Hello all!

As I wrap up my first week here in Berlin, I have settled into a routine and somewhat adjusted to the culture of this city and this country.  I have learned a lot in my first two weeks, some good things and some bad.  I have gotten a good laugh out of the stereotypes that Germans have for Americans, as each lunch break, I have with my coworkers they ask Cate and I about common American stereotypes like if we eat lots of hamburgers and only care about football.  I have also gotten a laugh out of workers assumptions that we are unable to count Euros, as they have tried to help me many times to count them though numbers are no different in America.  Other than that, this experience has been awesome so far, the city is beautiful, my job is somewhat enjoyable, and the people I have met are awesome.  This past week was far less eventful than the week before, as my full-time job started on Monday.  I have already had to complete some very interesting projects, and I have been able to spend a good amount of time getting to know my coworkers.  I was able to go to a couple different restaurants with some friends during the week, as well as see a few new places in the city, all awesome experiences.  We had the day off for a national holiday on Thursday, so Wednesday night we went out to make some new friends and ended up on a pretty long adventure all over the city.  Though interesting, it was a bit too much time on the train for me.  Over the weekend, I was able to experience more of the exotic Berlin night life with my friends.  It was a friend’s birthday so we had a great time celebrating.  We also were able to find a laundromat, grocery stores, and go-to quick restaurants.  We are all starting to figure out the Berlin public transportation system which has made life far easier.  This Wednesday transportation tickets become EUR 9 for the month, meaning I can take any low-speed train or bus in the country for that cheap monthly rate.  A great break on the bank account as I spent over 70 euros on transportation in my first two weeks.  Week two is about to begin and I am extremely excited to get back to it.

So far in work I have had somewhat of a manageable workload, mainly just one large task at a time for our boss Vanessa.  She has been super busy as she has been the only founder in the office for most of the week, therefore it is my job to try and do my tasks to perfection and giver her something that she won’t need to pick apart after I turn it in to her.  I have yet to have to jumble a lot of tasks at once, so time management has not been a huge problem yet. My biggest problem in work has just been making sure no mistakes are made in my work, and Vanessa is happy with the work I have done. My process is quite simple for completing these tasks in good time; I set different goal points throughout the task for myself, and I do not stop until I hit those points. I then reward myself with a five minute break and get right back into it. I respond well to rewards, so if there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I tend to do my work quickly and well. When it comes to prioritizing, there is no time crunch for the assignments I am going to complete in the near future. The biggest emphasis in my work is getting things done, and doing them well. My boss will be fine with me taking longer than expected on my assignment if I prioritize the quality of my work and give her what she is looking for.

As I move forward throughout my experience here in Berlin, I am super excited. So far my job has been great, I have developed some great relationships with my peers, and I not want to be anywhere else other than Berlin. Coming in the next week, I hope to see some new parts of the city, get some work done, and hopefully this weekend I will be able to take a trip to a new city, as we have another holiday and a long weekend this coming weekend. I look forward to having more good news next weekend!