Journal Entry #1

My internship at the Guggenheim Museum does not begin until June 2^nd so at this point, I am still preparing for my trip. My flight to New York City is May 31^st and it is coming up very quickly. I have secured housing in Manhattan in the New York University dorms. Most of the time, I will not be at the actual Guggenheim Museum as the library is housed in an office building downtown. This is actually quite convenient for me as it is only about a mile from my dorm. The dorm is pretty ideal except for the fact that it has no air conditioning which, though I am prepared for the intense heat and humidity of summer (being from Florida), no a/c will be challenging as there is a/c everywhere in Florida. 

I have already befriended a few of my fellow Guggenheim interns. One girl is staying in the same dorm as me which is neat. Also, there is another girl who is coming from Gainesville, like me. I have also been in contact with the internship coordinator for the Guggenheim as well as my site supervisor about various details. The internship coordinator has emailed us about a couple of outside events that we might like to attend. One of these was a collaborative exhibition called stillspotting nyc and the other was a free program and reception for summer interns at the Sotheby's Institute of Art. 

Up until this point, I have been nothing but excited for my trip but I am beginning to get nervous. I am from Gainesville, Florida which is a relatively small city, especially compared to Manhattan. I am very glad that I participated in the study abroad program in London last summer as I feel more comfortable about going to New York City after having lived in another big city, even if for only three weeks. I also intend to blog about my experience this summer like I did for my London study abroad trip. 

As far as what I will actually be doing in my internship, I am not sure. In my phone interview, my supervisor mentioned a backlog of items that needed to be cataloged. One thing I am sure of is the museum culture seminars held on Fridays for the Guggenheim interns. These seminars will take us on field trips to art galleries and other cultural centers in New York City where we will learn about the various career opportunities in museums. No matter what I will be doing, I will be completing my MLIS in New York City, interning at the Guggeneheim - it is practically impossible to be anything less than an amazingly valuable and exciting experience.