International Internships

As every GW student knows, one of the most helpful parts of living in the District is the access to great NGO and government internship opportunities. Also with today’s economy, a soon-to-be graduate needs the resume booster and experience that internships can bring (no matter how menial the tasks). During my time abroad in both Egypt and Jordan, I have decided to add on to my DC interning experience in the Middle East. In both scenarios, I quickly realized that interning in the Middle East is not so simple. In this article, I’ll try to explain some of the differences between interning in DC and in the Middle East, and some of the frustrations I’ve encountered while abroad.
DC internships generally are highly competitive, but once they are attained they tend to be anti-climactic bordering on soul-sucking.  Months in advance of a start date, resumes and cover letters must be perfected and sent, letters of recommendation sought after, and occasionally a writing sample must be selected. After much stress and hassle, you are sometimes asked by the organization to return for an interview. Should the interview go well, you are set up with regular working hours each week (Mon.-Fri.) in the hours of 9-5, with set tasks that occasionally change. Internships can be extremely exciting and oftentimes provide you with a wealth of connections and networking opportunities. This is the type of experience I was also expecting from the internship I would be working at while abroad.
While many of these aspects are also found in careers in the Middle East, the culture of the region is definitely mixed in. Interestingly enough, the concept of volunteering your time outside of religious institutions and functions is one still developing in the Middle East. In Cairo, I interned for the brief time I was there at the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights. The first thing I noticed about the workplace was its hours – the office closed at 4 every day, the weekend being Friday and Saturday. My supervisor for this position was an American, so my hours were for the most part structured and I was assigned useful tasks. I had to bring my own laptop in because the office did not have enough workstations, but the setting was relaxed and comfortable. The women I worked with were extremely nice – if working was what we were doing most of the time. Offices in the Middle East are more social than in the US. Work would be completed on time, but at times it was difficult to see how with the constant socializing going on. And this non-profit was one of the most significant in Egypt – they are one of the main NGOs reporting on sexual harassment issues and women’s rights across the Middle East. Although my time here was brief, I really enjoyed my position.
Again, internships are not really a concept in Jordan yet. This may be because college graduates are so few (compared to the entire population) that they can easily find jobs after graduation. However, the cultural differences are much more pronounced in my current internship with The Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU), and have sometimes led to cultural confusion/frustration. The entire staff is Jordanian with few English-speakers, and the setting is extremely laid back. As a whole, the organization is one of the most admirable in Jordan – they began the first women’s shelter in Jordan, have a low-priced medical clinic, run a sexual harassment hot-line, and facilitate children’s meetings with divorced parents at the Children’s Guesthouse. After receiving this internship, we did not actually begin working until one month later and two tours of the facilities. They have little to no work for foreign interns. While we have done research for UNDP (United Nations Development Program) Social Watch website articles, but for the most part finding tasks has been difficult mostly due to the language barrier. Some days my fellow interns and I go in, we are asked to have lunch and listen to one of the employees sing. Much of our work must be done outside of the office as the building does not have wireless internet or places for us. My friends Kelsey and I plan on setting up online social networking accounts for them in the new future, as well as holding a seminar to train employees about Facebook pages and Twitter. While this position has been slow to start, I definitely wouldn’t trade it for anything.
What have a learned? Culture shock can happen in the workplace too! Internships can be slow to start off in the Middle East because most organizations do not have a set internship program, language barriers, and simply the social culture. If there is one thing I’ve come to realize is that Middle Easterners are social people. It is quite possible work has come later at the JWU because the employees wanted to become our friends and “feel us out” as people first. Whatever the reason, I would definitely recommend interning or volunteering abroad. Even though it may not be structured the same way American students are used to, you gain valuable, yet different experience. It provides a way to better understand your host culture, make new friends, and improve your language skills. While you may not always be helping in a tangible way, most organizations are extremely happy to share their message with and take suggestions from foreign interns. Although cultural differences can be frustrating in any context, I must admit I have learned much more in a few months at my foreign internships than some of the positions I’ve had for over a year in the United States.