I am Jasper Wierda, and during the summer of 2011 I was an AIESEC intern for AIESEC Delhi University in India. If you ever consider going on internship via AIESEC don’t hesitate anymore, I guarantee you that it will be a life changing experience. Also, I can recommend an internship to India due to my own experience but I guess that any uncommon foreign country will do.
India
The first things to notice when arriving in India were the heat and the humidity (killing), then came the traffic (crazy) and the conditions of the accommodation (not as at home). Be prepared for something different, basic and in the end magnificent.
In the beginning I did not really like Delhi, it was a big (as in BIG) city, never sleeping with too much dirt lying around everywhere. Then in the first weekend I started travelling (luckily I had the opportunity to travel every weekend) and with the travelling I started to fall in love with India. You can visit so many beautiful places and experience so many amazing things. For example, I still remember that day I went on camel safari and slept in the desert. Or the day we had a 30 hour bus ride back from the Himalaya Mountains (in India) since the bus got stuck in the mountains due to heavy rain.
Apart from the places to visit there were the people to meet. Despite of what many travel guides and people told me in advance, people are very nice. They all try to help the Westerns at their best (not always the most efficient way however). Off course you got to get used to Western pricing, regularly double or even 4-double amount of what things should cost. Autoriksja’s for example, charge double to 3-double amounts, but for souvenirs that’s only the starting point. Just keep in mind that it’s all part of the game, and you should have a nice time haggling.
Speaking about time, Indians take their time in everything they do, ranging from a telephone repair of 20 minutes that lasts 2 hours or waiting time in a restaurant that takes at least 30 minutes for only the drinks (if you have managed to order). In traffic however, Indians are the most impatient people I’ve met. They use their horn instead of their flasher to pass, and they’re passing whenever the smallest opportunity exists. This, added to the fact that usually 2 or 3 cars drive on the same lane (meant for one car) makes Indian traffic really an… experience.
Or the metro for example, where everyone enters and exits at the same time. Especially when metro is crowded, this becomes an experience as well.
Also, the Indians love it to learn you Hindi phrases resulting in some very nice interactions with locals. I remember for example the 70-years old guard guarding my neighborhood trying to let me count in Hindi. Soon autoriksja’s stopped to listen and try to teach me more.
Being white makes you a walking tourist attraction yourself, especially in the smaller, non-touristic villages. I really had this when I just visited a temple and an old man made me the Indian dot on the forehead. So don’t get surprised if people (either openly or secretly) try to picture you are keep on staring at you. It’s something Indian you should get used to ass well. My strategy was to give them the pleasure back, so I made a lot of pictures of regular Indians
Furthermore, there is the Indian food. Personally, I loved it and did not found it too spicy. If you are open to try new things (which you should) you’ll have a great journey your first weeks. Then, after a while I felt longing back to meat fish and a decent burger. Indians don’t eat meet (apart from chicken) which makes the country like heaven for veggies.
Project
Concerning my project, I went to India for the Udaan project. This was one of the largest projects of AIESEC Delhi University over there. There were a couple of pre-events at local primary schools, leading to a big main event for probably 2000 children. Just to give them a good time and ‘deliver some smiles’.
Our project involved developing underprivileged children by having six weeks of sessions with them in which we were teaching them English and skills like leadership, teamwork and civic sense. It was the first time AIESEC DU had this project, and we interns were to develop it and make it a success.
While everything in the Netherlands would have been very organized, we started in chaos and ended up in designing the good formats and content. This was quite a challenge, considering the fact that we were working with interns from all over the world too.
During such a project, you meet so many interesting people from all over the world and deal with huge cultural differences. This is one of the best aspects (people) of an internship (via AIESEC) and the main reason why I would recommend you to go.
We were working for four days a week, like a couple of hours each day, so there was plenty of time to experience Delhi with the locals.
AIESEC
And with the locals I refer to the AIESEC people that made my stay in India unforgettable. They took us to those non touristic places worth visiting, showed us those cafes and restaurants that where the so called places to be and organized even some weekend trips for us.
One day I was visiting some part of Delhi with a girl, and we ended up very near their University campus, so we texted them which resulted in a spontaneously and unplanned visit of their University the other day.
Or after having some party, they were taking us by car to visit Delhi by night. We went to awesome places and really felt like locals. Also, one of the local AIESECers was living very near our Intern apartment and spent therefore a lot of time with us. He even gave up some working days or cancelled a meeting.
In the end, I was very glad with AIESEC. In the beginning for example they weren’t there to pick you up at the airport or didn’t even give you a call when you arrived and there were some other minor problems. But they were open to listen to us and using our suggestions to improve which I found great. In the very end they dropped off a lot of interns at the airport because we had become close friends.
Personal impact
Working with children has a great impact on your life. Being a foreigner abroad has a great impact on your life. Meeting people from all over the world has a great impact on your life. In the end I felt that this experience was live changing. I think I really have become a global citizen. Especially the fact that you have to do this all on your own and that you get the chance to experience the other country changes you. Also, working with children out of the slumps, and meeting a lot of different cultures opens up your mind. I had a great time, and I hope I hereby convinced you to go on internship via AIESEC as well. If you have any questions regarding this experience, please feel free to contact me by mail.
Get away, and enhance your life!
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