In late September I accepted an internship position as a research assistant at the BRICS Policy Center. Its name comes from the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. They are countries with emerging economies and increasingly regional and international influence. At the BRICS Policy Center, administered by the Institute of International Relations of PUC-Rio, researchers perform short and long-term studies on the BRICS countries and their intricacies. Now more than a month since the internship began, the experience at the BRICS Policy Center has been stimulating.
I first learned of the center’s existence while attending an event on Brazil-US relations in Washington D.C. this past Spring; as soon as I arrived to Rio de Janeiro I began preparing to apply for the application and after it became available I immediately applied and heard back in September. I joined their Social-Environmental Platform team, specifically under an international relations professor working on a project to study the presence of China in Latin America. My research therefore has been to study why and how China has become such a strong actor in Latin America, one that to this day continues to invest and increase its economic and political partnerships with Latin American countries. The project is in its preliminary stages, but what I am learning has been captivating and though the reading is burdensome and time consuming, I thoroughly enjoy reading the various literatures on China in Latin America.
When I applied to PUC-Rio, I indicated to my study abroad advisor my interest in interning while abroad in Brazil, though I never would have imagined how difficult it would be. Difficult in terms of the large commitment of my time while having to also simultaneous commit myself to four courses, a completely new life, and the constant invitations of friends to go enjoy the experience of living in a foreign country. Interning abroad can therefore be draining, yet I have enjoyed the experience, and though it has limited my time substantially, I’ve organized myself in a way that I can make time for various activities while at the same time fulfill my duties. I spend around two to three afternoons working from home every week on various readings, and then meet once a week to discuss the literature with the professor and two other student researchers. The discussion takes place in Portuguese and I can understand most of it, though when it comes to explaining what I read, and I am personally not able to thoroughly explain my thoughts in Portuguese, I change to English.
Long having heard of the acronym ‘BRICS’ during one of my courses at UC Davis, never did I imagine I would be able to work alongside Latin American researchers looking at China and its presence in Latin America, specifically Brazil. BRICS no longer is an acronym, for these countries have and continue to amass significant influence worldwide, and at the BRICS Policy Center I hope I will continue to learn more about their relationships with one another. Students should consider completing an internship during their time abroad, I highly recommend it.