3 dias de trabalho

With 3 days of work in the books I can't say I've done a whole lot of actual work, but I'm sure that will come in due time.  I've spent most of my time trying to keep my head on straight with all of the crazy Portuguese going on around me.  I can hold a simple conversation with one person at a time but when they all start talking at once I am completely lost.  I sit here with my little translation book listening to conversations and trying to pick up new words to look up.  Everyone in the office has been very helpful and a few of them speak English well enough to help translate for me.  One thing lost in translation is my name, which is pronounced "Bray-n-do Gee-Tolla" in these parts.

I still don't have anything in my apartment except for the clothes I brought and the bed that was there when I arrived.  Supposedly other items such as a fridge, oven and TV are supposed to be delivered this week but I'm not detecting a great sense of urgency with anything in Brazil.  The lone exception is the apartment building under construction next to mine..... it seems they are working on it 24/7 which can make sleeping a bit interesting.  My big purchases this week have included hangers so I could unpack my clothes and an iron so that I could show up a work looking half way respectable.  It may not seem like much, but it's the simple things in life that make adjusting to a new country that much easier.

Below is an announcement that went out introducing me to the company (it also came with a picture that didn't copy over) and an example of the language barrier I'm working to break through on a daily basis...

		Mobilidade de Talentos: Novo Gerente na VP Finanças
	Estamos incentivando e praticando cada vez mais a mobilidade de talentos nas empresas que integram o DIRECTV Group, privilegiando assim o desenvolvimento das pessoas e das carreiras.   Desta forma a SKY continua com esta prática trazendo Brandon DiTolla, Gerente de Planejamento Financeiro Corporativo que integrará o time de Adriana Gaspar, Gerente de Planejamento e Suporte ao Negócio, e ficará conosco durante o período de 2 anos.   Ele será responsável, entre outras funções, por conduzir a elaboração e reporte do plano financeiro anual e de longo prazo, bem como pelas revisões mensais e estimativas anuais.   Esta é a melhor forma de trazer know how e também levar conhecimentos de operações locais de volta para o DIRECTV Group, garantindo negócios sustentáveis e o desenvolvimento de talentos que possam no futuro contribuir ainda mais com o nosso negócio.   Brandon trabalha na DIRECTV US há 6 anos e desenvolveu sua carreira em diferentes áreas de finanças até chegar em seu cargo atual de Gerente de Planejamento Financeiro.  Desejamos boas-vindas e sucesso para Brandon em seus novos desafios!