Experiences You Have On An AIESEC exchange
It's that time of year again folks. Summer season means one thing- exchange and internships. Whether your a newbie heading off on your first AIESEC experience or a seasoned exchange veteran, one thing is for sure- you have no idea what to expect from this experience. Choose to embrace it.
You pack your bag and head off for a summer with an ultimate goal of achieving peace and fulfilment of human's kind potential.... and the occasional party or two.
1- Preparation
Hot country? Cold country? WHAT SHOULD YOU BRING? That moment of panic when you realise you have no idea what you're doing.
2- Arriving in the airport and realising you have no way of contacting your host
No wifi, no signal, no credit. Well this is going to be interesting.
3- Relief when you finally find your airport pick-up
When I arrived on my first exchange in Rio I can't describe the relief of seeing someone standing there with a sign with my name in one hand and a picture of me on there phone in the other. It had begun. Pure excitement.
4-Meeting your host/buddy for the first time
and realising everything is going to be okay...
5-New Cultural Experiences
and having the "that would never happen in my country" moment..
6-Wifi.
And your constant struggle trying to find it. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TELL THE WORLD WHAT YOUR DOING?
7-Getting used to sleeping wherever you can
Sleep is precious and on your exchange you will not care where your bed is or even if it's just a mattress on the floor.
8-Your first day of work.
Figuring out working with children isn't as easy as you thought..
9-Trying to learn a new language..
10- Having the occasional moment of self doubt..
and realising that everything is going to be okay..
11- Ramen noodles become your main food group
It doesn't matter if you're in Europe, South America or Asia. Instant noodles are always your friend.
12-Stopping every few minutes for photos...
snap snap snap.
13-First time you experience cultural shock:
It's always going to happen and it always hits you when you least expect it.
14-Then dealing with it because you're an AIESECer
and lets face it- AIESECer's can deal with anything..
15- Getting lost. All. The. Time.
It's all part of the experience guys..
16-Newbies reaction to seeing roll call's for the first time:
It looks like some kind of high school musical, pre-rehearsed, group dance.
17- Working hard and partying even harder:
When you're not working it's time to do something fun..
18-Realising that you actually can't stay on exchange forever and actually have to go home..
What ? You mean we can't do this for the rest of our lives..
19-However you're still smug about having been a traveller not a tourist for the past 8 weeks..
You're a global citizen now.
20-Although you still have that one day where you take those touristy photo's:
You just can't resist pretending to pinch large monuments from afar..
