Ahoj! I hope that everyone is doing well. This week was my final week of my internship and of the IIP: Prague program. It is incredible how fast this experience has flown by and how much I have learned and grown in such a short period of time. My main priorities this past week were packing up my apartment, making sure I got to go to the best places in Prague one last time (and going to do the things I hadn’t had the opportunity to do before I left), finishing out my internship well, and starting to plan for my future.
My main activity that I had not had the chance to do while in Prague but that I would be mad at myself if I did not go was the National Park up north in Czech Republic called the Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland National Park which is a sandstone mountains formation from the Mesozoic Era. In my last full day in Prague, I traveled up to Germany to see the Saxon side of the National Park and the Bastei Bridge from the 15th century. We then hiked down to the Kamenice River gorge and took a gondola ride along the river, which was near the lowest point in the entire Czech Republic called Hřensko and is 130 meters above sea level. Finally, we hiked up from Hřensko to Pravčická Brána which is the largest sandstone arch in all of Europe. It has actually been featured in several films and movies including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Although the national park is about a two-hour drive away from Prague, it was wonderful to experience the natural beauty of the Czech Republic as well as the rest of my time in Prague enjoying the historical, often human-made, beauty.
Throughout the week I made sure I visited the Charles Bridge, purchased all the Prague trinkets for family members in Old Town, visited my favorite park called the Grotta and my favorite gardens the Wallenstein Gardens, and ate all the “can only get in Czech Republic”/traditional Czech food. I also bought the stereotypical “I Heart Prague” shirt and went to all of my favorite places in Prague to do activities similar to a final tour or last hoorah.
The last week of my internship slowed down a great deal as my supervisor, Dominika is on holiday as well as the summer months in general are slower. I was able to help out my coworkers wherever I could but there was substantially less for me to work on and help out with, so I had the opportunity to focus on finishing the requirements for Pitt for this program and preparing for full-time job applications and job recruiting starting this fall. I ensured that I made time with my mentors for this summer, endearingly who I refer to as my Board of Directors. I thanked them for their time and effort, received and gave feedback for personal and professional improvement, and made next steps to move forward and develop a mentor/mentee relationship further.
In a professional setting and sense, the Czech Republic defines success as being able to do your work on your own as they value independence a great deal. It makes sense if you look at the history of the Czech Republic as they are a landlocked country and have gone through a great deal of economic and societal transformation. They were once controlled by Nazi Germany and the communist era of the USSR, so very similarly to the Czech Republic’s modern beliefs of religion and governmental support and interference, it is reflected in the workplace and helps to define what success looks like.
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Prague and in the Czech Republic with the opportunity to intern in an international city, pushing me to learn and adapt a great deal in a short amount of time. I was able to explore the city from a tourist and local point of view and use the geographic location of Prague in Central Europe and almost smack-dab in the center of the continent to explore the beautiful surrounding cities and countries.
Currently, I am in Paris, France on a stop before going home and going back to University for my final year at Pitt. While I am in Europe and the timing of the program and internship lined up perfectly, I have the incredible opportunity to attend the Olympics. This once in a lifetime opportunity also lines up with location as there are limited flights direct from the States to Prague so I would need to have a layover in a different European city, so why not finish off my time in Europe with attending one of the most incredible feats of worldwide athleticism in an amazing city.
With Love, Čao!
Eliana Goodman