Why go to the Olympics?

'If you're ag journalism why do you want to go to the Olympics?'

This question never ceases to surprise me. If you had the opportunity to intern at the Beijing Olympics, or any Olympics for that fact, wouldn't you? While I have studied abroad a couple of times studying agriculture, I have never had a real internship or been abroad for journalism, which is the other half of my major. Besides taking advantage of an amazing opportunity, I also feel that there is a lot I can gain from working at the Olympics. Now I will get to be trained and test my skills in communicating and interviewing different cultures. People from all over the world, from all walks of life, will be at the Olympics- I am preparing myself the best I can for the inevitable culture shock of it all. I love different cultures and people, traveling and communicating. While I will not really get much information about agriculture, that is okay- I am still feeding my passions of international travel and communication. What better way could you think of to practice cross-cultural journalism than entering yourself into a room with hundreds of different cultures and given a special badge and the chore of interviewing athletes when they are done competing?

While I have no doubt that I will be star struck at some point in time, I keep reminding myself that these Olympians are about the same age as me- we have just taken different paths in life and will be playing different roles at the Olympics. I'm sure all of us there, regardless of if we are Olympian, reporter, volunteer or spectator, will be nervous, excited and awestruck all at the same time. 

So to answer the question, in short, the Olympic internship is giving me the opportunity to practice cross-cultural journalism in an international setting. I will gain experiences that I will carry with me throughout my life and far into my career. 

God has presented me with a wonderful opportunity- I would have been foolish to ignore it or doubt myself. If God can lead you to it, He can lead you through it. I don't expect this to be easy- but nothing good in life is; I want to have to work hard, so that at the end of the day I know that I truly accomplished something.