I am home! It is nice to be back in the States in the warm weather and back with my family. :) I was thinking about it, and I realized I haven't actually written a dedicated New Lanark blog post. So here it is. This is my take on my 6 week internship at UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Lanark.
When I first arrived in New Lanark, I was more nervous than I have ever been in my life. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through it and survive 5 weeks alone, after Dr. Shefveland left. Aside from that, I was so tired that first week, and I felt like I was going to fall asleep standing up 95% of the time. However, everyone there was so excited to meet me and talk to me and ask me 20 Questions, which was just so surprising and amazing. I felt like a celebrity, haha. In week 2, after Dr. Shefveland left, culture shock hit. Hard. I was still extremely tired and everything was frustrating, from eating to sleeping to traveling via public transport. I just felt so alone and uncertain of everything. Now I wasn't alone, and everyone there was so welcoming and lovely, but I felt very American, and like I didn't fit in, which is normal, according to them. People who have traveled. Them. Yeah. I experienced culture shock when I went to Turkey, but I was with my mom, so I don't think it hit as hard. So back to my story. There's an interesting thread that sort of ran throughout my entire experience, and is an awesome metaphor for what I felt and what I experienced. Jane, the heritage manager and my boss, kept telling me to walk up the hill that separates New Lanark from Lanark. Now, I had walked up twice with Dr. Shefveland, but both times proved to be extremely tiring and frustrating, and after that I refused to walk up that hill again. So Jane kept saying to me to walk up the hill, instead of taking the bus or a taxi, and my response to that was no, it's always raining, I'm not walking up the hill in the pouring rain, also I walked up twice and it almost killed me. So time went on and I started to fall into a normal routine. I would get up, go to the hotel, talk to Thomas, and then go to work at 9 am and stay until 5 pm. But all the while, I was refusing to walk up this hill. Pretty soon Jane wasn't the only one hounding me. All the search room volunteers were like "Come on it's not that bad you can do it, you're young" etc etc. Needless to say, I still refused. Now one day I had gone up the road with Annie Bell (one of the volunteers) to get some money out of the atm. She asked how I was getting back down and I said I'd just wait for the bus, and again she said that I should just walk down it's not that bad. I said no, I don't want to, it looks like rain, I'll just wait for the bus. So I went to stand and wait for the bus, which wasn't coming for another hour. And it occurred to me that everyone hounding me was starting to rub me the wrong way, and I thought I can probably make it down the hill in under an hour. So that was the day I walked down the hill. I was proud of myself. I made it down in half an hour. Now to walk up. So another day, I was heading to Edinburgh with Maureen (another volunteer) and Jane had said I should try to walk up the hill this day since it was nice out. So I did. Finally. In week 4, I walked up the hill by myself and it only took me 24 minutes. I think this is a good metaphor for my experience because all this time I'd refused walking up or down this hill, and at the same time I was reluctant to accept my current situation. I was hesitant to accept the fact that I was in this foreign country for 6 weeks and I had no choice but to figure things out and face it head on. I should note that before coming I was over the moon with excitement and joy, and still was upon arriving but I was also really, really scared about being somewhere I'd never been for 5 weeks alone. I was scared before going, but that increased tenfold when I got there. I don't know why. I'm such an independent strong willed person. But I was terrified. I think I was scared that I wouldn't do my job right or that I wouldn't represent the university in a professional manner or that I would do one tiny thing that was normal to me and gravely offend someone. Now I did have a couple of rants about the youth hostel, because I was frustrated with being alone there. I honestly think that had someone (i.e. another intern) been there with me, I wouldn't have been nearly as irritated or scared. But then again, I don't think the experience would have been as life-altering, and I don't think I would have changed as much as a person. When I got to week 6 and Jane sat down with me and made me write down all the things I'd accomplished whilst being there, I realized what a huge success this internship had been. I don't think even she understands just how much that exercise meant to me. And when she reassured me that the work I had done was brilliant and that I had represented the university just as expected, I broke down. I was so stressed out the entire time, and finally when she said that it was like reaching the top of the "hill" so to speak. Especially when she thanked me for all of my hard work. I felt as happy as someone who had reached the summit of Everest. Honestly. This has been the biggest achievement of my life to date, and I will never forget it. Everyone there was so supportive and so nice and I can never ever express enough gratitude to everyone for not only picking me to go, but also supporting me while I was there through all my frustrations and accomplishments. I really feel like I have another family in Scotland, and I miss everyone so much. You all will never know how much you mean to me. At the moment the Scottish poem, Auld Lang Syne comes to mind.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
This poem really touches my heart every time I hear it and I hope someday I can really go back and have a "cuppa" with everyone for auld lang syne. :)
Thanks to everyone who has been following my blog these past 6 weeks. You all have been lovely. This experience has been one that has changed my life and me, and I never want to forget it or any of the people who were part of it. This is me signing off. -----Catherine
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