the professor.

Starting my internship has confirmed that this is absolutely the study abroad trip for me. Unreal. Yesterday morning I walked up the steps and through the Altiero Spinelli entrance of the European Parliament and into what is going to be an interesting and incredible experience. I was greeted by Diane and Stefan, Professor Panayotov's assistants and my supervisors. They are so chill (just a little term for the bros out there - if you're reading this, you know who you are). Seriously though, in two days I have been taken to coffee three times.

Day one of the internship lasted only a few hours but was filled with more stories than I can even begin to tell. Diane and Stefan toured me around parliament and took me to lunch in the cafeteria. We met up with Professor Panayotov (my MEP who has been explained to me as really more of a scientist/professor - hence the title - than a politician) and he "proposed" that we all get a coffee in the private MEP lounge. First day and already VIP, ha. It was my first introduction to "the professor" and we talked about Elvis (Memphis natives be proud, he loves Elvis). The conversation was filled with pop culture references, laughter, and many languages. Diane is French and Stefan is Bulgarian like Professor Panayotov, and I am American. This leads to them all speaking in English to me, Diane and Stefan speaking in French to each other, and Stefan and the professor speaking in Bulgarian... and it switches frequently from one language to the next. The professor also discussed how his view of Americans has changed from the "propaganda" they used to spread in Bulgaria about all Americans being lazy, etc. It wasn't until later when Diane brought up this conversation that I fully realized he was referring to the not too distant communist government in Bulgaria. So much to learn from this man. 

Today I got to spend more time with the professor since Diane and Stefan passed his test on Hemingway (apparently he likes to quiz them on random subjects and this time it won us all lunch). The bad news is we didn't eat until 2:30 but the good news is we spent two hours talking over a delicious meal. Today's subject was a little different. Instead of Elvis, the professor decided to play another quizzing game with the main topic American history. Oh gosh, I feel like these people know more about American history than I do. I've barely even started doing any work and I feel like I've learned so much just from observing, chatting with, and getting to know these people. 

As far as work goes, they are all determined to make the internship as tailored to my interests as possible. They are so accommodating and just want me to research and attend meetings that go along with my interests (particularly as an economics major). Hopefully I'll be able to contribute to the office soon - I want to do a good job for them!