5 months of pure happiness and high speed of continuous experiences just to not miss anything important! The funny thing that I've learned in these past months about living abroad is that there is just a limited time to do everything so everyone, including you, is trying not to waste a minute of it. Every day you try to take advantage of the hours, minutes, seconds as well as you possibly can. Every weekend you go around visiting new places and end up spending the whole weekend kind of "running around" feeling super active. Sleeping on the sofa the whole day and watching movies isn't an option, don't get me wrong it happens sometimes(especially after the Saturday nights in El Centro:), but after; the guilt of doing nothing that hunts you down cause the number of days is decreasing, you think twice the next time when the sofa calls you.
And it brakes your heart!</3
5 months gone in the wind..and now what?
Who knows... tears, goodbyes and a new beginning again I guess.
and it truly felt like one!
No words will ever be enough to sum up these past five months, but here it goes....
As a city Washington DC was the perfect choice! Center of business and capital of the USA so enormous opportunities everywhere. Everything you could imagine just there, waiting for you and ready to take you into the ride. Easy access, multiple choices, free cultural possibilities, active nightlife, diplomatic environment and internationally populated. What else could you hope from a home. They told me that DC is the most European city in the US and I think that's also one fact why I really felt like home there. Definitely going back some day, even if it would be just for the cheap sushi...who knows;)
When it comes to my internship I worked as an assistant in the Administrative Affairs department of the Embassy of Finland for these 5 months. This internship is included in my studies (mandatory for us to be able to graduate) and I had the opportunity to choose to either complete this internship in Finland or go abroad. One word: Abroad;) I applied for this specific internship to be able to see and understand what my future degree might be like. The opportunity provided/obliged by the school to get an idea of the future job before actually applying for one is in my opinion extremely beneficial for the students.
My internship at the Embassy was an opportunity that I could only imagine of! I gained a priceless combination of working experience and international knowledge. I learned a lot about the whole functionality of the Embassy as well as the daily duties concerning my position. It's rewarding to be able to work among things that you have been taught at school and really realize that the education you have, equals the needs of the organization. I noticed that the work in my field contains an indefinite range of duties depending of the day. Honestly speaking this really fits be, cause I kind of get bored easily:P Sitting behind the computer 8 hours a day can be depressing if the work doesn't keep you on the move and awake:D Adaptation becomes extremely important and common sense highly appreciated:D Also working under pressure is part of the every day life. The level of stress can be extreme from time to time and therefore the importance between the working life and the free-time becomes crucial!
I think that this work experience at the Embassy really taught me a lot and also grew me as a person. Of course I also consider this extremely beneficial when it comes to my future. To my mind the Embassy was the perfect choice to really see what my future job could be like. I enjoyed my time at the Embassy and especially was blessed to be part of the amazing crew that they have in Washington DC. Keep up the spirit you guys!
And here comes the hardest part....;(
Without a doubt the thing that I will miss the most about DC is going to be the International Student House. The place I called HOME for these past 5 months. 90 residents from 46 different countries, a house like the castle of Harry Potter, three buildings with 5 floors (main building, 4th floor<33) , a gym 3 minutes a way from my room, a kitchen with own cooks making omelets, movie nights in the TV room, barbeques in the garden, parties in the Great Hall, meetings in the lobby (from which I was always late I know!), pre-drinkings in Marpat continued by the numerous parties that are worth to remember, music moments and the marvelous dinners together ect. etc. etc. I told you.... it's impossible to put all the adventures into words;)
But the home itself is nothing without the people ...
The family you grew to love so much that leaving them behind really brakes your heart.
It comes with the travelling I know, but it's like... in this house you truly share everything! In America the residents are know for sharing the rooms with another person which obviously means that you share things like your privacy, silence and freedom! Living alone is not an option in this house. And yes, of course, I was horrified in the beginning to know that I have to share my room with someone 24/7. I was sure I will become crazy! But you know... it's funny how the thing that is the scariest in the beginning actually becomes the fact that you start to depend on. Suddenly living without these people feels like your all alone and it's too quiet without the daily dose of reggaeton, latinos, spaniards and italians around you, you know:D The only thing you hear are your own thoughts and that is scary my friends... The first day back home was like being brought to a mental hospital and locked into this kind of isolated room where there are only you and the walls...:/ A sudden change like this takes time to adapt back to the normality.
All I can say is that I'm blessed to have spent this time with these amazing people, with sparkling personalities and even more blessed to be able to call them my friends for life. The things that I learned about them and their countries will forever stay in my heart and I want to thank everyone for being so generous of sharing their life in our loong discussions together<3 These interesting conversations are in my opinion exactly the point of an international house and my friends, we took everything we could from it! I know for sure that even if it might take years; we will see each other again. The sad thing is that this time the goodbyes were not as easy as "See you soon my love, thank god we have Ryanair right?"since not everyone lives anywhere near to me and I am talking about different parts of the world here;( But anyway I'm gonna make sure that it happens someday!
Forever grateful for everything and just happy to have these people in my life<3
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