Welcome to Weirdoland

Aaaah London, what a glamorous town London is! A town where everything’s possible, where dreams come true! Back to reality. So I went to the One World Media “kick-start your foreign correspondent career” event yesterday, and it was great. I mean it. First there was a conversation between the former director of the BBC World Service, Phil Harding, and Alex Crawford, Sky News’ special correspondent who is based in South Africa and flew overnight for the event. Alex was the first reporter to broadcast live from Tripoli’s Green Square as the rebels took over. She’s reported from all over the world, including some very dangerous war zones and has been arrested, abducted, interrogated and shot at. Explaining how one eventually gets to cover war zones Alex said “war zones are like the world cup, you don’t start playing football one day and play the world cup the next, you have to go through the second, first division, everything before you eventually get there. Being a foreign...

"What is your name?" is always the first question I get when an official opens my passport in Israel, looking at me with this incredulous look on their face, eyebrows raised, waiting for my confirmation that my name is Surya which to them, pronounced the way my parents call me, sounds like the word for Syria in both Arabic and Hebrew. (What it really is, or the way my parents intended it anyway, is the sun ) Today I also learnt from someone that apparently, I look like what could be interpreted by many Israelis as a left-wing extremist student come to do activism in the country. And I certainly don't look like the typical intern that would walk into the office, which is a good thing. I do agree, I don't like looking like the norm, I like looking like what I want to look like. Anyway, I was in no way offended by this, I found it rather amusing and very insightful. I was told this, and it was later confirmed to me by someone else, as I said I was always detained at...

We still have a lot to do until the launch of the website but we're getting organised and I think work is getting easier on me, I just have to find my rhythm, got an interview done today (Champagne woo!!). What a pleasure walking to work in the warming sun, going outside to get lunch in the SUN!!! SUN SUN SUN!!! Yes, I said it, because I can and I feel like I deserve it after three years in rainy Preston. I haven't yet gone crazy, don't worry. I'm afraid I don't have much to say about today apart from the fact that I made a new friend, which is always nice. Laters!

And so the big day came. I was soooo ready, I did my research, prepared my answers to potential questions, I wasn't caught off guard or anything. HR had still not got in touch with me to tell me the details of the interview (who/what/where) on Monday and the my sentence was approaching fast. On Tuesday morning, the day before, I decided to email the woman who turned out to be my interviewer to ask her the details since HR had not bothered. I then went to the library did some more reading, writing everything I could of that would make me ready. Wednesday morning, my stomach is aching. I've never stressed out for anything, my stomach has never given up on me before anything important so I don't understand. I certainly don't feel stressed and know I won't do until the actual interview. I have a healthy breakfast after a good night's rest, no tea as I don't want to have to go to the toilet when I get there, everything is ready including me. Time to go. I arrive...

The first time can be so daunting sometimes. There are plenty of tips and info out there on the internet though, it makes it a little easier. The thoughts turn into nightmares, what if I suck at it? What if they think I'm lame? What if I'm so stressed out I throw up during it? What if they have bad breath I can't concentrate on anything else? Your friends try to reassure you about it, "You'll do just fine", "You're awesome, I know you can do this", etc. And it does pump your ego up, but at the end of the day, being too self-confident isn't always a good thing especially if it doesn't go as planned, then the trip back to reality can hurt. So it is important not to get your hopes up too much. At 23 years old I have finally got my first formal job interview. It is next week and I am already preparing. At first, I got the email and felt really happy, excited and pretty satisfied with myself. Then came the realisation that, first of, alth...