A whole new experience

When I came to Archipelagos I was expecting nothing specific. In the end, it became one of the best experiences in my life so far. I was planning to collect the data for my master thesis at Archi, so I had a fixed project before I arrived. I would recommend everyone to have at least an idea about what you want to do before you arrive. In Archipelagos, a lot of interns from all over the world come together and everyone has their own little project. That means that you have to work on your project independent and you have to do your work- no one will come and do your work for you or give you ideas! Of course, when you need help or need a supervisor you get the help, either by a supervisor or by one of the interns. I can imagine that for people who never worked independently before it could be hard in the beginning. But it is a great exercise for your job in the future.
Besides working, you also have the living. I have to admit that in the beginning, I was a little surprised. First of all, you have no privacy. I got used to that pretty quick and after a month I loved the fact that there are always people around me.
The interns and supervisors are amazing. They became my family! You spend every day with them and on the weekends you rent a car to see the island or go to the beach together. Another thing you need to get used to is the fact that you do not live in a hotel. There is no Luxus and things get broken when so many people live together. But they always try to do their best to fix it as soon as possible. Due to the fact that so many people work on so many projects sometimes, it gets a little chaotic but I think that's normal.
In the end, my conclusion about my stay is that for me it was one of the best experiences so far. I met amazing people and learned so many things about the sea, marine mammals and conservation. I would recommend it to everyone who I capable to work independently and who wants to meet amazing people!