Endings
I have now finished the final week of my internship. It is still hard to accept that my time here is already over. I have learned so much over the past 10 weeks, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work for international IDEA this summer. This internship has broadened my understanding of the world in many ways and has truly left me with a greater appreciation for international development and comparative understandings. This week I finished my draft of the paper and submitted it to my supervisor. He will now make his own edits, and then we will submit the paper for journal publication. With this completed, I gave a presentation on my research to the office. It felt good to be able to discuss my findings with professionals in the field and get their feedback and support on my work. My last projects were to edit another article for publication on IDEA’s website (this one was on the death penalty in Zimbabwe) and to draft a memo about the political parties in Myanmar. Myanmar has a very interesting political dynamic as the system attempts to balance the military, national parties, and ethnic parties all between an upper, lower, and regional legislative houses. After this, it was time for me to leave. It was hard to say goodbye after working so closely and getting to know one-another these last few weeks, but I I have learned so much and I am ready to move on to my next step. I have hope that we can all stay in touch and see each other again.
While my internship is now over, my travel is not. I will spend next week in Paris, followed by the weekend in Copenhagen, before I fly to Japan to visit my sister for a week. Knowing that I have so many more adventures to come makes leaving a little easier. Unfortunately, now that my internship is over, this is where my blog ends. However, should you want to hear about these trips or myself personally, please don’t hesitate to contact me at: Rmlohrengel@email.wm.edu.
All the best,
Ryan