Pack, unpack, meet new people, make friends, discover new places and start over again. Although, I have been living abroad since I was 19, I am still not the best with transitions. So,  before coming to Germany I was very anxious about how this new experience would be. However, when I got into my Airbnb, the first thing that I saw in my room was a jar full of flowers with a note that started with “Dear Giovanna, welcome to Hamburg…” that little gesture from my host, was the assurance I needed to realize that everything was going to work out… And here I am, 3 weeks have passed by and I can say that I really really like this city! 

People keep saying that this is the first summer that Hamburg has had so many sunny days, so I am embracing each one of them. Hamburg is full of green spaces and parks. It is very bike/pedestrian friendly and since is located in a harbour I just have to walk a few miles and then I can see water. It might seem weird that I am pointing out this staff, but these are some of the little things that make me appreciate this city so much! I have spent a lot of my free time running around the city, exploring nature and wondering through some bohemian neighborhoods (and there are a lot, believe me). Also, Hamburg turned out to be a very a affordable city, so I can attest that one can survive with a tight budget and still have fun 🙂

Now, down to business. I am doing my internship at a multilateral organization. I work everyday from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Coming from a Latin American country where people normally work from 8:00am to 6:00pm I can say that I really appreciate Germany’s working schedule haha. I work with the Lifelong Learning Policies and Strategies (LLPS) unit. So far, I have been supporting the development of various ongoing projects that my organization and specifically the LLPS unit have for this coming fall. I also, had the opportunity to participate on a two day workshop conducted by Clinton Robinson an expert on Adult Education and Lifelong learning. The workshop aim was to train UIL staff on how to  prepare a Education Sector Plan on Nonformal education for adults. Some of the sections of the workshop touched on topics such as the Theory of Change, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Principles of Sustainability. These are some of the subjects that I have been talking in many (if not every) of the classes that I took in the last couple of semesters at Penn, so I was happy to see how this theories can be used in real life planification.

I am looking forward to see what will come in the following weeks, and as a professor told me before coming to the internship, “the internship will be, what you make out it.”  I sort of have that phrase tattooed on my mind, and I am determined to make it the best out my time in the UIL and Hamburg.

That’s all I have for now! Tschüss 🙂