Hello! This past week I have been very busy both at work and outside of work. On Saturday a group of us went to Rostock and on Sunday the same group went out to Potsdam. Also notable from this week, I finally had some gelato as pictured in the blog’s featured image. It was extremely good.

Rostock was an extremely beautiful city. The city was seemingly split into two sections: the main city section and the section on the beach. The main city hosts truly impressive churches, town halls, guard towers, and more that are exactly what you imagine when you think of a typical German old town/city center. We visited this section of the city last and right before we left, we stopped in a square to get food and drinks. On all sides super charming and ornate buildings surrounded us, while street performers played music. It was a very memorable scene. The section on the beach, however, was extremely unique. It felt almost like the German version of the Deleware beach town Lewes. The beach itself was very pretty, and the Baltic Sea looked so inviting; however, none of us brought swimsuits so we did not go swimming. It was such a cool city to experience. I also got hit with a stick by a statue.

Potsdam was maybe my favorite place I have been so far. We were not there too long, but the time we spent there was breathtaking. We went to the Barberini Museum and then visited the complex of palaces and gardens in Potsdam. the Barberini Museum is a museum specializing in impressionist pieces and even has the largest collection of Monets outside of France. As someone who loves impressionism, this was truly a treat to see. There were so many incredible paintings that it was almost overwhelming. After seeing all those impressionist masterpieces, we went to the complex of palaces and gardens in Potsdam. Walking through the complex and seeing such massive beautiful palaces flanked on all sides by equally impressive gardens and fountains felt surreal. The place felt like it was taken straight from a movie. Out of all the palaces there my favorite was the Neus Palais. It is a huge and stunning palace built in the Baroque style that is truly built for a king. Its so huge I imagine one could spend days exploring all the rooms and halls in there. It was also so cool to be walking in the footsteps of such important historical figures like Frederick the Great. The craziest part to me was how there were a ton of Germans just walking and sitting around the place like it was just a normal park.

At work all tasks and directions I have received have been clear, and if they haven’t been I have asked my supervisor for clarification which he is quick to give. The most uncertainty that I experience at work is with language. At this point in my internship, my days consist of almost entirely speaking and listening in German. I use English rarely at work, which has been great for my German learning. This has, however, created some uncertainty when words or phrases are used that I don’t know. Generally, when this happens I can understand what is meant based on the context and other words. When this is not the case I just ask for further clarification which my coworkers and supervisors are happy to give. I think they are very willing to be patient in this respect as they appreciate me conversing in German rather than English with them. With each day I can feel my German getting better, and today after work I noticed my brain was thinking in German and was having trouble switching back to English. Generally, my supervisors and coworkers are very accessible to any questions I may have either in person or via Google Chats. I have occasionally also faced uncertainty when I finish everything I need to do and don’t know what to do next. In these situations, I just talk to my supervisor and he tells me what he would like me to do next. My role has generally been shadowing and assisting him, so I clear up uncertainty with him.

Also at work, I have been going to many finance meetings that are again all in German. These have been training my German not just on a technical level with finance vocabulary, but also in my general comprehension and comprehension speed. I can already see great improvement in my comprehension. At the start, I struggled to keep up when people would talk very fast in German, but now it is no problem.