If you are reading this, it means only one thing – you are brave. You have either participated or you plan to participate in this Internship program. So why does it require bravery? Answer to this question will be found at the end of this story.
In previous couple of years I did some crazy stuff… I served food in more than 14 restaurants in Florida, I went to work by helicopter on a classified oil base in wild Russian Siberia (yes we barely closed the door). I passed academic courses on four different faculties around Europe, learning two foreign languages in the process.
I also managed oil storage terminal construction in Croatia for one year. I met the love of my life on Facebook while doing the same construction thing in Kuwaiti desert, sweating like a bottle of cold German beer on a gentle summer breeze. Five thousand tons of erected / welded steel segments later, I decided to change my crazy engineering job and find something more appropriate back home in Serbia. All these stuff mentioned before, were just a warm up.
Now, how did an Internship program in Germany get me a dream job in Serbia?
It’s been almost two months after I returned home from my Internship, and I am still gathering up all of my impressions.
First of all let me be clear. This is not a thing you do just to improve your CV, make more money or find a way to get a job in Germany.
This internship program is intended for a much bigger purpose of – recreating yourself!
Believe me – I applied 4 times trying to get a chance to do it – and it was worth it!
I am a strange example in many ways. I got my internship at the age of 27 (yes it is possible), after having more than 3 years of extensive experience in my field. Taking a ’’step back’’ in my career took a lot of courage. Now, I am working on extremely interesting and highly promising position in Serbian branch of a well-known German company, while applying all the experience and know-how gathered during the internship. Can it get better? Yes it can:
My company gave me a car to use. Ten thousand kilometers and couple of speeding tickets later, this is what I can guarantee – Germany has one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever laid my eyes upon.
After visiting me two times during internship, my girlfriend started learning German. After spending one weekend with me in Stuttgart, my Portuguese best man finally admitted that Germans are cool. I got to experience World Cup euphoria as never before. I broke my overweight record by overconsuming amazing food, and I don’t regret it for a single second. I did not felt nostalgic for a mere moment. I will not bother you with all the amazing concerts, museums and festivals – you got the point.
Some of you might be lucky and stay in Germany a bit longer. My 90 days were enough to acquire extremely useful knowledge and engineering skills from my lovely colleagues, become a master in picking the best beer and wurst, learn how to swear and speak in German, and brake the biggest lie in the history of mankind – Germans are cold and boring.
As always, best is left for the end – Introduction week in Berlin. Yes it should be at the beginning of your internship, but I was strange enough to do it afterwards. This experience really placed a cream on the cake.
The true essence of this program, are all the friendships and bonds created during and after this thrilling introduction week. Not only we had a chance to learn a lot about the program, have a great time and visit unique places, but we achieved something much more valuable.
We recreated ourselves by creating true and unbreakable bonds of friendship and respect. After so many times before, once again I felt that no matter where you come from, and how our history tends to break us apart – we are all incredibly similar and close. Being honest to yourself and accepting this beautiful fact is the most valuable thing you can experience during this internship. You will have a chance to connect with incredibly smart, creative and inspirational young people from our Balkan region.
fter your internship ends, you can cure your sorrow with one more amazing fact – You are now an alumni member of the Internship Programme of German Business.
Congratulations – you can use this opportunity and meet more incredible people from previous generations, and participate in various academic and team building events.
What more can you ask for?
Honestly, there is one more thing left to ask…
Why does involving in this program requires bravery?
Well, after finishing this program and recreating yourself, you can now start implementing all the knowledge and experience to improve your communities back home. We all have to fight together against nationalism, racism and hatred of any kind. We have to fight against those who pollute our environment and resurrect dangerous ideas from the past. Germany is the best example of how well it can be done, so learn from it. It takes courage to fight hatred with love, and to lead to better habits by your own example.
P.S.: There is one group of people in Chemniz, doing some bad stuff in the recent couple of days. If you have any sympathy towards this way of thinking, please apply to this or any other exchange program. You will experience first-hand how incredibly wrong and ignorant you were. Meeting people from different countries and acknowledging that our differences are our biggest treasure is the best cure for hatred and primitivism currently available.
It is free and fun, but it takes courage. I am glad I took this path.
Will you?
Milovan Tomašević, Generation 2018