Internship

      Wednesday morning, I put on my business formal in the early morning and left home at 8:30 am for my 10:30 am interview.  When I learned that Access is in Harajuku, the fashion district of Tokyo and I can go shopping after work, I thought to myself “I’m glad that this internship is unpaid, otherwise I would spend all the money I earn on clothes and crepes.” The interview went surprisingly well, or I should say that it went much better than I expected.  The interview was conducted in English; luckily, my boss is an Australian who obviously speaks fluent English.  In the interview, they told me that workload would be inconsistent.  I might have a lot of work one day and no work at all some days.  Even though this is a market research house, I thought their “daily routine” sounds exactly like an advertising agency. 
      During the interview, they asked me a few questions about my study abroad experiences and my language skills.  So, I was very glad that my study abroad experiences were useful in a job interview.  It did not matter if the experiences were related to the job or not, they were just interested in knowing something about my trips.  When it came to my language skills, they told me that I would be helping a lot with translating documents like questionnaires and focus groups/ one-on-one interviews questions.  I will be working with the international department during my internship. Working hours are 10:30 – 18:00 and dress code is smart causal. 
      The first day I started work; I got to the office 10 minutes early.  It was nice that work started at 10:30, because I can avoid rush hour in Tokyo.  When I entered the office I was expecting an introduction sort of thing.  I thought my boss would introduce me to everyone in the company and introduce everyone to me, or at least introduce me to the members on the international team.  After all, there are only 30 people in the office and only 7 on the international team.  But surprisingly, they did not do anything.  I entered the office like a normal staff, except everyone was looking at me weirdly because I was obviously a new member.  I got a card that allows me to enter the office, and then I sat down at the seat right behind my Australian boss.
      I got introduced to two people on the international team, a Taiwanese lady who speaks fluent Mandarin and a German guy who speaks Japanese and English very well.  They are both in their twenties and are assigned to help me along the way.  It is really nice to work with people who are about my age, because I feel more comfortable asking them questions.  I did not get any assignment to do on the first day, so I asked them to give me any work they need help with.  Since I did not get work to do, I started observing the layout of the office and the interactions among the staffs. 
      The office is not very big, but enough to fit 30 people.  There are 2 conference rooms; one of them is used for holding focus groups and has 4 surveillance cameras to record the focus groups.  The executives sit farthest from the entrance and their cubicles have higher walls.  The higher rank the person is, the farthest away from the door they sit and the more towards the window they sit.  I sit right behind my boss, because it makes it easier for him to give me work and take care of me.  Right next to me are the German boy and the Taiwanese girl.  Access is unlike an usually Japanese company, especially in my department.  They do not have “no mi kai” (drinking meetings) after work, and the hierarchy is not as obvious as in a Japanese company.  When I was observing the interactions among the staffs, I found it very interesting they do not talk a lot to each other.  Conversations are always about business, unlike in America when workers will sometimes chat about their lives or their holiday travels. 
      When it came to lunchtime, the Taiwanese girl and German boy took me to a “don ka tsu” (deep fried food) restaurant.  Most people in the company just eat on their own, which I did not expect.  I thought people would go to lunch together, but most of them either brought their own food and ate at their desks or they ate out alone.  It is probably because eating out everyday is expensive; a lunch would cost around 700 yen – 1,000 yen.  s
      The next two workdays, I got to help with a project they are currently doing.  Although the work, entering data, was not difficult, nor challenging, I was happy to be a part of the project on a “secret product.”  I am not allowed to tell the name of the product, because my boss said it is a business secret.  But I can tell you that it is a famous brand that most people in Europe and America have heard of.  I helped entered data they collected from questionnaires and arranged the data in a format that will allow the analyst to read easily.  Aside from the “secret product”, I also got to read the moderator’s script for the La Mer, which was super cool! Access works with such a wide variety of brands and so many internationally known brands and advertising agencies that I can get exposed to both small brands and big brands.
      When the clock pass 18:00, everyone was still sitting at their seats.  I left at 18:30 and I was the earliest person, not counting the owner of the company, to leave the office. Although work starts later for them, they all stay in the office later; even though they could leave already.  I heard from the Germany guy that our boss Simon, the Australian, would sometimes work so much that he literally sleeps in the office.  Sometimes, he would manage to catch the last train home and keep working when he gets home.  I wonder if the workers get paid for working overtime.