Tuesday, 20th September
I was supposed to arrive at 9:30am, but tube ride took about 5 minutes longer than it had on Monday, so I arrived a few minutes late. This did not make a difference as the only person who knew what time I was supposed to arrive, my supervisor, does not come in until around 10. I spent the morning browsing the website for Action for Children, the corporation which the centre does services for, reading about its policies and services, particularly about child protection. I was so tired this morning that I was afraid of falling asleep at the computer; luckily I was in the corner so no one could notice. The information covered topics I was familiar with from previous work and volunteer experience, such as dealing with children who may be dealing with abuse as well as confidentiality guidelines. I made a few copies, was introduced to most of the staff, and had a tour. I was given an hour lunch break and was allowed to leave fairly early--around 2:45pm--since they didn't have much work for me to do.
Wednesday, 21st September
I started at my internship around 9:30am again, and was given the task of laminating and cutting a stack of pages for a domestic violence advice team member for the morning. I quickly became interested in the activities she was using these pages for as some had photos of people with t-shirts saying, "This is what a feminist looks like," one of them being President Obama, and others lists of statements of which one was to determine whether or not it was an abuse situation. Other pages had lists of various occupations, types of toys, and colors. I was told these had to do with gender stereotypes, which if you know me and my psychology/sociology interests, you know this caught my attention! I found out later that this temporary coworker of mine co-ordinates with local schools to conduct sessions with students as well as with groups of teachers on domestic violence related topics. She was using these materials I was preparing for some drama-like activities for primary students that are supposed to be an effort to prevent domestic violence in the kids' future intimate relationships. The gender-related activities get at how they have already formed these ideas of how boys and girls/men and women are supposed to behave in society. This activity is important since domestic violence stems from the use of power to control others, and men are often seen as the one in a relationship as having the power. She told me how she has had long discussions, debates almost, with groups of students over the statement, "Real men never cry." She said that I would likely be able to come along with her on her school visits and help with these activities, and so at the end of the day I talked about it with my supervisor, who said she was actually going to bring it up with me since many of the visits are on Tuesdays. So, I am now quite excited for my future Tuesdays! :)
The rest of the day, I made packets which are filled out by new clients that come in, as well as composed an email from an administration worker's notes on getting some money for some money management training sessions. It was a full day compared to yesterday. I have definitely noticed the slower pace of work compared to the U.S. work environment. The staff spend a lot of time chatting and making tea throughout the day, and a workday here has much fewer hours than in the States. It's a wonder much work gets done! I had been told in the morning by a office manager that she would have a task for me within a half hour, she just had to finish another task first; she never finished it while I was there! Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable place and I can see myself learning a lot here. I find out a lot about the work they do just by listening to the conversations around me.
I can't wait to tell you how next week goes! :)
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