Week Five: Codes, Coffee, and New Friends

Hello again! 

To start, our intern team is finally complete! I got to meet the last member of our group, a college senior from the UK, and now all four of us are officially here and working together. It’s been really fun getting to know each other more, and it’s crazy how fast we’ve clicked. Everyone’s from different places and backgrounds, but we’re learning a lot from each other and having a great time along the way.

Work-wise, this week was more about learning the ropes. Our supervisors walked us through all the different software and internal tools we’ll be using throughout the internship. It was a lot to take in, but also super helpful, especially now that we finally have access to the website so we can help keep things up to date. I also finally figured out how to use their coffee machine, which may have been a mistake, as now I am armed with caffeine!

I spent most of the week working on research to make sure the website’s country profiles are accurate. I went down a very deep rabbit hole with Albania’s Electoral Code and, no joke, I think I have half of it memorized at this point. Definitely not something I expected to say this summer, but here we are!

Outside of work, I’ve been trying to make the most of the city when it’s not raining. Stockholm is seriously beautiful. I’ve done a little more exploring, and even in the rain (which has been off and on all week, apparently typical Swedish summer), it still feels like walking through a storybook. Pictured above is me standing in one of the hallways of the Royal Palace and the stairs go to a church, it was so amazing to see!

One of my favorite moments this week was after work when our supervisor invited all of us interns to hang out and relax a bit. It was really nice to spend time together outside the office, chatting and laughing and just connecting as people instead of co-workers. Definitely a highlight of the week.

All in all, it was a calm but cozy kind of week. I’m looking forward to diving back into projects next week and hopefully exploring even more of Stockholm, rain or shine. See you next week!