Harrison DeCotis
Journal two
The second week has come and gone. We started our internships and I couldn’t be more pleased. My first day went by very slowly. We started off by re-introducing ourselves to Agustin. He is one of our coworkers and a master book repairer. He showed us around his workshop and tried to tell us all about what was in it. The language barrier made learning a struggle; however, it was a great way to quickly break the ice. He took us around the shop and attempted to explain what each machine was used for. Between google translate, and some descriptive hand motions, Manny and myself were able to comprehend what Agustin’s job consisted of. After the tour, Agustin put us to work. Our first task at our internship was to start the journals we wanted to make for our friends. The first thing we had to do was fold the paper into stacks of eight. Then we take eight of those stacks and group them together. This work was very tedious, and the next day it got even more tedious. We learned, along with a group of others, how to sew a book binding. The name makes it sound harmless, however the actual procedure was very detailed and difficult. The first round of sewing, while learning, took us about forty-five minutes. After we had finished, I was proud of what I had done. I had a few minor mistakes, but it was a sound binding. Agustin picked it up and told me it was very well made. He proceeded to take scissors and cut out the stiches I had just put in. I was crushed. I looked up at Agustin and he told me, “We will practice again, to get better, and make the best books for your friends. And that’s what we did. We stitched the same book five times. It took around three hours. Each time it went by faster and each time I made fewer mistakes. The last time I stitched it, I had no mistakes. I finished it in under twenty-five minutes, and I was happy with how it looked. Agustin apologized for the tedious work, but we had to learn how to do it correctly. I was worried the internship was going to be all tedious work, and I was not too happy about that.
The third day all of my worries were melted away. We spent the day with the graphic designer. He wanted us to get familiar with the computer system, and get comfortable putting on the screen. Manny and I took that as an opportunity to come up with an idea for the team shirts. We had been given the task to design shirts for the group. We wanted it to be something that referenced Granada. We stumbled over some ideas, but we only had a rough sketch so far. The designer helped us replicate a cleaner version of what we had, and within fifteen minutes we had a design that we loved. The logo was a pomegranate.
We chose that because Granada means pomegranate. The symbol for pomegranate is all over Granada. The symbols around Granada are much more simple than what we wanted, so we made something a little more detailed. The design we made was a pomegranate on its stem. We absolutely loved it. We showed our friends and they also liked it. The next day we were told to try and design something else. This time we were much more comfortable with putting our thoughts up on the screen. The designs came much more easily. This was such a drastic difference compared to the start of the internship. We had been worried it was going to be mostly tedious tasks. However, we finally acquired our creative outlet, and we are starting to get confident with our work. We couldn’t be more excited.
The city is starting to become more familiar. Everyday I get more used to navigating my way though it. We can walk around and I will recognize landmarks around the city. We took a trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Seeing everything was mind blowing. It was especially nice to get out of the city and breath in some real fresh air. The scenery was breath taking. When we finished the hike, we ate at a restaurant on one of the peaks. The day was pure bliss and a great way to relax from work life.
My family is still amazing. We have a meal or two together everyday. Each meal, we talk and have great conversations. I learned more and more about them everyday. I bring over my friends, who are on the trip, to meet them all the time. When I see mis padres in the cafeteria, I walk over to say hi and I’m always greeted with big smiles. I couldn’t be happier with my home life.
Lastly, it’s starting to hit me how fast this trip is moving along. I want to make every moment count, even the siesta, and do my best to take advantage of everything I can. Whether its exploring the city more and more, finding and new restaurant that I like, or maybe going on another hike. I’m very excited to take advantage of everything that I can. I don’t want to go home knowing I wasted anytime here. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be here, and I don't want to waste that blessing.
