These past few weeks have flown by. I’ve now been in Berlin for 3 weeks, and I can’t believe I’m nearing the halfway point. This past week was quite eventful, and I got to check a major item off my Berlin bucket list. On Sunday, I finally got around to checking out some of the Berlin flea markets that my advisor had told me all about before leaving. He had told me they were amazing and a must-see but even so they surpassed all my expectations. Both markets we went to were massive, and they were more like festivals than flea markets. There was street food from around the world and street performances on every corner. It seems like so much here has exceeded my expectations.

From a personal standpoint, I expected to have opportunities to go out of my comfort zone. So far, this has been the case, and I have had more chances to put myself in new situations than I could have ever imagined. Every week it seems like I do something that I would never do back in Pittsburgh. Just this past week, I went to a comedy show for the first time and then a roller disco. These kinds of things happen in Pittsburgh, I just never get the chance to experience them because I’m usually focused on my school work and school-related activities. I feel like in Berlin, I’ve really had a chance to break out of my shell a little bit. Coming here, I also expected to improve my general life skills. Having to navigate public transportation and grocery shopping when there is a language barrier have both helped me feel more prepared to take on post-graduation life.

Professionally, I expected to expand my marketing knowledge. I feel like I’m starting to now. At the beginning of my internship, it seemed like I was doing a lot of important, but basic tasks that I didn’t learn much from. Now that I’ve been here for a few weeks I’m starting to take on higher-level work. Additionally, my supervisor scheduled a class next week focused on Google Ads and analytics. This is a perfect opportunity for me to learn more about digital marketing and get my questions answered by someone who has been working in the industry for years.

Regarding academics, I expected to expand my marketing knowledge which would help me in my classes. As I mentioned earlier, I feel like I’m now starting to learn more about the field. Additionally, I expected to gain time management skills. I sometimes struggle with time management during the school year which makes things tougher than they should be. I expected to come to Berlin and acquire these skills because I would be forced to working a full-time job. So far, I feel like my time management is still a little questionable and I’m missing out on some sleep, but I’m confident I’ll figure it out in the next few weeks.