(Rant) How does one get experience in the lab, if you are rejected from all internships?

Hello, labrats! I'd like to preface this is a rant and I should be grateful for my current opportunity to even be a grad student in Europe.

For background, I am a molecular biotech master's student (finished my first year), and oh, it does sting...that pesky rejection. Granted, I applied to only 5 internships, because only those were available and did some cold emailing for others, but it was either radio silence or a polite ''no''. I know in comparison to other places, this is nothing, but really, in my country there are virtually no internships - gotta make do with what is available.

I assume it's both me and some current stringent measures in our country, but being affected seems unavoidable. My experience is rather limited, mostly helping out in the lab of my former bachelor's thesis coordinator and doing some in silico things for her aka nothing official. And for extra things, I do have 1 paper and went to various conferences as a student speaker with original research, but maybe these are not that important, who knows... However, as I've said I am grateful that I could do these things.

I guess I should put it on the backburner and focus on my dissertation and scouring for a PhD, though I want more wet lab experience...I am keeping it vague, because it would be easy to identify where I'm from and the people (if y'all are from a certain part of Europe).

Rant over and thank you for listening!

P.S. Parafilm is goated