The value of communication in an internship

I admit the title is big, and this passage may not fulfill the role of extensively evaluate the value of communication in internship in general, but let me just speak from my own experience. In particular, let me start with my internship experience in four companies so far.

All four companies are tech companies, and all are in different fields. For the first three however, I worked in the same geographical location as my other teammates, while for the fourth one, all my teammates are in Massachusetts, and I am the only one in California. This is when I realize the value of communication, as you know the value only when you lose it.

The delay of any communication is huge, sometimes hours. This poses a huge problem in a highly dynamic company culture. Meanwhile, our team is strictly following the agile software development method, with an iteration cycle of two weeks. Even one hour is thus highly valuable. To make things worse, as an intern and a new grad, there are many things for me to learn and familiarize, but I am always hesitated when I encounter a problem. If I can see my team lead or other teammate in person, I could directly ask if they are busy and if they can spare some minutes with me, but now, I need to assume they are busy all the time, so I have to solve all problems with my own hands. Sometimes this is a good practice, but it usually takes several or maybe tens times of efforts than simply asking for help. To make things worse, I can easily spend several hours working on an issue but end up with no result.

Some suggestions for interns and new starters:
-> Try to avoid the situation in which most of your team members are in a different geo location. Different buildings inside the same campus is okay, but different cities can be challenging.
-> If you happen to be separated from your teammates, don't get upset. Learn to adjust your working habits, including your working schedule, ways of communication, and so on. This is especially important for new full-time employees, as you will probably stay inside the company for years ahead, so it is better to get accustomed soon.
-> Working in a different location from your teammates is challenging as well as rewarding. You will be forced to communicate with your co-workers effectively, learn to make your words clear, and care about your tone in writing.