Austin, Texas, USA
"I have made the best friends in Austin during my traineeship. People whom I care for tremendously and who have had and will have an impact on my life for a very long time… Of course it may not matter where I am; I could be in Malaysia leading a great life and making similar friends… But no matter what path we stumble on in life, I am deeply thankful to have met the people I have met here. My colleague once asked me why I came to the United States only to leave everything familiar behind…all my friends and family… I have never thought of it that way before. I long for new things, new places, new people – there are too many things in life to learn about and too much to see and hear and experience. This traineeship is a great starting point to other more exciting adventures life has to offer. I don’t see why we have to limit ourselves and place boundaries when we don’t have to.
Other than that, I shall not dwell too much on the more tangible aspects of the traineeship like creating networks, cultural awareness, gaining international experience and different perspectives, building confidence and increasing independence, personal development, marketability, etc. Important as they are especially in terms of my future endeavors and career, the thing that strikes me most as important are the relationships that I have formed along the way."
Wendy Chiew , Malaysia
"As my undergraduate studies came to the end, I had doubts whether to start working in Germany or to go abroad. I was interested in doing something challenging. To say it up front, I am happy that I chose to do a traineeship abroad. Actually I am still overwhelmed by this experience.
For me, it was important to have work experience in another country. Through interaction with others you will understand their culture and way of thinking. In my opinion this is the only way to really experience a country.
I still ask myself, why things are like the way they are? For example why are people more friendly, why do they have so many guns and how do they organize their daily schedule so that they have so many meetings at work, specifically at Motorola, where I did my traineeship? This helped me to understand the country and culture. I learnt a lot about Texas and the USA. At the same time I saw my own country in a different way. I can honestly say that I am more open-minded than I was before.
I am more open-minded and critical at the same time. I look forward to going abroad again to discover new horizons."
Reiner Pfeifferling , Germany
"The coolest thing about working abroad is that you are completely out of your comfort zone. And that's when your survival instincts will help you do things that you thought you could never have done. You will learn a language in a matter of months, you will speak to people you thought you had nothing in common with, you will face life's small challenges and you will come out as a better person.
In my case, the first two months were very exciting: I would go to bed realizing that all my views (on people, different nationalities, etc.) were false so I would learn my lesson but then next day, I would be confused again. I had already visited the States before but I had never gotten into its culture so deeply.
I was confused but I was not alone. I was taking care of, by the wonderful Aiesec team. The people in AIESEC will take it as their job to help you discover all the little facts that make life in a foreign country different. And meanwhile, they want to have fun too! The multi-cultural parties they put together are some of the funniest ones I have been to. As long as you keep an open mind, chances are low that you would regret your experience."
Marcos Sanz, France
"It all started on January 15th 2000 when I was standing in Copenhagen Airport finally realizing that I was going away and that I was going to be away from my friends and family for nine months. It is really an experience to suddenly have to begin a new life far away from home and to meet new friends.
My work experience haven’t been that great, but I can tell that Aiesec did all they could to help me, and even though I was disappointed in the work that I had to do I learned a lot. And I realized that everything is a learning experience, no matter what you have to do.
I had so many new experiences. I tried water skiing, jet skiing, tubing, shrimp fishing and so much more and I also got the opportunity to travel to different places in the United States. I came home nine months after with a heavy bag full of new experiences, new friends and a different look upon my life.
I have learned that you should never judge something or someone you don’t know and that all people are the same. It was really interesting to live in a different culture from your own and I think it is something that everybody should try if they have the opportunity.
My best friend from Austin already has been to Copenhagen twice to visit me and my roommate has stopped by once. The best is that six of us (from our Austin group) met up in Copenhagen for New Year’s Eve and that we already have plans that we are going to meet again somewhere in Europe this summer.
With an Aiesec traineeship you not only get a great learning experience, a bunch of new friends, but you also learn a lot about yourself."
Lene Styner, Denmark
"All the people in the world have some things in common but every culture has something what the others don’t and as soon as we realize what those differences are, we will be able to understand why the world is not the same everywhere.
The desire to find something real – to connect with something or someone, escape from the tedious lifestyle – is what drives thousands of young people to travel with the adventure on their minds. Travel is the search for experience, the quest for something different, the way to discover how the world works.
Doing a traineeship through Aiesec is a great way to try what it is like to live in a different country for a while and see the reality and regular life through the eyes of its citizens but also through the eyes of foreigner at the same time.
My traineeship in United States is a great chance to improve my English, work in a different environment, make many new friends and of course to travel and see the places that I saw only on the pictures, TV or in the movies.
It is also a great chance for me to learn and get some experience for my future job and to practically use the knowledge I got during my studies. It is definitely a chance how to meet many new friends from different countries with various backgrounds but with a similar way of thinking.
A traineeship is one of the best ways to get connected and learn to think global."
Jirka Vondra, Czech Republic
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