The CSC selection process

I've shared my CSC story with a few people so far. The conversation usually runs something like this...

Moi - "Hey homie"
Party of the second part - "Can you do XYZ on mm/dd?"
Moi - "Sry - not gonna be around"
POTSP - "Where u at ?"
Moi - "Brazil"
POTSP - "Why ?"
Moi - story about my CSC do-gooding trip for 4 weeks etc, followed by a mild pitch to recruit them to the cause in some form or the other.

Most of the time, my IBM colleagues ask me how I got into the CSC program. For their benefit, this post (Yoda-style my phrasing has become).

Do you want to work on a gig that's nothing like anything you've ever done (or will ever do ?). The Corporate Service Corps is that gig. A 4-week stint in a developing country, working for clients that are probably a fraction of the size of those you work with - but with problems that are as challenging as any you've handled. Got your attention ? Then here's how to apply.

First, read up on the program.

Public CSC website

Internal IBM-only CSC website (sorry, my legion of non-IBM followers, this is only for Big Blue)

Secondly, make sure you want to do this. Talk to your family. Being away for 4 weeks is no easy task. Talk to your manager as well. Make sure you meet the basic requirements  - 2 years at IBM with ratings of 2+ or better each year.

Then, look out for the application window. The CSC program accepts applications only during a certain time period each year. This year, it was for 3 weeks from Apr 15 to May 5.

When the application window is active, you can submit your application. You need to answer a bunch of questions covering a diverse set of topics. You need to treat it as you'd treat a college application - the questions are by no means easy. Allot enough time to think about and write your answers. During the application process, you can indicate your preferred continents / regions (but not countries or projects).

Finally, your manager needs to sign off on your application - therefore the suggestion to talk to her or him before you start.

Then you wait. If you are lucky, you will get the email saying you've been selected. I was lucky to be selected the first time I applied. Many have told me that they've had to apply multiple times before they were accepted.

From the time you get the acceptance notice, you can wait as much as a year before you are deployed. The acceptance letter simply means that you have been selected to be deployed - the actual deployment will depend on finding a suitable project that matches your preferences and the clients' needs. Also, there are no deployments in Q4 ....

#ibmcsc brazil

The dreaded travel shots

Yellow fever.
Malaria.
Rabies.
Typhoid.
Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B.

The list of travel vaccinations recommended for travelers to Brazil gave me the shivers. I am as needle-averse as they come, and the thought of getting poked so many times gave me pause. Gritting my teeth, I scheduled a call with the local county Department of Health for travel vaccines.

On the appointed day, I showed up and was handed a bunch of forms to fill out, and then led to a waiting room where I had the choice of watching Dora the Explorer or reading a 3-month-old version of "Parenting" magazine. Mercifully, my turn came quickly enough. A kindly nurse inquired "Where in Brazil are you headed ?". She looked up the CDC website on Brazil and told me that Yellow Fever is recommended, not required. They had run out of Typhoid shots as well. Upshot - I ended up getting two shots, and a bunch of pills. Not bad for the peace of mind, methinks.

I travel to India routinely, and I've never taken many of the precautionary vaccines recommended by the CDC. So far, I've not been afflicted by the Plague, Anthrax, Consumption or the assorted litany of ailments. I am hoping that the immunity developed over years of eating street food stand me in good stead.

#ibmcsc brazil

Learning Portuguese - Eu falo um pouco de Portugues

Dr. Paul Pimsleur, I like your method !

Soon enough after I found out that I was headed to Brazil in September for my Corporate Service Corps  deployment, I started looking around for Portuguese lessons. There were no convenient language schools near me, and I have had no success picking up a new language from text books. So I decided to give the "books on tape" method, as relentlessly promoted by Rosetta Stone at every single American airport terminal, a try.

I went to my friendly neighborhood public library and picked up the first (and only) audio CD there that promised to teach me Brazilian Portuguese. Pimsleur's Conversational Brazilian Portuguese came in an impressive box with 8 CDs, each with two roughly half-hour lessons - so 16 lessons in total. I popped the first one in my car CD player, and followed the instructions. Half an hour later, I knew how to say "I speak a little Portuguese" and a few other handy sentences.

 

As I completed my 12th lesson today, I realized that the Pimsleur approach, which stresses conversational skills, repetition and long-term memory, works beautifully for me. I am no stranger to languages - I speak 6 with some degree of fluency, and learned the most recent one (Danish) in my early 30s. I have also attended many French and German lessons, without anything sticking to my memory. So what worked with Pimsleur ? First of all, the complete absence of text books and any written stuff helped me concentrate on learning how to speak. The use of everyday situations and conversations from the very beginning helped. Repetition of words and sentences, with a frequency that tapered down as the lessons progressed, helped as well.

All told, I can now order a beer ("eu quero uma cerveja"),  ask directions to the bathroom ("onde fica o banheiro ? ") and buy things ("comprar coisas"). This won't get me very far in Brazil, I know, but hey, its a good start !

#ibmcsc brazil