¡Hola! Time has been flying by here in Madrid (as it often does when you’re having fun), and I can’t believe it’s getting close to halfway through the program. This past week I had a friend from Pitt and my parents visit me, which made me realize how settled I’d become; I actually had recommendations and more formed reflections to share with someone stopping in Madrid. Additionally, I am just coming off a very enriching weekend in Barcelona that I shared with many of my Pitt friends who are studying in Alcalá. Some highlights included: meeting up with one of my co-workers face-to-face, walking around the amazing Park Güell, attending a drag show in Spanish (which, yes, included drag flamenco), swimming in the ocean, and attending mass at the tallest church in the world and inspiration for the largest Lego set ever, La Sagrada Familia (pictured above).

The blog prompt for this week around uncertainty/unclear directions feels quite relevant. I work for two offices simultaneously – ActionAid Spain and ActionAid EU. I have one direct supervisor at each office, but multiple people in both enlist me for tasks, and there is no central person telling me how to prioritize them all. That person is me. I have had to carefully budget my time to ensure I can complete all my tasks in order of urgency. Some of my tasks, such as posting on ActionAid EU’s LinkedIn or Twitter to react to an EU policy decision, are time-sensitive. Others, such as translating a volunteer orientation to English, lack a specific deadline but still require timely action. This has required me to stay organized and accountable across the board.

I’ve also received some unclear directions regarding my responsibilities around a campaign I’m involved with for ActionAid EU. For example, I’ve been assigned with drafting an Instagram content schedule for our “Campaign for an EU Budget for the People and the Planet,” which I am very excited about, but I haven’t received much guidance on what this plan should actually look like. I’m unsure how detailed the plan should be, whether I should start drafting specific scripts or verbiage for posts, etc. I am more used to taking directions as an intern, rather than being fully trusted to start projects on my own without receiving much direction or guidance. So far, I’ve been navigating situations like this by asking questions when I can, but mostly taking initiative and trusting my own judgment. I feel like I have both the skills and natural passion to execute these projects well; I just need to get over the mindset of waiting around to be told precisely what to do.

Tomorrow, I’m excited to head back in-person to the office, complete a few time-sensitive administrative tasks, then get to work envisioning the campaign’s social media content. I have really enjoyed how my internship gives me a balance of administrative and creative tasks. For example, my main project last week was to sort through transcripts of interviews with participants in womens’ development/sustainable agriculture programs in Rwanda, then transform each transcript into narrative form. It’s been an honor to tell the stories of these women, who have overcome situations like domestic violence to start their own businesses, take on local leadership roles, and work towards a better life for themselves and their children. It makes me feel so good knowing that I work for an organization that helps people by encouraging them to find their own agency, rather than centering themselves, and focuses especially on women. I’ve learned so much about EU politics, human rights work and more, and I feel like I’ve already gained so much confidence in my abilities to direct myself and produce high-quality work. Overall, I am feeling very grateful for this time in my life.