Week 8 - Wrapping Up and One Last Dive
The Final Week
Soo, it’s already the last week.
Time here has been so enjoyable that I even started considering the possibility of moving here someday. But I also understand that this is probably just the classic "rose-tinted glasses" effect. Everything feels exciting when it’s new, and that can definitely influence your judgement.
Still, before heading back, there was some work left to wrap up.
My final project was to optimize and improve the company website.
Overall, the website already had a solid structure, but I tried to approach it from a user’s perspective. The first issue was that the homepage contained too much information presented in large blocks of text. Combined with the lack of submenus in the navigation bar, it made it difficult for visitors to quickly find the information they were actually looking for.
Accessibility and performance were also major concerns. The homepage background used a large interactive 3D model, which significantly increased loading times. After reviewing the code, I reduced the particle count by roughly ten times. Surprisingly, the visual difference was minimal while performance improved dramatically. Not every website needs a heavy AI-generated futuristic background to look modern.
Final Meetings and Last Tasks
On Tuesday, I had my final meeting with the internship agency.
The meeting was mainly about signing important documents such as the Europass certificate and the Learning Agreement. We also discussed my overall internship experience and whether everything had gone smoothly.
I can honestly say they organized everything very well, and I had a fantastic experience here.
Before my final day on Thursday, I focused entirely on website optimization.
I improved the loading process by prioritizing essential content and delaying non-critical visual effects. Heavy 3D backgrounds and animations were lazy-loaded and adjusted for mobile devices to reduce resource consumption.
I also improved important performance metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) by ensuring that the main hero content renders immediately instead of waiting for JavaScript animations to finish.
As a result, Lighthouse performance scores improved significantly, and the overall user experience became much faster and smoother.
There are still a few things left to do in the future, including installing an anti-spam filter for the mail server and implementing a reduced-motion accessibility mode. I documented all remaining tasks in Trello so my coworkers can continue from there.
With that, my work here was officially finished.
One Last Adventure
But before heading back to Berlin, there was still one thing left on my list.
Snorkeling.
Thankfully, Friday turned out to be the perfect day for it. The weather was warm, sunny, and most importantly, there was almost no wind.
So I drove to Plage de Peyrefite, one of the most famous snorkeling spots in the region. Located within the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve, the beach is known for its exceptionally clear water and rocky seabed. Unlike sandy beaches, the rocky bottom allows for much better visibility and creates an ideal habitat for fish, sea urchins, and many other marine species.
According to local guides, if you're lucky, you might even spot an octopus hiding among the rocks.
Short stop to enjoy the view on the way. Look at that horizon.
Snorkeling in Peyrefite
When I arrived, I immediately understood why this place is so popular.
I had already tested my snorkeling gear in lakes and at several other beaches during the past weeks, but this was by far the best spot I had visited. The water was crystal clear, and there were plenty of people snorkeling, kayaking, and exploring the coastline.
The rocky seabed was full of marine life. Small fish were swimming everywhere, and every time I looked between the rocks, I expected to discover something new. Unfortunately, no octopus appeared that day, but the underwater scenery alone made the trip worthwhile.
There were also many families and beginners enjoying the area because the water is generally calm and easy to access. It felt like the perfect place to spend the final day of my Erasmus adventure.
Swimming among the rocks and watching fish move through the underwater landscape felt like the perfect way to end this journey.
I like to be under the sea
Thank You, South France
Looking back, these two months have been far more than just an internship.
I learned new technologies, worked on exciting projects, improved my frontend development skills, discovered new sports, explored countless places, met amazing people, and experienced a completely different way of life.
From swimming in the Mediterranean and learning to windsurf, to volunteering at local events, tasting wine at vineyards, exploring castles, visiting Barcelona, and building AI-powered web applications — every week brought something new.
And while I'm looking forward to returning to Berlin, a small part of me will definitely stay here by the Mediterranean.
Thank you for the perfect ending to this internship trip.