{"id":68,"date":"2009-10-13T18:19:37","date_gmt":"2009-10-14T01:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/?p=68"},"modified":"2010-06-22T10:16:55","modified_gmt":"2010-06-22T17:16:55","slug":"a-day-in-the-life-scottish-parliament-intern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/a-day-in-the-life-scottish-parliament-intern\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day in the Life: Scottish Parliament Intern"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \"Edinburgh\n
Edinburgh Castle photo courtesy of IE3 Global Internships<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

The walk from the bus stop on London Street down Abbey Hill toward Parliament only takes 15 minutes but heads up! Be alert for doggy piles, cigarette butts, pigeon poop, the occasional puddle of vomit and a twist of razor wire\u00a0 – we are in the city, you know! Scan the skies for pigeons and tar drippings when walking under the train trestle in this seedy pocket of neighborhood, but then\u2026..THEN (cue harps and angels) emerging from this darkness ~ BEHOLD!\u00a0 Holyrood Palace on your left and behind is the glorious Arthur\u2019s Seat (a small mountain made by volcanic rock) looming over her with Parliament only one block further. The perfect trifecta!\u00a0 You now find yourself at the base of the Royal Mile, the famous street that leads uphill from Parliament to Edinburgh Castle at the top. You\u2019ll find shops and pubs and medieval historical and ghost tours right here on the main vein of the city. The people watching is endless ~ if you want history and excitement, you could spend a full week on this street.<\/p>\n

\n \"Scottish\n
Scottish Parliament, photo courtesy of Michele Justice<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

It\u2019s time to enter Parliament and start work. The nautical images with bamboo, glass, and steel make a person wonder at the architectural elements. Sadly, the designer passed away before his work was complete which leaves much of the building\u2019s ambiance a puzzle and open to interpretation.\u00a0 Guides say the use of glass gives a person the idea that the government employees are easily accessible to the public.\u00a0 First step while inside: show Security official badge strung around my neck. This maneuver makes me feel important and very official. Security guards are dressed in purple shirts and ties ~ the hue represents the color of Scotland\u2019s native flower, the thistle. \u00a0Next step: beeline to caf\u00e9 for morning dose of mocha from friendliest barista who calls me \u201cluv\u201d. When you\u2019re new to a country and culture, even the smallest kind gestures mean a lot.\u00a0 Now, gather the hot drink and go through the first of many heavily secured doors to get to desired tower. Note to self: place official pass in front of small box to right of door and wait for beep. There\u2019s a tricky dance involved that requires timing and patience when using your pass. Make sure not to hold it in front of fire security box or any of the other three boxes that look suspiciously identical or you will be waiting for the door to unlock, and it just won\u2019t happen. I did this once with a group of six people behind me. Luckily a Scottish friend corrected me, laughed softly at my ignorance and I proceeded to turn beet red. Once up safely on the fourth floor, I round the corner to my desk with its phone, computer, file cabinets\u2026.a certified office nook! I am an official Intern to a Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP)<\/a> and couldn\u2019t feel prouder.<\/p>\n

The days are filled with activity. One day I may be drafting letters to politicians from other countries, or doing research and compiling information about the MSP\u2019s Cross-Party Groups.\u00a0 I was fortunate to get to learn everything I could about Visual Impairment issues in Scotland, the Housing Crises, Knife Crimes, and Funerals and Bereavement. Here\u2019s an interesting bit of information about the latter: in order to create a smaller carbon footprint, it\u2019s becoming possible to freeze a dead body, shatter it, then grind it into a powder to be kept in a special place or scattered into the wind. It is an eco-friendly method that prevents trees from being cut down for coffins and prevents smoke from polluting the air from cremation. This is only ONE of the many exciting things I learned during the internship.<\/p>\n

Some days I stuff envelopes, run errands, or escort special guests up to the office from the Garden Lobby. Other days I work on projects like searching for postal codes for constituents, answering phones, filing, or attending meetings and receptions in the evening. There is always something exciting to do and learn, and sometimes the best experiences are the simple ones, like when you find yourself sharing an elevator with a friendly person who wants to chat. As soon as you exchange pleasantries, the next comment will certainly be this, \u201cAre you from Canada or the states?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the evening I often join a small group of MSP\u2019s and their Assistants or other random Parliamentary staff for drinks up the Royal Mile at the Toll Booth Tavern. This is a wonderful authentic old pub built in 1591 and originally used as a place to collect taxes and as a jail. In 1820 it became a tavern and I must say, has delicious french-fries!\u00a0 Of course I was corrected, they are called \u201cchips\u201d, and American \u201cpotato chips\u201d<\/a> are \u201ccrisps\u201d.<\/p>\n

By 9PM I am getting sleepy and I still have to walk 15 minutes to the nearest bus stop and take the 30 minute ride back to my sea-side apartment in Portobello. As I ride the bus at night, I reflect on the day and think about what tomorrow will bring. An elderly man gets on the bus and stands in front of me holding the railing. I touch him on the arm and ask, \u201cWould you like my seat?\u201d and as I start to stand up, he replies, \u201cNo thank you, luv. I\u2019m not as old as I look.\u201d And we both have a giggle.<\/p>\n

—————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

Upon completing her IE3 internship<\/a>, Margaret O’Neill returned to Scotland to look for full-time employment. She is\u00a0 now a Parliamentary Assistant to Mr. Alastair Morgan MSP in his constituency office in Dalbeattie, Scotland.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The walk from the bus stop on London Street down Abbey Hill toward Parliament only takes 15 minutes but heads up! Be alert for doggy piles, cigarette butts, pigeon poop, the occasional puddle of vomit and a twist of razor wire\u00a0 – we are in the city, you know! Scan the skies for pigeons and… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":646,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1163952,1],"tags":[1234,641],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ie3-global-internships","category-uncategorized","tag-ie3-global-internships","tag-scotland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/84"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/osuabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}