WRITTEN BY SAGE CORPS SUMMER 2018 FELLOW, PIERRA WHITE.
Summer 2018 marked the start of our programming in Mexico City! Pierra, a Business Administration and Social Psychology double major from the University of Michigan, shares her experiences with us:
HOUSING
“Currently in Mexico City, I am residing in a hotel called “Grand Chapultepec“. It is very beautiful, comfy, and it makes me feel as though I am at home. I stay walking distance from the Museo Nacional de Antropología, which is one of the largest and most visited museums in Mexico. Some of my favorite places to hang out nearby is a cute little coffee shop called Finca Santa Veracruz. I also enjoy walking down La Roma street as there are many restaurants, stores, and beautiful monuments. And if you love sushi, Mexico City is right for you! Around the corner from my hotel is also a delicious sushi place called Sushi Zen. Lastly, when I am in my hotel, I find myself spending the most time in my comfortable bed sleeping away.”
COMMUTING
“My internship is approximately 45 minutes away from my hotel. I Uber to my workplace everyday and along the way I see soooo many things while having an enjoyable ride to my workplace. Ubering in Mexico is extremely cheap and efficient – on most workdays I pay 2 dollars for my Uber ride to work. I really get to see a lot of the city while ubering to work! I see many vendors selling food like tamales, fruits, pancakes, etc! I see ALOT of beautiful people dressed up in their professional attire on their way to work. On my way to work I also see a lot of traffic!! Mexico City traffic has to be equivalent or maybe even worse than traffic in New York, but I don’t mind because it really gives me the opportunity to explore more of the city.”
WORKING
“I work at a startup company called Caliza Cultivando Energia. It is not downtown Mexico City but it is in a nice quiet community in Mexico City. The physical space that my internship is in is huge! There are 2 bathrooms and about 6 different workspace rooms – this is pretty spacious considering there are only 9 employees that work in the building. My employees and I usually take breaks and stop at a nearby coffee shop called “Sur”! They have the best green tea and my employees and I love it; we buy it everyday, no kidding! There are not that many restaurants nearby, but with a short 5 minute drive you could be near many. One of my favorite restaurants near my startup is called “Japones Restaurante”. It is a Japanese restaurant with such a beautiful scenery, water fountains and all. I recently went there last week with a couple of coworkers and the CEO, it was a great outing.”
Pierra with some coworkers
STARTUP LIFE
“My startup company sells solar panels to schools and residential clients while also trying to increase awareness in the community about solar energy. However, I have the role of leading two different projects this summer: Planning for Caliza’s First Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference, and also developing Caliza’s referral program. Some of my daily tasks includes meeting with the CEO of the company discussing progress and new ideas, having meetings with some of Caliza’s stakeholders in order to increase resources and support for the conference I am planning, writing proposals for the CEO and presenting them to Caliza’s stakeholder partners, and meeting with the marketing team to create ideas for the referral program.”
AFTER WORK
“After work I generally like to work out – there is a gym in my hotel that I try to go to everyday! After, I like to shower and then link up with my cohort members. Each day varies. One day we may decide to check out a new spot in Mexico City or maybe a new restaurant in the community. Some days we decide to just chill and watch a movie and get prepared for our next day at our internship!”
Pierra (left), City Manager Hector, and cohort member Scotty during some time off
WEEKLY PROGRAMMING
“One of my favorite programming events has to be salsa dancing for many reasons. One reason is because I learned how to salsa dance (jk, just a little). It was exciting learning more about Mexican culture! Also, I liked this experience because it pushed me out my comfort zone. During this event, we had to dance with strangers (I know this sounds weird), and we had to switch partners every 2 minutes! This was weird to me at first but after a while I thought it was cool, and I really learned a lot from dancing with various individuals – even my cool city managers!”
WEEKENDS
“On the weekends I usually spend more time with my cohort members! We usually find a museum, club, or monument to go to! A couple weeks ago we decided to take a bus to Puebla and spend the weekend there in an Airbnb! It was great! We went to this nice fancy restaurant, visited a museum where we had the opportunity to meet the ARTIST (it was great!), and explore the Puebla streets. Some weekends I hang with my internship team! This pass week I had the opportunity to spend a Saturday with the CEO and co-workers where we went on a boat ride at Xochimilco! We had drinks, elote, listened to great music, and talked all night! It was great! Had to be one of the best experiences thus far!”
Pierra with the Mexico City city managers and other fellows
WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST?
“One thing that really surprised me about my Sage Corps experience is the amount of time I spend with my internship team! I didn’t think I would spend most of my time with them –> with working, going out, etc. But it has really enhanced my working abroad experience because they are really good people!”
ADVICE
“For my future fellows of the Sage Corps Program – I would say make sure you spend time with the people at your internship!!!! If they don’t usually go on work events, ask them to! And enjoy that time with the people you work with, because it could really make a difference in your work life during your time abroad!”
Want to see more from Pierra and the Summer 2018 Mexico City cohort? Check out their Instagram account, @sc.mexicocity_!
