by Aitana Mazú
When I started my internship, I knew that besides attaining knowledge, I wanted my colleagues to become my friends. I always heard my mother talk about how she remained friends with her colleagues from her first work opportunity, and I craved that experience too. However, I was so eager to take this leap in my life that I forgot about the abysmal difference between my mother’s and my situation, the cultural difference that awaited me.
When I started my internship, I noticed all my coworkers were incredibly welcoming and nurturing; I also thought it would be easy to bond with them as all members of my E-Commerce and Trade department were women, and as someone who comes from a family matriarchy, I knew what approach to take, or so I thought.
However, I underestimated the age and cultural contrast. As if being the new member wasn’t enough, I was also the youngest member in my department and the only non-European member in my team. I realized that my form of socialization was incredibly different than theirs; I grew up in a culture where the more you shared, the better. It couldn’t have been more different here.
All my attempts at bonding with my peers were seen as ‘too friendly’ for my corporate environment; without direction, I decided to seek guidance where most student immigrants do, their parents. I told my mother my dilemma on how I couldn’t connect as much as I wanted with my peers due to the cultural differences, and she advised me to offer help.
I will probably never admit this out loud, but my mother was right. I started offering help to my burnout colleagues, which made them more disposed to get to know me. Once they did, they started inviting me to out-of-office activities and including me even more in the conversations. What meant most to me was they asked me about my plans this weekend, and when I returned to the office on Monday, they wanted to know all the details, meaning they remembered.
We kept engaging in meaningful conversations and invitations to workout classes after the office; everything was going great. I even planned to go with them to a concert this September, and last week, I spent my birthday with one of my dear colleagues. This experience couldn’t have been better; I learned from 2 other areas of the E-Commerce department besides my current position. I acquired so much knowledge and, even better, some good friendships.
Once I finished my internship, I realized how highly my colleagues thought of me, and one of the things I heard the most among them in the goodbye speech was regarding my good energy and helping disposition, on how I always brought a sunny, sweet, optimistic energy to the office. I attained what I wanted and even more. I learned more than I thought and made terrific friends with connections in the industry I’m interested in working in.
So my advice to whoever is reading this: offer a helping hand; you never know who might reach back to you.