a term of tea and crumpets
A reflection of my first (and definitely not last) internship abroad.
Over the summer, I travelled to Cambridge, UK and completed my first ever coop term abroad. To say that this experience felt like a dream would be an understatement. Not only was the work experience invaluable, but I made many lifelong friends from all over the world!
❤️ oh how I love Cambridge
The city of Cambridge itself is beautiful. Every street, every alleyway has so many historic buildings (many of them much older than Canada!). There is so much I could say about what I will miss most about Cambridge. The friendly students walking about, the decorated alleyways, the cobblestone sidewalks, the plethora of gelato shops, the list goes on.
🤯 british culture shock moments
I think probably the most shocking thing about British culture is how much they love talking about the weather. I remember when I asked my co-workers about it they just laughed because to them it was such a normal part of the small talk culture here.
I knew when I came here that I would experience the quintessential “British rain,” but what I didn’t expect was how unstable the weather was. It felt like at any given moment it could go from sunshine to rainstorm within seconds. At first I’ll admit it took getting used to and I was often frustrated because I would leave my flat without an umbrella thinking that there was no chance of rain since that’s what my weather app told me. Then it would suddently rain so hard that my umbrella wouldn’t be able to handle the stress put onto it so I would end up soaked. Each rainfall would come in such short bursts that by the time I found somewhere to hide the rain out, it would stop. Imagine my shock when I found out Cambridgeshire is the dryest county in the UK🤯.
Over time, I started to embrace the rain and started to apply an “it is what it is” mentality. I think I just accepted there was nothing I could change about the weather here so I may as well enjoy it rather than spending every other day frustrated because of the rain. Actually, I started to find the rain quite beautiful. One of the most beautiful natural phenomenons I have ever experienced was on my walk home from work one day and it started pouring rain while the sun was out and not a single cloud in sight.
👩🏻💼 company culture things
The first thing I noticed about Gearset was how great the company culture was. I would say most employees’ relationships with one another surpassed strictly professional and into friendship. The company itself does a great job encouraging social gatherings by planning and hosting get-togethers every once in awhile. During my term, we had two major social outings: a mini-golfing tournament and pub trip for the interns, as well as the Gearset company-wide summer party.
The planned social outings weren’t the only times I felt a strong sense of community within the company. I felt this sense of community in the day-to-day interactions like having so many (maybe a little too many) Slack channels dedicated to socializing on different topics such as music taste, movies/tv shows, pets, parenting, baking/cooking, travel, photography, arts and crafts, and of course, the weather. Every morning, it is quite routine for all of engineering and product to head to the kitchen to grab a cup of tea and catch up on what we’ve been up to outside of work.
📈 what I learned from working at a scale-up
One thing I’ve learned at Gearset that was unlike any other internship I have done before was the value of “delivery over deliberation.” Almost immediately after joining Gearset I noticed that their company values were quite unlike any I have seen before. Some values, like “we achieve more together” and “embrace discomfort,” were quite similar to my personal values. However, the value that I did not quite understand was “delivery over deliberation.”
We have a bias towards action. Deliver good now, rather than perfect later.
We focus on delivering the right things which add the most value for our users. We’re pragmatic, and know it’s better to release a good solution today and iterate out in the open by gathering and building on feedback, rather than hold things back until they’re perfect.
I’ll admit my initial thoughts were “why would we publish something that isn’t perfect?” and “what’s the point of pushing something out earlier if it’ll just be changed later?.” However, after many discussions with my design mentors and product managers, I’ve learned that in the case where users are expressing frustration on a particular feature, we may as well push out a better (not perfect) feature update than drag out the design process and risk losing users in the meantime. If our users see regular updates, they would also be more willing to bear with us under the expectation that another update will be soon coming.
🥰 my favourite memory
I still remember the time I first met my good friend Sarah. It was the day after I landed, still jet lagged, I wondered around town when I stumbled upon a church that immediately welcomed me in. They invited me to a picnic, and while I was standing there frantically trying to make small talk, I was approached by a girl with the most radiating joy I have ever encountered. The first thing she said to me was “I love your outfit,” and immediately I knew we would be best of friends.
Through Sarah, it was like a ripple effect; I met so many of Sarah’s friends, each one accepting me into their friend circles and showing me around Cambridge. I got to visit Sarah’s hometown, Oxford, and join her and her friends on many excursions around town.
One thing I’ve learned about myself is that when abroad, I make close friends fast because I know how limited my time is with them. I never thought I would be one to embark on a day trip with someone I had only met the day before. To be honest, I have never really been one for spontaneity. Through this experience, I think I have definitely broken out of my comfort zone. My most core memories over the three months have all been those last minute “let’s have an adventure” type of memories. From dancing through rainstorms, to late-night punting, to sneaking into pretty university buildings, this summer was one I will never forget
💭 final thoughts
Doing a term abroad in the UK was probably the scariest and yet most rewarding risk I have ever taken. When I first arrived in the UK, I was terrified because my first time travelling solo was moving thousands of kilometres away from home for three months. However, not only did I gain valuable experience working in a foreign country, I also made many friends from all over the world. Given the opportunity, I would do it all again.