Danika, Masters Program Criminology, United Nations Association of Canada, UNESCO Thailand
I received an email this summer from the Faculty of Social Sciences detailing an opportunity for an international internship. I had just started my Masters degree the year before in Ottawa. I packed up my car and drove from Alberta to Ontario. I was exhausted after such a long trip, but excited for new opportunities and experiences. In March of 2020, I, like many others, became filled with feelings of fear and uncertainty related to school, work, and even my personal life. In the midst of a global pandemic, I wondered if this email was a mistake. Upon closer reading, I noticed that key word that would clarify things for me: the internship was “remote.” Questions started running through my head. “How can an international internship play out virtually without any in-person interaction? Will this opportunity be as valuable online as it would be normally? Can I handle the new challenges that come with remote work at the international level?” These questions, among others, almost stopped me from following up with the office, but a part of me had to know more. After a lot of meetings, training, and administrative delays, many of which related to the decrease in internship opportunities because of COVID-19, I finally began my work.
Remote work is not entirely new for me. I am a research assistant on a Canadian project based in British Columbia, so I am used to a lot of online communication and interaction. As a teaching assistant, I have also had to adapt to new online formats since March of this year. Working remotely in an international context is not entirely new for me either. A couple of years ago, I taught English virtually to children living in China. I would wake up at 5AM for classes and teach until 7AM, but this was the only experience I had with such work. I have now found myself working with a time difference of over ten hours in this internship position. As I embark on this new ‘adventure’, I find myself dealing with challenges that I never could have imagined. I wanted to use this opportunity to talk briefly about my experience and reflect on the ways in which the internship has taught me a lot about myself, my research work, and others even in the short time that I have been working.
Comparative and international work forces us to be reflexive, by nature. We come to know our positionality in relation to those we work with and for in new ways. We come to understand the struggles of others in ways that we would not have been able to without such opportunities. Although the frustrations of limited communication, again thanks to a significant time difference, can seem like the worst thing in the world, I am humbled when I work in areas that aim to address challenges for those who struggle in ways I could never imagine. Understanding the pandemic and the immense difficulties it has created for others from different points of view makes it easier for me to reframe my own challenges in order to support organizations that are trying to positively impact communities. With these adversities, I am learning in ways that I never would have if I was travelling to my host country. Although I sometimes feel like I am missing out on certain aspects of this work, I also see the new ways in which I am learning to balance, adapt, and create boundaries between work and personal life in a home office (i.e. the corner of my bachelor apartment). I am learning about important work in a different region and getting the chance to contribute significantly, despite being so far away.
If you are reading this, I hope you take a chance on a new opportunity that might present itself to you. If it sounds crazy, it might just be one of the most important things that you do, not only for your work, but also for yourself. As a final note, I hope that people can find some sense of comfort in knowing that we are not alone in many of these challenges. Even as I write this from my quiet apartment, I try to find small moments of gratitude and connection, reminding myself that I am doing my best to adapt in uncertain times, just like everyone else.