Arantxa's first two months in DIMSCALE

On January 21st we welcomed Arantxa Arano in our office, that is doing an international internship with us. With a degree in Building Engineering, Arantxa is helping us with several projects and obtaining training in the areas of Quantity Surveying and Financial Project Management. We asked Arantxa to write for the blog about her experience in these first two months.

 MY EXPERIENCE AS AN INTERN ON DIMSCALE

"It’s already more than two months since I arrived to Portugal to work as an intern. It’s true what they say, time flies by, because I remember the day I got here as it was yesterday. I still have four months ahead, and I’m really enjoying my stay in here. I’m glad I was given this opportunity, because working or studying abroad had always been on my mind, and this was great timing because I had just finished studying a master’s degree before moving to this country.

As a civil engineer, until now, I only had had experience working as an intern on construction sites, so working on Dimscale was a great opportunity to learn more about the process of making the measurements that are the key of a good financial control and also indispensable when having to construct or renovate a building. The previous experiences I had as an intern were really good to understand the building process, because I was able to see the construction of the building live, getting to understand how all elements of a building work together. However, I recently realized that the procedure of measuring the different elements that are part of a building is a very laborious work that gives you a thorough idea of the whole process. Therefore, you get to understand the way buildings work because you have to gain an understanding of the way materials and constructive solutions function. Therefore, learning about building measurement is being very satisfying. When I was in college, I had a subject about how measurements are supposed to be made, but I was only given a general idea of the process, and right now I’m having the chance to really learn the technique.

Being part of the Arrebita!Porto project is also one of the reasons why I decided to come here, not just because the social reasons involved on the project, but also because I have the opportunity to work in an international environment, getting to work with architects and engineers from all over the world. It has been a really rewarding experience and I am looking forward to continuing working with them so I can contribute in my small way to the innovative idea of rehabilitation at zero cost.

Besides this, practicing my English was another goal of mine, and this adventure also meets those requirements. In addition, I’m attending Portuguese classes, so I can add another language to my CV, even though it’s a very basic level. I can at least say that I almost understand the language, even if I’m not capable of speaking it yet. Actually, I’m very happy because of that since I had problems to understand the language even if Spanish and Portuguese are supposed to be similar languages.

To sum up, the four months I have left might be useful for expanding my knowledge on constructive concepts and languages, so I can’t complain. Right now I’m focused on making the most of what this company and country have to offer.

Best regards/Melhores cumprimentos/Un saludo/Agur bat

Arantxa."