Miriam – Buea, Cameroon

I choose to travel to Buea in Cameroon, to work on HIV/Aids for 7 weeks.

My work in Buea has not been what I expected, but it has been great. I expected to work with other interns and that my internship would be varied. I have worked completely alone mainly teaching in a school. Teaching was very challenging with classes of 50 kids, sometimes over 70. Aiesec told me I would get help from them, as this project was very challenging for one person, but at the end of my internship they had exams and were naturally busy. This has really developed myself in prioritizing and working independently.
The last week I did not have much to do as the teachings were finished. I felt a bit neglected as I still had one more week left and I told Aiesec Buea that they should reconsider having interns in the exam period. I also felt a bit like a guinea pig; this was a new project and there were clearly some things that should have been done differently. I gave several suggestions on how to do it for the next intern.

 

Living in Buea was great, I got many friends, and I felt safe walking around alone in the day. Cameroonians are very social, so I was rarely alone. I lived with a girl from Aiesec, and it was very nice to really get to know the culture. We did not have shower or running water, and I have to say it was a surprise to me at first. I think I adapted well, but it also helped to know it was only for a few weeks. The food was a big challenge as they eat only 2 times a day, and the food is like no other I had tasted before. I am not picky in Norway and can eat anything, but here I struggled, and especially in the beginning I was hungry a lot.
Living this crowded and simple for many months is maybe too long for many. You can always rent a place, but this can be a security issue. Several of my Cameroonians friends got robbed in their houses while I was in Cameroon, and it is even worse for whites as people notice you and assume you have a lot of values in your home.

Some of the challenges:
- Having to pay 4-5 times more than a Cameroonian. I hate to negotiate prices, but it is absolutely necessary in Cameroon. I usually never went alone to buy things other than in the bakery were the prices were fixed.
- A lot of boys asking for your name, number, where you live, etc, when you are standing alone in the street. I never felt unsafe, but it was annoying at times.
- People never showing up at time. I quickly learned who really didn’t show up at time, and who were just a bit late.
- Having to attend Aiesec meetings right after work every Wednesday, they often lasted for 2,5-3 hours. Honestly I thought the meetings were boring, people were noisy and a lot of the meetings consisted of planning events that were going to take place after my departure.
- The Welcome dinner. Aiesec asked for 50 dollars and I discussed and negotiated a long time to make them realize this was a lot of money. I got it down to 30 dollars, but I told them it was still a lot to ask from someone who has used a lot of money to come there.

I will absolutely recommend Cameroon, but I also recommend to ask more questions prior than I did, avoid the exam period (which is in March) and to prepare for completely different food. You also need to pack sunscreen, insect repellent etc, as this is not to be found in Buea.

Nora Seljehammer - Dehli, India

Her kommer en liten rapport fra mitt opphold i Delhi, som AIESEC-intern i Arvicon International. Jeg har allerede vært her i fire måneder, og har under to måneder igjen. Tiden går så fort, og jeg skulle gjerne vært her lenger. Dette er ikke mitt første opphold i India, og det blir mest sannsynlig heller ikke det siste. India er et utrolig spennende og mangfoldig land, som jeg tror man aldri kan bli ferdig med å utforske. Det er også utfordrende å leve et liv så forskjellig fra det man er vant til, men om man er innstilt på at ting ikke kommer til å være som hjemme, vil man trives både på grunn av (og av og til, til tross for) kaoset av biler, mennesker, lukter, farger og mye, mye mer.

Livet i Delhi

På grupper på Facebook kan du også få siste nytt om hvor ting skjer i helgene(og ukedagene), om andre events, ledige internships, ekstrajobber og av og til om turer folk planlegger og ønsker selskap til. Det er et ganske stort expat miljø i Delhi, med folk fra hele verden, så selv om AIESEC Delhi ikke er kjent for å være den mest behjelpelige lokalkomiteen, er du ikke alene. Problemet er som regel kun å finne frem til alt i begynnelsen, men om du har romkamerater og kollegaer går dette som regel bra. Det er mye å gjøre og se i Delhi, men for min egen del har muligheten til å se og gjøre alt jeg ønsket, blitt begrenset av en 6-dagers arbeidsuke. Om man ikke tar seg mye fri er lønnen i selskapet jeg jobber for noe høyere enn for andre internships i Delhi, men verdien av en ordentlig helg med gode opplevelser kan ikke alltid måles i penger. Dette må ikke misforstås; de er som regel ganske greie med å gi fri til kortere og lengre turer. Det er fullt mulig å nå Agra for Taj Mahal for en dagstur, eller evt. med en overnatting. Rajastan med fargerikt håndverk, fort og templer i sandstein og kamelsafari, kan nås med nattog, og krever noe mertid. Det er også populert å reise nordover mot fjellene, særlig i de varme sommermånedene. I desember er det varme Goa som er populært for strand, fest og hippieliv. Det blir nemlig veldig kaldt i Delhi for en periode om vinteren, så skal du være her i desember/januar anbefaler jeg at du tar med deg varme klær, og sørger for å ha gode tepper om natten. Når det gjelder språk, kommer man langt med engelsk, og skilt er som regel skrevet på både engelsk og hindi. Der det skorter med engelsk kan man møte motparten på halvveien ved å lære seg noen fraser på hindi. De fleste kan i det minste nok til å kunne forhandle med rickshaw-sjåfører.

Mitt intership, så langt

Da jeg kom første dagen, ble jeg godt tatt i mot og alle var veldig hyggelige. Jeg fikk tildelt en laptop første dagen, og e-post og skype-konto for å kunne kommunisere med klienter etter noen dager. Det var lite annet å gjøre de første dagene, annet enn å lese Trainee-guiden opptil flere ganger, så man kan si at man får en ganske myk start. Etter hvert som jeg fikk bestillinger som jeg måtte følge opp, lærte jeg også mer om eksport-delen av det å selge produkter til utlandet. Dette synes jeg har vært interessant. Når det gjelder selve jobben du gjør, blir den ganske rutine etter et par måneder, men om du liker markedsføring og oppsøkende salg vil du ha uendelige muligheter. I mer stille perioder brukes tiden nettopp til å jobbe med presentasjoner av våre produkter, og å henvende seg til potensielle klienter. Vil du oppnå noe, må du jobbe for å få det slik. Og strengt tatt er jo dette en del av hva jeg kom hit for. Jeg ville lære indisk kultur og organisasjonskultur å kjenne, og et mellomstort(i norsk standard) selskap som Arvicon er nok et perfekt sted for å gjøre nettopp det, fremfor et stort selskap hvor det er viktigere å holde internasjonale standarder. Her jobber du og blir kjent med både indere og andre interns fra hele verden, og du vil lære mye om de andres kultur og levesett. Uten at jeg vet så mye mer om andres internships, tror jeg den sosiale organisasjonskulturen i Arvicon kanskje skiller seg noe ut, fordi vi jobber ganske tett på hverandre. Dette synes jeg er verdifullt, og gjør at jeg vil anbefale dette internshipet til alle som ønsker å bli kjent med India på denne måten.

Marie Feldmann - Mathare, Kenya

Kenya 2011/2012

I chose an internship in Kenya. On December 14th 2011 I arrived in Nairobi. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the air - there was a blast of warm wind off miles of savannah. When I got to the arrival hall I saw some AISECers waiting for me. They welcomed me with open arms and I felt comfortable from the first second. Afterwards I was brought to the house of my host family, which I had chosen to stay with. At the beginning I was wondering why there are so many people in this house, but I got to know that this is really normal for Kenyan families. All family members were really merciful and kind.

On the next day my buddy and I went to town in order to get an overview about the place I would stay in for the next two month. I tried to keep in mind everything she said, but it was a little bit overwhelming - all these new impressions: 40 degrees in the shadow, dust everywhere you looked, many people who touched me because of my white skin colour and loud music from the radios of matatus.

It was December and I was used to have snow; that’s why I couldn’t get into Christmas spirit although they celebrate Christmas like Europeans. We had a really nice BBQ called “Nyama choma“ on Christmas eve with all the family members. It was great to see how they celebrate it.

After Christmas time there were still Christmas holidays in Kenya, so I couldn`t start my work at school. Thus we booked a trip to the coast of the country with all the other AIESECers. It was a great experience to see another part of the country which is totally different from the part I got to know some days before – geography, as well as Kenyan people.

We spent New Years Eve there, and after coming back I began to work at the school. I got an internship at MUMO School in Mathare. The first day going to the slum was totally new for me. I was shocked about the way people have to live there. When I arrived at school I looked furtively into the classroom. At the first moment I was so stunned and my eyes were filled with tears. But then I braced myself and went in. All these small brown eyes just starred at me. The children silenced and waited for me to tell them who I am. Of course I introduced myself but nothing changed, they looked shocked. So I started playing games and singing songs together with them in order to put them into a good mood. And of course they began to scratch off the “white colour“ from my skin and opened my braid to get to know me, the stranger from Norway looking so different.

Everyday when I went to school I had to teach most of them. They were 40 pupils so I started just to separate them into age classes and then I gave tastes to every group. At the beginning it was very challenging to teach so many children at the same time in only one room but I got used to it and it became more fun from day to day.

To put it in a nutshell I can say that I really enjoyed this trip. I learnt a lot from getting to know many new different people, to speaking Kiswahili and traveling around the Kenya. I also had to realize that all these assumed problems we have, are not real problems. This stay in Kenya definitely shaped my view on things. Therefore I can just advise everybody to use this opportunity and go abroad for an internship!