Internship?

To clarify: yes, I have one. Remember that this is Europe and it's July, so all the big-wigs are on holiday, save for some consultants and all the interns. Work has been slow, thus there's very little to report.

As an overview, I'm assisting on a project that will help streamline counter-terrorism activities within the UN, since nearly every UN agency/office has some anti-terror component. The coordinating body, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, is run by my unit (the Terrorism Prevention Branch, or "TPB" on the street). I'm helping to create an online database that UN staffers can use to locate counter-terrorism tools (like specific legislation or UN projects) available in every Member State. I'm also working with another supervisor to build a program that will better showcase TPB's work to donor countries. This involves teaching myself Flash, an animation program, for hours a day.

Notice that both of the projects on which I'm working involve technology. Ironic, because technology is my kryptonite - I usually break everything I own that requires electricity. In fact, I'm frightened by most machines. I don't even use dishwashers or toaster ovens because I can't figure out how to work them. Yet here I am, programming things for an international organization. I'm proof that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, although the results might be mediocre. A modern-day Horatio Alger story? Definitely.