I'm not watching the superbowl

I've had an interesting few weeks, where I have made marvelous life choices, begun the Peace Corps application (though it's really too early to do most of it, and my parents would probably flip a shit). Oh yeah! I've also been somewhat productive too!

I have some pretty sweet interviews lined up. Not gonna lie, I am very excited about this! I've been sitting on this for awhile, but I applied to several (5) internships through Columbia Experience Overseas (CEO). Basically, they set Columbia students up with kickass internships in China and England. All of the internships in my area of expertise (journalism) are in China. Do I speak Chinese? No. And the only way I could is if I was a native Chinese speaker or learned Chinese at a very young age. (Obviously if I land one of these internships, I'll buy a phrasebook or something...and learn how to properly pronounce pinyin.)

I applied for internships in:

Beijing

Central China TV (CCTV)--This is the only place where I was outright denied an interview based on my resume. The fact that I don't speak Chinese (the post said that knowledge of Chinese was helpful but not required) might have something to do with it.

Hong Kong

Time Out Hong Kong--I had an interview. I was extremely nervous. That's basically all I can say.

CNN.com--I took a writing exam (which was more of a "do I know people in current events" and a spelling/grammar/punctuation exam) which I was extremely nervous about. I think it went fine. I should hear back re: an interview sometime this week.

Shanghai

International Channel Shanghai (ICS)--An English-language news channel, with Chinese and Japanese subtitles. This could be exciting because the 2010 World Expo will be in Shanghai this summer, and I'm sure ICS will be covering this to some degree.

LABBRAND--A marketing firm that deals with branding. This is the only CEO internship I applied for that isn't directly related to journalism. However, I think that marketing is interesting. My dad owns a small pharmaceutical marketing firm, and while I don't always understand the nitty gritty aspects of his work, I do think it's interesting. Also, anthropology and marketing are connected. In short, this could be very interesting.

I have first-round interviews for the Shanghai internships on Wednesday. I have a fancy new suit. Life is good.

I'm lucky in that I have a pretty decent resume. I work during the year (and anybody who just shrugs off working with special needs children is pretty cold-hearted), and I've been lucky to land interesting summer internships. Of course, I was adamant about the fact that I didn't want to go into journalism. And yet...Oh well. Never say never, right?