At the United Nations

It started at 6am. Had to get out of the house by 6:40 at the latest in order to catch the bus to New York. I was paranoid that I wouldn't wake up on time, but somehow, I did. Got to the bus stop with ten minutes to spare. Most of the interns/volunteers had arrived. The last barely made it, and by 7:15, we were heading for an adventurous day.

A couple of my friends had been interning at an organization called the U.S.-Asia Institute, which was dedicated to bettering the relations between U.S. and Asian countries. For their 30th anniversary, they decided to throw a gala at the United Nations, where foreign representatives, U.S. congressmen, and other dignitaries would come to join in the celebration. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao among others were being honored for the contribution to U.S.-Asia causes (unfortunately those two couldn't make it due to pressing needs). The event officially started at 6pm, with guests arriving at 5 for a tour of the UN building. The interns and volunteers would do anything and everything to make sure that the night went as perfectly as it could.

The moment we stepped on New York soil, we were running around. I have no idea how women wear high heels all day. Even before the event started, my feet were starting to hurt. I told one of the interns I was working with, and she gave me a dirty look. I learned my lesson. I shut up and did my job.

I was chosen to help take photos for the event. There were two other professional photographers they hired for press releases and whatnot. I have no idea why they needed me. But they asked, and so I obliged. It sure beat the mindless grunt work the rest of the interns and volunteers had to do during the event (one of the other interns also had it good; she followed the three photographers and made sure we knew who and what to take photos of). The entire night was a blur: lots of running around, snapping photos, trying to stir up conversations (the conversationalist that I am...), trying to make professional connections, and just enjoy my time at the United Nations. I got a free meal out of it, although the portion of filet mignon was a bit tiny.

All in all, I'm thankful that I got the opportunity to go and mingle. It also provided a chance to get to know my friends from class better as well as the other interns and volunteers. During the dinner portion of it, albeit a very short portion of the entire day, I got the chance to talk to some of them and hopefully be able to continue to develop friendships outside of once-in-a-blue-moon opportunities such as this. Networking has never been my forte, but I'm trying to get more and more comfortable in it--not just for professional advancement but also to meet new friends, especially those who share similar interests as me.

I would attach some photos with this entry, but alas, I did not bring my USB cord, and so photos will have to wait until I go back to Washington DC and after I am done with the semester.