My first week at the internship was definitely a success. My manager did a great job welcoming me into the company and getting me started on doing meaningful work for the company. I feel as if my work has an immediate and tangible impact on the success of the company, which is so fulfilling for me personally. My company is a start up company, so my manager really needs all hands on deck, including mine, to get stuff done and to have that buy in with the company helps me get up everyday to get to work. I was also introduced to all my coworkers this first week, many of which were on Zoom. They were all very nice, welcoming and accommodating to any questions I had about the company, the industry, or Berlin in general.  After getting settled in on the first day, I was immediately put to work, reading EU medical device regulations to get some necessary background information that I would need to complete my projects. That took a really long time and it was interesting how through the law can be at sometimes, but then is purposefully vague other times, thus allowing government auditors to put in their personal interpretation of the regulations, which in my opinion seems unfair, as some start up companies might have a leg up advantage than others just because their auditor was feeling lazy that day and wasn’t as through as some other auditor for a different start up company. But regardless of my opinions, I had to work quickly reading through these regulations because as I mentioned in previous posts, our company is a start up and we need to work fast and efficiently to get our product out.  This is where my time management was huge for me.  Since there are a couple of employees who are in the United States, I need to work in the morning here so I can get to them what they need by the time they wake up in the morning in the United States. That means I got to get into the office early and prioritize those tasks that my United States co-workers need when they wake up. This means that I have to push back some other stuff, but those have been long-term projects that I have worked bits and pieces of, slowly chipping away at them so that they don’t become too big to handle once their due dates come around. Time management at my job is extremely important too because of how my manager chooses to manage me. He has a very hands off approach where he just wants me to utilize my past experiences to create projects that I think will help the overall company (with his permission of course). But with this freedom, I can’t slack off. I have to maintain good work discipline and continue to think of new things to do.

Outside of work was also a good time. I have started to settle into a routine, which helps me so much when it comes to getting assignments like these done. I’m also able to work out, go to the grocery store (which is often cause our fridge is tiny), and do personal stuff like seeing Berlin or playing Spikeball with the students from a University in Barcelona that are staying in the same hotel as we are.  I learned a German saying, “Work is work. Play is play,” before coming here to Berlin and I can tell that this is the culture here. Germans get their work done efficiently and are often out of their offices by 5-5:30 at the very latest. Then around 7 o’clock you will see so many people out and about enjoying the nice weather. You can see the famous German efficiency because people do not take their work home with them, which I feel is untrue in the American work culture. I feel like in previous jobs, I was expected to finish my work, then you can leave. In Germany, it feels as if finishing your work after the stated end time is not even a possibility. They just get it done because they know there is no expectation for them to take it home, but there is an expectation from their managers to get the work done when it is supposed to be done. I admire that about the German people. I feel like it is important to not take work home, especially when much of the work is already done at home because of Covid. I think that once the end of the day hits, you need to log off and enjoy life.