The more I see of Berlin, the more I realize that there is still so much of this city that I have not explored. A few friends and I were able to go to the Turkish market in Neukolln last Friday, which is located southeast of Berlin’s city center. There were so many stalls, all selling many different things. While some were selling fresh fruits and vegetables, others were selling traditional fabrics, small hand-stitched wallets or bags, Turkish clothing, jewelry, and much more. Some of the stalls were selling traditional Turkish food, such as doner kebap. Doner is very popular here because of all the Turkish settlers, and it has been a staple in my diet since I arrived in Berlin. I always try to buy doner from different places every time I get it because there are small but noticeable differences in the way it is prepared everywhere. While we were there I noticed some nice cafes and kept them in mind.
There was a music festival happening in Berlin that weekend, so we decided to check it out. There were many different bands and solo artists playing various indoor and outdoor locations all throughout the city. We decided to see one in Alexanderplatz that was supposed to have pop, RnB, and Latin music. Unfortunately, when we arrived there was no band performing and instead there was a protest going on, so we ended up finding a small Italian restaurant and enjoying a leisurely lunch outside in the beautiful weather. Afterwards, we rode the S bahn to Bellevue and sat along the Spree in the shade. It was fun to people watch as the boats went by and relax while enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. The next morning, a few of us went back to one of the cafes we had spotted by the Turkish market for brunch. The cafe had outdoor seating by the canal and the food was delicious as well as affordable. We also walked on the trail spanning the length of the canal afterwards, finding some more restaurants that were intriguing and adding them to the list of places to try.
During the week, I have been trying to explore different parks and cafes, simply bringing a book to read or my laptop to do some independent work. One day this week it was very windy and rainy, almost looking like a hurricane. On my way home from work, my S bahn stopped and we were told to exit at the next station because this line of trains will no longer be running. I assume some debris fell on the tracks and the trains could not continue past that point. What followed was fairly chaotic, as the entire train emptied out and people began walking around trying to find an alternative route to get home. I ended up having to walk 20 minutes through the Tiergarten to reach a bus stop, and then wait another 10 minutes for the bus to arrive. Once it did arrive, it was completely full of people who also likely primarily rely on the S bahn to go home. Although overwhelming, it was an interesting experience and it felt like everyone was in this together, silently communicating with knowing looks.
At work, I am making progress with my project. I was able to successfully run one of my code files without error and it produced the desired result. After showing my supervisor, he suggested some changes, which meant that I had to redo some parts of the logic. Although it is frustrating to be given more specific instructions after the fact, I took it as an opportunity to learn the various different ways a single task can be executed, and the advantages of each. I was able to successfully modify the file to meet the new requirements, and that part of my project is now complete.
Before my internship, I used to approach leadership as a role that involved assigning tasks and keeping an eye on their progress over a period of time, ensuring they meet requirements and are on track to be completed by a certain deadline. Through my experiences at audEERING, I have since had a change in perspective on the concept of leadership. Because there is very little direction in my internship, it is up to me to be resourceful and attempt to carry out my tasks so that the product can be as useful and efficient as possible. I now believe that a leader is anyone who can take charge of their project and independently problem solve, but also collaborate and communicate with co-workers about its progress and any issues that you are not able to solve on your own.
