internships

[taken in new york city in june of 2012] 

 The idea of doing an international internship has appealed to me for quite some time, with a few drawbacks.

My reservations have always centered around a few key points:

1. They just plain don't interest me. I am all for going for the experience of living abroad, but if it's not going to help my career at all I have a hard time committing myself to the application process, especially because..

2. They cost money. I get it. Especially the living and airfare and all those costs. I GET that those won't be paid for. But you aren't even paid for your work. Which is a tough spot to be in if you have to pay for accommodations and airfare and all of that. It sort of emphasizes my theory that the rich remain rich and educated because they can afford opportunities. Another rant for another day.

BUT today, I finally found it. The holy grail of international internships. It does still cost money (a whopping $15,000, in fact... mostly to make sure that you can afford your accommodations though), but my interest has finally been peaked.

The organization? CANADEM. (yes, in capitals.)

Why? To start with, it is partially funded through the Canadian government and seems to be a pretty legitimate company. I guess you can never know these things for sure, but I do have a bit more trust in a company that is legitimate enough to have a link on the Government of Canada website and have a Wikipedia page.

Also, the internships interest me! Oh my gosh do they ever interest me! They are in countries that interest me! (Peru, Indonesia, Italy, Vietnam, to name a few) They are with organizations that interest me! (IDLO, UNDP!) Their slogan "Don’t get lost in that all too familiar catch 22: "You need experience to get experience." resonates so strongly with me. Ever since I started working I've lamented that I can never work in the fields that I want because I don't have the experience and I cant get experience if nobody will hire me. And while a non-paid internship might not be the most high-quality work experience, I feel like saying you worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Indonesia, even for only 6 months, might have some weight on your resume. And if it doesn't, you only live once.

This is an experience that is worth it. I finally have a goal in mind. I have something to save up for. My only lament now is how to strategize saving $15,000 with keeping my sanity and continuing to pay off my student dept (and to continue doing so while being away).

Baby steps.

thoughts on working abroad

[taken july 8, 2011 in berlin, germany]

Recently I've been contemplating the idea of living and working abroad. It's always an idea that has been at the back of my mind. As somebody that loves travel, how cool would it be to essential travel as a job? Not really, obviously. Unless you were a flight attendant. Which I would also love to do and have considered extensively. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible at the time being with my lack of French language skills. Perhaps the only burden of being a Canadian is the inherent necessity to know both English and French. Which is difficult later in life. Sometimes I wish I had planned out my University studies better and included some French language training for myself. Alas.

So many options seem possible, and yet all so difficult and far away at the same time. I'm finding it especially difficult to try and co-ordinate some sort of cohesive plan.

I can't leave until at least May, when I'm finished school. But my work contract doesn't officially end until July, and it seems awkward to ask for references when you're still under contract to work for an employer. Also, my current lease doesn't expire until September. It seems burdensome to pay rent for a place where you aren't even living. Subletting would be difficult too, as a primary contact between the landlord and house.

Also, the endless possibilities are slightly overwhelming. On one hand, the entire world is open to me. On the other, much of it is closed off due to lack of relevant education and/or experience. I could teach English in Korea, but this doesn't appeal to me for any real reason other than the ability to travel within Asia. I would love to work in Europe, namely Germany, but my primary skill of English fluency isn't exactly in short demand there.

I'm sure something will work out, but it's really difficult being in this limbo of not being able to figure out what may work.

nyc, day 0.5 (june 17, 2012)

[note: I didn't originally include this day but have since realized it provides another restaurant req as well as an opportunity to introduce the trip. So I am back-posting it to appear before the day one post]

[ Travel Info, Hotel Info ]

We flew into Newark airport (from Edmonton) on June 17th and landed mid-afternoon after a full day of travel (including a layover in the Twin Cities). We used the GoLink Airport Shuttle and we drove in a van through New Jersey for about two hours before we arrived at our hotel in Manhattan. It was a long drive, but I've heard that taking the subways from Newark takes about the same length of time. This way, we didn't have to lug our luggage and we were dropped off right in front of the hotel. Plus, because it was booked in advance we didn't have to worry about tickets or anything, and the counter was pretty easy to find from the departures gate. So, I would recommend it.

Our hotel/hostel (I know I use it interchangeably, and yes, I do know the difference. The place we stayed was both) was the Chelsea Highline. I feel like we got what we paid for. It was the cheapest we could find and was a bit of a walk from the closest subway station, but the location itself was pretty nice (not sketchy at all) and while it got quite hot in the rooms (no air conditioning) they were clean and the windows opened. The bathroom was down the hall and while it was sometimes a wait to use it, it never got to be a huge deal and was always some level of clean (one time it was flooded but that was the fault of the guy before me who took a 45 minute shower). Breakfast was included and varied between bagels and muffins. Nothing awe-inspiring, but free. Also, free wifi.

Anyways, after dropping off our bags we set out to wander a little and eat. We saw the flatiron building and tried to visit a cocktail bar in the area. We did find the bar, and while it was nice, we opted to leave and find somewhere with more of a food menu.

After A LOT of wandering, we re-found (I saw it on the way to the flatiron but obviously didn't really pay attention to streets or anything yet) New York Burger Co. Oh my gosh was that a good burger. Comparable only maybe to Shake Shack (but they were good in such different ways...). I highly recommend it. You got to pick what you wanted your burger cooked to (medium to medium-well is apparently standard) and there were a bunch of different delicious toppings. But the real treat was the sauces for the fries. Not only ketchup, no! There was mayo sauce, pesto sauce, different spicy sauces, everything. Soooo good. Oh and it was HUGE.

After eating, it was pretty dark and we walked back to our hostel. On the way we saw our first NYC sunset and it was magic. Pure magic.

nyc: planning

via

One week until my best friend and I go to NYC for 6 days. Holy am I ever excited. But before I can go and see the awesomeness that is NYC for the first time, we have to plan.

Some insight:

- NYC hotels are EXPENSIVE. We decided that we did not want to stay in a hostel dorm (which we have both done before and didn't mind but decided it wasn't the right fit for this trip) and we didn't want to spend a ton on a hotel. Finding a cheapish hotel that fit that criteria was extremely hard. We'll see if we made the right choice...

- There is a lot to see and do in NYC. We've decided to plan our days out (something that I personally don't normally like to do when travelling) so that we can actually see what we want to see. Currently, our days are booked into 'sections', wherein we see specific areas of the city on specific days. I think this will be a great way to do things, but I guess we'll see for sure if it works in a couple of weeks.

- How do you pack for the big city? I know how to pack for backpacking through Europe, but packing to look decent baffles me. Especially when our airline charges for checked luggage. So, do I check a bag for $50 (round trip) or do I try to fit 6 days worth of nice clothes and toiletries into a carry-on?

Hopefully all of these questions, and more, will be answered in a couple weeks!