This week flew by way faster than any week I have experienced so far during my time in Berlin. This was likely due to the fact that I woke up Monday in Budapest and did not return to Berlin until Tuesday night. The reason I was in Budapest during the week was crazy in itself. The project I was working on at work had hit an impasse. There was nothing more I could complete until I had an in person meeting with my boss. Since he was still on vacation, he gave me and my fellow intern Monday-Tuesday off. Allowing us to extend our trip by a few days.  I arrived in the office Wednesday morning excited for my meeting with my boss. I was looking forward to making some progress on my project and reviving what had otherwise become a stagnant project. Nothing could stop me from enjoying this day. Even though my commute experience had been subpar. The S-five train from my stop (Savignyplatz) were only running to the stop before mine (Mahlsdorf). From this stop it was easier a thirty-five-minute walk to my office or a fifteen-minute wait for the next train. I decided to just wait for the next train to avoid the long walk. Even so, I still had to make the fifteen – twenty-minute walk from my station to the office. This walk is not very fun since it is primarily between warehouses.

Once I arrived and greeted everybody in the office my fellow intern and I sat waiting for our boss to arrive. Thankfully a colleague of ours was struggling to complete his task and we were able to help. Unfortunately, about two hours into my work day I received a message from my boss saying he would not be in the office today and we would catch up on Monday. This was extremely frustrating but sadly very representative of the company I was working for. I was able to accomplish so more work before leaving the office that evening. I had been given a small task to complete that would take maybe two days of my time. I finished it by Friday afternoon and was excited for the weekend.

My Saturday was fairly uneventful. However, Sunday was one of the best days I have had in Berlin so far.  My day started pretty early around 7 am. I got up and took the train into the city to meet up with my fellow intern and his roommates. After a quick breakfast at theirs we got on another train and rode it towards the southern suburbs of Berlin. After about an hour an ten minutes we arrived at out stop. We were attending a Berlin Thunder game. The Berlin Thunder are one of sixteen teams in the European League of Football (ELF). The ELF is the top level of American football “football” in Europe. The teams are composed of a mix of local Europeans, former NCAA division one – division three players and a few former nfl players. The league has been running for a few years and multiple alumni in the nfl primarily on the defensive side of the ball.

We were not really sure what to expect but it was way beyond our expectations. There were roughly one thousand people at the tiny stadium, which would really count as a middle school stadium in Texas. However, the local fans were really into the game. They had drums and stood the entire time chanting, cheering, and just enjoying football. It was incredible to experience something and meet fellow football fans from across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the Thunder were playing a team from Dusseldorf called The Rhein Fire. They are undefeated and won the championship in 2003 and 2004. Berlin lost fifty-four to seven. Berlin is about average in the league. Unfortunately, one of the many issues that the league struggles with is parity between its top and bottom teams. Thankfully they’re next game is against the Cologne Centurions who are the worst team in the league.

My leadership style is based around me leading by example. I think this very important especially to demonstrate that I am a committed member of the team. Another aspect of leadership that I find important is following through on your commitments. This is something that is not valued as highly in my workplace, and I don’t believe it is a good quality to have. Similarly, positive communication is important to have as a leader.  Partially it is a cultural thing, but I have noticed in my workplace that communication is typically negative when it comes from people in leadership roles. Both these things have taught me the importance of what is valued in a leader and have helped demonstrate the qualities I believe should and should not be in a leader.