These are the true stories of what our internship participants have experienced abroad!

Arizona State AIESECer Heather Walicki spent Summer 2010 on an amazing internship in Poland. She worked at an arts foundation teaching adults English and Spanish. She loved teaching her students as well as learning some basic Polish from them. (They even gave her a test!)

Heather’s favorite part of her internship was the time she spent immersed in the local culture. A major perk of her job at the foundation was going on field trips to villages, concerts, and arts fairs. Outside of work, she lived in a dorm near the foundation where she made friends with Polish university students. Heather also had a blast meeting and hanging out with other interns from a variety of countries.

Her time in Poland wasn’t without its challenges, though. Heather traveled to Poland directly after spending a semester abroad in Spain, which amounted to a lot of time spent away from her family and friends back home. During her time in Poland, she even lived through a flood! But despite any difficulties, Heather had an incredible summer experiencing the language and culture of Poland, and she will fondly remember all of the wonderful people she met there.

 Eryn Spence from AIESEC Arizona spent an exciting 12 weeks in Beijing, China this summer. She worked on an Educational Traineeship, teaching English to a wide range of people at a private tutoring center.  Eryn lived in a room connected to the building where she taught, accompanied by an Austrian roommate, and American roommate and a couple of the native Chinese teachers .
Eryn enjoyed experiencing the different culture in China and was amused by new habits. However, Eryn’s favorite part about her trip was becoming aware of how finite our time on earth is and gaining a different outlook on life. She also realized during her internship that if she enters the teaching field later, she wants to teach older students as opposed to teaching younger children. Overall, Eryn Spence had a wonderful trip to Beijing and an awesome new AIESEC experience!

This is Courtney Snyder, the Vice President of Talent Management 2010, in front of a children’s daycare where she volunteered for the day during her time in Turkey.

Courtney’s internship took place in Bursa, Turkey, about 4 hours southwest of Istanbul. She spent 7 weeks In Bursa, presenting in English language classes about American culture and practicing English with high school and adult students. As English is becoming more of a requirement for jobs in Turkey, this was a great asset to the students who are taught grammar but rarely have the opportunity to practice. Courtney was hosted by AIESEC in Turkey and lived with interns who hailed from all over the globe, including Morocco, Tunisia, Greece, Poland, China and the Ukraine. She enjoyed spending her free time with this diverse group of people! Together, they traveled to the Black Sea, Ankara and Kapadokya, and explored underground cities and the Göreme Open-Air Museum.

Courtney really enjoyed speaking with the local people, who she says are extremely proud of their “distinctly Turkish” culture. Although they embrace Western culture (especially music), they retain a deep appreciation for classic Turkish music, called turku.  One of her favorite memories of her time in Bursa was when someone began singing a turku on the bottom level of the multi-level apartment building where she was staying and people from other levels joined in!

Courtney plans to return to Turkey in the future and looks forward to exploring the Western area of the country!