Being my own advocate. Since my first day at my internship, for example, when I had my induction meeting at Carvago, after my bosses explained how the data team works and what I would be working on during my time there, I knew I would have to speak up for myself. After doing plenty of research on Czech work norms, I understood that feedback is something that is often absent. However, I’m someone who needs some form of direction when working in a new environment, not just a “good job,” but constructive criticism that can sharpen my skills. After all, this experience is meant for me to learn, and how could I do that without feedback from the people who know best? Therefore, in that meeting, I told my bosses that I understood feedback isn’t normalized in Czech culture. They laughed in agreement, and I said that I would like to be given direction on finished projects to make them better, which aligned with their motto: “We’d rather you take your time rather than rush through things.” This middle ground has proven to exist. After every deliverable, I get back my boss’s thoughts on it. Then I go and implement what he wants and send it to him for review. I believe that this skill of editing things until I can’t see any places for improvement and then getting pointed in the right direction has proven to not just increase my understanding and technical skills, but also improve my subordinate-to-supervisor relationship. On this one project, I sent my boss a deliverable, my third version, and after reading it, he was thrilled with the outcome. This was by far one of the most rewarding moments in my internship so far.

Over the course of the last five weeks, I’ve gained fluency in a modern tech stack for an IT company, using tools like GitHub, Snowflake, Linear, and Claude Code. Within these tools lives tech jargon and concepts I had never been exposed to yet, and it was all so abstract to me at the beginning. However, after I learned how to navigate the code repository and their database, it all started to click. I learned that these aren’t independent tools, but rather things working together as a team for managing such a large amount of data. This has been enlightening in seeing how the world of data operates today.

Coming into this program, I knew there were going to be times when I would be an outsider. Knowing that, I tried my best to not just prepare myself for what the cultural norms are, but also not to take anything personally when it came to how Czech people operate in the workplace. However, it was definitely still something that I had to learn. At first, I thought that by the end of the program, I could become an “insider.” However, looking back and seeing where I am now, I think that’s silly. I’m happy to be an outsider in this environment, and I think that’s what has given me the ability to become somewhat accepted into their workplace. I haven’t really encountered any crazy cultural differences that have affected me, other than not getting asked to lunch by my coworkers closer to my level. Mainly, I just eat lunch with my boss and another person on the data team simply because they ask me to. And that’s okay. I understand that Czech people are introverted, but I’m still able to peer into what they are like just based on the conversations that go on at work. While yes, I can’t understand what they are saying, I can understand the context. There are plenty of times when coworkers are trading jokes back and forth, and I’m able to just listen and appreciate being a fly on the wall in this environment.

Lastly, this weekend I decided to take a surfing trip to Portugal. This past weekend was a national holiday in the Czech Republic, and I wanted to go somewhere farther because I had the day off on Monday. Always wanting to have surfed because of my past experience skateboarding, I viewed this as a perfect opportunity. The hostel I stayed in was very social, where I not only met other Americans, but also Belgians, Frenchmen, and Australians. It was a time for me to interact with people on vacation from all over the world. I got to exchange cultural differences, perspectives, and ideologies, all while exploring and surfing the town of Ericeira, a small town forty minutes outside of Lisbon. This was truly an experience I will never forget.