My internship is much more laid back than I expected it would be. I showed up to work in my usual work outfit – full makeup, hair straightened, slacks, boots, and a sweater. I did not expect that would be nearly over dressed for a position in the EU Communications Affairs department of the Government of the Czech Republic. The people I work with are some of the friendliest Czechs I have encountered since being here – my own supervisor is well-known for his extremely talkative nature, which fits right in with my own tendency to talk endlessly.
I expected my work to be what it is – lots of research and drafting articles to review with my supervisor before publishing to the English section of the CR Government’s own news site. I have been researching while I am in office and writing my preliminary draft for review. This is what 65% of my day is filled with, but the other 35% contain conversations about politics, life, and cultural differences between myself, my colleagues, the US and the CR. While it may not look like explicit work to an outside viewer, these kinds of conversations have helped me reevaluate my perspectives on my country as well as the one I currently reside. Each worker openly discusses their view of the current government and state of affairs, whether positive or negative. It is hard to compare this to the US – I have never worked inside of a government building, so there is no way for me to know if workers who are employed by a government entity not dictated by political parties would openly praise or criticize or current sitting president.
The amount of physical work I do each day is drastically less than the US. Even though it may seem like it is due to my condition as an intern, most of the office takes their time in enjoying conversations, breaks, and leisure throughout the day. I am not sure if it comes down to tax wedges or desire for leisure, as Douglas Clement discusses in his article about to hourly work average comparisons of Americans and Europeans, but it is obvious that my current coworkers are much more likely to get caught in a long distraction than my previous bosses at home. I have not decided if I like the difference yet – some of what Clement talks about rings very true in my home life, so I must readjust to the atheist-leaning persona of the Czech Republic.
The language difference is difficult sometimes with my coworkers that do not speak English, but I have been able to speak German with a few of them. Like many Americans, I am fast-talking. That adjustment has been hard but has really paid off in connecting with other workers. We have talked about stark differences in American culture, specifically openness to change and language barriers. The US’ isolation makes the necessity for different languages less prevalent, but the lack of language variance is extremely obvious across the globe. What makes it more frustrating for other nations is that not much has been done in US culture to counteract this difference until the South Korean movie Parasite became so successful. We compare and contrast both of our countries in both positive and negative ways and it enriches my internship experience to receive and outside perspective on my regular workplace.
I completed my work that was asked in a timely manner while still developing relationships within the department. My first week was enriching in both work and personal experiences and I expect to continue exploring each of these aspects of my internship.
Kenadie's Internship Experience 