Hey everyone, welcome to my first working week in Berlin.

 As I mentioned in my last post, I am interning at Catalyst Institute of Arts and Technology, where I am supporting the People Circle team. Everyone I am working with has been very nice and welcoming so far. Since it is an international school, there is not a strong language barrier, which has made adjusting a lot easier than expected. It is also interesting being around so many different accents and backgrounds every day, since it makes the workplace feel very global and active.

My main struggle so far has been the commute. Right now, it takes about an hour and a half to get to work. The tram that normally goes to the institute is down, so I must take a bus instead. The issue is that the bus is often very late, and during my first few days I ended up walking about an hour from the train station to the school and back again. It was exhausting, especially after a full workday, and not the most efficient way to start or end the day. After a few days, I started using rental bikes to get from the train station to Catalyst, which now only takes about 10 minutes instead of an hour. That change has made a big difference in my daily routine and time management, and it also allows me to have more time to explore Berlin after work.

Now I know what you are probably thinking, how the internship is going and what am I doing. So far, I think I am managing pretty well in my first week. I have been helping answer questions about the school, scheduling interviews, and assisting with parts of the interview process. This has given me a much better understanding of what happens behind the scenes in recruiting. Coming from the other side as an applicant, I did not realize how many emails and moving parts are involved every day, or how quickly things need to be coordinated to keep everything running smoothly.

Starting next week, I will also be helping with compliance tracking for certificates and online trainings, as well as some payroll related tasks. I am particularly excited about that because it connects more to the finance side, which is something I am interested in. I am also helping track a budget that is currently behind, so it will be interesting to see how that process works in a real organization and how different teams communicate when money and deadlines are involved. With all my tasks, I have been switching between them throughout the day to keep things organized and to make sure I stay productive without getting stuck on one thing for too long.

The best part of my internship so far has been the people. Every day at 12:30 we all go to lunch together, sit outside, and talk. It is a nice break in the middle of the day and a good way to get to know everyone outside of work. My favorite day was German lunch, where everyone was encouraged to speak German and traditional German food was served. I did not speak much, but it was still fun to listen and try to follow along, even picking up small words here and there. I hope I can participate more next time they do it.

Another cool part of the internship is the location. Catalyst is in the Funkhaus, which used to be the DDR radio station. Because of that, the building has not been heavily changed, so it feels very old and unique. There are long hallways, old architecture, and a kind of industrial feel that makes it different from a modern office. It is an interesting place to work every day. The only downside is the small fly problem they have, which is a bit annoying but manageable.

Outside of work, I have been trying to explore Berlin as much as possible. I went to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, which was okay but not my favorite since the main exhibition is closed and the temporary ones were mostly text heavy. I also went to the Berlin Botanical Garden, which was my favorite thing I have done so far. It was beautiful, with different plants, greenhouses, and landscapes from all over the world, and I spent hours walking around just taking everything in and relaxing.

This weekend I also had a bit of a splurge day and went thrifting around Berlin. I found two shirts that I really like and will wear often. After that, we got döner at a small restaurant, which was very good and honestly one of the best meals I have had since being here.

Overall, my first week in Berlin was a good experience. I am learning a lot about managing my time, balancing work and life, and adjusting to a new environment, especially when things do not always go as planned.