During my first week in San Francisco, I stayed in a downtown hostel while searching for accommodation. It was a perfect location and great to have finally made it to San Francisco.
However, it was also tedious, stressful at times, and the hostel was overrun with excited computer geeks attending some mysterious conference in the city (don’t you agree there are some people who can DO animation, and there are some people who are GIFTED at animation?...and other such compelling debates took over all common areas).
As I was trudging up the stairs back to my sixth floor hostel room, after another evening apartment viewing, I couldn’t help but compare the beginning of my internship experience with that of Lauren Conrad’s in The Hills (please don’t laugh, I'm heading towards a point...).
Lauren had arrived in LA to begin her internship and had driven straight to her fully furnished apartment (I bet she even had a washer and dryer – gold dust in American rentals), to find her best friend waiting for her by the communal swimming pool (!)
Lauren’s placement began and she soon became BFFs with a fellow intern, with whom she shared a private office and therefore the two never had to worry about any interruptions from pesky supervisors actually giving them any work.
Not only this, but Lauren’s entire friendship group suddenly appeared to have moved to the same city, and she went partying pretty much every night with no concerns over money/ people to hang out with/preparation work for the next day.
Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my internship at BK, where I have gained invaluable experience and had a lot of responsibility. However, if I have one complaint it's that my internship has been rather lacking in the ‘drama’ and glamour that MTV and Lauren Conrad portrayed as a pre-requisite for any internship worth its salt in the US workplace.
It is a sad fact that alongside the useful publishing skills I’ve gained from my internship, I have also learned that MTV somewhat exaggerated in their portrayal of American internships.
In my heart of hearts I guess I always knew this was the case. But I do find myself sometimes sitting at my desk, still hopeful that one day another intern’s glamorous ex-boyfriend will charge into the office, make an awful scene, cause a massive fight and restore my faith in MTV.
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