Only in San Francisco

Besides the wide range of food than can be found in San Francisco, the many fashion styles you can encounter and the climate difference between a sunny corner and a corner in the shadow, San Francisco is full of those little details that make it unique in one or another sense.

Fun and cheap was one of my first discoveries, it’s an amazing webpage (http://sf.funcheap.com/) where you can find a list of any sorts of cultural, recreational, musical or gastronomic events for all tastes, interests and low budgets. Many of them are free or at least reachable at a very affordable price. Through this page I discovered for example the Food Trucks that gather on certain Fridays at Fort mason around a band. You can go, eat and chill out with some beers while enjoying the music. Trucks form a circle and offer food from all over the world. My recommendation: Vietnamese, Pica Pica Maize Kitchen (the best Venezuelan “arepas” I have gotten since I arrived to the US), and crème Brulee.

The California Academy of Sciences offers on Thursdays the event NightLife. This is a weekly event where visitors of ages 21 and older can enjoy music, science, entertainment and cocktails, while experiencing the Academy’s world-class exhibits with friends. Each weekly installment features something new and different. I happened to go when the theme was sustainability. Sustainable cocktails, food, exhibits and a cooking class accompanied by an amazing exhibit of Lizards and serpents were taking place. A highly recommended event.

Two exhibits of Picasso’s private collection at the same time in the same city. Indeed, at this exact moment, and until October the 9 of 2011, The Young museum, located at the Golden Gate Park is showing the masterpieces of the Musee National Picasso from Paris. And, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is showing, until September the 6th, the Steins Collect. This exhibition draws on collections around the world to reunite the Steins' holdings of modern art, bringing together works by Matisse, Picasso and the Parisian Avant Garde (Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and many others). For Picasso lovers, this are MUST see.

Festivals featuring the best of San Francisco diversity. In May 28 and May 29 took place one of California's largest multi-cultural celebration, and one of San Francisco's most popular and cherished traditions, the San Francisco Carnaval. This was a display of Latin American and Caribbean cultures with an array of food, music, drumming, dancing, live music, and a Grand Parade on Sunday. In the same vein, on June the 25th and 26th took place the 2011 San Francisco Pride event. The theme was "In Pride We Trust" and was selected by Pride's membership at their Annual General Planning Meeting in September. Just as in Bay-to-Breakers, you could find the widest range of costumes: from guys dressed in French aristocracy to a priest blessing naked people. A note on the side: the day of the mission festival, some friends and I decided to head to Castro neighborhood to visit. We were pleasantly surprised by 4 men, completely naked, on a Sunday afternoon at 4 pm, just hanging, chatting with each other, chatting with dressed people and having coffee. Just like that, no more preambles, no more explanations. Just SF …

San Francisco’s Lunatic characters. I can say that almost EVERYDAY I meet someone hallucinating in his/her own created world after, quite probably, a combination of amazing drug cocktails. People screaming out loud mad at the entire world, a guy shooting imaginary guns or a women walking in circles, are the type of characters that make part of the San Francisco scene. But maybe the most amazing one was the scene of a guy who was picking imaginary things from the floor and who suddenly started climbing the corner of a building and who ended climbing almost 3 meters. He truly believed he was Spiderman! After having climbed the wall calmly, he decided to go down with an impressive ability and just keep walking and picking imaginary stuff from the floor…..no concerns, he just continued his way.

Wrapping up!

As I get closer to the end of my internship, it’s a good time to think about what I’ve learned during this time. One thing I did well was insisting on getting to know the manufacturing and R&D process. After my request, a Company tour was organized and I was able to visit the application labs and the manufacturing plants. I confirmed that I love to visit operation facilities in order to get a better picture of the process but I would rather spend most of my time at my office. I also learned that different projects keep me excited. The possibility to interact with people is also key for my ideal job, I wouldn’t want to be isolated. On the other hand, one thing I could have done better is networking prior and during my internship. For instance, the Division General Manager is a Ross alumn. I wish I had contacted him before.

In order to present results for my projects, I will do one presentation for each one of them, before my manager and the project sponsors. After that, I will do one presentation for the higher management, on my final week. It would be a very good opportunity to gain visibility and show my work. I need to excel at both the presentations and the networking in order to leave the positive impression I want to leave. And I will be leaving soon, next August 13th will be my last day.

Eleven weeks, which seemed like a long period at the beginning of my internship, are coming to an end so fast! In a nutshell, and without a doubt, I can say it was a good experience! I meet good people, enjoyed a nice city and formed part of a company with a promising future. I would love to have the opportunity of returning to FMC. But I hope, whatever happens, I will get what it’s most convenient for my future… both my personal and my professional life.

I’m off to Colombia after my presentations and my internship are done. After a short vacation, I will be finishing my second year of the MBA and then it’s back to real life. It’s my last post here, so bye for now!!

Welcome Breakfast Anyone?

Since the last time I wrote, not much has changed except that I’ve been promoted to Senior MBA Intern. Really! Well, it’s not a promotion, just a comment I heard. I am now the “old intern” because the “new intern” arrived this week. He’s really nice and deserved a warm welcome. The truth is that I still feel as a newcomer, but I realize that in fact I am on my fourth week already!

On Monday we had a very nice Welcome Breakfast and everyone in our floor was invited. The gathering had a good attendance ratio and the usual friendly atmosphere. After my manager introduced us and we raised our hands for everyone else to see, conversation revolved around the morning’s food, our projects and the latest sporting events. It was a good opportunity to get to know some people that I had seen around and to meet others that I had never seen.

I enjoy social interactions and celebrations around food. Maybe that is why I am still getting used to seeing how popular is to eat a sandwich, a frozen dinner or a salad in front of the computer for lunch. I believe it is a cultural difference because my working experience was limited to a Latin American environment, where the habit of making a break and socializing during lunch is more predominant.

Another cultural trait I’ve found is an open-door policy. I would say is something particular to FMC. I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to have such an easy access to different people, from all functions and without distinction. It is impressive to see how fast the response to an information request is, sometimes with even more data that what I had in mind when asking questions.

My manager’s style is something else that I appreciate a lot. He’s very entrepreneurial and knowledgeable, so I find a lot of room to freely create. For each one of my three projects I have one sponsor as well. It will be interesting to balance diverse and sometimes opposing interests, opinions and guidance tips from the ones that are helping me along the way. Wish me luck!!

A peek into the real-world

It’s bitter-sweet seeing the second year MBAs graduating and leaving in order to re-enter the real world. It is hard to believe that a year from now, we will be in the same position. I am a Colombian first year MBA student (or at least I was until yesterday), coming straight from my home country to the US in order to begin my studies. I have an Industrial Engineering degree and a background of over 7 years in Operations, involved in Customer Service and Supply Planning roles. I have loved the experience of becoming a student again and Ross has proved to be all that I’ve expected and more.

One of my objectives was to get a taste of corporate America, so I was excited to accept the position as MBA Business Planner Intern for the FMC BioPolymer business at FMC Corporation. During my past experience, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the interaction with people from different parts of the world, both customers and affiliates. I have really liked my time in the chemical industry and now I am looking forward for challenging opportunities at a global leader in the market. I am also thrilled to have an opportunity in a more General Manager role, outside of my Operations comfort zone.

At Philly, the city in which I will be for the summer, I will be far from the safety of the classrooms and the place that has become my new home. Ann Arbor has now a familiar feel that I am afraid to lose once I start my internship. I hope to keep in touch with fellow classmates but it will be harder to see the friends that are so close now, once they disperse all over the world. On the other hand, I am eager to meet new people as well. At FMC I sense the same environment that first drew me to Ross: Smart, friendly and collaborative people. The kind of people that will help me challenged and energized so I can strive to contribute in this temporary peek into the real-world.