Experience: Gabriela Gutierrez, Tunisia

This summer I had the chance to go on an global development internship with AIESEC Tilburg to Tunisia. It would take too much time for me to narrate my complete experience as a EP, all I want to say is that it was a great experience not only in a academic, social and cultural way, but it was also a journey to meet myself as an individual. I arrived to Tunisia knowing about this country what I had read before from books, news paper and magazines, hence I had a westernized and very idealized view about this country’s culture an conflicts. In no sense was I completely ignorant about the situation of the country, however experience it myself gave me a complete different perspective. 

More than focusing on everything I lived there: as an incredible ASIESEC staff, EPs, coworkers and children, a welcoming culture, the chance to live with a Muslim family, experience Ramadan, exploring the country, etc, I will like to emphasize on everything I gained from my internship. After being back in the NL more than a month I have realized that this experience made of me a much more sociable being, interested not only in my self-interests but in the community’s interests. This internship made me realize that working hard and being always ready to contribute for a change, does make a difference, maybe this doesn’t bring an immediate and positive reward however it is always possible to make a change when you try hard enough. 

Of course it would be unfair to say that everything for my internship was easy, I had to face different challenges like cultural clashes with the others EP, moral dilemmas, language barriers, etc. I have to accept that sometimes I had to fight against my own rationality or morality to get to understand others people’s view, however, it was this process of suppressing my immediate reactions or prejudices, that gave me the ability to fully emerge in the Tunisian culture, and to create really strong bonds with the people I got to work with.

Before leaving to Tunisia, I had a conference planed by AIESEC the Netherlands, in which all the EPs where supposed to write their expectations about their internship. In that letter, I wrote I had to leave my prejudices a side to enjoy what the Tunisian culture has to offer me. Now that Im back, I am glad I took the time before going to set this as my main motto throughout my experience, since it was this mentality that gave me the strength to enjoy my experience to the maximum.

After going to Tunisia, I can only say that I can’t wait to go on a second internship with AIESEC. Once you start opening yourself to new experiences is hard to stop, I can wait to explore the world, while working for a greater good (social development internship).