Week 6 at Vireo in the books! Things have remained pretty much the same since my last blog. I’m still loving the work that I’m doing and everyone in the office is great. I had a meeting with my supervisor, Lou, about the deep dive I am working on. We had decided that the verticals I was creating were not narrow enough, so we shifted our original plan. I am now focusing on collecting companies that are in the green financing space, and we will create the verticals together when I have the correct number of companies. I think this gave me some added pressure and stress because I felt I made mistakes. However, I soon realized that the issue was not world ending, it just meant we had to shift the plan slightly. As I am approaching my final weeks at Vireo, I feel a little sad to be leaving. I really love the environment that I’m in and the work I do. I could really see myself working for a company like this, meaning, it’s a really great excuse to come back to Germany. So far, I haven’t experienced any situations where miscommunication was an issue. I think the most important part while working in Germany is to be direct. If you don’t understand something, you need to say so. Without being direct, this is where miscommunication situations happen.
This past weekend my roommate and I, Loghan, took a trip to Krakow, Poland. The trip getting there and back was interesting to say the least. Our train to the city was about eleven hours, however, when we got to the station (an hour early) our train had been delayed by an hour and a half! When our train arrived, we were extremely disappointed because it was one of those trains with carts and not lines of seats, meaning, we had to directly face strangers. Instead of doing that, we decided to go to the dining cart, where we remained for at least six hours haha! We got coffee, some potato pancakes, and some cake. Overall, the train ride was a success, but I find it hilarious that we were in the dining cart for so long haha. When we arrived, it was about 10pm so we decided to walk around the city. We made it to a large open space area filled with restaurants and churches; it was incredible.
The next day I desperately wanted to see the old churches in the city. The first we saw was Saint Mary’s Basilica, built in 1355, can you believe that! When you entered you saw these grand ceilings covered in a marvelous blue detailed with golden stars. Your eyes then traveled to the altar, which was covered in cold and other colors. Behind it was the most detailed stained glass I have ever seen. The glass was sectioned into small panels, each with a different picture of a saint or part of a story. It had a somewhat gothic theme to it, but the church was covered in color. We went to some smaller churches throughout the city, but none compared to this. We also visited the Wawel Royal Castle-State Art Collection. It was a beautiful museum that stood at the top of a hill in Krakow. The art was placed throughout the old castle living quarters and the old bedrooms of those who inhabited it.
Krakow is such a wonderful city, but while I was there, I was on a mission to find something for my mom. Before I left for Germany, my mom asked me to get her a Russian Nesting Doll. I know it sounds strange as I am not going to Russia, but she is my mom, so of course I said yes hahah. I knew that I would be able to find something in Poland, but finding the right doll was SO difficult. Many of the tourist shops had nesting dolls (some I’ve never seen before) and it was making me nervous. My mom never told me a color or design, so I was basically working with nothing. Loghan and I were deciding for probably two hours before finding the right one. I decided on a doll that was red and gold and it had wood bruins in it. I am praying that she likes it because I was so stressed over this stinking Polish nesting doll.
The second day of our trip was a somber one. I have been reading and studying the Holocaust for a large portion of my life. My freshman year I took a class called The US and the Holocaust and it changed my perspective on so much. My professor, Dr. Bursten, was a wonderful woman who cared deeply about the subject of the class, and she was a very impactful teacher. For a very long time I have wanted to visit Auschwitz, and this is the main reason why Loghan and I went to Krakow. I won’t go too much into our visit as it was so sad and jarring, but it was truly a profound and humbling experience. Being in a place with so much historical weight reminded me of the importance of remembrance and education. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to visit in my lifetime, and it’s something that I will remember for the rest of my life.
