Hi all! This past week marked another highlight of my time so far in Berlin. I was offered to go to Dresden on a press trip to Villa Massimo, an art museum that holds artist residencies. I went to see the work that was finished during the residency last year. There was a special car hired to drive us there and back, a fantastic and sustainable lunch made with ingredients from the villa’s garden while a pianist played for us in the courtyard. After lunch ended, we were able to use our last hour to explore a bit of Dresden. We didn’t do much because it was so hot, but it was nice to get out of Berlin and see a different part of Germany. I feel as though I’m also reaching the point in my internship where I am beginning to make connections and establish a real tie to my company, Berlin Art Link. This internship has already provided me with so many opportunities that I hadn’t even dreamt of!

This week I was also able to catch up with some friends, I got a coffee with my extended family who lives here, and it was nice to see them before their trip to Sweden with their girlfriend and her family. I was also able to see a couple of friends from home who are on a Euro trip right now. It’s really comforting to see familiar faces, and even though I’m not necessarily homesick it makes Berlin feel just a bit more like home. This week has definitely been a slower week for me, but I needed some time to wind down a bit seeing that I’ve been going nonstop since I arrived. Now that I’m a bit rejuvenated, I’m antsy to pick up the rhythm I had when I first got here. I’ll try to do this by fitting in as many art openings and other events into my week as possible, but this weekend I’ll also be going to Munich to visit a friend in the program. My boss has already pointed out some great art museums and venues for me to check out while I’m there, and she said that one of them currently has an exhibition with steam sculptures. I’ll also be able to go back and visit one of my favorite art museums of all time, the Pinakothek der Moderne, which I visited for the first time last summer.

While things have been simmering down in my free time, tasks have been ramping up at work. I was recently asked to write for the magazine, which was an idea I had been flirting with. The editor-in-chief of the magazine noticed that in our meetings my critiques or compliments of the previous articles made it sound like I write. It was nice to know that the writing workshops that I had in my journalism class this past semester really did improve not only my writing skills but my ability to successfully critique and edit other writing. Alongside that, a lot more of my content is being used on our social media platforms which I see as a big milestone. At the beginning of my internship, I was pretty clueless as to what they were looking for when it came to content for their social media, but now I can confidently say I know how to take good pictures at art openings and other events.

I think the idea of leadership is also another reason why things at work have been picking up and why I feel more engaged with our content. We work in a very small team, and as an intern, I’m not necessarily leading anyone, but I think leadership can be more expansive than just leading others because sometimes you have to lead yourself. I wasn’t exactly a “self-starter” when my internship began, I waited for instructions, did exactly what was asked, and was more reserved. Now that I’ve established not only a relationship with my coworkers but also with the magazine, I’m more inclined to start projects on my own, offer up my own opinion, and fiddle with things/tasks before asking questions. A big part of this is also the fact that every day I get a better understanding of Berlin Art Link’s brand and what fits into their aesthetic. Right now, I’m working on creating a template for them if they ever want to make Instagram reels. It’s not the most riveting or engaging task for me, but it does feel important for me knowing that this is something they will continue to use for a while. It’s gratifying to know that, even if small, a part of my work from these two months will be with Berlin Art Link forever (or maybe just a while, which is just as good).