This week was quite hot in Berlin. It was in the 80s nearly every day, which made working with no air conditioning quite unenjoyable. Other than the heat, it was a fantastic week. I have been getting used to working every day, so I have much more energy when I get home from my internship to do different activities. On Wednesday, a group of us ended up going to a very interesting restaurant. The seating and some of the tables were hung from the ceiling like swings. The food was fantastic, and we even met up with some students from the University of North Carolina who are participating in the same program.
Getting to work every day has become quite fun for me. I find that I enjoy riding the subway and have been getting good at using it without looking up directions all of the time. So far, Berlin has shown me that I want to work in a big city after I graduate. There is always something going on and just so much to do around the city. This is something I wasn’t sure of at first, but being here really made me consider it.
Due to the heat this week, we ended up going to a lake this weekend. The lake was called Strandbad Wannsee, and it was the perfect day to spend out in the sun. This lake is equipped with a beach, which we sat on for most of the day, so if you find yourself in Berlin on a hot day, it is a great option. My boss was the one who initially told me about it as she takes her young children there quite often. She said it was one of the biggest and most popular lakes in Berlin, so we made sure to get there early. She also told me about a ferry you can take across to a cute little town, but we ended up running out of time for that. Maybe next time, I am almost sure we will go back if it stays this hot.
As for my internship, it has still been going along great. I find myself excited to go to work every day, or at least once I have actually woken up in the morning. The projects I have been working on feel meaningful, and I feel as though I am truly making a difference for Kietzee. While everything has been going well, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. There have been a few times that I am unsure of what to do precisely, especially when I am working on a more complex project. For example, I wanted to learn more about search engine optimization and possibly do some search engine optimization for the company, which my boss thought was a fantastic idea. While I have learned about search engine optimization in a classroom setting, I have never had the chance actually to practice the skill myself. In order to combat this issue, I have been doing a lot of research on the best sites to use, as well as what exactly I should be doing to implement this. While I do most of this in the office, it has left me quite curious, and I even find myself watching video tutorials to understand it better after my typical workday is over. This is not something that is required or even that my boss expects, but it has truly inspired me to learn about it more on my own time.
Another solution that I have found when I am confused about what to do is to just go to my boss. I try to limit this as much as I can because I know she is a very busy woman and does not have all the time in the world to explain concepts to me, but I find that she is always happy to help me out when I really need it. Before I go to her, I always try and figure out as much as I can on my own by using the internet or different platforms that could possibly answer my questions first. This helps us both save some time and gives me a chance to practice my problem-solving skills on my own first. So far, I have not run into any significant issues, but there is still a lot of time left and many projects to be completed. I am excited to see what the following weeks will bring, and I am just as excited to explore more areas of Berlin!