(Clockwise from bottom left: Tianshen Rong, Joey Fritz, Chloe Hu, Austin Groves, Rodrigo Quan, Jenn Kim and Francis Miller.)

It seems like only yesterday when our seven intrepid interns arrived at the Golden Bridges office, bright-eyed-bushy-tailed and ready to help us with Project Pengyou and our other nonprofit initiatives.

And it wasn’t so long ago during intern orientation that we found they came from places as different as Beijing, Cincinnati and San Salvador. Indeed, the interns were as varied as their backgrounds—Tianshen was a Chinese native who grew up in London; Jenn a Korean who grew up in Toronto—but they all had one thing in common: an interest in promoting U.S.-China relations.

So we gave them tasks, set them up across the courtyard from our main office and cut them loose.

Joey and Rodrigo gathered study abroad resources for our upcoming Ambassadors Program. Chloe helped design marketing materials, including the logo for our HNC Pilot Project. Austin and Francis built a searchable scholarship database.

Our goal was to give the interns a chance not only to live and work in China, but also to develop themselves. To this end, they worked in teams, gave weekly presentations on their progress and practiced public speaking. We also held intense discussions about writing and China-specific topics like the role of guanxi in society.

In lieu of team building exercises, we stuffed ourselves at Haidilao hotpot before crooning some Taylor Swift at KTV (karaoke). Nothing builds trust faster than butchering pop songs together. After that, we often went to lunch as an office. (Though it was hard to find a place that would seat a dozen people.)

NEW TRADITIONS

But the most memorable things this summer evolved from the interns’ own interactions. They formed traditions we could never have imagined.

One thing that quickly became apparent was that this bunch loved food. After lunch, they would stop by the corner store to buy ice cream. First it was just popscicles, but the postprandial treats became more and more complex. Ice cream was introduced. Then chocolate syrup. Eventually, the desserts became concoctions involving multiple flavors, crushed graham crackers and whipped cream.

Another group of interns developed an addiction for suannai, the yogurt that comes in little jars. One day, Joey discovered birthday cake-flavored Oreos and soon the office was in danger of getting type 2 diabetes.

The interns made friends with our hutong neighbors (and their pets), sometimes chatting with them in Chinese. Others developed a healthy obsession with Heyrobics, which our co-worker Alyssa leads every Thursday.

HIDDEN TALENTS

It was great to see the interns come out of their shells and show us their hidden talents.

Chloe turned out to be a Photoshop maven. Tianshen proved to be a skilled translator and worked her magic at various nonprofit meetings. At our Fourth of July BBQ, Austin showcased his grill skills, firing up hamburgers that the interns had made from scratch. Jenn manned the oven and made some mind-blowing chocolate chip cookies.

But the summer was over much too soon and, before we knew it, we were having a farewell party.

Austin and Francis broke out the grill one last time and roasted marinated chicken wings and a whole leg of lamb, seasoned with cumin and chili powder. We played Texas hold ’em and Pictionary before going back to the scene of the crime: KTV. There, on one of his last days in the country, Francis found his calling as a tambourine man.

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

This summer has been nothing short of incredible. In fact, our experience with the interns has inspired us to formalize and potentially expand our internship program in the near future.

Though we’re still a young and scrappy organization, we did our best to provide a unique opportunity for our interns to experience Chinese culture, learn the language and gain valuable work experience. As they go on to great things, we hope they will look back on their summer at Golden Bridges with fond memories and great stories to tell.

A big thank you to Chloe, Jenn, Joey, Rodrigo, Tianshen, Francis and Austin for making the 2013 summer an unforgettable experience!

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Our interns came through our partners at the International Internship Program at UPenn, Citizen Engagement Summer Program at Amherst and NorCap China Internships.

If you’re looking to intern at Golden Bridges, you’re in luck! We accept interns on a rolling basis so positions are available for both summer and later in the year. Check out the requirements here and take the leap.