Oberlin Blogs

Diary of an Intern

July 16, 2009

Alice Ollstein ’10

9:00- Move into my new desk. Pros: It's right by the window with a beautiful view of smoggy LA and lots of natural light. Cons: my editor is right behind me and can see my computer screen at all times. Now I'm afraid to check my e-mail or do anything else at work besides work!

10:00- Watch the little cars creep along the freeway in traffic while waiting for my assignment, daydream.

11:00- My famboyant coworker from Barcelona sees me smiling like an idiot and scolds, tenderly, "There's no crying in baseball, and no happiness at La Opinion!" My editor overhears him and asks, "How many baseball games have you ever been to?" He responds, "Ehhhh, one?"

12:00- Lunch with a Nicaraguan woman from HR, who wants to hear about my time in Esteli with OSCA's Nicaragua Sister Partnership.

1:00- Another awkward incident in the elevator. A young caucasian guy asks where I work, and I say La Opinion. He stares at me for a second, before asking if I'm from Spain (yeah, sure, with my accent). I say I'm from Los Angeles and he stares a little more. "So...do they have an English component at La Opinion now?" I say, "No, I write in Spanish." "Good for you!" this lady in the elevator interjects. I later learn that she's Marvin Krislov's cousin! I tell her we love the Kriz (one of many nicknames) and she says, "You're just saying that, I've seen the YouTube videos!" I explain that silly YouTube videos are just one of the many ways we express our deep admiration and affection for Krislov.

2:00- Made my editor laugh! He had said, pointing to the news team's star reporter, "He earns a double salary but does half the work." I said, "Well, I'm the opposite. I do double the work and earn nothing!" He laughed and said that's why he put us next to one another, so we could be the two sides of the coin.

4:00- Go over my article with my editor, who thinks it's interesting! Fix some Spanish grammar and phrasing.

5:00- Bus home is a half hour late--a half hour that I spend perched on a tiny bench while OTHER buses belch exhaust on me. Still, it beats driving to work.


Glamorous, no? In the life of an intern, just about anything can happen. Well, almost anything. This may not be The Office, but hijinks do happen.

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