Please excuse me in advance, if my post tonight lacks coherence; I’m very very tired, and will be heading to bed shortly. Until then, I will do my best to describe today’s activities.
Today was the first day of my internship in Manhattan with Student World Assembly. While I will usually start work at 10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today I was asked to come at 12pm because it was orientation, and not a full day of work. Brett was kind enough to offer to come with me on the first day, so that he could help me figure out exactly what Subway lines to take, and where my building was actually located. We sleepily grabbed the 10:15am train, reaching Grand Central Station at just after 11am. The “S” shuttle took us from Grand Central to Time Square (on a nice day, it is an easy walk), where we then picked-up the “1″ Uptown. After exiting the Subway station, we found that my building is located less than a block from the station, and is also located less than a block from Central Park. Before entering the building, we stopped at nearby Bread Soul Cafe so that we could have something to eat before I started at 12pm. Unfortunately, it took quite a bit of time for our food to be prepared (strangely), so we didn’t have time to eat together. Brett walked me to the building, said goodbye, and left for a day of solo sightseeing asI faced my first day at SWA.
When I reached the 4th-floor office I was greeted by Eli, the Coordinator of Program Development and Growth, for which I will be working as an associate. Together we went through a Power Point Presentation that explained, in greater detail, the different objectives of the organization as a whole, and more specifically the responsibilities of our team. Afterwards, Eli introduced me to Shahram, the Executive Director of SWA, and two of the other associates, Mehrnoush and Jacky. After having lunch, Eli went through some of the important aspects of my internship, including foundation and organization research, as well as a rough explanation of grant writing. We both agree that the process will become much more understandable once I have greater understanding and experience. I spent the rest of my time at SWA going through various documents and getting a “feel” of what the organization does on a day-to-day basis.
Brett met me at my building at the conclusion of my internship at 4pm, and was kind enough to buy me some cheap flip-flops while out and about, as my choice of shoes for the day was less than ideal. We reversed our route back to Grand Central, where we waited for the 5:15pm train home. Within a few minutes of pulling away from the station I fell asleep, not to wake up again until we reached the Stamford stop. Our stop in Darien was only a short distance after, and my mom was waiting for us when we arrived.
Upon returning to the house we had little down-time before getting ready for a dinner reservation at 7pm. Today is my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, and therefore we decided before hand that Mom, Dad, Em, Morgan, Brett and I would have dinner at The Melting Pot, where Brett and I had been twice (Minneapolis and Las Vegas), but where none of the other four had been before.
Dinner was a wonderful, 3-hour experience. While there was an initial problem with the table (there were only 2 burners for 3 couples), after moving tables and deciding on the various aspects of our meal, we were able to enjoy each other and the delicious food. We all had the cheese fondue course, salads, an entrée fondue course, and a chocolate fondue course. When we had all eaten our fill (and more), it was time to head home.
Very little has happened since dinner, except for some television and playing between Lucy and Data. We will be heading to bed soon, before making our last stop of the trip at Brett’s house tomorrow.
I would just like to take this opportunity to say congratulations to my parents, Mary and Frank. May they have as many wonderful years of marriage ahead of them as they do behind them. Cheers!
<3 J
