From Guate to Barca
Working in Guatemala seems so long ago, now that I am living in Barcelona and have fully adjusted to life here. It was a big change going from a small, tranquil lake town to a busy, global city, but I love both of these places equally.
I thought that this internship will open new doors for me, but I did not expect it to be this soon. I am studying abroad in Barcelona for a quarter and I did not even think about doing an internship here because I wanted to travel. However, one of the things that being in Guatemala taught me was that in order to have the most authentic and unforgettable experiences I need to engage with the locals and try to be as least touristy as possible. I am taking a class in one of the partner universities, and even though it is really far and I have to rush to make it there and back to one of my classes on time, I decided to stay in that class because I am in a class with local students. I also decided to do an internship as well.
Because I decided to do the internship very last minute, they only had one internship left for marketing. They were looking for someone that has experience in marketing and that could speak Spanish. This was perfect for me since I worked as a marketing intern at Mercado Global and I was able to get a head start on Spanish because I used my Spanish a lot when I was there. And it so happened to be that they are a fashion tech company, therefore it would be really interesting to compare and contrast two opposite sides of the fashion industry and use the marketing skills and knowledge that I acquired over the summer to contribute to the marketing team at my company in Barcelona.
I knew before doing Global Fellows that I wanted to work at a global company, but doing this internship further solidified my desire to work at a global company after graduating. This trip made me love traveling even more so I hope to work at a global company so that I can travel the world for work to discover new places, learn about new cultures, and gain unforgettable experiences. Working at a nonprofit that focused on empowering women artisans also made me realize that I want to work in a company that focuses on helping the people and the environment. I really liked how Mercado Global not only gives their partner artisans access to the global market but also has community-based education programs so that they can improve their skills as artisans so that they can be paid more and also be educated on things that they did not learn at school.
My values for fashion changed dramatically. Before going to Guatemala I was a huge shopaholic and I would buy new clothes whenever I went to the mall. After working at Mercado Global and interacting with the artisans, I decided to stay away from fast fashion and only buy clothes from ethical and sustainable fashion brands. I want everything that I own to have a meaningful connection to me somehow and I think that it is important to buy from sustainable fashion brands not only for the artisans but for the environment and for yourself as well. It feels really different wearing a $10 shirt that was made in the factory or wearing a $40 handmade shirt that the artisans carefully handcrafted.
I miss everything about Guatemala, nature, the food, the culture, and the people. Only good things came out of my time in Guatemala and I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a Global Fellow. As I begin my life in Barcelona I am going to take all that I have learned there to maximize my time and experiences here.
