I cannot believe this is my final week in Berlin. Time has gone by so fast. Looking back at the past few weeks, it feels crazy how quickly everything has happened. With that, I feel like all the traveling and constantly being on the go is finally catching up with me. I think ever since I got back from Prague, I have been in a daze for a couple of days. Monday through Wednesday, I mostly just went to work, made some food, and stopped for the necessary ice cream. I do not know what it was, but I needed a couple of self-care days so I could stay on track for the final week and enjoy my last few days in Berlin.
After that, I started getting more into the social aspects of the week. I was invited to go hang out with my fellow IIP participant and her coworkers. I was able to meet a few people from Brown University and talk with them about their internship experiences. It was so nice to talk to other people who are going through a similar experience and understand what it is like adjusting to a new country while also working. We hung out for a few hours, sat in a park, and just relaxed. It was a nice reminder that one of the best parts of studying and working abroad is not just the places you visit, but also the people you meet.
Then on Friday, I had a great day. I took the day to explore Berlin, which I thought was a great plan until I slept in for a while. However, I ended up going to a video game museum in Berlin. While it was not a traditional museum, it was so much fun. They had a bunch of old racing simulators, the original Super Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man. While all of those were impressive, my favorite was from my childhood, Wii Sports. I love Wii Sports, and being able to play it again was amazing. My favorite was always Wii Baseball, and I am still not great at it. I am pretty good at Wii Bowling and Tennis though.
Saturday was great. I went to Peacock Island, where I was able to walk around the beautiful island and see peacocks. I found about 6 walking around the island while we were there. After that, we just relaxed in parks until sunset. I ended the day watching Project Hail Mary in an outdoor theater. It was amazing. The movie was incredibly emotional, and watching the sky get darker as the movie continued and the stars came out really helped create the atmosphere. Sunday was more relaxed. I walked around parks, ate dumplings, and enjoyed my last weekend in Berlin.
Now, my internship of course. It has been going well. My bosses have given me more research projects involving laws being passed by the EU, which I have really enjoyed. In my future career in accounting, I will need to interpret new laws all the time and figure out how they apply, so learning these skills are necessary.
Through my internship, I feel that I have been a successful employee. My bosses measure success by how much work I can complete to the best of my ability and whether the work will be useful for the company long term. I think a successful employee in my internship is willing to learn, ask questions, take responsibility for their work, and find solutions instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem. Since my internship involves research, a successful employee also needs to be able to investigate complicated topics, understand the important information, and explain it clearly.
In Germany, I think success in a professional setting is focused on being reliable, completing quality work, and taking the time to properly understand and solve problems within your work responsibilities. There is a strong focus on efficiency and doing your work well instead of just doing more work. They also place a strong importance on maintaining a separation between work and personal life, so staying overtime is not necessarily seen as a sign of success. Instead, being able to complete your responsibilities during working hours and still have time outside of work is valued.
This is different from what I have experienced in the United States, where employees who stay late, take on extra responsibilities, and complete more work quickly are often viewed as being more successful. In the US, going above and beyond can sometimes mean sacrificing personal time, while in Germany, being effective often means working efficiently and maintaining a healthy balance. I think both cultures value hard work, but they define what hard work looks like differently.
Ciao