A German Intern in Bristol
On 6th November I arrived at Heathrow with a group of 17 fellow students from northern Germany. We were looking forward to our three-week professional internship programme in Bristol.
What’s my host family going to be like? Which company will take me in? What do they expect of me? And most importantly: will my English skills be good enough? These were the questions running through my head. But by the time we arrived in Bristol, all those worries had nearly vanished.
My host family, where I would be staying with my friend Lea, were very kind and loveable.
But I’m saving the best for last! My work placement had been changed at the last minute so I was deeply surprised when I opened the envelope with the details in it. It said Shooting Star, so I started googling and was thrilled by what I found! A small PR and marketing agency located next to Cabot Circus (a big shopping mall in the city centre) – that was a dream come true! You see, I’m studying events management in Germany so it was a bit like hitting the jackpot!
On my first day of work I was amazed by the massive building called Castlemead where the office of Shooting Star is located. While I was waiting for Sarah-Jane to pick me up from reception, the fire alarm went off. I was kind of shocked but then I was told it was a typical test at 10am on every Tuesday. I’ll be honest though, I never got used to the wails of that fire alarm in the three weeks I was there.
As I entered the office for the first time, I immediately felt like I belonged there. From the get go, Sarah-Jane gave me the feeling that I was a part of the team. She briefed me quickly about Shooting Star’s work, showed me my desk for the next three weeks and explained to me the tasks she was expecting of me.
These past three weeks, I have attended quite a few networking events, supported Sarah-Jane on different projects, been busy with media monitoring and analysis for clients, and even visited the Introbiz business exhibition in Cardiff.
During my days off, I have visited lots of places in Bristol, Bath and even London. I had lots of places I wanted to visit and experience: different sightseeing spots, the German Christmas market here in Bristol, and a few pubs and clubs.
Unfortunately, time flies but memories last forever. For me doing the internship as a PR assistant in Bristol was exciting and so worthwhile. I have gathered lots of new impressions and have discovered different sides to PR and marketing.
Thanks to Sarah-Jane and the team for giving me the opportunity to do the internship at Shooting Star!
Last but not least: my top five things I’ll always remember about living and working in Bristol:
1. If you want to take the bus you must hail it; otherwise it will just drive by. It happened to me the first time, but I learnt quickly!
2. Every day is a summer’s day! Considering the outfits of the Brits you might think it was 30 degrees outside. Most of them are still wearing shorts and shirts while I’m standing next to them wrapped up in my coat, scarf and woolly hat.
3. The air conditioner seems to be on everywhere – especially in big buildings (e.g. Castlemead) and even in clubs which forced me to dance even harder to warm myself up.
4. The streets here in Bristol are very steep. My calves look more muscular than before.
5. Never trust the Bristol buses. They are always running late. A normal 20-minute journey could easily last an hour because traffic is so bad.
Anyway, bye Bristol! Maybe we will see each other soon! JS
