Mailman Journal: Reflections of an Intern

We came to Shanghai to study for the semester at East China Normal University as part of a new program at our school in the US, Elon University. Along with 14 other students we took the long flight from JFK to PVG, excited but extremely nervous. After six weeks of studying and trying to adjust to China life it was time to start the next chapter of our journey, the internship.

Our time as interns at Mailman, as told by Babies:

1.We’re so excited for our first day! We walked around introducing ourselves and shaking hands. Everyone is very nice (despite being asked to repeat their names about 10 times that day).

2. Then comes the first task: manage social media. Ok social media, we grew up with that! Easy!

3. NOT EASY. How do we say something witty but not cheesy, funny but still serious, all while relating to the audience and conveying the right message in a span of 140 characters?

4. Success! We made it through the first week (and we only went the wrong way on the metro once…maybe twice).

5. Soon enough we’re meeting for our mid-performance review. We try play it cool but secretly we’re hoping our boss doesn’t crush our tiny intern hearts.

6. And afterwards we realize it was stupid to worry because good constructive criticism is helpful not hurtful.

7. Now it’s our last week and we are whipping through these social media posts like they’re no problem. (Just kidding they’re still kinda hard, but at least we know what we’re doing now)

8. We are happy that Mailman has taught us a lot but we are surprised how fast the time has flown.

Thanks for the life lessons and memories Mailman! We’re happy to have been a part of the team (even just for six weeks).

Your Interns,

Libbi and Jordan