Communications Intern at NGO Supporting Street Children

My internship has been a very fruitful journey, and I have learnt many things from my colleagues at NashTech Hanoi. Many of my skills have improved considerably, especially my communication skills. The working environment in Hanoi is very different from my experience in Singapore, and it has been a breath of fresh air for me. The staff and local buddies at ABROADER have also been immensely helpful! They always go the extra mile for us, and my time in Hanoi would have been very different if not for them, thank you very much!

For the past 5 months, ABROADER has helped ensure that everything is smooth-sailing for the duration of my internship. From landing in Vietnam till my return trip to Singapore. My transport pick-up from the airport and accommodation were already well-planned and I settled down comfortably. However, a problem I encountered was language barrier. Only a small portion of Vietnamese is able to converse in English or Chinese. Fortunately, basic Vietnamese lessons were provided to us by ABROADERs before we ventured alone. Beside the above mentioned, a booklet filled with contacts, places to go and common Viet phrases were also provided. The agents were really passionate and tried their best to meet my needs and hear my concerns. I would like to specially mention Mia and Kasia for going the extra miles.

Pursuing overseas intern in the healthcare industry is learning the difference between the healthcare system of your country and theirs. In the hospital I worked in, I was given the chance to hop between different sub departments in the Pharmacy department to learn and complete the usual work routine. Although this was a wholesome experience it would have been better if I could speak Vietnamese, their local language, as this would enable me to perform more tasks such as administrative work or communicating with patients. If you would like to experience overseas internship, know that you will have addition tasks to do. In addition, be prepared to learn the local language.

I feel pretty satisfied with my internship journey as it increased my self confidence and my ability to cope with unfamiliar situations. It also further developed my interpersonal communication skills when working with co-colleagues. I did my internship in Chemizol/Culligan Water Vietnam under the supervision and guidance of Chris, who is a very nice person and always cares about me. Besides that, my internship in Vietnam has expanded my curiosity of the world and at the same time gained a greater understanding of my home cultural identity. I wish I could have more time to go to different factories so that I could contact customers and analyze samples. Overall, my 6-week internship is so great!

There are few words that could describe my time here this summer. The time I have spent here has been priceless and life changing, even more than I thought it could be. I learned so much from my nursing internship in Vietnam that will help me very much in my future. However, the life experience I’ve learned, through adapting to another culture, traveling alone to beautiful places and having a sense of home here is something I’ll never forget. The people here have touched my heart, and I’ll have these memories forever. This country, these places and people are beautiful, and I am so happy I came here. It’s inspired me to always follow my dreams, no matter how big they are, and that I can do anything.

I realize that the key to develop yourself is to improve your competence in a whole new environment, and coming to Vietnam for an internship accomplished what I came for. I came here because I wanted to have more confidence to speak up my mind in front of other people and it is hard to accomplish these when you are still in your comfort zone.