The Educaedu Team
2
Jul 10
Meet Luciana de Souza
Luciana with a statue of Maradona, Argetina's most famous soccer player.
Luciana de Souza is our resident Brazilian. Born in Salvador, Bahia in northeastern Brazil, she came to Buenos Aires, Argentina two years ago to learn Spanish and do a postgraduate program in Latin American Literature. After teaching Portuguese for a time, Luciana joined the Educaedu team in March of 2009.
In the office, Luciana is the Content Manager for Brazil and Portugal. Anything we need to do in Portuguese, Luciana is there to help us out, including lengthy translations and communications with clients and customers. She also handles our account on Orkut (a Facebook-esque site that is incredibly popular in Brazil). So if you want to say hi or make a comment, you can visit her by clicking here.
Luciana loves Argentina, but for her, Brazil is the best country in the world and no one can convince her otherwise (believe me, we’ve tried!). She will eventually return, but for now she will be at Educaedu, cooking, dancing, and laughing with her workmates who try to speak Portuguese with her.
Favorite food: Cozido – A Brazilian stew made with meat and vegetables.
Favorite author: Jorge Amado – a modern Brazilian writer
Best class ever taken: Arabic Dance Workshop – it only lasted 4 hours but she learned a lot about the culture and history behind the practice
29
Apr 10
Meet Camila Durán
Camila Durán joined Educaedu in October 2009. She came to Buenos Aires from her home town Bogota, Colombia to follow her interest in studying and working abroad. She graduated from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota with a degree in Political Science and is currently studying in Buenos Aires for a Postgraduate Diploma in Political Communications at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. At the same time she is also the Content Manager for the Colombian Educaedu website. Camila is in charge of the Educaedu Blog in Spanish and she also maintains media relations in Colombia, two areas where she can apply her communication skills. Educaedu Colombia was launched in early 2009, so if you fancy studying in Colombia and want to polish your Spanish, you can choose from 5761 programs online.
Camila is always full of energy and spends her free time playing field hockey and soccer, running in marathons and playing ping-pong too! Her enthusiasm has even extended to getting a female soccer team together and participating in the Educaedu running team.
Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption
Favorite novel: Perfume by Patrick Suskind
Favorite extra-curricular activity while at university: Soccer. Camila was a member of her University’s Soccer Team.
24
Mar 10
Meet the Programming Team
Some of the most important people of any great company are those behind the scences, those who do not always get the acolades they deserve. Educaedu would be nothing without our programmers and that is why we would like to highlight them now. They are the blood that runs through Educaedu’s veins and the glue that keeps it together.
Diego, Daniel, Pedro, Pablo, Matias, Martin, Gastón, and Federico (Fede, for short).
Some of the responsibilities of the team include; software development, search engine optimization (SEO), database administration (DBA), systems administration, quality assurance and project manager.
The team´s educational background varies from electronic engineering and information engineering to systems analyst and… artistic drawing?
When asked about what the team does outside of work many answered that they like to bike, read, play the guitar and SALSA DANCE. One answered that after work he goes home and continues programming.
You know who you are, shame on you.
I must say though, that the end of the year company dinner gave us a whole new perception of the programming department. Those guys know how to party.
Pedro’s favorite movie: Aliens
Fede’s favorite TV show: Myth Busters
Matias’ ideal made-up course: A “How To” Telekinesis Course
Daniel’s favorite book: The Count of Monte Cristo
2
Mar 10
Support for Educaedu in Chile
Educaedu would like to take the opportunity to show its support for Chile after the terrible earthquake that hit on February 27th. We have several offices in South America, including one in Chile, where our commercial representative Jessica is based. Jessica has told us that she and her immediate family are doing fine, but there are still many friends and other people that are unaccounted for at this stage, as communication systems are not functioning normally.
We have translated an email that Jessica recently sent us, describing her experience early last saturday morning:
The earthquake scared us, it surprised us while we were asleep, and it left us in the dark without the means to communicate. Even though my apartment still stands, the destruction has affected us terribly, but I am thankful to still have my home and my life and that I can tell you about it.
The earthquake was graded as 8.8, the one in Haiti was a 7 so you have an idea how severe it was. It was followed by another one at level 6.8 that lasted almost the same time and it was this one that caused the most destruction. In the hour after the tremor, all of the coasts were hit by tsunamis, some that went almost unnoticed, and others that destroyed everything in their path. The aftershocks still continue, some stronger than others, but they never stop to scare us, they bring with them a silence that makes us hold our breath, as we wonder if it will become stronger or stop in any moment.
The darkness, the fear, the uncertainty and the lack of leadership made the hours of the night unforgettably difficult. Groups of looters broke out in the city, and in the towns in the south where the devastation was the worst, the looters caused even more damage. They stole televisions, washing machines, beds, everything, something that I`ve never seen and that I am ashamed to write about. Recently things have gotten a bit better with the deployment of the army in the streets.
Rescue workers on Sunday, February 28. Photo - CNN - AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Jessica has told us that it is not clear how the earthquake impacted many education centres, but she does know that the University of Concepción lost its entire chemistry laboratory, which was one of the most important in Chile. Many centres are also opening their doors and forming groups of volunteers to help with the recovery.
We hope that Chile can recover from a terrible event such as this, and that it can reestablish stability. To all of the universities and educational centres, we hope that they too can recover what they have lost.
21
Jan 10
Meet Ceylan Özgören
Ceylan Özgören was contracted by Educaedu before coming to Buenos Aires through an organization called AIESEC (Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales). She came here to work, to see what is happening on the other side of the world and, of course, to learn Spanish. After almost a year, Ceylan can communicate with her co-workers in perfect Spanish and has really adapted to the porteño lifestyle.
Ceylan is the Turkish Content Manager and she is also in charge of our linking project that we have going on right now. Educaedu Turkey is the newest addition to our education directory. It officially went online on Thursday, September 24, 2009 with 70 institutions and 1800 programs to choose from. Wait, you don’t speak fluent Turkish? Don’t worry. Many institutions conduct entire programs in English. So if you are interested in studying in Turkey, here are a couple of programs conducted in your native tongue that Ceylan recommends:
What she misses most is two words – Turkish Coffee! If you have never tried Turkish coffee you do not know the joys of life. It is thick and sweet and goes perfectly with any cake. If you are lucky, Ceylan will read you your fortune from your coffee grounds, which is a Turkish tradition.
Favorite movie: Pulp Fiction
Favorite TV show: Nip/Tuck
Best class ever taken: An E-commerce course. She took it when she was trying to sell dried apricots to the U.S. and everything that she learned in that course was amazing.
Ideal made-up course: A course to understand the meanings of dreams.
30
Dec 09
Meet Carly Pocock
Carly Pocock, originally from Adelaide, Australia, graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Visual Arts. While working as a fitness instructor on a cruise ship in Chile and Argentina, she met her Argentinean boyfriend. It inspired her to come to Buenos Aires to learn Spanish and experience a different culture. Going on two years now, she has really made a home for herself, living in the neighborhood of Almagro with her boyfriend and two cats, Pochocla and Galletita. Whether it’s improving her culinary talents or going to yoga and body pump gym classes, Carly is always looking for new things to explore.
At Educaedu since October 2008, Carly works as the Content Manager for Australia and the UK, and helps out with other tasks whenever she can. Carly has recently become a Twitter expert and has been put in charge of the Educaedu Twitter account. She keeps everyone up-to-date with what is going on at our office and in the world of eductaion.
Although she misses her family and friends, and especially the incredible beaches (!!!), Carly is currently without plans to move back to Australia. She will be staying in Buenos Aires with her boyfriend and cats, with an annual holiday back home to catch up with her family.
Favorite movie: Back to the Future
Favorite TV show: Project Runway (the U.S. version)
Best class ever taken: Reading the Screen – a cinema studies course at University of South Australia
Ideal made-up course: Pop Culture with Concentration in Trash Culture
25
Dec 09
Educaedu Collaborators – Richard Jesus
Richard in La Boca, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Hi, I´m Richie. I am Brazilian and worked for Educaedu (in the contents department for the Brazil and Portugal websites) for almost a year. I started working for Educaedu when they first opened their office in Buenos Aires and it was a great learning experience. I met a lot of people, most of which were foreigners like myself, and built great relationships. Being around so many different kinds of people really opened my mind and taught me many things. Even though I´ve moved on and now have my own web projects, I would say Educaedu was a big part of my education.
I am happy knowing that I helped develop this website into the success that it is today. I will miss my friends from the contents department: Andrea (the supportive one), Brenda (the creative mind), Carly (so helpful), Nacho (the responsible one), Keli (so Argentine, haha), Hila (so sweet) and of course everyone else!
For those that will follow: Educaedu is a great place to work!!
18
Dec 09
Meet Brenda Vega
Brenda Vega, from Quito, Ecuador, came to Buenos Aires in search of lost treasures. Having already traveled through the lands of pisco sours and great wines, she found herself residing in this great city, the Paris of Latin America. She completed an undergraduate program in advertising and graduate courses in copywriting and art direction, making her ready to take on the world!
At Educaedu Brenda is responsible for a myriad of tasks. She is our Content Manager for Mexico, Ecuador and Peru and she is our official photographer. Have you seen our pictures on Facebook or Flickr? Well, Brenda took those. She even took the pictures for this blog (except the ones of herself, obviously). Jealous? I thought so…
On whether or not Brenda has plans to return to Ecuador, her response was just: “some day”. She does miss the food, especially the abundance of fresh fruit, but for now she will spend her time writing, sleeping and working at Educaedu.
Worst job ever: Working as the personal assistant to the sales manager of an Ecuadorian television channel. It was way too similar to the Devil Wears Prada.
Ideal cast of a movie: Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Meryl Streep, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks and Edward Norton (he is dreamy)
Favorite class ever taken: Creative Writing and Art Direction
Ideal made-up course: How to Get a Job at an Advertising Agency Unscathed
1
Dec 09
Meet Jonathan Téllez Toriz
Jonathan on the terrace
Jonathan Téllez Toriz is from Mexico City, one of the biggest cities on the planet. He now lives in Buenos Aires, but isn’t really sure why he came. He initially enrolled in an undergraduate program in art, but it was really just an excuse to come to Argentina given the fact that he never actually finished the program. He now has plans to create a documentary and present it as his thesis project for a journalism degree, his current focus. Jonathan enjoys reading, an occasional yoga session and is currently taking an illustration course. His cooking is slowly getting to an acceptable level and he hopes to take advantage of all the cultural activities that Buenos Aires has to offer.
Jonathan works in the content department, helping us organize all of our clients and how they appear on the website. He thinks it is great when clients respond positively and are satisfied with his work. He is also super excited to be in charge of our audiovisual projects we have going on right now. You might have seen some of his videos on YouTube.
Even though Jonathan misses authentic Mexican food, he will be staying in Buenos Aires. He has dreams of eventually heading to Brazil in the distant future but not until he has finished what he came here to do, have incredible life experiences.
Jonathan admiring our logo
Favorite band: The Smashing Pumpkins
Best concert ever been to: a Travis concert – he got to go to a meet and greet!
Best class ever taken: a Bartending Course – it was in Mexico and he got to make elaborate drinks and then try them all to see how they turned out
Ideal made-up course: How to Talk to Animals – he has always wanted to be able to since he was young
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube
Orkut
LinkedIn
Sonico
Wikipedia
RSS
