The Summer

This summer was pretty fantastic. I found a paid internship to help fund my gap year. For most of the summer, I clocked in at Girardi and Keese, the downtown law firm of Erin Brockovitch fame.

That's right. I worked at the Erin Brockovitch firm. Stuff like that only happens in LA.

It was a great experience. I gained a new understanding of the legal profession and loved the water cooler scene. I wore a suit and tie every day and went to office parties. One night after work, I even walked to the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the office to see the LA Lawyer's Philaharmonic. Having Azuka Ehi, one of my best friends from Harvard-Westlake, working with me as a fellow intern only made it better.

Interestingly enough, three co-workers at the firm knew Michael Brownstein - two from HW, one from Princeton. One of the HW grads worked with him at UTA, and the Princeton alum was in the Cottage eating club with him.

On lunch breaks, Azuka and I explored most of the key locations from the movie, 500 Days of Summer. Our personal favorite was the fountain. Which fountain? THE Fountain. If you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

(If you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2seAJsrtIbQ)

I also tutored Chinese this summer. I started out teaching several children, but I ended up in the office cafeteria helping my boss write Chinese characters on a legal pad as well.

Speaking of Chinese, I worked as a translator for a Chinese film. It was written and directed by a Westerner and produced in China. The actors in the film ad-libbed most of the time, so the English-speaking editor/director/writer couldn't go by the script. That's where I came in. I sat next to him in the dimly-lit editing room, hunched around the editing bay, and translated every word. It was a great new way to use my Chinese.

I enjoyed time with my friends before we all head off in different directions.
It was the best summer of my life, hands-down.

I leave for Rabat in 18 hours. Within hours of landing, I'll be at a very special dinner. (Thank you, Uncle Dan Primer and Mark Lehmann!)

The Ambassador of the United States of America

Mr. Samuel Kaplan and Mrs. Sylvia Kaplan

request the pleasure of the company of

Mr. Gavin Cook

at a Rosh Hashanah Dinner

on Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Villa America

Avenue de Fès. No. 15

Hassan - Rabat