by Louis from Indonesia

The last two months (January and February) have been very busy months for me. As my volunteer service is coming to end, I try to use every time productively.

At the end of January I used the rest of my vacation to do an internship at an architectural landscape firm in Bad Oeynhausen, Nagel Landschaftarchitektur & Ingineur. My internship was organized by a close friends of mine. His name is Christian Hohmann and his wife Joy Dela Cruz, during my internship I lived alone in his apartment. The apartment with my internship is approximately 1.6 km away. I always walk, because I like to walk and plus the city of Bad Oeynhausen is very beautiful and neat.

I did my internship for a week. Even it was only for a short time, my internship was an invaluable experience. Being in a place surrounded by architects reminds me a bit of my college days. Close to overtime, coffee, and the non-stop sound of mouse clicks. I met architects who were very sympathetic and very kind. I was working on a house garden project, during the design process I was guided by an architect who is very kind, his name is Caro, I share a lot and receive input from him. Caro also helped me use the software on the computer. Basically I also use the same software in Indonesia, but what I usually use is the “English Version” and it is very different from the “German Version”.

Because the internship time was very short and the weather was not good, I did not have the chance to did site visitation in person. The garden that I designed was just for an exercise and will not be realized. The most important thing for me is the design process and the design discussion with the architect from this firm. Additional lessons that I get is getting to know new software that I have never used before.

Doing practicum while doing volunteer service is a very good opportunity for expanding professional networks, learning new things outside of the volunteers service placements, getting a real picture of working in an architectural firm in Germany, etc. To not be afraid to try new things and to not be lazy to find out are the thoughts that pushed me to do this practicum.