Architecture Intern at Sustainable Building Firm

With the services provided by ABROADER, I felt it was really helpful how they picked me up from the airport and took me to get my accommodations and phone figured out. It would’ve been extremely difficult to try and figure that entire process out on my own. I don’t think there is anything that ABROADER could’ve done better. They gave me all the support I need to get through my Social Work Internship in Vietnam. My Internship in Vietnam was with the Center for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender – Family – Women and Adolescent (CSAGA), a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the rights of women and children who are vulnerable to violence and discrimination in Vietnam. It was pretty unclear at the beginning what was expected of me, however, I gradually figured out what was needed as the days went on. It was no problem at all. My supervisor was very sweet and so nice to me. She always asked me what I was doing on the weekends, and with my free time, and has offered me advice on different things about Vietnam. I felt that I was given everything I needed to perform my job here at CSAGA. My work seemed to be important to the agency since I did a lot of research for important proposals CSAGA was writing. The host organization had been very helpful and accommodating to anything I needed while here. They always asked if everything was going ok and if there was anything I needed to help make my time here more successful. I don’t think there was anything they could’ve done better.

This internship in Vietnam with SEND offers me just that and I am grateful for the experience to teach, make friends and be in Vietnam. I’ve always wanted to become an educator but I often feel like the teachers in Japan lack the international and cultural experience to make lessons more interactive. I try to allow myself the chance of going to another country, experience another culture and become a better-equipped teacher.

I enjoyed the time in Ho Chi Minh city. The experience was much better than I expected. I came with an open mind to face anything, but everything was smooth and easy. The host organisation is satisfying. They tried their best to help me learn. It was satisfying. I would do this again if I get the chance. The abroader staff was really friendly and they prepared everything for me before I landed in Vietnam. So I did not have to worry about anything. I am satisfied with the program and I would recommend this program 100%.

I was very appreciated and valued at the host school, they were extremely welcoming and friendly. The teachers provided me with plenty of opportunities to interact with different year levels and observe classes. In addition, even though it is not their responsibility to, they were also very keen on showing me Vietnam and making me comfortable, I got to go on a trip to pagodas in Ho Chi Minh where I got to wear ao dai and get to know more about another aspect of Vietnamese life. One inconvenience I had would be that my accommodation was quite far from the school and I was by myself. But overall, this can be improved on and I would recommend the internship program to anyone interested.

No words can represent how much experience I have gained throughout my internship in Vietnam. Working at my host company as a research assistant, I have gained many technical and soft skills, such as participating in lab undergraduate training courses, doing lab testing services and also learning the culture of Vietnam with the Vietnamese people. After this internship, I realized that I could adapt myself to a different and foreign environment. This enables me to be able to work with a more diverse environment, even with colleagues with different background and knowledge. This pushes me as an employee to learn and work even harder to cope and manage with different people and adapt accordingly to the needs of the company. All in all, I feel that it was a breathtaking experience for me to have this opportunity to immerse myself with the Vietnam culture with the Vietnamese people, and I am really thankful to have taken up this internship experience with ABROADER for letting me experience such a new life. The funniest moment I had during my internship experience was that I had to CHASE down a bus when I was on the way to work. It was a really funny one as I have this mindset that the buses in Vietnam would wait for you to board before it starts to drive again. However, the bus did not even stop moving and kept on driving, and left me behind the bus stop. Since that day onwards, I ensure myself not to miss the bus by chasing the bus down before the driver closes its door on me. Thank you ABROADER for this memorable experience!