Last Friday was my orientation and today was my first official day. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be and I was actually just really excited. Today was a really busy day for them so we were pretty much just thrown into it. Each resettlement intern was assigned to one case manager. It happened to be my case manager's day to do "intake". For example, the refugees (our clients) land in Atlanta on a Tuesday, and the following Tuesday they return to the IRC office. On this 2nd Tuesday, they have a whole day of presentations regarding everything they need to know about life in the U.S. I arrived at 9am and by 11am we were still doing the debrief. There were about 3 or 4 different groups from different countries, who of course spoke different languages. So each group had their own translator. It gets a little messy when they're all talking at once in a tiny room.

After that was finished we returned to my case manager's cubicle. Of course being an intern and working in an office like setting she taught me how to use the ~fancy~ copy machine. That was a lot of fun! We also learned some basics like filing, making doctors appointments, having clients sign paperwork, and getting the clients on medical insurance. We got pretty hands on with that, so I was super happy about that. Pretty much they showed us the ropes without any legit training and kind of just threw us in there. (Actual training will come later)

All in all, I had a really good time and I am looking forward to my work there. I want my own cubicle to decorate though :(. I think what I will have the hardest time doing will be maintaining a professional relationship with the clients as opposed to a more personal one. I get attached to people easily and I love going above and beyond for things they need. I also love to do thoughtful gifts and that sorta thing. So I do think I will struggle with that, but that's just the reality of this kind of work. You can't give people special treatment.

My schedule will be sort of 2 or 3 full days and one half day. Today I worked 9 to 5 and I really wasn't expecting that. It's okay though, I'm excited to bring my own lunch and coffee ;). I WANT A CUBICLE! ! ! LOL

I'm trying to think of another update. I think the only one is I'm looking for a part time job!! Want one bad. I have to get a new laptop, phone, and plane ticket! Not cheap. We'll see how this all works out though