Exchange Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Program Name: Youth Empowerment Program 2.0

             
Internship Duration: 6 weeks

 

 

A typical day on your internship:

 

Our task was to facilitate sessions for university students on topics like presentation and communication skills, teamwork and leadership, and preparing for the workforce. Most of the work related to our project was to do with preparing these sessions.

 

Work Days:

08:00-08:30am: Wake up, prepare for the day, eat breakfast

09:00-12:00am: Meet up with my group to prepare materials for our sessions

12:00-13:00pm: Go to local shops/restaurants for lunch

14:00-18:00pm: Continue preparing session material and practice presenting

18:00-19:00pm: Eat dinner at a local shop/restaurant

19:00pm onwards: Grocery shopping, free time, or continue preparing sessions and then sleep

 

Non-Work Days:

- Included travelling, shopping, visiting cultural locations, beaches and other tourist destinations

- Highlights included riding on an elephant, relaxing by the beach, climbing Sri Pada (the tallest point of Sri Lanka!), going on a 6 hour safari, visiting temples and ancient ruins, snorkelling at Hikkaduwa Beach (the second nicest reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef!), and swimming with sea turtles.

 

 

 

What did you enjoy most about your exchange?

 

I enjoyed challenging myself to embrace a new culture and lifestyle. Being completely out of my comfort zone was both terrifying and exhilarating. To be alone and not knowing anyone at first but having to depend on my own abilities to make friends and adapt to the new environment really bolstered my self-confidence and encouraged me to continue challenging myself.

 

I also really enjoyed the feeling of being able to experience something new every day. It was an exciting adventure every step of the way, and I went through the whole cliché journey of ‘finding myself’ as I realised a lot of things about what I like and what kind of person I am.

 

My exchange would also have not been the same without the fantastic memories and friends I made along the way! All the wonderful people hailing from Hong Kong, China, Kazakhstan, Poland, Brazil, Denmark, Bahrain, Russia, (and Sri Lanka of course!) have made my experiences rich and full of life and beauty. Another shoutout to Sri Lankan food, for helping being so delicious that it helped me get gain a tolerance for spicyness!

 

 

 

Any words of advice for future exchange participants?

 

I would encourage everyone who is interested to really push themselves and do the same – try something different every day and see how far you can go! Expect cultural and environmental differences and try to stay open-minded – this will help you adjust to culture shock more easily, and will help you enjoy your experience more. Remember that this is only for six weeks – your time is limited, so make the most of this amazing opportunity and enjoy!