Series: Life in Porto Alegre | Part 1 of 7 > Discovering a new city and a new career
I just wrapped up my first work week here at Stefanini/Dell Computers in Porto Alegre, and I’m writing this with a huge smile on my face, fueled by a mixture of excitement, adrenaline, and that pleasant kind of exhaustion that comes from facing something truly new.
A Jump Into the Global Unknown
Moving to Porto Alegre already felt like an adventure. But walking into my first day at Dell, stepping into a team with people from all over the world, jumping into a global environment where English was now part of every stand-up, every code review, every document. While I was perfectly at home with Java, TDD, JPA, EJB, and Jenkins, speaking English daily in a professional context — that was a whole new kind of challenge.
After years of watching talks, reading blogs, doing tutorials, and even writing posts of my own, I thought I was ready. But the truth is, nothing replaces reality. This wasn’t just a new company. It was a multinational environment. Every interaction happened in English — a language I had studied and admired, but never truly lived. Standing in a room and needing to explain my thought process, or understand someone else’s, all in real-time English, felt like re-learning how to think aloud.
Making the Unknown Familiar
What’s been saving me? The people. My teammates are sharp, funny, generous — and above all, patient. I’ve already started to build the kind of friendships I know will make all the difference. Every “pairing session” is a mini-course. Every review comment is a new lesson.
When you move to a new city, it takes time to find your rhythm. Same thing when you join a new team. But both Stefanini and Dell has something special: people who genuinely want you to grow. I’ve never asked so many questions in one week. I’ve also never been this inspired to keep learning.
And while I’ve worked a lot with Java, SOA, REST, and I’m pretty comfortable with TDD, Dell’s stack added a few new puzzle pieces for me: OSB (Oracle Service Bus), ESB (Enterprise Service Bus), and BPEL (Business Process Execution Language). These technologies were mostly new to me, and I’m fascinated by how they orchestrate communication across complex systems. It’s not just about writing code — it’s about composing and choreographing services.
The first few days were a blend of surprise and discovery: understanding how OSB routes requests, how BPEL manages service interactions like a conductor with a symphony. I know this is just the beginning, and I’m excited to embrace this layer of enterprise systems I’ve mostly admired from the outside until now.
Curiosity Is My Compass
I’m currently learning the company’s domain, its tools, and its conventions — and discovering that large-scale enterprise software isn’t just technical. It’s human. It requires navigating culture, communication, and collaboration, especially when the language being spoken is not your first. Nothing is random. Everything has a reason. And I want to understand all of it.
I’m going through every wiki page, doc, and snippet I can find. On the bus, at lunch, in the evening. Not because I have to — but because I’m hooked. This is what it means to be new and motivated. I don’t feel like a junior developer. I feel like a student of the system.
More Than Just Code
Sure, I’m typing in a new language. But what I’m really learning is how this team thinks. How it shares knowledge. How it maintains trust. How it handles feedback, urgency, bugs, architecture. That’s what excites me the most.
And I know it will take time. I’m okay with that. Because every hour I invest now will make me more capable, more helpful, more creative. That’s the energy I brought with me to Porto Alegre, and I can already feel it multiplying.
Let’s Build Together
To my new teammates: thank you for welcoming me. For answering my questions. For reviewing my clumsy first commits. For inviting me to coffee even when I didn’t understand the jokes (yet).
To those thinking about taking a leap into the unknown — new city, new tech, new role — I say: do it. You’ll be amazed at how much you grow when you surround yourself with the right people and the right challenges.
Here’s to the next chapter. And to every line of code I’ll write with curiosity, intention, and gratitude.
Life in Porto Alegre Series Navigation:
- Current: Part 1 - New City, New Code, New Language
- Next: Laser Focus, Pomodoro, and Migrating with Confidence (Part 2)
- Release Weekend, Automation, and the Value of Real Leadership (Part 3)
- Beyond Java: Learning OSB, ESB and BPEL in the Second Quarter at Dell (Part 4)
- Remote Work, Resilience, and the Power of Friendship (Part 5)
- Rescuing the Teacher in Me: Inspired by a Tech Lead Who Builds Others (Part 6)
- Gratitude and Transition: From Dell to RBS (Part 7)
This series documents my move to Porto Alegre and first steps at Dell/Stefanini, exploring the challenges of working in a multinational environment, learning new enterprise technologies and adapting to a new city.
Complete series: Life in Porto Alegre Series