I get really excited about internships. The idea of doing something real seems very enticing. This particular internship was at a social media branding agency, so I expected to be shadowing someone in meetings and helping them with their work, I would have even been ok with getting coffee for people if I felt like I was doing something useful. What I ended up doing for a week was dress up nicer than I would like to, and for a week spend 6 hours a day writing “listicles” - possibly the most banal form of literature ever. I ended up interning for their magazine instead of being able to do the fun stuff, which is understandably sensitive considering they work with the government a lot.
I did get to have a full Arab lunch with some sort of president of HBO. They organized a catering service and we all attempted to sit cross-legged on the majlises in our vice like khakis. We ate lamb and rice with our hands and for the most part it was a good time. It did feel a little off however. Usually lunch is supposed to be for relaxing and enjoying company, which is what most of the important Arab businessmen were doing, but it was next to impossible to have a conversation with any of the other guests because they really just wanted to do business. I understand that, and that I was just a fairly irrelevant intern who was only there for a week, but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless.