Learning until The End

Another week has gone by and sadly we are getting closer to the end.

This last week has still been busy though which is great. At work I have been sifting through literary catalogs in order to create a huge database for my boss so that she will have all the catalogs on record which she can refer to. Hopefully this will create a little more space in her office as it is unbelievable how many there are. I hope this also helps her out when she comes to looking through catalogs next season. At the moment, I feel like a true journalist as I am slowly being swallowed up by papers, magazine, literary catalogs and countless yellow sticky notes which are living up to their name and sticking to virtually everything!
Although, this may not be as exciting as the other tasks I am doing it really has given me a different insight into the job, showing the mixture of work invovled in a publication house. Additionally, I feel it something which will really help my boss in the long run (well I hope it does) and I feel I am making a bit of a difference.

At school this week, we discussed the role of the reality television medium - why it works so well and what is its secret formula. In contrast, in the afternoon we visited the Holocaust museum and had someone who works with the media side of the museum explain how the Holocaust is not something that remains in the past, but that genocide is something that is happening this very minute in Dafur. He explained how the media is vital with helping this cause and the Sudanese people, by broadcasting their plight to the rest of the world. The media is helping to keep the issue at the forefront of people's minds, as too often these stories are soon forgotten as they are replaced with some new, more current and therefore more interesting topic. This was particularly interesting for me as I am so interested by humanitarian issues, and it is something I am very keen to get into, as I feel this is one way a Journalist can use their skills to help improve situations such as this.
The Holocaust museum itself was also fascinating and extremely well presented. Having a Polish father I was particularly interested in the areas focusing on the invasion of Poland and the surrender of Warsaw to the Germans and the way in which the country suffered during the war, especially as it is not an area which is so well covered in High School. Once again, it made me realize that this may also be something I am interested in - writing about historical events and the way in which they affected people's lives and still do now - it links with my interest in humanitarian causes and issues.

On a slightly lighter note, on Sunday Amos organized a tour of the White House's West Wing for us. It was truly amazing to see where the President worked, his offices, his meeting rooms and his private study. Being a would-be journalist it was also great to see the press room as well. It certainly was a once in a lifetime opportunity and something I never thought I would do before I came here.

I have to say apart from today it has really started to feel like summer, which means lunches outsides, walks a long the harbour and plenty of Ben & Jerry's. Social life is a real blast and although too many late nights are starting to take their toll it is all worth it in the end.