Throughout my stay in Prague and Krakow I was able to develop a variety of soft and hard skills that will continue to be utilized in my future endeavors. One of the soft skills I was able to develop more was communication. Being in a foreign country communication becomes more important and sometimes more difficult then it ever has. Whether that be trying to communicate with locals, or keeping good communication with people back home while also enjoying your stay. There were many instances throughout my time in both countries that I knew I had to speak up and communicate. For example asking where a bathroom was, having someone explain something further to me, or simply asking for directions. Another soft skill that I was able to develop was adaptability. Some of our program events and times got switched around, I was able to adapt to those situations and still continue to get the most out of the trip. Some more soft skills that I was able to test and grow would be flexibility, independence and empathy.

Since my stay abroad wasn’t very long I didn’t have the chance to develop a lot of hard skills. However one technical skill I was able to understand was the manufacturing and fermentation process of beer when I was in the Czech republic. The Czech republic is one of largest producers of beer and produces some of the best beer in the world. I had the opportunity to tour a production facility and learn some of the ins and outs of beer production. From learning about the growing process of the hops and barley, to fermentation, to bottling and labeling.

My transferrable and technical skills learned abroad will help in my future goals. Most importantly the soft skill of communication will be a great asset. Learning to speak up is something that will benefit me in all aspects of life. Communication is a very important skill to have in life so being in new places that challenge me to improve upon mine is important.