Starting off my third blog post, I had a very beautiful week in Berlin. I took lots of walks to beautiful places, including the East Side Gallery, many parks, and a handful of castles. My favorite was probably Schloss Britz, where I went yesterday afternoon. The castle was unfortunately closed for an event, but the surrounding park and garden were so beautiful it didn’t even matter. I brought a sandwich and some orange juice for a picnic, and then observed some cows, horses, goats, and sheep at what I think was a farm right next door. It was really cool to walk around the area where the castle was because it was tucked into a very residential area, so I could see all sorts of regular people going about their day. To some extent, I think I might have even been jealous that they get to casually live surrounded by such historical beauty.

I also happened to realize that I actually work six minutes away from another person on this trip (Neha) so we’ve been planning things to do before or after work. Recently, we took a trip for some €4 samosas that were so so good, and explored the area around our work place. I’ve also been hanging out with my co-intern, mostly by frequenting various cafes because we love pastries. I’ve found some really cool places near my work in doing so, some of which are tucked away in unlikely places, like alleys and courtyards.

I have really been enjoying just walking around in general, because I’ve found some very cool places and architecture (see image below). It truly is a fascinating city for its combination of old and new. In the first week, our tour guide pointed out the different colors of bricks on various buildings, which I have been subtlety noticing. He also mentioned the Stolpersteine, or stumbling blocks, which bear the names of victims of nazi persecution and can be seen placed into the pavement across the city. These too I have been making a note of as I see them, as a memory of the place that Berlin used to be and the history it has been through. I think its a great thing on the part of the city to keep these memories at its center, and to present the beauty of the city with its ugly sides as well.

As for my internship in general, it has been going well. I have a good feel for the energy of the company and I finally figured out how to get the wifi to work smoothly. Though, as a natural part of the transition, and a symptom of working in an unfamiliar culture, there are a handful of ambiguities.

The first is that my supervisor will sometime offhandedly mention a task, but not necessarily assign it to me, and I don’t know whether I am expected to do it. Luckily, since there is another intern who has been here longer, I can ask her to refine some expectations. Additionally, we have daily meetings to discuss ideas and work progress, and I’ve never had a meeting in a purely professional setting, so it was difficult for me to determine what I should do. Take notes? Just show you’re listening? Work on my own tasks while my supervisor is talking to the other intern?

My strategy, as I have determined, is to either default to doing what the other intern is doing or read the room. These meetings tend to run long, but I’ve made it through will no problem thus far, and if anything comes up, I will certainly just ask my supervisor. The energy in the office is very open and casual, and my supervisor is very open to hearing our feedback, so I doubt there will be any big problems. In general, my workplace is a comfortable combination of productive and relaxed, which is great because I have a lot of goals to reach both in and outside of the office.

To summarize, it was a very good week and I’m glad I got to see some cool things. I’ll see you all again for week four. Bis später!