AIFS Abroad Internships in Rome, Italy

My colleague and I have had the pleasure of accompanying 21 amazing students on a 3 month journey that will most certainly change them for the rest of their lives. Thank you to AIFS for sharing Rome with us and attending to every detail that made this an experience that will live with us eternally. The AIFS Rome center staff were excellent in providing impactful excursions, extra-curricular courses, and ensuring that all of us were well informed and provided for in every part of our journey. I only wish it was a year-long program.

I loved the experiences, culture, staff and safety procedures. My one complaint would be that I was interning for someone in my field so they never had any advice or critiques for me. I think my favorite part was traveling to other places around the area, as well as the food and rich history of the location. The staff was so helpful and kind that they really helped and I’m so thankful. I would say this program helps the resume look better, but I didn’t learn a lot in terms of my field of study.

I met the most amazing friends during this experience, and also got to travel a lot which was top of my list. I personally felt like I had a really good match for my internship and was satisfied. However, I hesitate recommending this program due to the number of girls who were unsatisfied with their internships and were not able to get new ones. The communication in general is not the best, however Lucy Boscan who is the location coordinator for interns in Rome was extremely helpful. She truly cared about helping us even if she didn’t always have the power to make the decisions.

I had such an amazing time being an intern in a foreign country. This big step into independence at the entry stages of adulthood has helped me to understand an international work environment and has allowed me to immerse myself into new opportunities that I am forever thankful for. The people that I have met during my time abroad helped make my experience what it was. Having known none of them coming into the program, it was amazing to see how close we all became after sharing these unique experiences and moments together in Italy.

I really enjoyed my internship, I worked at a refugee center and so it was really interesting hearing all of the stories of the people who came. Furthermore I got to teach English classes and work with the art therapy group. I also greatly enjoyed my hours. I was scheduled to work from 9am-1pm everyday at the center. Ending work so early in the day gave me a vast amount of freedom to explore Rome. Rome itself is also a beautiful city, with stunning architecture and so many Museums. I really enjoyed my international internship.

My internship with Deskmates Archtiects was amazing. My colleagues are all very dedicated to what they do and very passionate and knowledgeable, as well. They were very welcoming with me not only in their studio, but also making me part of the team. They invited me to their site visits in L'aquila and Gavignano. The also had intentionally planned the work that I would be doing, which made me understand the full scope of the work that they do. Lucy from AIFS was very helpful in Rome. She checked in with me a lot to see how I was doing, and was always prepared ti solve any problems. She was also very generous with her time in our organized activities, such as the photography activity, the beach trip to Santa Marinella, etc. I appreciated very much that she made sure to do the photo session with me individually, because i couldnt make it to the one with the whole group! She always had an energetic demeanor and readiness about her. I also appreciated that she would answer the phone when I would call for a problem, even if the problem wasn't too big!
As far as interning abroad goes, I HIGHLY recommend all the future attendees to already have a good and solid knowledge and practice of the Italian language (if they are interning in Italy). I don't mean being able to say "buongiorno" but to be at a solid B1 level. This will be extremely helpful to not feel lonely, out of place, or unaware of what is going on around you. Also in the office, even if your colleagues talk english to you, they will talk italian with each other, and being aware of the conversations around you will make you feel like part of the team and included.
Also, don't expect to have AIFS make you "immersed in the culture". YOU should immerse yourself in the culture. For example, apart from speaking the language, I also tried to do the same things in Rome as I was doing in the city I normally live: I went to boxing lessons and tennis lessons, I went to church and also their weekly meetings, instead of studying in my apartment, i went to the local library, etc, stuff like these. This even helped me create some solid relationships with the people I was doing these activities with! Again, i couldnt have done these things without speaking the laguage (i wasnt super fluent, either, but fluent enough to carry day-to-day conversations with limited vocabulary. Basically, don't just go there to finish your internship, stay un at night partying, and then get out.