I have now been an intern at Amelia Andersdotter’s office in the EP for five days, and thus my internship has come to an end.

It is impossible to deny that it has been a very informative and educational experience, one that I will probably never forget. It is very hard to begin explaining what I have experienced, but it seems fit to start with my view of an MEP before this internship.

My image of the general MEP was – as I have discovered now – not the most accurate one. In general one could say that in my world – this is the short version mind you - an MEP just went to the parliament, talked a little bit, hit the voting button, went home and cashed in some tax-money. After this week, I am actually chocked, not to say stunned, by the amount of work Amelia Andersdotter and her team of assistants put down every day. Basically I have a completely new understanding of the expression “working hard”. Quite frankly, I do not know how Amelia and the others in the office manage it. If the other MEPs work as hard as this office, well, it is safe to say it is tax-money well spent.

The amount of work Amelia and her sidekicks put in during each and every day also had another impact on me. Their amount of work and their dedication showed me exactly where the bar is at, it showed me how much work one actually can put out during a day, and what it takes to actually be successful. Their dedication gave me motivation to work hard and it showed how much one should be able to expect of one self.

But to be fair, so far I have painted the picture of soulless machines working in the office. It must be said that these fellas are all able to laugh and fool around. The hard work is continuously varied with smiles and outburst of laughter.

And as of what I have been doing? Well, shockingly enough, not a single cup of coffee was made by my hands.

Except for translating texts, answering phones and fighting with a fax machine, I have been allowed to delve deep and listen into the conversation of my co-workers. Conversations concerning topics such as net-neutrality, freedom on the internet, the Google-antitrust case as well as discussions on what certain legislations says, what legislations allow for and whether or not legislations are being properly enforced or not.

I probably did not even comprehend 50% of all I heard, but that’s all right because the 50% I actually did manage to understand, well, it was all new to me and it gave me much broader understanding of things than before.

Am I convinced now, am I a pirate you might ask. Well, not yet, but this week got me leaning at least.

Now as this evaluation is nearing its end I ought to be thanking Amelia Andersdotter and her office for giving me this opportunity and for holding out with a complete amateur running around the office. I also would like to thank my teacher Elin Quas for the effort of seeking this internship out for me.

I must say that, all in all, I am very pleased with my five days in the parliament and in the office, even though it has been tiresome at times. And therefore, due to my satisfaction with this week, and everything I learned, I must encourage everyone who’ even remotely interested in an internship to seek one out, because the chances are that you might end up with one. So go ahead, send a mail and cross your fingers.

David Granskog, one very pleased intern.