Week 4 and Finished!!

Well, I'm in the airport waiting to begin the final day of flying/ final day of this internship-interview marathon! :) I have a long day ahead of me, but the weather is great (46 and sunny at BDL in Connecticut) and I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, and finally putting my suitcase back away into the closet! If all goes according to schedule, I should be home (and truly finished!) in about 10 hours! :)

This week held my final interview, as well as a lovely visit with Julian's aunt, uncle and cousins (who live about 30-45 minutes away from where I was interviewing). The interview, was, um, very interesting... and although I felt fine about my portion of the interview (and I got the sense they were impressed by me) I can't say that the feeling was mutual. There were a few REALLY funny things (as in odd, unusual and bizarre!) that I really want to share, but, there is a big part of me that worries that it wouldn't be wise to share said stories on the internet (at least not before Match Day!). Before I even arrived at the site, I had the feeling that the training director was an interesting man (His email invitation to interview referenced Jersey Shore- for "fashion tips" as well as included a turkey cartoon advising us to "Eat Lobstah" for thanksgiving) basically, I walked in knowing that he was going to be a bit different than the other training directors I'd encountered (and my interview experience confirmed this). In some ways, I wish I'd been able to secretly videotape the day, it felt that strange.... as I talked to Julian's uncle that evening, he wondered if this was a test to see how we'd respond to an awkward/unusual situation (Personally, I think the director was being true to himself, and, well, that gave me a lot of information about how the year would be if I matched at that location!)

The bottom line: I am DONE (!) with interviews :) Yipee!! Now I just have to finalize my decisions about my rank order (I submit the sites in order of my preference- this has to be submitted no later than Feb 8th) and the sites do the same thing (submit their order of preference of applicants) and then on Feb 24th we find out if we matched, and if so, where we will be living for the next year. The start date for internship year varies a bit by location (early to late summer), but half of the sites I interviewed at start on July 1st, and the other half start in the middle/end of August. Of course, if I don't match (I think my chances of matching are good, but of course there are no guarantees) there is a second round of applications/etc (for any sites that didn't fill their spots) and if that isn't successful/or there weren't sites that matched my training goals, I would most likely be looking at delaying and going through the whole process again next year. But, I'm choosing not to think about that unless/until I need to!

As I think back about this process, the most difficult parts were 1) thinking about and deciding where I wanted to apply: particularly due to my mind spinning in circles about what I want to do in 1, 5, 10 years and how to get to that point, as well as the stress of thinking of moving away on my own for a year 2) getting the applications turned in: the task itself wasn't that awful, but the stress and worry cycle of wondering what sites want, and the "what if I don't match" was awful! 3) traveling around the country certainly took an emotional (and financial!) toll on me... the actual interviews were quite pleasant, and at most of the sites I really enjoyed meeting the staff, hearing more about the programs, and imagining what it would be like to be at that site for a year.... I'm grateful that I've had a lot of cross-country travel experience, and I know myself well enough to know that I get stressed out about traveling/preparations- but in some ways I think this month may have desensitized me to that (out of necessity!) either way, as much as I love traveling, I know that I really enjoy being home the most!!! (even though there are dishes, groceries, and chores awaiting me!)

I'm not going to post specifics about my rank preferences online, but if anyone is interested feel free to send me a private message to inquire.... but, for family/friends who are having trouble keeping track of the cities (in order of my interviews): Manhattan, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Dayton, Long Island, Buffalo, Salt Lake City, and Hartford.... Oh, and even though I didn't interview at the site where I am currently working for my practicum training, I submitted an application and am allowed to rank them- so that makes 9 sites total. Among those, there were three sites that I really liked (walked away feeling happy & excited about the idea of working there!) and one other site that also was exciting and had great training (but I'm hesitant due to some non-training-related factors). Of the remaining sites, an addition three places had good training, but I didn't have that same spark of excitement (or had some location/ minor concerns) after meeting the staff/seeing the facility/ hearing about the training... all in all, there are 3 or 4 sites that I'd be very happy to match with, and another 3 or 4 sites that I would be content with... so I'm feeling pretty good about that!!

I'm glad to have survived this month of traveling, and I"m happy to those who have laughed at my stories (and airport woes) along the way! Thanks for "traveling" with me!