Praktikum in Köln - Internship in Cologne - Työharjoittelu Kölnissä
About the blog etc.
This is going to be a blog about a student of electricity in Cologne doing a work exchange with a company called Actemium.
I'm writing this in the hope that everybody doesn't have to make the same mistakes and people might get some idea of what to expect from their time abroad. Maybe this can work as a warning example if nothing more.
I might be testing out the language between Finnish and English as I go. Writing my own thoughts in any language isn't very familiar to me so I'm also excited to see what comes out.
The expectation of Cologne above, I'll hopefully manage to post photos of the reality later.
The expectation of Cologne above, I'll hopefully manage to post photos of the reality later.
Preparations before leaving
The internship was agreed upon with the company just a couple of weeks before starting the trip. This is surely unnecessary to say but I'd recommend deciding the destination a little bit earlier.
Then you'll have some time to get to know a little bit of the language and culture beforehand. Personally, I find it impossible to learn a language from a book anyways, but I think giving it a try pays off.
I try to keep in mind that something is always better than nothing when it comes to this. I'm not usually a big fan of inspirational quotes but have to agree with something I've seen circling online: Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. The things I feel didn't stick at all while studying might surface when needed the most.
So far I haven't regretted the time and effort put into learning stuff. Well, not often...
Oh, one more thing. I used to think that Duolingo is stupid but I have to say combined with other methods of learning, I think it's actually pretty good. Forces you to mess around with what you're trying to learn.
These are not the only two ways I've messed up this sentence but have since managed to successfully ask for some water.
Finding an apartment
Last but not least some good recourses for apartment hunt in Cologne and Germany in general:
These are pages that I've used for looking for options and comparing prices but I'm sure there are many others. WG-gesucht has been my favorite so far, works well all around Germany.
WG or WOHNGEMEINSCHAFT means a shared house or flat and is a very popular way to live for people of all ages and in different 'stages' of life. So far I've managed to find nice, like-minded people for shorter and longer stays.
It's easy to spend a month studying a map of the subway lines for example but planning is only going to take you so far. After a couple of weeks of preparations, I'm nowhere near ready but can't wait to get going. Things tend to sort themselves out as long as you keep moving.
Besides, what's the worst thing that could happen?
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