5/5/13

Ok I am back to blogging as regularly as I can.

So, I am in Germany, in case anyone was unsure. I am back in Oberbrechen, with Jana and her mom. I arrived here around 2.00 this morning because after we got to Germany, we of course had to stop and see friends. After a short night of sleeping, I got what I came for: German Breakfast!

After a half of a small fresh baked bread loaf that was still steaming as I tore out the inside of it, I sipped on some grape juice. To finish the other half, I had two different slices of mystery meat. The first seemed like a... I have no idea. One was more red than the other. They were delicious. I complemented the meat and bread with a small hunk of brie cheese. Jana and I split a second loaf, which I added copious amounts of jelly to. I coated everything in my stomach with a glass of fizzy water, and away we went.

We went off to Limburg to go to a flee market/market/garage sale. It was over three roads, people selling stuff not uncommon to that they sell at the Madison County Fair. We walked around that for about and hour and a half. I ended up getting something though! I found a glass vial with a cork for my adventure to Lourdes this week. I will use it to collect the holy water from there. I will have to test to make sure it withstands being filled with liquid, but as for right now, I am set.

Once we got home, I got to eat a slice of apple cake. I love cake. I have learned that I have an incredible sweet tooth and should really check myself on that. Later, because for now I can eat cake and it is delicious and I see no reason to turn down German cake, so don't judge.

Tamara showed up sometime, and we headed to Vogelpark, which was a bird sanctuary. Here is the address if you wish to see - http://www.weltvogelpark.de/ It was a lot of fun because Jana and Tamara are fun, and I got to feed birds like a parrot and a cockatoo our of my hand. We headed home around 4, and at 5.30 we ate dinner. It was a typical German meal (I miss saying English, to be fair) of schnitzel! I mean make me want to stay forever, get fat and have a heart attack. But it was so incredibly delicious I hadn't a care in the world. After writing to mom, Jana and I watched most of a movie, but we had to cut it short because she has school... or work in the morning. For a first day in Germany, not too shabby!

1/5/13

Hi guys, I know I have been really bad about my blog lately but I have been swamped with work, travel, school, and getting to see as much of London as I can before I leave. I head to Germany Saturday, so I should be able to go back to every day writing then. In the mean time, I will post this video which my friends made talking about London. They really hit the nail on the head when they mentioned it is rainy. Ok

Sorry I cannot embed the video, but just click the link and watch it. It is quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WarTbQkZoNM

BES Assignment #9: VLOG

Internship VLOG

Internship Assignment C

 What are you observing about your work environment? If you could, what are two things you would keep and two things you would change?

Keep: The Atmosphere is very open at work. It is acceptable to talk to people and have conversations with them. Both people keep in mind that they have work to do and allow enough time to do it. I would like to keep the ability to talk to and get to know your co-workers more.

Keep: Tea. It is amazing what a nice cuppa will do for the work ethic. I would make the tea for my boss and I, along with whoever was around when I asked. I was just a time for me to relax and reorganize what is going on in my head. Also, since you have to boil water, you don’t get to drink it immediately. That little victory and satisfaction when you do get to drink it boosted my moral throughout the day.

Change: I would have liked to be better integrated into the Trust quicker. I felt that I didn’t really get introduced to everyone properly and I was still meeting people a month after I started. At the end I felt a part of the Trust, but it took honestly a few months.

Change: I had extremely sporadic hours. I would go in anywhere from 9.00 until 11.30 and then leave anywhere from 16.30 to 20.00. I would have tried to be a little more consistent with leaving. That being said, sometimes I left late because of my own doings just to make sure that I finished the work that I was assigned.

2. How does your supervisor’s style work for you? What would you want to be like as a supervisor in the future?

My supervisor had a decent approach to being the boss. I respected the fact that she knew her place and dedicated so much time to the Trust. She also attended conferences, meetings, and seminars to learn about external factors that would be affecting the Trust in the coming years. She was a good multi-tasker and could be stern when needed. She also took a genuine interest in my life. I felt very open with her and she gave me not only sound advice, but advice that could influence my managerial style.

I did not think that she could manage her time effectively. She would often stay quite later than I at work, which she told me to make sure that I don‘t do when I am working. She also doodled quite a bit when people were talking to her, either on the phone or during meetings. I found that slightly rude. There were times when I couldn’t read her emotions either, whether she was happy or unsatisfied with my work.

We talked a lot about me being a supervisor in the future. One thing that we discussed was worker relationships. I want to have a relationship with my workers that borders on friendship. I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with issues and telling me about their lives. I do need them to know that I am the boss, and even though I seem to be their friend, it is because they do quality work. I want to lead by example, so I want to make sure that they understand that my decisions are for the best of the company and nothing is personal. Finally, I want to be able to have the delegating skills so I do not overload myself. I need to make sure I am surrounded by people whom I can trust do work, so I only have to review it and add my own spin. That will save my time so I can do more important things like strategic planning and attending meetings dealing with the big picture of the firm.

3. What are you learning about yourself through this internship? What is one thing about yourself that you would like to improve for your next job?

Something that was pointed out to me was that I am perpetually positive at work. This is not the first time I have been accused of this, but now I know it is a trait that I have. I disliked working (I mean, honestly who likes waking up early, and commuting?) but that is no reason for me to be miserable or distant at work. Something that I want to improve which I had noticed and was pointed out to me was how I became familiar with the Trust. It took me quite a while to really get a feel for the Trust. I would read memos and business plans and things but not retain anything. Once I was there for a while, I understood what I was getting into more, but it just took a long time. This is something I experienced at my last job too, so I need to be aware and really try hard next time.  

4. What are two things you have learned how to do or improved upon during this internship? These are skills and they might belong on your resume.

Networking/Communication- I have participated in a few networking events, where the goal was just to meet as many people as possible. I was forced to talk to random people and it was good practice for when I go home and have to do it nearly every week during recruitment.

Representing the Trust- My boss was proud at how I represented the Trust at the events. She said that I would focus the conversation on the Trust rather than on myself, which most people asked about. This will be useful in the future when I have to go and represent the company I work for and have to project their views, opinions, values and goals.

5. After college, will you look for a company that is similar to the one that you have interned with? Why?

I don’t think I would look for a job in the not-for-profit field directly right out of school. I would much rather go to a big firm then in my free time help a charity. I have gotten a much better idea of how much one person’s help is to a charity. I will also try and get work groups together to help charities, like groups have done at the Trust. Again, that help is vital to the longevity of the Trust. Eventually, I would like to become a trustee of a trust.

BES Assignment #7: Wimbledon

My trip to Wimbledon was amazing. First, I enjoy tennis, so it was a no-brainer that I was going to visit, but also I really enjoy getting out of the metropolitan part of the city. I took the Tube there because I was on a semi-short time frame. I made it there around 9:45. The first thing that I noticed was how bustling the area around the train station was. It wasn’t a bustling like found near the corner of Russell Square, but the bustle of people running errands and working.

I noticed that all of the stores on the high street were smaller. Of course, there were tons of coffee shops, but the clothes stores were more boutiques than labels. I really appreciate seeing that. I headed towards the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The walk there was beautiful. First, you walk up a great hill, which really disappointed me because I got sweaty. The anticipation of this my destination was killing me, and I thought when I reached the top that I would be at my destination.

I was wrong. At the top of a hill was a more commercial area again. I stopped in a coffee shot to grab a cup of tea, which I drank a little too quickly. I don’t like rushing when I go to places because it seems that the Europeans don’t, so I want to fit in, also I am usually never in a hurry. It was about a 15 minute walk to the tennis club, and most of that walk was in residential areas. Two things I noticed were that 1) it was quite a posh area and 2) people really are nicer outside of central London. I passed probably ten people on the street and I got about 5 half-smiles and even a hello from one of them.

The atmosphere at the club was everything I hoped for. There was an electricity in the air when I walked in (I may have made that up myself) and the security guard at the door was quite friendly. After visiting the museum, I went to the café at the club and had another cuppa and some scones. They actually had a good deal, 2 scones, jam and clotted cream for 3.30. I was easily the youngest person in the café, which I will attribute to the fact that it was early and a club. I also felt inadequately dressed. I looked fine, but there was something more about the people there. Upon leaving, the guard and I chatted a bit and he asked where I what I was doing the rest of the day (going to Kew Gardens). What really took my breath away was the fact that he seemed interested in talking to me.

I walked back to the train station but stopped at a pub for a proper lunch (around 1.30) and a pint. Again, everyone was surprisingly friendly there. Even though I ate alone, I didn’t feel awkward or anything. I would have liked to spend more time in Wimbledon. Hopefully I will be back one day to actually visit the championship, because I could easily see that semi-sleepy village turning into something special over that fortnight. 

BES Assignment 6: Greenwich & Docklands

We were fortunate enough to be given tickets for a boat trip down the Thames from Westminster to Greenwich. The day that we went however, the air was so frigid (like most of this Winter/Spring). I enjoyed getting photographs under Tower Bridge. One thing that I was surprised to learn was that for most of London’s history, the Thames was something that most people turned their back too, instead of embraced, as say they did in Paris. Recently, they have been building more housing on the river, which was quite evident on the way there.

Greenwich was quite an amazing experience. First, when you come to London, you don’t expect Greenwich to be some place so easily accessible. On the day I was there, it was quite chilly and miserable, but that didn’t deter from the beauty. To walk to Greenwich was to walk up a hill that some of the most famous scientists have scaled. I really enjoyed looking down from the hill onto the National Maritime Museum. There is something about brown gravel paths that are so entrancing to me.

I wasn’t too impressed with the actual observatory. I think it would be more impressive to see the laser that shoots across the sky to show where the line actual is. What did impress me though was the Maritime Museum. The first thing that caught my eye was the boat they had once you entered the main auditorium. I enjoyed the boat so much because of the gold leaf and I find the symbols on the boats to be quite interesting. Thinking about it, the symbols that I saw were not only sought after, but also had such a specific meaning to the captain or whoever boat it was. It is something that really hasn’t transpired over unto our time.

Once I left the Maritime Museum, I headed off to the Greenwich Market. I found it much cozier than markets in central London. It seemed that the people who were selling at this market were just people who had things they were proud of and wanted to sell them as opposed to people who just wanted to make money. Also, I enjoyed how small it was.

I didn’t eat in Greenwich because I tried walking home through Canary Warf. On the way, I walked through Millwall. It was honestly the scariest part of London I have been in so far. The people seemed hard and the buildings seemed intimidating. I was happy to get out of there and into Canary Warf. I crossed the maze that was the warf, and ended up on West India Quay. I ended up coming back to this area because of the amount of restaurants, which honestly were both reasonably priced and completely delicious.

Overall, I think that it was a good trip and I see myself back in Canary Warf, either for business or pleasure, but I am not sure if I would ever go back to Greenwich on my own. It was a nice town, but I could see something more someplace else.