I began my search for an internship a couple of weeks after my session at Qasid ended. I sent about a half dozen resumes and cover letters to various organizations operating in Amman. I received replies from the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, Freedom House and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (a German political foundation). I interviewed with all three organizations and was offered internships with all three. A couple of days after I interviewed with these three, I received a request for an interview from the Arab World Center for Democratic Development and Human Rights. I turned down the interview- mainly because I didn't think it would be as interesting as any of the others.
I spent the majority of last week trying to decide between positions with Freedom House and KAS. The work with Freedom House sounded much less interesting. I would essentially be working as an assistant to one of the project managers doing menial work. With KAS, I would have the opportunity to write articles and potentially have a project assigned to me. Basically my dilemma came down to this: more interesting work and autonomy with KAS or generally boring work with the more notable Freedom House? Ok so there was another factor in mind- taxi fare. It adds up when it comes to an unpaid internship!
My days of deliberation have produced this result: I am taking the position with KAS. Inshallah I will begin this week. I am anxious to work and to have a daily schedule. I am looking forward to researching and writing and being generally productive. I will post more on my internship after I have started.
I spent the majority of last week trying to decide between positions with Freedom House and KAS. The work with Freedom House sounded much less interesting. I would essentially be working as an assistant to one of the project managers doing menial work. With KAS, I would have the opportunity to write articles and potentially have a project assigned to me. Basically my dilemma came down to this: more interesting work and autonomy with KAS or generally boring work with the more notable Freedom House? Ok so there was another factor in mind- taxi fare. It adds up when it comes to an unpaid internship!
My days of deliberation have produced this result: I am taking the position with KAS. Inshallah I will begin this week. I am anxious to work and to have a daily schedule. I am looking forward to researching and writing and being generally productive. I will post more on my internship after I have started.
this sounds great! i am glad that you are well, and i am also glad that you are keeping up with this weblog- it is really great. good luck at KAS- i am sure you will excel.
ReplyDeletebest regards,
eric
Excellent opportunities will await you in the future as a result of this internship. Way to go Paula!
ReplyDeletePaula, I have enjoyed reading your blog and would like to ask you for some advice, if you don't mind. I studied at Qasid last summer through the Critical Language Scholarship, and will be returning this summer (2011) on my own for continued study. It's an amazing language center. However, I have no idea what to expect for rent/housing. I am on an extremely tight budget, but I also have two guys going with me. In your opinion, is it unreasonable to assume that it's possible to spend a little over two months in Amman on around US$1000 (including rent, food, travel expenses, etc)? I'm certainly not picky about housing--as long as it has four walls and a roof, I'm golden.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for taking over your blog's comments section to solicit information from you--I just knew no other way to contact you. If you have the time to answer and you wouldn't mind doing so, you can shoot me an e-mail at: J M O O R E D D S (at) G M A I L (dot) com.
Thank you so much!