Friday, February 26, 2010

Taking Away the Text

It's been hard playing catch up this far into my travels but instead of cranking out some more long-winded descriptions here are some photos! I got a new camera in November and I've been really happy with it so far, I still don't know how to use half the features but it has a great zoom and I can definitely say my experiences have been well photographed.
All these pictures are of things I've seen, not so much of people, they'll come later :-)


The first few are the result of me goofing around with my new (exspensive, not to be lost, or mistreated!) toy:


Scotland!!!



From our day trip to the Highlands:


That's All For Now Folks!









































































































































Wednesday, February 24, 2010

4th Floor

Working at Parliament has been a great experience so far, its very different from anything I've ever done and definitely a change from classes, homework, and exams. It's also been a surprisingly social experience and a very positive learning environment.


My flat is about a 20 minute walk from the Scottish Parliament building which is an usual story in itself, the new building was design by Enric Miralles who apparently brought in some leaves and twigs during his interview, tossed them on the table and said, "this is my vision." It turned out pretty cool in my opinion. The building was/is still very controversial as it cost quite a bit more than expected and has a very modern look in a town know for its historical architecture.




From the sky it's suppose to look like ships coming into port and the lower glass roof like waves. This glass roof is actually the ceiling of the Garden Lobby where photo ops and interviews take place. This is also where the main staircase to the chamber is. I work in the building towards the top of the picture with that awkward looking staircase sticking out. It is known as the MSP Building, or MSP Block


My MSP's office is on the 4th floor, the view from my desk looks out across the hall out onto Arthur's Seat and the beginnings of the Salisbury Crags. The building feels very light, airy from all the windows and the light wood. All the different building materials they used is almost as interesting as the final product (at least I think so...). The 4th and 5th floors are the Scottish National Party (SNP) floors, going down the 3rd floor is where the Liberal Democrats (LibDems) set up shop, the 2nd the Conservatives (Tories) and then the 1st and Ground floor are where the Labour Party, the 2nd biggest party can be found. I hardly stray from the top floors but I have nipped downstairs to look around, no devil's horns or diaboical plans in sight!


On of the quirkest part of the MSP Block is the back side of the building:


When I first saw this photo I thought these were all some type of bizarre staircases. I have since learned that they are the MSP's thinkpods, a very cool space which the MSPs have found a variety of uses for. Here is what it looks like from the inside:


Its just a small space to think and look out the window, or occasional Anne has all 3 of us that work in the office perch here to talk, the rest of the time it provides a place to keep her luggage (as you can see the red bag here). All in all its a pretty nice place to work, no cubicles in this building :-)

The hardest question to answer is what do I do? Its really easy to just say "I'm an intern for blah blah blah" and that kind of conveys I do whatever is needed and don't get paid, which is true but it's much more enjoyable than that! So far I've done a wide range of things which has been great, kept things interesting. Primarily I do research for anything Anne needs, whether its pertain to a question in chamber, something involving her committees, or even statistics she might need, one day, maybe. In addition to that I've been helping Anne decide what she wants her website to look like, contribute to designing a newsletter, written a few motions, arranged several events, acted as photographer at one said event, and answered the phone everytime it rings!

From what I've witnessed and experienced the most important thing for an MSP is to be informed, about petitions, motions, bills, questions, their constituents, a very wide variety of topics. There is no way any of that would be possible without handy dandy reseachers who find the information they need, whatever it may be and then tailor it down so it's exactly what their MSP needs and can be read quickly!

Another thing that I did not expect was how different each day is, for example Mondays and Fridays the MSPs are in their constituencies so the number of people here at Parliament significantly drops (though the flow of emails hardly ever falters) and we get to dress casual and leave earlier. Tuesdays are an in-between day, gearing up for the more chaotic Wednesday and Thursday.

While the second half of Wednesday's most MSPs are in chamber its nothing compared to Thursdays, that is of course depending what is on the agenda for the week. Every Thursday at midday are First Minister Questions followed by Themed Questions and then usually a debate. Decision Time, or voting is on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5:00 and just in case any MSP gets distracted there are several chimes that sound throughout the building leading up to 5:00, just to remind them. When ever chamber is in session, especially during FMQs the hallways up here echo with Holyrood TV (the Parliament's live feed) being played on computers and TVs, things really get messy if someone clicks pause. These are also the days the business-y clothes come out and wow! amazing how everyone can look like a grown up.

That pretty much encompasses the duties of an intern, we also provide lively conversation and entertainment (unintentionally, I'm sure).


Monday, February 8, 2010

Edinburgh, Scotland

Greetings!

It's been a while since I've even thought about writing here but most the other interns I'm here with regularly update their blogs, putting me to shame plus it makes it a lot easier to update people all at once! Woot woot!

I've been here in Edinburgh for a month now (yeah I'm really behind) but so far everything has been going great, minus a few unlucky situations, but I've determined all that will work out eventually.

When I first arrived, on Friday January 8th, it was right towards the end of the terrible cold weather that had been affecting the whole UK. Consequently I finally arrived to Edinburgh 4 hours late with no baggage and the city was covered in a light layer of snow. It was very pretty but not so easy to get around town, cobblestone gets very slippery!

Here is the satellite image of the whole UK that was on the front page of the Scotsman the day I arrived. It shows the whole of mainland Britain except for a small part of Scotland completely covered in snow! It's like something out of The Day After Tomorrow, spooky.
Saturday morning I went over to the flat I had arranged to let a room in. Although I've been gradually learning my way around the Old Town area of Edinburgh where I live, eat, sleep, drink, and work most the time (I have to go elsewhere to shop...) the Royal Mile has been my main route for most outings.
The Mile, is pretty cool in several ways. First of all its a long, straightforward street with an assortment of restuarants, pubs, tourist shops, and sights that are all easy to find and visit. Beyond that it is the heart of Old Town and all the buildings and churches still have their historical facades with closes and wynds weaving in and out of the buildings. This part of town has been densely populated since Edinburgh's early history.
At the top of the mile is Edinburgh Castle the biggest tourist attraction in town. It is built on the Rock which is a part of an ancient volcano. Here is another reason why the Mile is interesting. The Mile slopes downhill away from the Castle all the way to the new Scottish Parliament building (where I work!) but it is sloped like that because of glaciation as a glacier slowly moved downhill and carved out the modern landscape the town has been built upon. Oh yeah, the nerd in me went crazy!
My flat is on Victoria Street which is a short, steep cobblestoned road right off the mile. It's also right next to the Grassmarket (use to be where the cattle market was held) where there are a ton of resturants and pubs. We're on the 1st floor and technically its a 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room, shower room, and toilet room. However, due to the long history of the building there is another random room right next to the street. I have no clue what it might have originally been for but somebody built in a lofted DOUBLE bed and there's a little desk, some shelves, and all-in-all its the perfect amount of space! I've dubbed it my "bat-cave" so far no serious ladder issues, thank god I brought my headlamp!
The rest of the flat is great too, everyone calls the living room my opium den (not because of the presence of opium hehe) but it is very colorful and...bohemian, I guess would be a good word. The bathroom set up is actually comical. There is a toilet at one end of the hall, it's "victorian" with a wooden seat and pull handle with a porcelain fish on the end, to clarify splinters are a non-issue. At the other end of the hall is the shower room. The shower is raised a little and the top of it goes up into this bizarre raised space in the ceiling, they definitely had to squeeze it in. All over the place the guys have hung up cool photos, articles, pretty much anything they thought was interesting I guess, it makes for some good reading material over a bowl of cereal.
Clearly, I'm very happy with my living accomodations and I hear some wild things late at night from the street below, all part of it's character. At first it wasn't so warm and cozy, literally, since the boiler broke my second day in and we had no heat or hot water, and I had only one outfit. It took 10 days for me to get both of my bags so that first week was definitely...interesting. It was challenging to not look like a dirty hobo at work but at the same time much worse things could have happened. I'll continue with my first day of work soon! (Oh and I have pictures to share as well)