Welcome back to our scheduled programming, and boy oh boy has this last week been extremely busy! As I continue to become closer with my friend group here, I also am continuing to open my horizons to new experiences, people, and places. After the work week ended, I decided to spend my Friday exploring the neighboring towns of Dublin shopping, and trying new cuisine. It was extremely relieving spending just half a day even of time to myself to reconnect with the fast-paced trip I’ve been on for almost a month now and make sure I have both my priorities and goals of this trip still in sight. However, this didn’t stop me from doing more exploring with friends!! Over the weekend, I traveled to the local Dublin castle, as well as a local lighthouse near Irishtown, which was absolutely beautiful scenery to view and take in. I would like to travel to more of North Ireland in the coming weeks, so here’s to those trips coming soon!
In regards to work, this past week was filled with extreme positives, but also a large amount of stress. I am currently in the office with another intern from the US. However, she is 18 years old, and although we are both in college when it comes to confidence and speaking to higher-up individuals within the company, it often falls on me to take charge of everything from projects to discussions and meeting facilitation. Since we have been here, we have been assigned two very large projects. However, due to our comparability and problem-solving skills, these projects have been finished in relatively quick time. Although this is nice and feels rewarding, we often run out of things to do, leaving us in a state of ambiguity and confusion.
Often during these times, it’s important to still contribute to your colleagues and work around you. These moments often lead me to find ways to make conversation with my colleagues around me, continuing to network while also building my relationships around me. However, I also try and email my supervisor asking if she has any additional things I can either start or shadow. With the work done in this office, there are often a variety of programs going on that allow me to deflect from my specific work at hand and learn more about the inter-workings of other parts of the company such as welfare programs and other interviews. My supervisor works on an entirely different floor subject to full-time staff, so often if she does not come down and see me, I will not see her. Email is usually the easiest way to get her attention, and I’m very attentive with notifying others around me if I’m in need of new work or if I need assistance with something.
I have learned over the last few weeks of working here that although the state of confusion can be scary, it’s important to live in that moment and learn to live with uncertainty. Especially with work, that does not mean you are not doing a good job with your projects; it might mean something entirely different. I completed a project for another supervisor about a week ago, and have not heard anything on what her or her colleague’s thoughts were. I have since questioned what they are thinking, but in the time being, have learned to calm down my nerves and focus more on the specifics at hand in front of me that I can control, which is the work that was finished, and what my next project should look like. This is never a linear cycle, but as time goes on, my workload fluctuates so I become used to what the office environment is when I do have to experience these situations.
Having a new job, especially in an entirely different country from your own, is bound to bring feelings of excitement, confusion, worry, and so much more. However, what I like to remember is everyone starts in the same position I’ve been in at some point. Although more skilled and knowledgeable, those experiences take large amounts of time, but for now, living in the unknown is okay. Eventually, both those projects and experiences will be looked back on with smiles, no worries. I’m hopeful my projects will be met with praise from my supervisors. I have full confidence I am giving them the best quality work I can provide, and with that, I am eager to learn more about the social services industry as time goes on. Until then, the week moves on, and we’ll see what new experiences I take on next!