Week 1:
Hello, Buenos Aires!

June 13, 2016

First off, a little bit about me and context for this summer: I’m a senior International Relations and Spanish major, with a minor in Civic Engagement and a concentration in Latin American Studies. I coordinate the Lunch Buddies program at Cornell, I tutor for the Spanish department, I’ve both participated on and led Alternative Winter (international) and Spring (domestic) Breakaway trips, I’m an active member of the Iowa College Americorps program and sorority Delta Phi Delta, and I sing soprano in the Cornell Concert Choir and Vocal Studio. My favorite things in life include backpacking and traveling, cooking and eating delicious food, reading up endlessly on foreign policy, and crafting and coloring away my worries. This summer, I am working at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Consular Bureau in the division of American Citizen Services. I’m living in the city with the other interns, and getting a taste of what life will be if I end up pursuing th career of a Foreign Service Officer (from here on out referred to as an FSO).

Getting this internship has been an process like no other, but has already been worth it. The application took multiple steps, including two online applications, a 6 month background check process, a finger printing packet, a two hour in-person interview, and many stressful nights worrying about getting my security clearance in time. I discovered the internship the day before the application was due, but thanks to Laura in the Writing Studio, I managed to get the application in on time. I picked my bureaus based on location, as I had my heart set on going to South America this summer, specifically Buenos Aires, and I ended up getting my first pick location and bureau. So, on June 8th, I spent 30 hours in a variety of airports, making my way to Buenos Aires. While an arduous day, waking up on a new continent was well worth it. By 9am that morning, I was moved into my new apartment, and began the process of adjusting to my new home

My apartment is in the neighborhood of Belgrano, in the heart of things. I am near the subway stop (known here as the subte) a Disco (the local grocery store chain) and a variety of coffee shops with good lattes and even better wifi access. Up until this point, I still do not have internet in my apartment, but hopefully that will be changed in the near future. Our apartment is built for a four person family, but there are only two of us living here, with the two male interns living two floors below us. We have already visited a few of the neighborhoods such as Palermo and the markets at San Telmo. The Argentines have been really friendly and have helped me a lot already, such as when I boarded the wrong bus line, and the State Department employees have been incredibly welcoming. Many of them were interns through this program as well, and know how to help us learn the ropes. Meanwhile, the other interns and I are already planning a trip this upcoming weekend, which is a four-day weekend in observance of a local holiday.

This week, I have started my meetings and online trainings for work, but as I won’t have my security briefing for a couple of days, I cannot get started yet with the projects I’ll be working on. So far, my duties will involve helping plan the Fourth of July party that the Embassy hosts every year, to working with the Visa office, to possibly working with other offices on smaller projects affiliated with our bureau. I am looking forward to starting this week and really hitting the ground running, as only one day of work was not enough to see what life is like at an embassy.