It’s been almost two weeks since I arrived back in New York, and while I am happy to be back, I am also heavily missing Prague. It has been so fun to sit down with my friends and family, go through all the photos, and talk about all of the memories I made. Prague became my home, one in which I lived and worked, and one I will always be grateful for. I am reminiscing about the times walking across the bridge, hanging out with my coworkers both in and out of the office, and spending time with my friends in the program. Honestly, this summer has been nothing short of a dream, I almost can’t believe how lucky I have been to have participated in this program, and gained the experience that I did. 

I am so grateful to have been able to travel as much as I did this summer, while also still having the opportunity to take advantage of almost everything in Prague. In the end, I traveled to Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, and of course Prague. All of the experiences allowed me to see and get to know different cultures other than my own, furthering my cultural competencies, and allowing me to make new memories all across the world. 

As well as gaining these amazing experiences, I also gained much experience inside the office. While it was not my first internship, it was my first internship within a true office, and my first 9-5. This allowed me to learn a lot about office culture and the ins and outs of how the company I worked for runs. It also allowed me to make very valuable connections, I became friends with the other interns, and my higher ups. It was great to be able to learn from them, and I look forward to staying in touch with them even though now I am in a different country. 

Within this experience I grew a lot. I learned how to be independent within the workplace, and be able to take more initiative when sharing my ideas. As well as this, I learned even deeper the meaning of teamwork. In my office, teamwork was mandatory. It was great to have this experience and it showed me even more that without teamwork, the job would not have gotten done. Working in a team not only allowed me to learn more, but it was also a lot of fun. As well as this, I gained a lot of problem solving skills both inside and outside of the office. In the office, I learned how to communicate better what was needed in order to fix, or avoid problems that could arise. Outside of the office, when traveling, sometimes problems would arise. Learning how to deal with these situations calmly and swiftly not only tuned my problem solving skills, but allowed me to enjoy each day and trip to the fullest. 

I have come back to America, and will go back to Pitt, a changed person. I have gained very valuable experience this summer, while also having the trip of my dreams. Not only will the skills that I have developed help me personally, but they will also help me this upcoming semester academically, and also in my future career professionally. My time management skills developed significantly, as well as my ideas of work life balance. The Czech Republic has a very different idea of work-life balance than in America, so while I may not be able to mimic the work life balance here exactly in America, I can take bits and pieces of it with me to translate into my future career. The memories and skills that I learned will last me a lifetime. 

I am still in contact with my coworkers and one of them has reached out to offer me a remote position. This has shown me that I was a valuable member and asset of the team, making me even more confident in my abilities and the skills that I developed. 

I am very much missing Prague, but am excited at the prospect of one day going back, and walking the streets that had once been my home. It is such a special thing to feel as if you have a second home (especially one in a place as cool as Prague) and sitting here writing this all I feel is gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to go abroad, gratitude for the experiences I gained at my internship, and gratitude for everyone I met along the way, people who will remain a part of my life for a very long time. Once again, děkuji Praha.