Global Engagement: Preserving traditional handicraft villages

For starters, having gone into this with the full expectation of entering a foreign country for the sole purpose of working, I am thoroughly surprised by the amount of affection and care given through each and every step in more aspects than just work. When people hear the term agency they expect a common, lackadaisical, professional agency that only assists you for queries and links you to your job, but otherwise expresses a rather hands-off approach when it comes to the external factors, such as the things to do on your free time or the places to visit, etc. Maybe I am alone in this thought but through my 5 months internship, ABROADER has given me the opposite of my expectations during the process. Anything wrong with the experience and they're there, anytime you have inquiries they're right at your doorstep, anytime you need a recommendation for a place to cut your hair you got it. They've given me more care, more concern and more assistance in this trip than I can ever ask for, and also an opportunity, not just in a work aspect but in other ways like the opportunity to make friends, an opportunity to explore Vietnam not for what it seems but for what it is, together. Sure, while it is like this it is still a professional establishment, but, what makes them unique and above the rest is that they remember to also keep it personal. It's been a privilege to experience Vietnam with ABROADER and I extend my gratitude. I think the only advice I can give to people coming on this trip is to have an open-mind and to enjoy the process because time passes way too fast if you don't take the time to enjoy the moment.

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 had a blast with the remote internship with ABROADER. The cultural sessions were exciting and informative of the way of life in Vietnam. What made this unique for me was the staffs engagement with me and the other students. I liked getting to talk about the differences in cultures and similarities. The staff was always excited to see me and liked talking about my interests as well. I really liked the food cultural sessions and the opportunity to make Vietnamese food in my own home. I think any future participant would like this program if they wanted something outside their comfort zone. It was an entirely different world from the US to Vietnam and I enjoyed every second of it. What was your funniest moment? The funniest moment was when I was caught laughing at a video during a cultural meeting. The video was a music video and had hilarious content and I got called out because the host of the meeting saw me laughing. I thought this was not just funny because the video but also because the hosts were glad I was enjoying the cultural session.

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!

Words cannot describe how much I gain from this internship. The time here has been productive, meaningful and of course an unforgettable one! When I first came to Ho Chi Minh City for the internship, I was overwhelmed by the culture difference. To the roads packed with motorcycles to the food, everything was different for me. Honestly, I thought it would be very hard for me to adapt to the culture in Vietnam, however, ABROADER provided us with a lot of support! They have local buddies that bought us around Ho Chi Minh City, teach us their culture and are very open and happy going! They even brought us to grocery shopping which we needed desperately! What’s more, they gave me an internship in one of Vietnam’s top IT outsourcing companies! The team was professional, always looking for ways to improve and welcoming! They always try their best that I am doing great! Thank You ABROADER!

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.