Another week has flown by, and my time in Berlin is inching closer and closer to being done. On Friday, when I work remotely, during my lunch break, two friends I met in this program and I decided to go see the Turkish market. The market is located in Maybachufer, and we took the M29 bus to get there. The flea market was beautiful, boasting a wide assortment of stands. These stands were selling fruits, vegetables, jewelry, food, and many more items. I did not purchase anything for myself. However, all three of us were feeling particularly hungry, so we decided to eat at this falafel stand we saw while walking around.
During my time in Germany, I have eaten so many Döner kebabs, which are kind of a Berlin specialty. So this time, I decided to try something new and ordered a Halloumi falafel. Let me tell you, it was the best thing I have ever tasted in my life. We sat next to this old man, who was kind enough to let us eat with him, and we devoured our food. In America, I never really ate falafel, but this meal at the flea market absolutely made me crave it. On our walk home, we spotted a dessert shop near our accommodation, and I decided to get a few macarons and small chocolate cakes. This Friday has definitely been a day of eating delicious foods and trying new things.
During my time so far in Berlin, I have been developing soft skills. I have noticed that I am not so afraid to do things by myself. Before, I was a little uncertain about the city and unsure whether or not I could explore it alone. But as I spend more and more time living like a Berliner and riding the trains and buses, I find myself becoming more confident in my ability to go explore other parts of Berlin on my own. I have even begun to notice that I don’t need to use Google Maps on my phone to navigate, and that I can tell how far I am or which neighborhood I’m in based on the train station names.
Another soft skill I have begun developing is not being afraid to ask questions. Living in a completely new city halfway across the world forces you into situations where you have to ask others for help. At first, I was a little nervous because I heard that Germans aren’t always the most open people. However, when sitting on the train and the announcement is in German, you are forced to ask those around you if they could translate or explain what the announcer said. This really forces you to get out of your comfort zone and talk to strangers.
That being said, there are also technical, or hard skills, which I have gained at my internship. While working on this project, I have become more skilled at using Google Docs as well as Gmail Chat. I have learned different ways in which I can utilize Google Docs to help structure my research paper more clearly. I was also introduced to the chat feature in Gmail, which I had never really used before. But now, while working at Tip:Tap, I have begun using it more and more to communicate with my supervisor.
Another hard skill I have gained during my time at my internship is technical writing. I feel as if this is expected after working on this research paper for the past couple of weeks. Throughout my time writing and rewriting, I have learned that instead of putting in a lot of fluff to make a paper sound better, technical writing—which clearly brings the point across to readers—is much better and easier to comprehend.
Another hard skill I have learned is project management and how to manage your project so that you can meet deadlines as well as create a project that meets standards. I feel that my global competencies allow me to navigate cross-cultural situations because I am more perceptive to what others are saying, since I understand that there might be some barriers. Additionally, I feel that it has allowed me to be more open to learning about the person I am working with and trying to understand their perspective and how they do things in order to broaden my horizons.
