carlostellano

la boca, buenos aires

i learned a new word today: diapositiva. it is a word i never wanted to learn, at least in the context that i learned it. it means a transparency, or a slide. while that may sound innocuous enough, you may understand my frustration if i use it in a sentence for you: yo edito la diapositive de PowerPoint.

that is what i did today. the trajectory of our work has gone from 1) designing sustainable houses for different climates to 2) designing a millennium kit prototype 3) create a mini-biogas plant 4) create a how-to manual for arming and disarming a school eco-lab 5) create a cost-benefit analysis plan for the construction of millennium kits and finally to 6) edit the powerpoint presentation that carlos will give at a conference in davos, switzerland. each of these projects, or our assumption that we would do them, has lasted about a week. unfortunately, i expect that the last of these may have the longest duration.

there is a mezcla of legitimate discontent and self-entitled whining that i must now subject you to. carlos does amazing work, but is not internship supervisor material. why didn't he take the time to meet with us initially to figure out who we are (i.e. not architects)? why didn't he take the time to ask us what value added contribution we could make to this project (i.e. case studies, economic analyses, etc.)? why didn't he at least ask us to investigate and communicate the shortcomings of implementing his innovations in some of the most destitute, and therefore neediest, urban environments on the planet? as grad students we are not capable of changing the world in a two-month time frame, but we feel like we have been held back from the bare minimum: a chance to really learn. i am left with that i-interned-in-buenos-aires-and-all-i-got-was-this-lousy-mate-gourd feeling.

i am pursuing a degree in one of the easiest fields to understand: international affairs. this is the arena of diplomacy, conflict resolution, trade, and human development, among other headings. but in the initial internship stage, it is one of those that-and-90-centavos-gets-you-a-ride-on-the-subte type of occupations. you can tell me all about neoliberal economic reforms and its consequenes in the 2001 economic crisis, but can you build this? well, no. can you design? shape? make? do? the answer to all these questions means that i have been translating this presentation from castellano to ingles, including phrases such as: ´clusters of tacit-holistic vernacular knowledge and discovery of the complexity a synthesis from complexity science and vernacular experiences.'

the bright side is that we have organized a few field trips to see the villas and will use our remaining weeks to pursue other areas of interest, outside of powerpoint. i also know that i will come away from here having learned, seen, and even done far more than i actually realize. this will, i can only hope, help me reach the point where i can, actually, do something to better the lives of the other 90%. and maybe, someday, i can frustrate the hell out of my own interns.