Why did you decide to intern abroad with ESAC?
Constanze: When I decided to do an internship during my summer holiday, I first googled some possibilities and wrote an email to all of them. Still I had the feeling that the program ESAC offered, was the most interesting since the homepage looked very friendly and was very well organized. I also read the quotes of former participates which arouse my interest in this program even more. I immediately got a very nice reply from Kristine, who answered all my questions very detailed.
Once I started to get in contact with Kristine, I had the feeling that ESAC was the perfect program for me because it offered everything I was looking for. It provided an experience abroad together with learning about culture and getting to new people by living together with them. The program conveniced me through their personal care and support by Kristine and their offered experience. Furthermore they had a lot of interesting partnerships with companies I wanted to work in. This is why I decided to spend my holiday abroad with ESAC.
What made this intern abroad experience unique and special?
Constanze: First of all that the intership was not in my mother tongue and that I did not speak Czech either. In the beginning I was very curious about how I am going to manage this. It turend out to be a great experience which let me grow personally as well. My intership challenged me in a field I have never been working before. I learned a lot about managing social media, how the working life in a NGO is like as well as working together with people who do not have the same cultural background as I do.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Constanze: Personally, I always loved traveling, meeting new people and getting to know new cultures. The people I met in Prague where amazing and I became really close with several of them. Since I was the only European on the program and all the others where from the US, I also had the chance to learn about the american culture at the same time. In the daily routine I got challenged through people speaking neither English nor German but with my hands and my feed I got myself heard. I met people from all over the world, had interesting discussions with them and got to know new insights.
Professionally I feel now confirmed that I am able to work in a foreign country without getting completely lost. I feel brave enough to apply for a job outside of my home country and to start a life there. I also got to know a new field in which I have never been working in and in which I want to enlarge my skills after this experience. If I had not joined ESAC I would not be as confident as I am now. I applied for a masters abroad and after Prague there was no question if I was going to do it or not - because I knew that I can adapt myself to a completely new environment.
Describe your experience in 3 words.
Constanze: Challenging, exciting, amazing