...and so I'm a working girl.

Hey Everybody! My internet in my homestay crashed last night, so I'm in the computer lounge at CAPA. I really hope the internet gets fixed soon...it's my only connection to the outside world. LOL.

So yesterday I started my internship. Boy was I nervous! This was my first time working at a REAL job...with a desk...and important work to be done...I left my house 2 hours early just to make sure that I arrived on time. Needless to stay, I got there WAY too early, so I stopped at a Starbucks, got a coffee, and read the Metro (a free newspaper they have here). Although the Metro isn't QUALITY news, it still entertained me a little. I then decided I'd just go to my internship early. It'll set a good example of my work ethic...When I first walked in, I got a visitor's badge and was told to wait in the lobby until someone came to get me. A young man, dressed in a nice tie and suit, working at the receptionist desk came over and asked me if he could get me coffee or tea. When I said "no thank you," he realized I was American and new right away that I was the new intern. He was so excited! He showed me the cafeteria, where they have a FREE starbucks machine. We chatted about America until Shahina, my Supervisor, came to get me. Shahina is 23 and beautiful. She's so sweet, and I can tell that I'll learn a lot from her. She showed me around the building, and I then went into the office of the main HR Manager, Cathy Wade. I can tell I won't be dealing much with Cathy because she's too important to deal with interns. While I'm filing, she'll be on the phone with other HR's in Dublin, New York, Hong Kong, etc. She's super nice, though. She told me the history of AIG Investments (oh yea, I'm with AIG Investments, not Insurance..oops haha), and she gave me an overview of what I'll be learning. They are going to include me in meetings, and will assign me projects so that I feel part of the HR Team. Very exciting.

For the rest of the day, I did mostly payroll work. I made labels for the payroll slip folders, which are divided into 4 sections: Investments, Real Estate, Engineering and Correspondence. Afterwords, I verified that those employees who were supposed to have deductions or bonuses were given the appropriate amounts. In the process, I learned about different benefits that certain employees receive, such as a Car Allowance, Gym Allowance, and ticket allowances. Because I was not set up in the system yet, they couldn't give me BIG responsibilities to do, so Shahina moved my chair next to her desk, and I watched what she did. I learned A LOT about maternity leave, and the certain laws and benefits that go a long with that. I also found out that I'll be a crucial part to helping improve and update their date system, which will fall under Organizational Development. Of course, with everything going on in AIG at the moment, I was given a brief lesson on "redundancy," or "laying off" as the U.S. calls it. Apparently in the UK, they are not allowed to let people go immediately. They are given several weeks of notice, which include plenty of meetings with the HR Director about possible alternative solutions, etc. Very interesting. Unfortunately, I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot of that over the next 3 months...

So that was my work day. It wasn't much, but I learned A LOT. When I came home, Marie Lou asked me if I would go out to a pub with her on Friday, and then go shopping with her Saturday. Of course I said yes. It will be so much fun! I've been waiting to shop....Well, I'll check in later with breaking news and updates. Until then...