First Three Weeks
Even before this internship, I have handled things like this before; the feeling of having an immersive experience where you are going to be in the shoes of those who have jobs. I have went through so much experience with different people in different workplaces, from my parent’s work to the job of the notary lawyer, to the work of guidance counselors, through a small business owner and other jobs that I can handle. However, this will be the first time that I will undergo an extensive immersion of a workplace, the feeling of interacting with the staff, go through paperworks and undergo a serious change in my daily lifestyle though different things that I was not accustomed to.
POEA was something for me, not just as an international studies student yearning to understand the dynamics of international movement but also as someone who has been interested in what an Overseas Filipino Worker has to undergo before leaving the homeland to a better opportunity in places they never thought they would go. It was an experience going through everything and doing the things I thought I would never entertain in my lifetime. But you know what, learning everything through immersive work has been a satisfying challenge for me because of the interactions I have with different people and the things I did that I believe will benefit not just me but also of the entire organization as a whole.
June 1, 2022 (Wednesday): Hardships and Being Lost
It was my first day of my immersive work and right from the moment I stepped in into the workplace I already know that it will be an experience that is challenging but at the same time fun for me. I was the last to enter the workplace at around 7:50 after my partners-in-crime (Rae Anne and Sheena Marie respectively) and I learned that our supervisor Ma’am Helen arrived at the workplace at around 7:00 in order to prepare the area for a day of work which revolves around scrutinizing returning OFW’s and other matters regarding their welfare here and abroad. There was little to no time left to really introduce us to our work which is to assist returning workers process their papers and their accounts since right at the time we became interns, a new registration system has been introduced which forces workers to have patience in dealing with new measure being put into place before processing their papers.
We have interns from WMSU who are close to finishing their own internship period guiding us in our designated work and they were patient “ates” to us (since all of them were women), helping us understand this concept of assisting workers and having all the patience dealing with their request and their complaints. It was a huge crowd then as applicants swarmed the office looking to process their papers in order to have a smooth sailing travel and work and believe me when I say that some of them were unhappy about the new system being put to place, but you know what, so were we. Being in the situation where we don’t know what we were doing is frustrating for us especially for me who I admit have not done a very good job being interpersonal with everyone but we were trying to do our part because not only that we are willing to learn, doing something like this is very fulfilling as well because millions of workers are being stressed out about the process but we made it very easy for them to go further because at the end of the process, it’s for their own benefit.
I will admit that it was a bad start for us, going out of the workplace being stressed out about everything is just so heart draining especially when our expectations are high. But that is exactly the point; adjustments are hard especially when you are just being thrown in into work without a proper discussion. We thought that it was just an easy period for us interns to easily undergo this process smoothly but the opposite happens. Expect the unexpected I guess.
June 2, 2022 (Thursday): Adjustment and Realizations
Somehow, somewhat, I even managed to exceed my own expectations. I arrived only seconded to Rae Anne and we got a moment with Ma’am Helen, specifically with how things work here. She told us what and what not to do in work and she was very understanding but very stringent in terms of our work load in the assistance desk. I expected atleast a breakdown in terms of the relationship between us and the applicants especially since ma'am told us that some workers can be too overbearing atleast when it comes to their applications since they have a cramped up schedule and they need to rush things out. Some according to ma'am even throw out their passports in the faces of the interns and some berating them. It was only a matter of time before someone took out on us for something wrong and we could not even handle ourselves properly.
Luckily, this day was lighter than expected for us. There were little applicants who approached us to assist us on things and some went on their papers smoothly. It was at the peak of our work when we were introduced to someone who became our companion in our internship experience. Meet Joshua, a fellow Atenean and an intern within the government who just like us, struggled to find his place within the workplace. Together with us, we faced the uncertainty of unpredictable clients, unstable guidelines and picky registration processes. In just a short span of time, we are able to bond together and form a nucleus around us which I really hope will stays even after the internship experience because of the school that we attend to.
After the day, there is the sense in me that this internship will determine how far did I come with all the struggles and hardships that I encountered my whole life. Did I really learned from my experience that I had? All the social struggles and internal thoughts that I bottled up leading to this challenge. I am nervous and excited on how this will turn out.
June 3, 2022 (Friday): New Opportunities
Friday was great for all the bad and good reasons. While we are excited that that day will be the last before the weekend and with that the reward of rest before our first week of intensive immersion, this is considered the last full working day of our ates from WMSU who had guided us in what we are going to do and welcomed us with open arms. There is a reason we all wore black that day, it symbolizes the lost of someone endeared to us, the fact that we can not be stressed enough with our work knowing that someone from the former interns was there to guide us. However, we also took it as an opportunity to be independent from someone and work within our own accord which we considered it as a strength coming to the internship.
This was also the day I took up other opportunities other than entertaining applicants, filling up paperwork and sorting out the applicants through documentation. For me, this was more worth it than just entertaining the applicants who can be unpredictable and pushy at times. Seeing myself at the desk, documenting each applicants and their profile, gives me a whole new perspective on how hard it is to apply for a clearance to go outside for work. It was fulfilling to me because honestly, I do not want to deal with people so this desk work is a nice niche for me to fill in.
After this week, things will not be the same for us. Our mentors are going to say their final goodbyes, we expect more interns to join us and we are now the mentors to these guys. But also we are honestly not looking forward to Monday especially because Ma’am Helen told us that Monday usually was overcrowded with applicants and appointees so it will be double time for us. It will be hard juggling up all of it but we took it as a challenge to serve the migrants well and prove ourselves in a real work environment.
