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Hi there, my name is Olivia, I am 20 years old and I made my internship in London. To give you a little insight into living and working in London I will write a bit about my experience.
I applied at GEB for an internship abroad at the end of June. The following month I was invited for an interview. Until then I did not really know in which country I will do my internship. The Team of GEB explained the procedure, what the next steps will be and asked me a few questions about myself.
Before I started my internship I had been very nervous. I was so excited how everything will develop, for instance, where am I going to live and to work, am I going to meet new people, etc.? Then I was invited to participate in a weekend seminar in Berlin where I learned what exactly will expect me.
After my arrival in London I visited a 3-week language course where I met lots of new people and I was able to get to know the city itself a bit. Living already 3 weeks in London, I wasn't scared at all to make an internship in an office, as my English improved very fast.
I made my internship at KennedyTwaddle Architects. The office was situated quite central (in Zone 2). I was working together with my two Bosses, Chris and Gary. There were no other employees but I didn't mind at all. I was responsible for ongoing projects, met clients and handled all incoming phone calls. When I was having the interview Chris told me that he won't be in the office for one week. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable with being alone in the office, due to all the incoming phone calls and my language skills, but in the end I managed everything very well. I am working from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm, but if I wanted to visit a museum (which are mostly for free in London) I was allowed to leave around 3. By working together so closely with Chris and his clients, I was able to get an insight into the British culture. From time to time he also told me about some events that might interest me.
From my point of view, I think that I was able to help Chris and the company. In the end I was working on 7 – 8 projects and all this in such a short period! I cannot tell much about my newly acquired skills, but I improved significantly regarding my linguistic skills. Now I can understand English more clearly and I can communicate on a higher level.
If I look back at my 3 months in London, I can say that it was totally worth it. Not only that it is easier for me to find a job now but I also gained so much experience in London. After my return
I didn't view situations in such narrow terms and I didn't get upset about little things anymore the way I used to get upset before.
After living in London for a while you start appreciate some things about Germany. You may not believe it but it's true. For example the Tube, no matter at what season you come to London it is always hot in the tube stations. It is recommended to always have something to drink. And also I miss my loved black bread. Although they do have Lidl and Netto here, where they sell German bread, buying only this bread would have been to expensive in the long run.
If you want to make some new experiences or improve your language skills, then a 3-month stay in London is just the right thing.
I would recommend it to everybody!