After living in Berlin for almost three weeks, I am beginning to feel more at-home and comfortable in this city. I am more familiar with the geography of the city, I am picking up a little more German, and I am getting to know my coworkers better. I have also had the opportunity to travel to different cities in various countries over the past two long weekends with my fellow students, and this experience has been extremely rewarding.
Last week, a few of us were able to travel to Amsterdam over the long weekend, and it was likely the most beautiful city I have ever seen. When we first arrived, I was shocked by the sheer amount of bicycles everywhere. They had spaces the size of large parking lots where bikes could be parked one on top of the other, and every street was extremely narrow and designed primarily for bicycles, not cars. We barely saw any cars while we were there, but learned that biking is the primary mode of transportation. I was impressed by the success of the implementation of such environmentally friendly practices. Amsterdam is also a very old city—we happened to be visiting on the 750th anniversary of the city. Learning this explained the old architecture of all the buildings, and the way many of them were no longer standing straight because they were built before the concept of gravity had been discovered. The city was almost like a sort of maze as all the buildings looked extremely similar, and every other street had a canal running through it with bridges built over them and boats running through them. We were able to see the Anne Frank house from the outside, take a wonderful and relaxing canal cruise, and simply roam the streets to explore. Of course, we had to try the famous stroopwafel, Amsterdam’s famous waffle filled with caramel and topped with toppings of your choice. I left Amsterdam knowing that I must return and explore further, as the city simply has me entranced by its beauty and culture.
Even considering how much I enjoyed this weekend trip to the Netherlands, it felt nice to return to Berlin. I was surprised by how much it has started to feel like home in such a short amount of time. It was a relief to be able to return to my normal routine, and an area that I have grown accustomed to. Throughout the week, I continued to explore the city further after my work day had concluded. This week, my roommate Tracy and I stumbled upon a carnival in Alexanderplatz when we had originally taken the ride there to do some shopping. The fair was filled with various stalls carrying foods from many different countries, souvenir items, homemade jewelry, and so much more. Additionally, my dad had a work conference in Munich from Monday until Wednesday, so when his work trip concluded he was able to take a train to Berlin and visit me for two days. I was excited to spend time with him and show him all the places I had discovered and things I learned about the city. Although I had to work during the day, we were able to get dinner together at the end of my workdays and I could show him some of the iconic historical landmarks of the city which Britta had shown us during our first week in Berlin. Overall, it was lovely to spend time with my dad and share with him everything I have experienced since my arrival.
Although I found my internship to be very overwhelming at first, over the past two weeks I have grown more comfortable with my colleagues and confident in my abilities to complete the tasks I have been assigned. My overarching project to be completed by the end of my internship is rather broad, and I have little to no specifications about how it is to be completed. I think this ambiguity specifically was a source of a lot of my stress and frustration in the beginning of my internship, but over time I have learned that the easiest way to combat the uncertainty that comes with a lack of directions is to simply ask questions, and that by doing so my colleagues will not think less of me. After all, this entire experience is for my benefit, and for me to learn and grow in my field of interest. In order to take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest, it is important that I ask as many questions as I can so that I can find clarity in my tasks and learn as much as possible.
