What to do with your summer?

I put my business casual clothes on and head to work. Luckily, I live just few blocks away. Our doorman Carlos comes to open the door, gives me a kiss on a cheek (typical for all Argentinian encounters), and asks me about my day so far. I just smile and return the polite greeting. I run up the stairs. As I enter the office, I already have newspapers waiting on the table. This being the second half of my internship, I finally don’t need a dictionary to go through the newest happenings in the country.

Finishing reading the newspaper marks the end of my daily routine. What comes next is always a surprise as I work with all the different departments at the Embassy. Sometimes I help at the consulate, learning about all the different types of visas and the competences of this institution. Other times, I learn about the partnerships between Czech and Argentinian universities, and the possibilities for student exchanges. With the Secretary I attended meetings with the Argentine Chamber of Commerce that focuses on renewable energy. The goal of the meeting was to find out the conditions for Czech companies that might be interested in investing to the renewable energy in Argentina, and to create possible business partnerships.

I was kind of surprised by the scope of things I was able to experience during the internship. I mean, one usually imagines interns making coffee and doing dull bureaucratic work, but this was certainly not the case! I had the honor to accompany Mr. Ambassador and Mr. Consul to many formal and informal meetings, cultural events, and celebrations. Therefore, beside the necessary paperwork such as writing diplomatic notes and reports, I also got to experience the work-life balance of this career. Additionally, having the possibility to get to know not only one specific department of the Embassy, but experience a little bit of all them gives me a full picture of what kinds of tasks get done, and how the different departments cooperate and successfully function.

Although I still have two weeks left of my internship, I can honestly say that I have met all of my personal goals for this experience: 1) I learned about the work at the Embassy from all possible angles 2) I improved my command of Spanish especially on the topics related to work in the field of diplomacy and international relations, and 3) I made valuable connections with people who are in the Czech Foreign Service.

This internship was one of the most influential experiences I had in regard to my professional career. Therefore, I would like to thank everyone who helped me along the way for their support. Most importantly, I would like to thank all the employees of the Czech Embassy in Buenos Aires for their friendliness, welcoming atmosphere, and answering of all of my questions. Additionally, I would like to thank Grinnell College and The Kellner Family Foundation whose continuous support made this experience possible.