Lia

May 29-June 20

During the first week of my internship, I was pretty overwhelmed with the things we were supposed to do. There were several things that I didn’t know how to do like editing a webpage, creating different promotional materials, formally messaging organizations, a lot more. I thought that I would have a hard time during my internship. But thanks to my fellow school mates who are interning with me along with the guidance of Camille, our supervisor, they taught me how to do new things like deal with certain applications, how to respond to inquiries, and even taught me something that I thought I would never learn how to do which is to make a simple video.

It took me a week to get used to going to work. I wasn’t used to sitting at a desk the whole day. At the beginning there were times where I felt really tired and tried very hard to stay awake. But a few days later, I got used to it and now, I actually prefer doing a lot of things to keep me preoccupied and more focused at work. Probably the hardest task that was assigned to me would be the partnership. From the several e-mails I send out, only two replied, one of which was not interested. The long period of waiting resulted me to think that the e-mails I sent out would lead me nowhere. At some period I felt stuck, but Camille helped me by giving me a former partner and asked me to re-establish the partnership. At the same moment, probably brought about by pure luck, I finally got a reply from an organization from the several e-mails I sent before. I was really happy. My previous tasks consisted of editing the kpop-school website as well as creating promotional material for both the promotion of the camp, and promotions for the meet up. I felt really happy that I was able to create posters and a simple video that they approved of. I will definitely practice more to be better to create better promotional materials. I am currently tasked to promote the said Kpop camp and am also waiting for the reply of several organizations. Safe to say, I am enjoying my daily tasks at work.

Probably one of the best experiences I had so far was the two meet ups we organized. Not only did I make new friends, but I was also able to learn more about Korean, French, Indonesian, and American culture. The meet up gave me the opportunity to work with people from  During my very first meet up, Dana (my fellow Filipino school mate) and I were in charge of putting the food while the French interns were in charge of the program. We decided to make an easy Filipino snack called lumpia from scratch and it was really fun since it was our first time to make it. It turned out pretty well and the guests enjoyed the snack. During the second meet up, Dana and I were challenged during the second meet up since it was just the two of us who facilitated the event. I have a really shy personality so socializing with different people sometimes be hard for me. But I was forced to break free from my bubble and I was really proud that I was able to initiate a conversation and make it not seem awkward. Unfortunately, only a handful of people came to the meet ups. It was probably due to the timing since it was finals week for college students. Adding up to the meet up, we also gave out fliers at Sogang and Hongik University and for the most part it was uncomfortable but at the same time, I don’t regret the experience since it brought me out of my comfort zone.       

Setting aside office work, I’ve never missed a dance class since the day I started working. One of the first things that got me into Korean culture was because of Kpop. I am obsessed with a lot of Kpop bands and if it weren’t for Kpop, I wouldn’t be here right now in Korea doing this internship. It was because of Kpop that I took a minor in Korean studies and even if I am not a great dancer, I really enjoyed Sooyoung seonsaeg-nim’s classes. Her motherly and optimistic personality brushes off to her students giving a boost to their self-esteem which makes dancing more fun. Language classes during Wednesday’s are enjoyable as well with Heejeong seonsaeng-nim. I already took language classes in Philippines but because of the program, I am given a chance to polish some of the things I learned.