Guten Tag!
This week was mainly about work. I only had time to do stuff during the weekend. I took a solo trip to Dresden on Saturday, and I do not think I have been to a more beautiful city in my life. I had a wave of emotion when I saw it from afar. There is so much history to Dresden that it impacted their architecture between the two sides of the river. It was amazing to see and experience. The little ally ways and how they led to different areas was my favorite part because I felt like I was in a movie or an expedition. There were musicians everywhere playing classical music and it was a perfect touch to the day. It was a perfect day to romanticize life. On another note, there were so many tourists. I was not expecting it to be that busy because everywhere else I have gone, there have not been as many people as there were in Dresden. On Sunday, some of us went to a flea market by Tiergarten and it was cute and had many glass animals. We of course also went to dinner and watched some of the UEFA EURO 2024 because Germany played Switzerland.
I am learning a lot in my internship in Berlin. I think I have used most transferable skills because I have been put in a variety of situations so far. The ones I have used the most are effective communication, teamwork, and creativity. Those I have noticed I use daily. With the projects I have been given so far, I have to say that the project involving the machinery company highlights most of these skills because it is such a complex project. You especially need creativity to solve many of the problems. Teamwork and communication are so important because I am always working on projects with my coworkers. With everything I have been given and worked on, critical thinking is also another skill that I have developed more. I am applying this skill by first making certain that contractors can read and interpret the design and concepts easily, and secondly this will help to understand and work through all possible problems now instead of when it is built and there is nothing we can do since it is already built. This is on a smaller scale, but organization is another skill that I have improved upon. People are always mentioning to make sure you organize your time and files and things like that, but no one really talks about organizing your desk space. The amount of time we all could not find printed out presentations because they have been hidden under models or other items is crazy. So, keeping your desk space organized is important, and one thing that I will always strive to do.
I have gained a few more technical skills, which is great because I can be more diverse with what I offer firms in the future. I learned a whole new software program that I thought was going to be difficult, but it was not as difficult as I thought. I do use many different programs at school, and it was a combination of all of them so that was nice, and I could draw upon my past knowledge to learn this new program. It is an older program and more of a European program, but I would like to work for an international firm one day so it is beneficial to know how to convert files and work with different types of files from different types of programs. I have a good background in Adobe Creative Cloud and I am constantly using it now; in addition I have learned new tools in the different programs. This is great because I am improving upon the skills I already have, and now when I learn new skills I don’t feel overwhelmed since I have a great foundation.
I think my experience has allowed me to assess tasks differently. It has broadened my mind to keep an open mind for how to complete tasks and projects and overcome situations. I am so used to only knowing how to do things the way I was taught at school and just how the United States does things that is nice to see different viewpoints. I think the way I have been learning different skills and ideas in Berlin will be beneficial to future jobs because I could bring a new perspective to the potential firm. It has also allowed me to think about the users of a space better and what aspects would be more enjoyable for them. I am excited to see what these last four weeks have in store for me.