Week 7!!!! Every week I’m in shock that we’re getting closer and closer to our last day :(. But, I’ve still been taking every advantage I can to explore Berlin and Europe. Luckily, this week has cooled off from the monstrous heatwave last week, so here’s an update on what I’ve been up to!
After my lovely trip to Scotland (still in awe of Robert Irwin btw), I did some more solo exploration of Berlin. I visited the East Side Gallery, which is another Berlin staple everyone should visit. The history and talent of all the artists on the wall is absolutely remarkable. They have little QR codes under each wall painting, so I was able to read up on the meaning behind each painting I visited. I also finally got to visit an iconic Berlin Photoautomat (Photo Booth).
Later that week, our CEO surprised us with a company outing to Müggelbay on Thursday! It was an amazing way to enjoy the nice weather and take a break from our hard work. We boarded a Floßfahrt (Raft Boat) and spent the day grilling, swimming, and catching up with each other. It’s been hard to connect with some people in my office because everyone is very busy. This was an amazing way to break the work barrier and get to know my co-workers! I had a lot more in common with them than I thought. Also, free food! That never hurts haha! Here’s some pics from that day:
This past weekend was our last travel weekend before we leave Berlin for good :(. We decided to spend the 4th of July in Prague! We visited many of their famous landmarks like the Charles Bridge, Astronomical Clock, and many castles. We also did a boat tour, enjoyed our time at a pub, and went vintage shopping! I may have had some FOMO seeing my friends at the Jersey shore, but I still had an incredible weekend! Here’s some pics from Prague:
Reflecting on my time in the office, communication has been a crucial part of my internship. I’ve had to communicate with my supervisors and potential buyers of our products in order to have smooth workflow. But, I’ve also run into some challenges with communication at work as well.
Although Germany and the US are categorized as both Low Context communicators in the workplace, I’ve found my company to be very both low and high context at times. Ive been given very blunt instructions on what to do, but I’ve also had to fill in the gaps a lot of times when it came to projects. My supervisor would sometimes give me vague assignments, and it was my job to try to complete that to the best of my ability with the information I was given. Of course I could ask questions if I needed help, but there were lots of moments where I just had to figure it out. I feel that the language barrier also added some challenge. It was difficult to understand each other at times, which made communication even more difficult. Obviously no one can be blamed for that, but it played a role in communication at the office.
One miscommunication situation I had to overcome was one of the first tasks I was given at Surflay. It was a research assignment where I had to look into other companies and see how they sold their products and compare it to us. What I did was I focused on their website and contact layout and compared it to ours. Apparently, that was wrong and I wasn’t supposed to do that. I was supposed to look at the companies products specifically and compare pricing and how they advertised their product on the website. It was a minor mistake, but I’m glad my supervisor caught it early during my time there so I could fix it.
Germany is also known for their direct negative feedback in the workplace. I feel like I’ve encountered that in my company, but it’s always been from a place of respect and is valuable constructive criticism. I never felt insulted or discouraged by the critiques; I was actually appreciative of the directness! I have a hard time picking up body language sometimes, so this helped me out a lot at work, especially when I had that miscommunication situation early on.
That’s a wrap on Week 7! Tune in next week for my last in-country blog post (I can’t believe it!). Tschüss!