopping.Now I was in front of the security check. My friend and I said goodbye to each other one last time, and why not, some more tears. As I went through security and migrations I could stop thinking about how fast time went by. It felt as if my plane from Amsterdam had just landed the day before and I was leaving the day right after. It all went by in a blink of an eye. One day it felt as if there was enough time to spare I could do anything, the next, there was just not enough. It made me think of a quote I heard before "you never know the value of a moment until it is a memory". I couldn't agree more |