Halfway there

Hi all!

Today marks an important day for me – not only have I been at my internship for a full week now, but I have been abroad for exactly 8 weeks now (56 days). It’s surprising to realize how long it’s been since I’ve been on American ground, but it’s even more surprising for me that I’m not even ready to go home yet. There are definitely things that I miss (I went with my program tonight to go see a movie, like in a theater with popcorn and everything, so that was a reminder of home), but there are still so many things I want to discover. I still haven’t been to London yet, or even the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris (in my defense, it snowed yesterday). I’m excited to see what the next half of my time here will bring.

Before I start on my internship, I’d like to make a side note – it’s only been a week and a half since I blogged. That’s not that long. My friends Laura and Mari on the other hand have not blogged since mid-February, so I’m doing pretty well (L and M you guys are awesome and this is just a plug for your blog! Read it here: fillesfrancaises.blogspot.com).   

Publicities aside, things have been good! My internship kicked off to a good start, and I already have a project to work on every day, which keeps me pretty busy. Plus BICE is on the tail end of sending a bunch of letters out to prospective donors, so someone has to sort through all the returned mail (guess who!). I’ve come to realize that with my past and current internships, heavy lifting tends to be a trend. I carry programs at football games, I carried sacks of flour and sugar at the bakery, and now I carry sacks of envelopes around the office. Who would’ve thought hundreds of envelopes could be so heavy?

The organization I’m working at itself is really interesting too. It’s a non-profit, but it serves as a network of organizations, connecting organizations across the globe to work together on large projects.  The office I’m in is mostly communications and donations, which is really interesting to see on a daily basis. Check it out here: www.bice.org (fun fact I translated some of the news stories! Just ask me for the titles if you're curious)

Because I’m now working during the week, my free time has been pretty limited. Apparently this the week of éclairs, so I’m hoping to go bakery hunting again to celebrate. Besides that, I’m travelling again this weekend and I’m headed to Brussels, Belgium with a friend! I’m really excited to see another country and take advantage of the proximity.

One last thing before I post this and head to bed. I’ve learned that crazy weather is a thing in Europe too. Last week was absolutely gorgeous, and it felt like springtime – on Saturday I went on a 2 hour walk on Boulevard Saint Germain with a blazer as a coat and it was just perfect. Then yesterday it snowed (10 centimeters I believe? For a city where it rarely snows, this is more snow than I would get at school). When in DC if you get the slightest bit of snow, everything is closed and cancelled. But when it snows in Paris, you still have to go to work and people are still walking through the streets. The Mid-Atlantic American in me is not very happy by this new cultural expectation, but I’ll survive. 

That’s it for now, but I’m sure I’ll have more things to write about soon!

Dana