The First Day of My Internship

by Shan He

The first day is very exiting, although you may not have much work to do. Today is the first day of my internship.

I intern at UNCTAD. Usually interns of UNCTAD should first meet Mr. Alain Genoud at 9:00am. Please make sure that you can arrive at the Pregny Gate at 8:45am at the latest, since you have to collect a one-day badge. There are some crowds in line and the computers not have woken up, so it may take some time.

I work in E-building. My office faces Villa Le Bocage rather than lake view, but I also appreciate my window-view very much. In the B-building there's the UN library, which has a strong database and collections. You have to open your library account by yourself. You can read periodicals there. And the library is free. There's also a staff library on the way to B-building on the ground floor, which provides some leasure readings. But you have to pay 10 CHF deposit and 10 CHF fee.

The people are very nice at UNCTAD and the coffee is very good! There is also an intern's association.

The powerpoint Mr. Genoud sent is very helpful. Please read it carefully. Then, you can have a smooth first day.

Prepare for your first day well and enjoy your intern life in Geneva.

Shan He is a student at Vanderbilt University in the Master degree of Graduate Program in Economic Development. She is participating in the Trade track of the 2009 Duke Program in Global Policy and Governance and working as an intern at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development for Investment Trends and Data.