Should I stay or should I go?
And there I am. Staring at E-35, a little forklift model at my table and listening to my new colleague explaining to me in German how the mast should be built. I have never seen a forklift before. I had no idea how to pronounce the parts of the forklift in my own language. And as of tomorrow I should start configuring them. Following the clients’ instructions.
Graduating from the faculty of economics, I have never dreamt of building the forklifts. Nor did I expect to do so in a small town in the heart of Germany.
But then, you realize that, no matter how impossible it seems, you are able to learn. Far more than you thought you are capable of. Two months after my internship started, I was included in all the operations my department for Order processing was in charge of. And it was fun, it was challenging and it felt good, just the notion that you learned something new, something that seemed so complicated. And something you might never use again in your home country. But you learned about the process. How people work, how they implement the knowledge and how they solve problems.
Now, looking back to 2014 when I became a scholarship holder I regret for being so anxious. I wish I doubted less should I apply, I wish I had no worries if it was the right decision to go for an internship instead of doing my masters, I wish I enjoyed more the preparation period before my internship started.
Because now, I realize it was one of the most important experiences I have had so far. It was the invaluable time when I learned about myself while traveling with other interns, working with my colleagues and watching them solve problems, discovering German culture and a little town where I lived for six months. And learning how much I actually enjoyed being challenged in such a way.
Milica, Generation 2014