CAPA WORLD

In this week's post, Christopher tells us about his internship in London at the London Edition Hotel and what a day in the life looks like balancing his commute, internship, and classes.

As the semester continues on, naturally as human beings we start to develop habits/ routines and then base how our typical mood for that day is based on our given routine. As I have now been in London for almost two months, I have charted out what a pretty typical day as a CAPA Student and Intern is like. From this perspective I am trying to show my everyday actions, emotions and ultimately be able to show off a full representation of what a typical incoming CAPA student can expect when having questions about the program.

Waking up and Morning Commute

Earls Court Station

A typical day in the life typically starts by me waking up around 8 am, showering, making myself breakfast, and walking to Earl’s Court Station. I get on the Piccadilly Line and commute to work by transferring at Leicester Road. Then taking the Northern Line one stop and get off at Tottenham Court Road Station and walk roughly five minutes to arrive at my internship site.

My Internship and Classes

Walking along Oxford Street towards my internship.

As part of the CAPA Program, students have the option to work an internship and I am currently an intern at the London Edition Hotel where I work as a finance accounting intern. I assist the finance team with daily activities making sure that all the reports are up to date and making sure that everything in the business is running smoothly. Depending on the given day I will either work a half shift or a full shift if I have class or not. As part of my visa requirements for an internship, it is mandated that students work an average of twenty hours a week over the course of the semester. For instance, I will spread out my time by working half days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a full day on Thursday.

My desk at my internship.

I then split my classes during the weekdays by having class on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. At CAPA, classes are only once a week and typically run for three hours. Most of the time, classes will have field explorations where we go out of the classroom and explore all that London has to offer, with the scope depending on the course curriculum. I typically finish my days by either commuting home during rush hour where the tube is always overcrowded to the max, or I’ll walk home from CAPA as living in a flat in Longridge allows me to walk from the building to my flat in less than ten minutes.

Heading home from my internship on the Tube

Evening unwind

Upon my return I will typically unwind and chat with my flatmates for a little while or catch up with somebody back home in the US. I will then on most nights make myself a dinner which typically includes carbs, veggies and protein as I strive to maintain eating healthy throughout the semester. Upon finishing my meal I will clean up, and then take a little break before I start to work on my assignments or will relax and kick back with some of my flatmates. A funny anecdote about the TV in my flat is that it is always selected on the Food Network so we will typically watch Diners Drive Ins and Dives or Man VS Food.

By the end of a long day I am usually very tired as my schedule requires me to be busy for at least eight hours a day if not more. I hope that this blog post allows future students to gain valuable insight to what a typical day in the life of a CAPA Intern is like. As always I encourage my readers to continue reading each week and wish me luck on my travels throughout the rest of the semester!

Thanks, Christopher!

Christopher Halka is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Accounting major at Siena College, he is studying abroad in London this semester.

Christopher's journey continues every Friday so stay tuned.