Monday morning eight o’clock, out of bed, three steps to the kitchen, breakfast. Half past eight, three steps to the bathroom, shower, get dressed. Nine o’clock, time to go to the office, three steps back to the breakfast table, no wait… This now is no longer a table, but a desk, welcome to the office! At first glance, not a lot changed compared to a week ago, except that I am now an official intern at Wageningen Environmental Research, the Biodiversity and Policy team.
Ten o’clock in the morning, my first team online meeting. I shortly introduce myself, “nice to meet you and looking forward to working here” and then back to daily business. My spotlighted video image is replaced by other talking heads, and I become a circle at the bottom of the screen, slowly transforming to a name in the list of those present.
Every next team meeting, I increasingly feel like secretly peeking at someone else’s meeting. A place where I don’t belong, I don’t know those people and I think everyone has forgotten that there are interns, we have literally become invisible.
An internship during corona is awkward. I don’t know where the office is, let alone what a real office looks like inside. Would there have been a desk in an office for me somewhere? Does the day start with a cup of coffee? A cake for a birthday? I’m not going to find out this internship. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to learn and do.
I start my internship by asking my internship supervisor what kind of research he is involved in.