The fact that I am writing this blog post with only two days left of my internship at Baboró is somewhat surreal. The past eight weeks have gone by so quickly and thinking about leaving the office, and then leaving Galway, and then getting on a plane to leave Ireland in only a couple of days just feels so strange. And while I’m excited to go back home and see my friends and family, I am really sad to be leaving this very special organization that I feel so fortunate to have worked with for the past two months. I’m not quite sure if I am going to miss the rain that I quickly realized is Galway’s daily forecast. However, in reflecting on my time here, I have realized that there is truly so much I am going to miss about working in Galway and, in particular, working at Baboró. So without further ado, here are the four things I will miss the most about my time at Baboró.
1. The Office
For those of you who have never been in Baboró’s office, it is quite small. It still makes me smile when I think about how such a large-scale, multifaceted festival that brings together so many people from so many different places all begins in an office with only about seven desks. Therefore, on my first day of work, I definitely did not think the office would come to mind when I started reflecting on the aspects of Baboró that I would miss the most. However, I think the office largely encapsulates what has been one of my favorite parts of interning at Baboró: having the opportunity to witness and be so immersed in all aspects of the work Baboró does. Baboró’s intimate, small office allowed me to be only a few steps away from the Producer, Communications Coordinator, and Artistic Director. I was able to hear phone calls about securing donations, conversations with performing companies, and meetings about the design of the programme. I’ve truly gotten to see all of the different bits and pieces that comprise Baboró’s overarching mission and this has been such a special part of my summer, a part of my summer that I think is very unique to Baboró’s internship program. As an intern, it is very easy to feel that you don’t necessarily get to see or understand the bigger picture of the organization that you work for, as you are thrown into the work for such a short period of time and often spend a lot of time working on one project that only really delves into a certain part of the organization’s work. Yet I feel like I am leaving Baboró with such a strong sense of the organization I was a part of for two months and having had so much exposure to all of the various aspects of Baboró’s work from its marketing, to its fundraising, to its curating of festivals, and so much more. So for that, I am definitely going to miss my small desk in Baboró’s small office. I am going to miss the constant collaboration and interesting conversations that this smallness allowed me to be a part of. And I am going to miss how this smallness allowed me to so quickly and naturally feel like a true member of Baboró’s team – even if only for a short period of time.
2. Galway
Spending the summer in Galway has been incredible. I am honestly amazed by how such a small city can have so much to offer. And for someone who loves the arts and getting to go out and see and experience the arts, I truly could not have asked for a better city to be in. I am going to miss wasting weekend afternoons in the city, leisurely meandering through the streets, pausing to listen to the various, versatile singers and musicians performing. I am going to miss the amazing theatre I was able to see during the Galway International Arts Festival. Over the course of just a few days, I was able to see works ranging from the bone-chilling, poetic Crestfall to the hilarious, stunningly stylized Dublin by Lamplight, to the mesmerizing, visually breathtaking Driftwood, to the intimate and heartbreaking Pumpgirl (and more). All of these performances were so different from each other, and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to see such beautiful, versatile art. This city has made seeing such high quality theatre so accessible and easy, and I am going to so deeply miss being in a place that seems to always have such exciting things to see and do.
3. The People
First, I have to acknowledge how awesome it has been to work in an all-female office for the summer. While this may sound cheesy, it really has felt very special and empowering to walk into an office of women in high-powered positions working together every day. So I am definitely going to miss this extremely effective office dynamic. However, I think the thing I am going to miss most about the people I have been able to work with here is their clear passion for and dedication to the work they are doing. Coming from a school in which there exists a running joke (which, like most jokes, is rooted in some truth) that everyone just graduates and goes directly into finance, it has been quite refreshing to see people working for an organization with a mission they are so deeply passionate about in jobs they are so clearly meant to be in. The fact that Baboró is able to do so much with its small team is such a testament to how incredibly talented and hardworking everyone at Baboró is. So one of my favorite parts of this summer has just been watching the permanent team of Baboró work, being inspired by the obvious love they all have for this organization and their particular role within it.
4. The Festival
Number four on my list has both a literal and figurative meaning. I am so disappointed that I will not be here to actually experience Baboró’s festival in October and Wide Eyes in February. Having worked on the preparation for the festival, I know it is going to be amazing and I really wish I could see the way the children will respond to the different works Baboró is bringing in and how everything comes together. But in addition to literally “missing” the festival, I am also really going to miss getting to do the work I have done in preparation for both Baboró’s annual festival and Wide Eyes. I feel like I have been able to work so closely with these events, which I know is very special and unique as an intern, and I have loved the work I have done this summer. I am going to miss being able to work every day towards the culmination of a mission I feel so passionate about. I am going to miss doing that work in such a supportive, comfortable work environment. In short, I am just really going to miss Baboró and hope I can return in some way or form in the future.
Thank you so much to the Baboró team for giving me this opportunity and for so quickly welcoming me into your community.
