ABCiE -Intern with NATO/ World Traveler/ Journalist

                                ABCiE- a Lesson in Interning...around the Globe

No that is not a typo...she goes by the moniker ABCiE because it's short for the title of her Blog, American Black Chick in Europe...just in case you didn't know =). She has over 200 regular followers and posts the female friendly "Hot Man Candy of the Week" article that has grown into quite the favorite among many of her followers. I'd love to call this an interview, but in fact all I did was ask her, a world traveler by accident, and then on purpose, to provide me with her background story. This is what came back to me in my inBox. And seeing as I could not do better, by any stretch of the imagination, this is how you shall receive it as well. SO from her computer to your's...here's ABCiE

So, as you know I graduated from Chamblee High School, after which I went to the University of Georgia and got a BA in Journalism (with a focus on Broadcast News) and a minor in Spanish. As much as I loved journalism and writing, I decided to try something a bit different before settling into a career or going to graduate school. 

I'd already done two (unpaid) full time internships while in college (one at CNN International, one at FOX 5 Atlanta), and I wanted to try something else for awhile. So I did the one thing you're not supposed to do: tested out jobs that were (largey) completed unrelated to my degree...as in not journalism! 

I found that the skills I learned while studying for that journalism degree actually transferred well for other jobs. For example, I worked as a writer and researcher for a market research firm in Atlanta just after I graduated and as a research analyst in London for an executive search firm for a year...exact same skill set regarding the researching and writing. I've spent time teaching English (in Atlanta, New York City and Toulouse, France)...and studying journalism helped me to perfect my English language skills to the point where I could teach the language to non-native speakers. 

And my ability to converse with folks I'd just met helped out a lot when I briefly did a waitressing gig in London to pay the rent (let's just say I got decent tips), as well as when I worked with the Red Cross in NYC...as did my Spanish minor!

And I also did the second thing you're not supposed to do: move around a hella lot. 

In all of my wandering, I've been blessed enough to live in England (London), Belgium (Brussels) and France (Toulouse) for varying lengths of time. I've travelled to/lived on 5 continents so far: North America (US! woo hoo! and Canada), Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore), Europe (most of it with a few countries in Eastern Europe I still want to hit) and Australia. Just 2 more to go: South America and Antarctica. And I still want to make return trips to Africa, Asia and Australia so I can explore more! And of course there's some European countries I want to re-visit: hello Iceland!

All of those seemingly random work experiences, as well as living/traveling outside of the US for a while actually helped me to figure out what I wanted to study for my MA: international relations.

I rather like working in multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual environments...makes me want to step up my intercultural and linguistical (pretend that's a word) game!

It also helped me figure out what I wanted to do, which was combine international relations with journalism, which is what I'm doing now as an intern in the public diplomacy division of NATO! Honestly, I'm not sure I would have been able to get my internship without my previous work/travel experience. I suppose we'll never know!

At any rate, I'm hoping to use this experience to do more work at a NGO where I can combine international relations and journalism.

....I'm really big on getting Americans (especially black Americans) to travel more...the earlier we start the better. I didn't leave the country for the first time until I was 21 and I regret not doing it earlier, like spending a summer (or several) in Germany improving on those years of German classes!

So, yes, as you can see, this girl loves what she's doing and where she's been. So this her background come back tomorrow for the interview that I actually DID conduct via email...it's mad good I PROMISE!!!! As always Peace Love and Courage!!!

Photos by ABCiE in Luxembourg, Germany

 

To send questions to this American Black Chick in Europe:
americanblackchickinlondon@googlemail.com

Check out more of her political, ex-patness, and other worldly thougts at:
www.americanblackchickinlondon.blogspot.com