Hi Everyone,

Apologies for the uninspired title but it gets to the point...  Let me start by saying a little on who I am and my initial experiences travelling to the states I won't yet focus on the internship itself as I've only had one day of it so far. I have just finished my penultimate year at Glasgow University studying Joint Honors in Mathematics & Economics. I was lucky enough to be successful with my saltire application and so procured a place in procurement with IBM... Coincidentally the other successful applicant was Graham Beat, who I happened to have gone to school with. This obviously has a lot of advantages especially when it comes to teamwork at IBM but also means planning the social aspect of the trip is a lot more fun.  

Before jet setting off into the sun I had a sense of nervousness and apprehension of the unknown (a recurring theme in most of the blogs I've read) but this was overwhelmed by the sense of excitement knowing what a great opportunity this would be. After meeting at the airport with Graham and a few other interns destined for Morgan Stanley and Lab 49 also In New York, the long journey across the pond began. After a poor tactical decision by Graham and I to avoid sleeping on the plane in an attempt to avoid jet lag we arrived in the U.S - SHATTERED! Still things could have been worse... Another intern on the flight didn't quite have the correct documents for Customs and ended up being taken away by homeland security to be thoroughly frisked and detained for an hour and a half.

We were picked up by Kris Duderstadt - CSP Sr Procurement Manager for IBM - and her husband who had very kindly offered to pick us up. The first thing that hit me  (apart from a near miss with a taxi) was the massive difference in temperature compared to the overcast and rainy Glasgow we had left. Luckily the car had air con and so we avoided the shock the Scottish body inevitably experiences from being exposed too quickly to anything resembling warm weather. 

We eventually arrived at our hotel around midnight, we are staying in an impressive two bedroom suite fitted with a kitchen and lounge. After deciding our rooms on a 'bagsie' basis we very quickly k.o'd. The next day was spent exploring the surrounding area and getting our bearings and enjoying the american love of all you can eat in the form of 'bottomless' fries. Followed by a fantastic steak dinner cooked at Kris's house. 

Hopefully my next post will be able to give more insight into the actual internship...

Aidan