Journalism Internships Abroad

Recently I have been seriously thinking about what I want to get out of the next few years, besides a degree. Let's be honest, I have long summer holidays and although this is all well and good I don't want to waste the months I have free, I want to do fun and exciting things.

So I've been looking in to the idea of travelling, something that has been at the back of mind since I left school but I've never really thought about it too much. I figured, one day it will happen but it hasn't yet. I know I chose to go to University anyway so that kind of ruled out travelling for  a while but now I'm thinking about it again. I don't mean a year of travelling Australia, Newzealand and America, more a couple of months doing something that justifies me going travelling while studying and University. I googled, Journalism Internships Abroad.

 
There were so many websites, programs, countries to look at and I must admit it overwhelmed me a little. There are so many opportunities out there, not just journalism related but if there's something you want to do in a particular place I guarantee Google will find it for you. I spent about an hour reading through different journalism internship programs in different countries and the more I read the more excited I began to feel. The experience would be invaluable.

I've been told many times that in the journalism industry it's your experience that get's you places and I know that, this experience in another country would make it twice as invaluable. One program in particular caught my eye, it's based in a wine making region of Argentina called Mendoza at a leisure magazine. I found it on a website for a organisation called Travellers Worldwide. Volunteers get the chance to write and research articles, assist with proof reading, assist with graphic design and photography and you get the chance to travel around the area to find things and places to write about.
It's also mentioned that in some cases you may have to go out on leisure days such as skiing and horse riding in order to write about them!

The idea is that you stay with a host family, which will almost always cook for you and care for you while you are there. Admittedly, staying with complete strangers in different country where you don't really speak the language scares the hell out of me, but that's all part of the experience isn't it? As well as all this you can opt to take classes along side your program in, Salsa, Tango, Spanish and Photography. Personally, it would be between either Spanish or Photography. I have always loved the idea of photography and obviously it goes hand in hand with journalism but at the same time Spanish would be a brilliant language to learn but I don't think I would grasp it easily, it would be a struggle. I haven't learnt a language since I was about 14 now, I regret so much not continueing to learn French, speaking another language is always such a benefit in anything that you do.

It sounds amazing doesn't it? An experience never to forget, will look amazing on my CV, I would learn so much, improve my writing and help me achieve all that I want to do. Then I come back to reality and remember that I can't just fly to Argentina and get on with it, I have to pay for the program, my flights, Insurance, Visas, some transfers and I need money while I am there. Doesn't sounds so easy anymore does it? To go travelling, in any shape or form you need money and the reality is that from July I will be paying rent every month to live in a shared house to continue my degree, I have to pay for the rest of my New York trip in December and I have to pay to live in general.

I'm not going to forget this idea, I'm going to work hard at everything I am doing and I am going to earn some money and then I am going to aim for the next two summers to come. If I can't afford it this summer I'll aim for next summer, I'm determined to make it happen. Not necessarily in Argentina, the opportunities are endless. It could be China, Australia, Ghana or Kenya. For now I'll stick to seeking work experience in this country, in June I have a weeks work experience with Perfect Wedding Magazine in Bristol and I have a possible chance to contribute to an English magazine in the Alicante area of the Costa Blanca in Spain. I'll start small and see where I end up.

Water for Elephants Review

I have just got home after watching Water for Elephants at the cinema, on the walk home I was already thinking about what I was going to write about. How could I miss writing a blog about this film when it made me cry, gasp, jump and shake. It certainly sparked a reaction. Not only that, it stars Robert Pattinson, say no more.

The film tells the story of a young man named Jacob, played by Robert Pattinson as his life takes a drastic turn in just a day. He goes from almost graduating as a vet and having everything to live for, to receiving news of a car accident that killed both of his parents. With no money and no where to live, he is unable to continue his studies and with that pulls himself aboard a train and there starts the rest of his life.

The train turns out to be a traveling circus, where his skills as a vet are eventually welcomed by the man who runs the show, August played by Christopher Waltz. Initially Jacob has landed on his feet, and when he meets the boss' wife Marlena played by Reese Witherspoon he cannot take is eyes of her true beauty as the star act of the show. It doesn't take a genius to notice the connection made between Jacob and Marlena, but the boy can look but he cannot touch. August is an extremely jelous and angry man, his temper is unravelled throughout the film showing just what he is capable of. 

 August purchases a beautiful Elephant called Rosie to become and new star act of the show, along side of Marlena. With his cruel treatment and training of the creature driving Jacob and Marlena closer together, August and Jacob's possible friendship is blown apart as is the nature of his circus and his marriage. Up until now August isn't portrayed purely as the bad guy but also as being kind and loving, this has to be done to show why Marlena never left him and his abusive way, there has to be some kind of realism.

The films shows the magic of a traveling circus, it's ups and it's downs, it's poor and it's rich and the difference in people. August wants the circus to be successful no matter who or what it hurts or kills, whereas Jacob can see the pain on peoples faces and it's that determination to help everyone and everything within the film that make you warm to Jacob and Marlena instantly. (Not just because it's Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson)

There is one scene, close to the end which sticks in my mind very vividly simply because of how it made me feel. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't yet seen the film but it's an extremely powerful, heart stopping scene which will either break or make the film and circus and there are times you really aren't sure what is going to happen and you are scared for the characters you have warmed to. It's a scene that certainly sparks a reaction.

If you haven't yet watched the film then it's must, I can't stop thinking about it since I left the cinema. The magic, the power, the love and the determination - it's a world that unless you experience it you can't begin to recognise.

Espanol

I'm in Spain at the moment, visiting family and enjoying some Spanish sunshine with the boyfriend. The last few days have been a little cloudy and I was doubting whether or not I was going to get a tan. I couldn't very well go back to Southampton white after boasting abut the natural tan I was going to get.

Nevertheless today the sun shone high in the sky and definitely made up for the last few days. I covered myself in sun-cream, and armed with bottles of water, magazines and snacks we headed for the pool and spent the whole day sunbathing. I braved the pool but in just May the water was quite honestly freezing, but it had to be done, I manned up and took a running jump in to the water.

It's so nice to spend a few days away from home, in another country especially with some family you have not seen for some time. My Auntie, Uncle and cousins moved to Spain about 7 years ago, where they live on the side of a little mountain in southern Spain. When I say mountain, it isn't really but it's difficult to explain exactly what it is and therefore mountain seems to to be the best way to describe it.

After a day in the sunshine I'm definitely in need of a good nights sleep before some more serious tanning tomorrow. I'm going to cut this one short but there are several other blogs to look out for in the next week as inspiration has definitely developed from this little holiday, so watch this space.

A day at the races!

I spent Friday and Saturday working at Newbury Racecourse for an agency I have recently signed up to called Rd Resourcing. I can tell you now, it was quite an experience.

I spent the second day in the pimms tent serving jugs of the stuff to the customers. A stag party set up camp just a meter from the tent and spent the afternoon ordering four jugs every time they ordered and they ordered probably about five times. They learnt my name straight away and whenever they were running low they would shout from their table: "Sarah, four of your best!"

As you can imagine the group of men were extremely drunk and provided entertainment for myself and the others I worked with in the tent. We watched them attempt to chat up glamorous looking women, whip each other with riding crops, play drinking games such as I have never, annoy the elder generations in the crowd and we watched as security kept a close eye on them. It was amusing. After spending nearly three hours drinking pimms they announced that they were heading for the bar to try a different scenery and that we had provided them with brilliant service and hoped we had a lovely day, then they staggered across to the bar and failed to leave a tip. So, they can spend £200 on pimms, and have it delivered but they can't tip. I must say, I was very bitter about this.

Here's the thing, there is certain type of person that goes to the races, not to say this is true to everyone that attends but to the majority. For example if you are regular at the races you don't shop in Primark. It's certain class of people which I am not familiar with. I wont go in to detail but, I'm sure you get my drift. I have myself, been to the races and had a brilliant day out but my bets went as high as £1 every time, I wasn't going to win or lose and I think that was the best decision myself. To win big you have to of already won, one way or another.

From my little red pimms tent I was able to watch the crowd elegantly arrive, the women dressed in beautiful dresses, outrageous hats and 6 inch heels and the men dressed from head to toe in suits, and tweed jackets. I was then able to watch them stagger out of the race ground just like students in Southampton stagger home from the likes of Bliss and Wahoo. There really was little difference, they might have arrived with class but they definitely didn't leave with any and watched with amusement.

It was two very long days at the races, I was picked up at 7.30am and got home around 8.30/9.00pm and I was absolutely exhausted but it was two days in a completely different world that I really enjoyed. Plus, I earnt myself about £100 - can't really argue with than now can I?

Rapture Magazine

Rapture Magazine is a new online magazine which has recently been launched by Southampton Solent student, Natasha Coles. A few months a go I responded to a post on the University Portal, looking for student journalists to contribute to the first issue, I replied and agreed to write an article about Christian Lacroix's new book by Camilla Morton and here it is:

To read the article and the rest of the magazine visit: 
http://rapturemagazine.com
http://issuu.com/rapturemagazine

To view the magazine's blog visit:
http://rapturemagazine.blogspot.com/

For a first year Magazine Journalism student I'm pretty excited about this and personally it feels great to see something I have written, published in an online magazine. I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to do this and the magazine it self looks amazing! I definitely recommend you check it out and hopefully I'll get the chance to contribute to future issues. x

Student night, I think not!

When you are a student you get pretty good at going out on a tenner a night, to include to include taxis possibly there and back, entry fee, several drinks and sometimes cheesy chips from a greasy kebab shop. Last night however this was made extremely difficult. 

What I love about student night in Oceana is that if you arrive before 11 it's free entry and drinks are generally pretty cheap. Last night however, as I stood in the que I learnt that this had now changed and that it's £5 entry or £3.50 with a student card - thankfully I had remembered to bring my student card just in case but that's not the point we still had to pay to get in when we were fully prepared not to! Yes I know, £3.50 isn't exactly breaking the bank, I'm a student though remember. It's a good job the my student loan has finally come in.

As I got to the front of the que, I decided in my tipsy sate it was a good idea to ask the mean looking bouncers why exactly all of a sudden we were expected to pay. They pretty much ignored the question, which angered me very much and left me disgustedly moaning about it all the way from the entrance and upstairs to the ice room, where I quickly forgot about the nasty bouncers and headed straight to the bar.

The next shock was the bar prices, since when has 2 drinks for myself and the boyfriend cost me nearly £7 on a student night out in Southampton. Never since the day I came here. I was yet again disgusted and out of money and as we drunkenly left Oceana I realised I had no money for a hot dog from the little man that sells them on the way out or for a taxi home. This angered me further but thankfully my flat mate shared her hot dog around and kindly paid for our taxi home.

I think it's safe to say Oceana knows where it can go from now on I think it's time to go back to Kaos and enjoy their £2 drinks! I'll admit, Oceana wasn't exactly breaking the bank but as I said, we're all students here and I think you'd agree that a student night means being able to pay for everything with just a tenner.

Staring at a computer screen for 5 hours sends you a little crazy.

After arriving at Uni at 9am and spending 5 hours staring at a computer screen today I feel surprisingly good. Although I will probably need to spend most of the next week at Uni as well, I feel like I am finally making progress. With two assignments nearly completed, writing for the multimedia and culture of the glossy, it's just the last and probably most tedious unit to finish magazine design. 

It's caused me many tantrums, much stress and a few headaches but I finally know what I am doing. I am now however, regretting the decisions I made last term most Tuesday mornings when I woke up, most probably hungover and facing 2 hours of magazine design, to then roll over and go back to sleep. "It's nothing important, only practicing using Quark for our final double page spread," I would think. (Quark is the extremely tedious software program that we have to use to build a double page spread for a story we have written.)  Nothing Important? Oh how wrong I was. I thought I could just download the 3 month trial from the internet and teach myself how to use it. All well in good if you don't muck up the download the first time and then not be aloud to try again. I'm so clever.

This is a prime example of why staying in bed is not the best decision. Anyway, I finally know what I am doing - a week before deadline, excellent. I surprised myself a little today, and found that once I got in to it, it's surprisingly easy. I stopped thinking about what all my flat mates were up to, (probably asleep at 9am anyway) about the sunshine, spending my loan and getting drunk and instead I zoned everyone and everything out. I got quite in to building all these double paged spreads, I didn't mention that not only did I have to do my own spread I still had to do all the practice ones we'd been doing every week for 5 weeks to show our progress in our scrap books. I hadn't done any of them.

So, pretty pleased at what I have finally managed to achieve today, I definitely think I deserve a night out tonight so I am therefore forgetting about Quark and looking forward to a bit of Oceana.

Ralph Lauren Romance

I literally cannot get enough of this advertisement for Ralph Lauren Romance Fragrance for Women. It makes me want go out and buy it straight away, exactly what an advert aims to do I suppose. I came across it in the Hello Magazine I bought a couple of days ago (which just so happened to be a royal wedding souvenir copy) I pulled it out and it now takes pride place on my pin board directly above my mac. Not sure if this is really the best place for it, as I sit here trying to finish my essay I find myself gazing pointlessly at the advert. I love it, it's such a perfect picture.

Looking back at the Royal Wedding

Finally, I have got round to blogging about the wedding. It was absolutely beautiful, Kate looked amazing and the day was perfect.  I forced myself out of bed to watch it on Friday morning, and I am so glad I did.

I tuned in, in time to watch most of the family members make their way along the route from Buckingham palace, Calarence House and Goring hotel where Kate stayed to Westminster Abbey. I feel priviledged to have been able to watch such a beautiful royal wedding, in forty or however many years time I will be able to say: "I watched the King and Queen's wedding from my tiny student room in Southampton!" 

It gave me goose pimples when Prince William turned to Kate in the church and said what looked like: "You look beautiful." And of course she did.  Watching them together, exchanging smiles, grins and of course that first kiss upon the balcony reminded me that although they are part of the royal family, they are still human, they have feelings they do normal things like getting married. Not to say however, that the wedding was normal - not with that many people watching anyway!

Having said this however, the wedding surprised me a little at how ordinary and simple it was. Not negatively but realistically. Obviously it was this crazy massive wedding that everyone who is anyone knew about but it still had the beautiful white wedding dress, a church and two people that love each other. I'm not quite sure what else I was expecting from it but the traditional simplicity is why I liked it so much.

 After watching Kate and Will on the balcony of Buckingham Palace looking truly happy and perfect i felt good and excited for the wedding celebrations that afternoon in Southampton. We went to a street party on Newcombe Road (ironically the road I will be living on next year), I'm not sure what I was expecting from it but it certainly wasn't what I saw when I turned the corner. There were hundreds of students filling the entire road from one end to the other, burger vans, massive speakers in several front gardens, dancing, alcohol and honestly happy people. The sun was shining and I don't think it could have been more perfect. I spent the afternoon with my friends celebrating the special day. Who cares if we don't actually know Will & Kate, it was a beautiful wedding and gave everyone a reason to be happy and to celebrate. It was a good day.