My week has flown by so fast! From finally meeting EUSA and the other students at the program, doing fun activities with them and exploring Paris on my own, it’s felt like I come home each day with new stories to share with my host family.
There’s so much to do every day! I’ve found myself staying out late because the sun goes down around 10 p.m. (it also rises around at 5 a.m., I’ve learned) and I don’t think I have seen my streets get truly dark as the restaurants are open till or past midnight. So far, the latest I have come back home was when I went with other students to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It was probably around 11:30 when I got to the metro, and I was sure that the restaurants near the apartment would either be quieter or closed. Yet when arrived some minutes till midnight, the area was still bright and lively.
Our activity on Saturday for EUSA Paris was a day trip to Versailles, which I was quite excited to do as it had rained all day the first time I visited. And in the direct sunlight, it was an even more surreal experience getting to see just how far the gardens and property spans and how shiny the building gets with all the gold decor. I got to spend a little more time studying the paintings–primarily the portraits–to notice all the little details and take multiple photos. My favorite are always the paintings that perfect the texture of fabric. When done precisely, your phone can actually sort of interpret the painted fabric as though it were a real 3D object–try tapping your phone to focus on a piece of clothing in a realistic portrait painting and then bring the exposure or brightness down slightly.
But I’m not just here to explore all there is to see, I am also here to do my internship! As an educational museum dedicated to language and linguistics content, my work at Mundolingua will somewhat encompass a handful of industries like linguistics and cultural research, translation, preservation of documents and artifacts, as well as some marketing and communication.
A large majority of the museum’s foot traffic during the week comes from school groups visiting as part of a field trip. This means that I will have to quickly learn how the museum’s displays are arranged and understand its content in order to help students find their way around and answer any questions they have about where they may find information on a specific topic. The museum is also open to the public, with a high chance of receiving both French and non-French visitors and people who have no background in linguistics or language. Thus, I have to make sure that I can be flexible and a strong communicator in both English and French to be able to introduce visitors to the museum without issue and answer questions about the museum.
I will likely have to work on my efficiency and decision making skills when it comes to doing linguistics and cultural research, as this will be my first time working more independently on research to find the answers needed for a project. With these also come networking and problem solving skills, as the museum often works with very few interns at a time who may not have all the competencies or information a project needs. If I remember correctly, there may also be some projects involving getting in contact with schools, archives, or other personal connections to find more precise information or confirm bookings.
It is hard to say as there are so many hats the team members of the museum expect to take on (excitedly, not in a tiring way) to manage it well and help it grow; it seems like many of the general competencies for maintaining the museum are necessary to have in many of the sectors it belongs to, regardless of country. But some competencies like creativity and balancing confident decision making/leadership with collaboration may be more uniquely sought out in France than in the United States. I think my museum would love to hear about new ideas and additions to their displays as long as I discuss it with my team to see how they feel about it and if we may be able to complete the project faster as a group.
Between these competencies I want to really work to improve on at the museum and exploring the city I feel like I end up spending more time trying to figure out my schedule! But once I wrestle everything into place, I can’t wait to spend the next weeks working at the museum and experiencing something new every day.
