91短视频 senior Victoria Gunawan, a native of Indonesia, spent her summer among Peruvians on the National Mall in Washington D.C. As a media intern at the , she recorded the painstaking creation of a replica of the famous 鈥淨鈥檈swachaka鈥� swinging bridge by Peruvian craftsman, and was honored to be among the select few to cross its woven path.
She also fell in love with alpacas, , , and to the variety of goings-on during the two-week festival.
Now back in Harrisonburg, Gunawan says her summer living at the (WCSC) and working for the famous Smithsonian Institution is still a bit of a blur: Though her peers and professors told her many times about what a privilege her summer job was, 鈥渆ven now, I鈥檓 still trying to process that 鈥榳oohoo鈥� moment, like, 鈥楬ey I was at the festival, and I did work at that prestigious place.鈥� I still can鈥檛 believe it,鈥� Gunawan said.
‘Career-launching’ internships
Gunawan, a major, takes moving to a new place and meeting new people in stride. She first came to the United States to study at Hesston College, and eventually fell in love with the 91短视频 campus, transferring for her junior year.
鈥淸The student that inspired me to attend 91短视频] left after my first spring semester, but she helped me to transition here,鈥� Gunawan said, adding that the pair are still friends today.
Gunawan began thinking about her summer plans in January with the help of WCSC director . After years of living in the D.C. area and networking on behalf of 91短视频 students, Schmidt has contacts in the Smithsonian Institutes, including the Folklife Center, which hosts the annual festival on the Mall, the , the and the .
She鈥檚 always excited when a student lands a prestigious internship at these important cultural institutions.
鈥淚 hope that as word gets out, more 91短视频 students will apply to these internships. We鈥檝e had great success partnering with the Smithsonian. These are career-launching internships and though the application process is highly competitive, the Smithsonian is interested in working with our students.鈥�
Gunawan did indeed survive a competitive interview process. Though experienced in different aspects of public relations and marketing through internships with the university鈥檚 marketing and communications department, she had no idea of what the next nine weeks would hold in store.
鈥淓ven though my supervisor told me to get familiar with the [Folklife Festival] website, and I was, I still wasn鈥檛 sure of what was happening where and when,鈥� Gunawan said. 鈥淔or me, every day was a completely new day.鈥�
Reporting on the ground
Her work started before the festival began. Gunawan posted daily 鈥渓ittle glimpses鈥� on Twitter and Facebook of what visitors would see in a few weeks.
When festivities actually started on June 24, events kept Gunawan busy.
鈥淓very day, my supervisor and I would look at the schedule and see what was happening, and we would try to cover those events, either by taking pictures, or small Instagram 15-second videos or Vine six-second videos, or even just by getting a quote from one of the participants,鈥� Gunawan said.
The internship did not come without challenges: some Peruvians communicated only through a Spanish translator, and there were many indigenous people who did not speak Spanish.
Despite the challenges, Gunawan did not forget to enjoy herself while she was there. Over two Fridays, alpacas were brought in for a ritual performed by the weavers from the Chinchero community in Peru.
The alpacas 鈥渨armed my heart,鈥� Gunawan said. 鈥淥ne of the communities in Peru has a traditional fiber blessing ceremony for when the alpacas give birth. They have a whole ritual of praying to the Pachamama, or Mother Earth, their Apu, or mountain spirit, their ancestors, and natural forces for safety on their land. They sprinkle the alpacas with this drink called chicha, which is fermented corn alcohol, while saying the blessing.鈥�
Crossing the bridge
Although alpacas were Gunawan鈥檚 personal favorite, the was monumentally impressive, she said, the big 鈥渋con they were going for.鈥�
鈥淔our communities in Peru re-build a bridge every year between these two really high cliffs. It鈥檚 a 600-year tradition,鈥� Gunawan said. The same crew that r near Huinchiri each June hustled to finish their project at home so that they could travel to the United States to build a smaller replica.
Gunawan was in charge of documenting the bridge building for social media, catching every moment from casting the first rope to tying the last knot. Although the public was not able to walk on the bridge, event staff had the privilege to cross if they choose, and Gunawan 鈥� most likely the first and last Indonesian to cross the Q鈥檈swachaka Bridge, she says 鈥� was excited about the opportunity.
Her only regret was her inability to cover every event. This was both an outcome of the small size of the social media unit (consisting of Gunawan and her supervisor exclusively), and the numerous events taking place day to day.
鈥淭hrough the work of other [interns], I got to see what was happening in other places,鈥� Gunawan said.
As she prepares for her final year at 91短视频, Gunawan says she鈥檒l carry her memories of this summer, along with hopes of one day returning to work at future Folklife Festivals.