My Job & Cambridge

What a week it's been! Yesterday I had my job "interview" -- really an introductory meeting. Another girl from Clark had her interview before mine & close by, so we went together to meet Elizabeth Watkins, the woman who runs the international internship program & arranged our jobs. She thought I had been to London before since I knew my way around, so I took that as a compliment! She's an interesting woman, she's posh & has a lovely accent & voice.

When she took me to National AIDS Trust, my organization, we met with my supervisor (Joe) & the head of the office (Deborah). We talked about when I'll be working, what I'll be doing, & an overview of NAT. I'm working on relatively new territory, immigration & asylum. I'll be doing research on destitution, the right to work, access to treatment, & that sort of thing. I'll be developing documents which the organization will use & organizing something to go up on the website. Elizabeth W. left & then Joe introduced me around the office, which consists of 16 staff members, & showed me where everything is. I have my own desk, computer, & phone! After we sat down & chatted for a bit, about where I'm from, some of my volunteer work, what I had done so far in London & my upcoming plans. He's actually American, from Seattle, but has a bit of an accent sometimes since he's been living here. He's also young, it seems a lot of poeple in the office are. They go out sometimes after work, so that will be a great way for me to socialize with Brits! He gave me his mobile number & told me I can text or ring him if I have questions about anything & want an American perspective. I also had him show me on the bus map the most direct route to/from my flat & work. It's only a mile away, so I plan to walk as much as I can instead of taking the bus or tube. He said the bus takes about 10 min, but I have to walk a little from each stop, & the tube took about 20 minutes. Walking took about 20 minutes & is free! I walked back to the flat after my meeting. I'm sure when it's pouring though I'll be taking the bus, which is cheaper than the tube. I'm very excited to start on Monday!

Today we went to Cambridge, which took about an hour & a half by bus. First we had a bus tour, which was full of historical information but very quick & fast-paced. After that we went to one of the colleges which is part of Cambridge University for lunch. It definitely reminded us of Harry Potter -- there were long tables in the hall & a long table at the front which was on a platform for the important people to sit at. The buildings are all gorgeous. I think we all would love to transfer! We walked around King's College, then went to the market. We were supposed to go punting (boating, similar to gondolas), but the river was too high. I bought a scarf for 3 pounds & love it. That was all I got though since tomorrow we're planning on going to Camden market.

Cheers!