This was my third week of being an intern for Wall Drug in South Dakota. This week has been very interesting to say the least. The week started out really slow but then by the end of it, things were starting to get crazy—the tourism numbers just jumped higher as the days passed. I was really glad that I was able to meet so many different people that come to visit Wall Drug. It was definitely fun to hear and talk with the tourists to see where they were headed and what made them decide to stop at Wall Drug for the afternoon.

Now that I have been here working for Wall Drug for the past week, I am starting to be more confident in not only myself with their merchandise but also with my South Dakota way of life. I don't have to tell them that I'm not from the area and that I don't know my way around… my sense of directions for the tourists has definitely increased. I still tend to get the daily questions of, "why did you choose Wall Drug for an internship?" and I now get to laugh every single time I'm asked this question because this place has so many different experiences for any type of person, it's much more than just a tourist stop, it's so many different things wrapped into one… I couldn't imagine learning the things I am in a different internship position. Not many people understand why I chose the place I did but in my mind it's the perfect setting for getting my feet wet in the retail side of the business while still getting the opportunity to learn about the managerial positions that are also so important. I love that it's small enough for me to feel at home but big enough to get the amazing opportunities that I get every single day.

Working in a retail position and getting ideas for my internship project has been my main focus for the past week. I finally figured out how I want to leave a little piece of my Auburn education with Wall Drug and how I want to use this project opportunity to improve the department I am working for. Starting off the week I had no idea what I wanted to do for my project, my mind quickly came up with an idea when I was told to go get the merchandise from the warehouse so that we could restock… well of course I couldn't find a single thing I had been sent for which sparked my interest for my project… cleaning and improving the way they search for the merchandise in the warehouse. I'm so glad I at least got my idea figured out.

The challenges I faced this week were still sort of frustrating. Of course I had issues finding merchandise in the warehouses. It's like things are just moved around all the time and nothing has a permanent home… no wonder people complain when they are told to go get merchandise to restock with. My contributions were similar to the past weeks. I also got to pick out their newest collection of denim from the MISS ME collection of 2013; I was super shocked when I was told at work that this was my job for the afternoon. It's definitely hard to pick merchandise for a different target market than I'm used to but it was so fun to be able to say that I got to pick the merchandise from one of my favorite denim retailers.

Well this past week has been one of excitement, many tears, and lots of laughter. I started out the week kind of bored from doing the same thing day after day but i slowly realized that I'm here for a special reason and I should be so thankful for the opportunities I have been given. I couldn't ask for a better place or people that Ive gotten the chance to get to know since I'm here in South Dakota. I was so worried that I was going to be in a house and not get to be myself and I can honestly say that I love all of my roommates and friends that I work with at Wall Drug. I couldn't of made it through this past week with out them.. they were my rock by the end of this week and I couldn't of imagined going through some things without them by my side telling me everything was going to be okay. There's so much I could say from this past week i'm sure I could write forever, but then this blog would never ever end. Oh, and if your wondering about my title to this weeks blog... lets just say that my friends and I have learned how to NOT act when on a family vacation. We've seen it all from kids throwing temper tantrums from not getting the cowboy hat they wanted, all the way to families yelling at each other for the stupidest reasons.. I couldn't help think back to those family vacations and wonder if my family ever acted that way... I would hope not. It's so embarassing to even watch what they do daily as they visit one of the largest tourist attractions.