Week 2 at ASTC (9/22/22)

This week was technically week three, but due to a school event, we had to skip an internship session. Everest and I's coordinator Phuong was out of town, so we talked to the Business and Policy manager instead about the assignments we could start working on. The first assignment was to research the significance of tea and tea ceremonies in Asia for a future virtual program. We began researching statistics on tea consumption in Asian countries, mainly the top five that Asia Society prioritizes: China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and India. It turns out China is the world's largest tea-drinking country, taking in 1.6 billion tons per year and making up 36.85% of the world's consumption annually. Additionally, we looked at how important tea is in many Asian cultures. For example, in Vietnam tea is traditionally for the Vietnamese elders, accompanying peaceful activities such as writing poetry and enjoying nature. Recently, however, tea is making a comeback among the younger demographics of Vietnam and is now being enjoyed equally. Not to brag, but our group did a great job with the Google Slides presentation by making it very professional and aesthetically pleasing. I hope our coordinator feels the same way!

We worked on the slide presentation up until the very end of the internship, when Mei asked if we could help one of the exhibit managers clean the pedestals upstairs for an upcoming showing. The manager instructed us to clean the glass covering around the pedestals gently to avoid making scratches and leaving marks. Our goal was to make it as transparent as possible without using spray because the chemicals would damage the art. It was good work, and frankly refreshing to do a more hands-on activity besides usual office work. All in all I'm glad to get back to a consistent rhythm with this internship and looking forward to making more of an impact as the year goes on.    

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