London calling!!! This past weekend, myself and two others from our Paris group spent the weekend in London. I had never visited the United Kingdom before, but have always dreamt about experiencing the culture and taking in the history. Needless to say, London is a great combination of electrifying and historically rich. Our hostel was only a 15 minute metro ride from the major destinations in the city, so we started by exploring Westminster. Westminster has Big Ben, the Abbey, and is a short walk from Buckingham palace. Big Ben and the abbey are even more breathtaking than I ever could have imagined. The clock tower is merely one part of the Elizabeth Tower. The almost magical, gothic tower spans out along the Thames and is incredible to see in its entirety. It is apparent why the building has become so iconic. The abbey is also a masterpiece of architecture. It has a courtyard where the inhabitants and workers live, with an entrance to a cafe inside of the abbey. Both the abbey and Big Ben are gorgeous gothic creations. Although gothic architecture is also represented in Paris, I found its popularity in London was one of my favorite takeaways from this trip. 

After we saw the main attractions of London, we took some time to explore the city individually. I started walking from Buckingham Palace and let my heart guide me through the city. I came across Chinatown, where I got some boba tea, and then to Covent Gardens, where I purchased a ring from a local jewelry shop. Aimlessly exploring a new city is one of my favorite parts about traveling, and this opportunity in London made me excited for what is to come in my future travels. 

Through my internship, I have been greatly developing my transferable or “soft” skills. Three soft skills that stick out to me the most are communication, adaptability, and creativity. My main goal for this internship was to communicate in French as much as possible in order to better my French skills and professional communication skills. So far, I have seen improvement in all areas of communication. My French has developed, but also my ability to share ideas with my supervisors and communicate with clients for projects. Strong communication skills are always necessary; therefore, I can take these skills to any job I have in the future. I have also had to adapt to many different situations throughout my time here. Coming to a new country with a different culture and language requires constant adaptation. Although I could try and predict what my experience would be like in Paris, it is never possible to accurately predict everything. Therefore, I have learned to adapt to situations and never try and focus too much on what could happen, rather on what is currently happening. Similarly to communication skills, being able to adapt is always an important skill to have in the professional world. Finally, my internship involved a lot of graphic design and social media work. These projects required me to use my creativity to think of brand logos, content design, and advertisements. Through these projects, I was able to showcase my creativity and build on those skills in a professional manner.

In terms of technical or “hard” skills, the main three I have seen development in are foreign language, project management, and marketing skills. At my internship, I communicate only in french. Whether it be with clients, supervisors, or my coworkers I speak to them in french and they do the same. This direct immersion has allowed me to exponentially boost my french verbal, written, and comprehension skills. I can use these skills in future jobs in the US or if I choose to work in France. Additionally, my internship requires that I manage multiple projects at once. They are all significant projects that will require a lot of time to finish; therefore, I manage them all individually to get as much done as I can while I am here. Learning to tackle multiple projects at once while keeping them organized is an important skill to maintain, and one I can surely use in my future career. Finally, I have learned a great deal about marketing through my internship. In my studies, I have done a little marketing, but not a significant amount. My internship requires me to market companies and their work through their social media platforms and different advertisements. I have learned a lot about the depth that marketing requires, so that logos, colors, and patterns are obviously related to the company and their work. This new skill I have built will boost me in future careers if marketing or advertisement are required.