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Yesterday was the two-week anniversary of my arrival in Shanghai. I would have loved to blog more during that two week period, but 1) I was kept really busy (10 hour work day, plus 2 hours of Chinese class twice a week), and 2) I was not entirely sure what I am allowed to say on a public forum, and what I am not. However, at our recent intern orientation (which was belatedly held until all the interns arrived), I received official confirmation that I don’t have to keep my job or my position a secret. Also, as I am in the Public Affairs Section, none of what I am doing is confidential, so I am free to give positive descriptions of my work and job-related activities provided that it advances and not detracts from the USG’s mission to promote greater understanding of U.S. values and views.

That being said, I now feel free to give you a general description of the past two weeks. My overall opinion of my internship so far has been extremely positive. I like the people, I am in a section that is right up my alley, and I have been able to use a lot of the skills I developed during my time with the Nederlanders. My primary job duties fall under the umbrella of event management, logistics, and hosting official visitors. One of my first assignments was to assist with a visit from Al Gore, who was visiting the Expo for green-tech related reasons. This was simply a “watch, follow, and learn” action for me, and it was very enlightening to see the process and detail that goes into planning a simple two hour visit. I think I spent five hours of my life in meetings, discussions, reviews, and revisions of the luncheon seating chart alone (and there were only 16 people dining!). Of course these things are very important, but I imagine that I would never want to apply for a job in the protocol office, as the planning is tedious, nitpicky, stressful, and really not at all that enjoyable from my perspective. But, it was fun to see Al Gore in person, and the staff was able to take a picture with him, and I did get a comprehensive look at behind-the-scenes life at the USA Pavilion. As learning experiences go, this one was a good experience, even though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was fun or thrilling.

In addition to that visit, which required me to be at the Pavilion (and away from my office) for three days in a row, I -along with half of all consulate staff- are in def com planning mode for USA National Day at the World Expo. Every country at the expo has an assigned National Day, which usually coincides with each country’s respective Independence Day (or equivalent). USA National Day is July 2, and there will be several invitation-based events that day, along with off-site (i.e. not on expo grounds) activities and events throughout that entire weekend. Each event has been tasked to certain teams who are then responsible for organizing and executing it. Not only have I been assigned to work two events that weekend, but I have been given several mammoth tasks as well, including managing the 2500 person RSVP list for an evening concert, and conceptually designing and generating content for the invitations to the three invite-based events on the 2nd. Luckily, I did not have to physically design the invitations (we outsource that work to a vendor), but I did have to come up with the concept. I came up with three pretty good ideas, and have been in the room in which other people have said positive things about the designs, but to my chagrin, I don’t actually get the credit for it, which irks me greatly for some reason. I suppose I am used to being in the private sector where individual initiative and ideas are rewarded with praise as incentive for employees to continue to be creative and imaginative. Here, that is not the case. I think I got a half-hazard “nice work” buried in an email, but that has been overshadowed by critiques and criticisms of other things. In any case, it seems that the office management style is based on criticism and critique, rather than reward and praise, which I don’t think is good for creativity-based work, and certainly not good for me. I worry that I won’t be able to offer up my best work if I feel like my contributions are ignored or unappreciated, and where the only feedback is negative. Maybe I’ve only ever experienced one type of managing style, and am going through some office culture shock. Maybe competition for recognition and credit is something that is only necessary in the private sector, and not in the public sector, where it is not the basis for promotions/raises and the like. In any case, the situation requires some adaptation and understanding on my part, but for the past couple days I have been one disgruntled employee.

That negative aside, overall I am very pleased with the work I am doing. I feel that it is challenging and fun. Also, our housing is phenomenal. The interns were given two houses, one for the boys, one for the girls. There are only two girls, so the two of us are living in a three-story, four-bedroom town house with a full washer and dryer, a private backyard, and a jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom (which is mine by the way, since I came first). We also have an outdoor pool, clubhouse, and a gym. All in all, we are living it up. There are also other perks as well, including comp tickets to certain shows, and occasional gifts shared by the office. For example, PAS was given two crates full of California cherries, and everyone in the office got to take home a bag. It was wonderful! I love loving my work!