Studying abroad as a couple

In this time of admission release decisions and deciding on where to pursue your studies, there is a common question to many people... What if I have a couple? Do I bring her/him with me? What if we are both studying? Is that "too much"?

The life as an international student has its beauties and it's challenges. For me, coming as a couple has make things a lot easier and certainly more pleasant.

Me and my husband were admitted together in a set of programs to choose (this is more common than people usually think). So we decided to come to Chicago and study the same program, although with very different academic interests and professional paths. Is it too much? I think it depends on your own relation's dynamics, but here is the balance for me:

1. Leisure and company: you spend some time in recreational activities that favors your concentration, overall happiness and lessen the sense of frustration.

2. Shared experiences: the ability to share experiences, build team working and divide tasks (either at home or at school) is a relief.

3. Knowledge pool: specially if you take different courses, you get to know a little bit more about other areas of thinking and this maximizes your exposure.

4. Time management: there is so much stuff going on that you develop skills on how to manage your time according to your preferences. For me, being a whole rounded person and not solely a geek is a priority, but I know this might be controversial.

5. Dinner time!: having dinner together is one of the most pleasant moments in the day. I know having no one to talk to after school might be very stressful, even if you describe yourself as a very independent person.

I have personally enjoyed VERY MUCH coming as a couple. I think it has enhanced my capabilities as a persona and as a professional and it definitely has make the experience one of the greatest moments in my life. I am thankful for that.

That being said, there is a full range of alternatives on how to live your student life as a couple. Many people decide to have children abroad for several reasons.

In this regard, my experience (watching friends and peers) is that taking advantage of the numerous resources available through the university is often the wisest choice.

So if you are convinced about your relation! Give it a try and come together! It is a wonderful experience that tights you in!

175 days to love Chicago

Hi everyone!

I hope you are doing great. The City of Chicago celebrated its 175th birthday on March 4th, 2012. To celebrate this special date, the city promotes 175 days of special events, festivals and promotions, many of them FREE. Until August 26th, Chicago's summer will be offering visitors and chicagoans dining deals and guided tours created exclusively for this celebration.

In addition to the annual events like the Taste of Chicago, Air and Water Show (the biggest in the US), LoolaPalooza and the Chicago Blues Festival, the City is promoting multiple events across the city. Also, the baseball season has already started and will last until September 30th! It's going to be a nice summer to stay around Chicago!

One of the most interesting activities are the ones offered by the Chicago Photography Center (http://www.chicagophoto.org/). They offer Certification Programs, Boot Camps, FREE SRL classes and FREE camera cleanings. I've actually wanted to take classes for a while, so this is a nice chance to finally go for it!

If you are visiting Chicago, check out the official website to get more info!
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/tourism/175_Days_to_Love_Chicago.html

Wonks and Hacks: soft skills vs hard skills

Hi everyone,

I hope you are doing great. Getting over the quarter is a relieving experience. You know get to pick elective courses and can spend more time on specific career issues.

Every time more often the literature and documented cases show (and this might sound to MBAish) that current successful leaders in any area need to balance their analytical, quantitative, statistical skills (hard skills) with their managerial, interpersonal, organizational skills (soft skills). Note that this is true even for doctoral and post-doctoral students in their academic careers!

However, not many graduates programs have completely account for the importance of achieving this balance. Although all seem to converge to this trend, many schools focus more on the technical tools while others emphasize their students leadership profiles through networking events.

The other fact is that, with a more competitive labor market, the trend had been to more specialization among professionals by area of interest.

Therefore, if your focus is more as a leader, decision making top level official, it has become a priority to understand the technical aspects of the issues that you are discerning about, rather than relying solely on your staff members or outsourcing service providers.

On the other hand, the academic world is also converging to an environment in which the capacity to communicate knowledge has become critical to effective address changes through research. More often you see academic and analytical nerds taking writing and public speaking workshops to develop communicational skills.

In the public policy arena, this is even more evident. Junior legislators come know from more policy-area-specific backgrounds. At the same time, technical staff in consulting firms and public offices is increasingly being trained on management programs.

So if you have been recently admitted to a graduate program or are thinking about applying, take this into account.

In order to be competitive, you nut be able to outperform in both sides of the coin, even if you have comparative advantages on either the technical or the managerial side.

I will try to post material on this!

Got an internship at the Mayor's Office!!!

Hi everyone!

So finally summer internship positions are out and I got the one I wanted the most. I am pretty excited to work as a City of Chicago Mayoral Fellow this summer.

Living the interviewing process in the US job crisis period was pretty competitive and meaningful. It is always a challenge to compete in a foreign environment. Sometimes you feel you are not well connected or that you don't actually know the job market, but after hard work it has great rewards.

For this position I prepare myself A LOT! I ask for advice at the Career Development Office regarding resume building, interviewing and negotiation skills in a completely different cultural environment. That sole experience was absolutely worth it! I would recommend that you take advantage of any resources available to you at your graduate institution.

I now have to fill out out the paperwork for the job. I've found out that apparently the size of bureaucracies are similar in every single country ;) (below the pic of the first page of the endless paperwork)

Trip to Washington DC: Plan Pais 2012

Hi everyone! Last weekend I went to a Venezuelan conference organized by Venezuelan students living in Washington DC.

The meeting served as a platform for debating major national issues and facilitated the networking process among the assistant.

Although most of us had different backgrounds, working together by policy area allowed me to gain a new perspective on the Venezuelan political conflict.

Assistants were majorly undergraduate students who has been living in the US for the last decade or so. This actually provided me a new approach to whom the new generations are going to be and what are the new and very different challenges we now face as a society.

I would say that staying connected with your country while studying abroad is a very good idea. However, don't let that overwhelmed you. Having an outsider perspective also gives you meaningful insights that you wouldn't be able to consider otherwise.

Below are some pics during my presentation on final conclusions regarding Violence, Crime and Democracy in Venezuela.

PS: If you have the chance, go visit Washington DC. Is a very beautiful and interesting city (although a small city) for meeting people and having great food :)