I have officially finished my internship at Ashoka! It was bittersweet leaving the office as I was excited to go home and see my family, but also sad to leave my routine in Prague. My internship was very unique in that it wasn’t a typical corporate environment. Every day was something new, and I was surrounded by passionate and unique people who each had a different role in working towards impactful social change. In terms of success, I feel Ashoka is what you make of it. There was no clear metric for success, but instead, success was defined by how much I, as an intern, was willing to give and learn. In my final performance review call with my boss, we discussed this. We talked about the amazing things about Ashoka; The flexibility of the work, the location, the connections across Europe, and more. I feel successful in my time here as my efforts contributed to a greater cause than myself, and I was able to give back to the Czech Republic for hosting me.
I feel this differs greatly from the environment in the US. I think the culture in the United States is not focused on the people. Corporate jobs often feel lonely and meaningless, spending long hours that turn into years dedicating your life to a job you gain little reward from. I think in the US success is determined by the amount of work you do and how many hours you dedicate to a job, whereas in Europe, I found it to be much more based on the personal growth and passion side of things. It was less about how many hours a week you worked and more about your passion and goals for a project. I don’t think one side of the coin is entirely correct, and hope I can return to the US, incorporating the best of both worlds into my future career goals.
Outside of work, my trip has come to an anti-climactic end. I was supposed to be on a two-week trip with a friend, but something came up, and our plans fell through. I was able to visit Vienna, though, and ended up loving the city a lot more than I thought. I expected it to be very similar to Prague, and the architecture and general vibe definitely is. But it also has lots of those bigger-city things! The food scene is definitely more expansive, and I’ve treated myself to multiple delicious brunches and fancy matcha lattes. I found Prague lacks a lot of quicker-service modern places, which isn’t necessarily good or bad, but sometimes difficult when you are looking for a quick bite to eat. Being alone, I was nervous Vienna would be the same way, and I would have to make reservations for one, but that is certainly not the case. There are so many options with a vast variety of cuisine! Outside of eating, I also took a tour of the palace, which was just as ornate as expected. Vienna has multiple palaces and was home to the Hofburg family. As a history person, it is cool to see how they lived their lives. Vienna is also home to many world-class museums, so I took a tour of one of the art museums and found some works by some of my favorite painters. They boast a large collection of painters from across the world, some of my favorites include Caravaggio and Ruysch. I have one last day in Vienna before my long flight back to the US and will not have a problem filling the time.
As I am sitting in the hostel packing my suitcase for the final time, I am hoping for two main things. The first, and arguably the most important, is that my suitcase will not be overweight (they charge a hefty price if it is). And the second, is that I hope my time in Prague, and all of the people, experiences, and lessons (both good and bad), will leave a lasting impact not only on my work life but on how I conduct myself and treat others in the future. Being in Europe has made me appreciate the people around me, and realize how much of an impact living for human connection and empathy instead of work and traditional success, can have on personal happiness. Thank you for an amazing summer, Isabella Czech-ing out.
