Hallo Leute! Diese Woche ist sehr schnell vorübergegangen! I really can’t believe that I am starting my fourth week here in Berlin. I am enjoying the consistency in my workdays and my (attempted) spontaneity on the weekends. This has certainly been my best trip in Germany so far.
This weekend, our group took a trip to Rostock on Sunday, which reminded me of New Jersey beach towns but with German architecture, obviously. It was very quaint and enjoyable to stroll along the streets. We visited a few lighthouses, and the sea was absolutely beautiful! On Saturday, we rode the S-Bahn for about half an hour and made our way to Potsdam. We walked through the Musem Barberini, and I was in absolute shock when I saw two of Monet’s lilypad paintings. I’m not even a huge art girl, but I could have stared at these two paintings for hours. I’ll include a picture below!
In response to the prompt for this post, I would like to state that I am very proud of myself regarding how I handled ambiguity in the workplace recently! Throughout these three weeks, I never really had as much work as the rest of the other Pitt students in the IIP Berlin group did. That didn’t necessarily bother me at the start of my internship; I felt as though I had more freetime to explore the city and become acquainted with my surroundings. During the first week, I kept busy with an English translation of L-Support’s flyer. This was a substantial project that required a bit of editing as my colleagues were simultaneously editing the German version. I was also busy attending meetings with other Berlin-based queer organizations, which was an amazing learning experience! Overall, I was busy enough actually doing things that I enjoyed.
However, in the second and third weeks, whenever I was only spending three (3) hours a day in the office, I started to feel a bit dissatisfied. It seemed as though my boss and none of my colleagues really had a set plan as to what I should spend my time doing. I tried to keep busy reading some of L-Supports report files and taking inventory of Pride supplies. Alas, there was only so much I could do. So, this past Thursday, I talked with my boss and expressed my desire to do more substantial work for the company. This isn’t just a resume booster for me. I care deeply about the queer community and the impact I can leave! I’m very happy to say that we figured out a solid workload plan for the remainder of my time here. I have now been entrusted with many responsibilities, including organizing social media posts, attending group therapy sessions with L-Support’s clients, interacting with volunteers, and even planning a workshop on the intersectionality of queerness and classism! I cannot wait to start!
I also experienced more ambiguity in the workplace today. I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what a “workshop” on queerness and classism should look like. I’ve certainly planned events before, but never an entire workshop. Workshops themselves can look different depending on who’s in charge and what the topic is. I asked my internship coordinator, Charlotte, what L-Support typically does for their workshops, even though L-Support is a fairly new organization and hasn’t hosted many. She said I’m really free to do whatever I feel is most appropriate for the topic. I could collaborate with another queer organization, host a reading session, or watch a film. Personally, I think finding a short film on queerness and classism would be very interesting. I took it upon myself to visit a queer/feminist bookstore called She Said (which was amazing, by the way) to try and find some books that might help my research or enlighten me with some inspiration. I did end up purchasing a book called Care and Capitalism. We’ll see how it goes!
Overall, when faced with ambiguity or a lack of a solid work structure, I’ve been trying my best to take matters into my own hands. I’m very glad I voiced my ambition to do more with my boss, because I now have so many amazing opportunities to learn more about niche subtopics within queerness. I was a bit nervous before talking to my boss, as I didn’t want to come across as a complainer. But I’ve learned that there is an appropriate way to go about voicing dissatisfaction. There is also no shame in asking for clarification on a project.
I’m looking forward to this new start with my internship. I hope you’ve all been feeling productive and valued within yours. Tschüßi und bis bald!